Tom Cruise’s 106 parachute jumps from 25,000 feet to get ‘Mission: Impossible’ stunt right
Actor reveals details of action film’s scene – which saw him flying through the air at speeds up to 220mph (354km/h) – at CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas
Tom Cruise’s has gone to new heights – literally – in his pursuit of realism in his stunts for his latest action film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The action star, 55, wowed the audience at CinemaCon, in Las Vegas, late on Wednesday with details and stunning footage of his high altitude, low open free-fall parachute jump for the thriller, which is due for international release on July 27.
For these films, it’s about what we can do that’s physically possible, but without killing Tom [Cruise]
The numbers alone for the stunt, which took over a year to plan and execute, are daunting.
Cruise did the jump requiring an extended free-fall – used by military special operators – from 25,000 feet (7,620 metres) to 30,000 feet, flying through the air at speeds up to 220 miles per hour (354km/h) with the aid of an oxygen mask.
Between training for the stunt and shooting, Cruise jumped from a C-17 military plane a total of 106 times to get the three takes he and director Christopher McQuarrie wanted.
“For these films, it’s about what we can do that’s physically possible, but without killing Tom,” McQuarrie told the annual convention of cinema owners where exhibitors are treated to sneak previews of each company’s forthcoming offerings.
The director joked that it didn’t make sense “falling out of perfectly functioning aircraft”.
Yet this is what Cruise does for his Mission: Impossible franchise, including strapping himself to an Airbus A400 turboprop plane while in flight for 2015’s Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation.