IMDB is carrying the news from a Total Film magazine interview with the stunt coordinator from M:I3 Vic Armstrong. In it he talks about how he can’t believe the stunts that Cruise is performing.
The superstar actor has refused to allow a stunt double to take on the dangerous high falls necessary for his part…and his willingness to push himself to the limit even scares legendary stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong, who is working on the film with him. Armstrong tells Total Film magazine “He did a 70 foot fall for us last week. He’s amazing. He did about seven takes. Absolutely terrifies me – I can see the headlines! What a way to finish a career.”
There’s two sides to this, one is that it shows the power of Cruise in Hollywood that he can do what most actors can’t, go against the Studios and the Insurance Companies and perform these stunts – normally the Insurance companies are so tight on these type of things that stepping from the pavement to a street has to be negotiated for months. There’s also the fact that he’s got the sheer balls to do this sort of thing, and it shows that presumably he’s keen to make the stunts look as real as possible as well as just having fun with it too.
You know, for all that he’s been knocked, I think this says a lot about the guy too. I respect him for it.
Wasn’t there something similar with MI2 with Cruise “freestyle climbing” up a rock face high above the desert of Monument Valley or someplace like it?
or maybe he would rather die in a huge fall than marry that batman begins ruiner…
i know i would
I agree with Jerry. Some of this may be all (or part) hype. Cruise isn’t Jackie Chan.
However, if one can jump up and down on Oprah’s talk show couch, then that person can do anything. Maybe hearts are broken and Katie really *is* that good…
hah!
That would take some guts on Cruise’s part, or some wit on his publicity crew’s part…
I don’t believe a word of it. There is no way the insurance companies will allow this sort of thing. Without Cruise, the movie is dead and they are out millions. Read Epstein’s “The Big Picture”. Everyone agrees to lie because it beefs up the stars public image, which helps promote the film.