Photo: Paramount Pictures
Sometimes, things don’t go as planned during a movie production. Production mistakes, unlike the majority of regular mistakes, are very expensive, cause delays and, on a more trivial note, get unwanted media attention.
The seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible movie franchise has just been affected by one such mistake, which resulted in a massive fire that reportedly “tore through” the entire movie set, estimated at £2 million ($2.6 million). Adding to the financial loss is the fact that production has been temporarily halted.
It started with what should have been the biggest, most expensive and most spectacular stunt ever done in the UK, one that involved a stuntman on a dirtbike jumping off a very high platform. According to The Sun, the jump was never meant to be a successful one. The stuntman was supposed to fall off it in mid-air, land on some pillows filled with card, while the bike crashed safely on the ground beside him.
Rehearsals for this scene alone lasted six full weeks, which should give you a solid clue as to its complexity. The British tabloid has photos of the stuntman performing it, because it all went as planned initially.
However, with the landing came trouble. The bike didn’t crash on the ground, but on the pillows, and caught fire and exploded.
“It was miscalculated,” an unnamed production source tells the publication. “The heat and the friction of the tires meant that when the bike crashed, the cardboard padding sparked and went up in flames. The smoke was so bad they had to close a nearby RAF airfield. Fortunately, nobody was hurt but it’s a total catastrophe, not to mention extremely expensive for all concerned.”
No less than five Oxfordshire Fire Service engines and some ambulances were dispatched to the set. There was no use for the latter, but the former had their work cut out for them, putting out the flames.
During this time, the report notes, leading man Tom Cruise was on a nearby field, shooting a parachute scene. He is said to be “furious” at the unexpected delay, because the movie has had plenty of them already.
It started with what should have been the biggest, most expensive and most spectacular stunt ever done in the UK, one that involved a stuntman on a dirtbike jumping off a very high platform. According to The Sun, the jump was never meant to be a successful one. The stuntman was supposed to fall off it in mid-air, land on some pillows filled with card, while the bike crashed safely on the ground beside him.
Rehearsals for this scene alone lasted six full weeks, which should give you a solid clue as to its complexity. The British tabloid has photos of the stuntman performing it, because it all went as planned initially.
However, with the landing came trouble. The bike didn’t crash on the ground, but on the pillows, and caught fire and exploded.
“It was miscalculated,” an unnamed production source tells the publication. “The heat and the friction of the tires meant that when the bike crashed, the cardboard padding sparked and went up in flames. The smoke was so bad they had to close a nearby RAF airfield. Fortunately, nobody was hurt but it’s a total catastrophe, not to mention extremely expensive for all concerned.”
No less than five Oxfordshire Fire Service engines and some ambulances were dispatched to the set. There was no use for the latter, but the former had their work cut out for them, putting out the flames.
During this time, the report notes, leading man Tom Cruise was on a nearby field, shooting a parachute scene. He is said to be “furious” at the unexpected delay, because the movie has had plenty of them already.
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