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00:00Good evening, this is Manjusha Radhakrishnan. I'm here on the red carpet premiere of Mission
00:13Impossible. Right behind me you see some frenzied fans waiting for Tom Cruise. This movie was
00:19partly shot in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi to be exact. So life has come full circle for the
00:24cast of Mission Impossible, Dead Reckoning. These guys will be here on the red carpet
00:29soon. We are expecting Tom Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie and many others to walk
00:34the red carpet. Stay tuned to see the action.
00:48How are you?
00:49Great, and you?
00:50Brilliant. I love the horseback riding scenes. How was it filming in the UAE?
00:55Oh, it's beautiful. I mean, in the movie, I don't ride, but Tom rides and he has such
00:59a beautiful interaction with the horse and the dunes are so beautiful. It's so beautiful
01:04here.
01:05Right. What was it working with Tom Cruise? Is he as magnificent as he is on the big screen?
01:10Yes, he is. Of course, he is. He's so generous. He's so inspiring. He's amazing to work with
01:18and he's very funny too. So it's just such an amazing combination, you know.
01:23Frank, what's the best part about being in Abu Dhabi? Have you tried our shawarma? Is
01:27it great?
01:28The what?
01:29The shawarma, the meat rolls.
01:30What is that?
01:31The shawarma, you must try it. If you haven't, that's okay.
01:34Is it food, you said?
01:35Yeah, it's food. Shawarma, but it's amazing.
01:37No.
01:38What is it?
01:39Baby, I don't know.
01:40Oh, you're brilliant.
01:41Can we try now? Do you have some?
01:42I wish I did, but I would have given it. What was the best part about Abu Dhabi?
01:46Shawarma. Yes, it's the meat, right? Of course, I had that. It's delicious.
01:51I'm so sorry. I'm like...
01:54How important are reviews for you?
01:58Are the reviews? I don't know. For me, the most important is the audience, you know.
02:05I think they're really going to connect with this movie. This movie is incredible. I watched
02:09it a few times and I'm just blown away.
02:21Well, well done on the movie, by the way. I think you have showcased Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
02:35and it stands strong. So how challenging was it to film that scene?
02:40It is not challenging to make Abu Dhabi beautiful, if that's what you're asking.
02:44That's true.
02:45It's an embarrassment of riches. The airport was beautiful. The desert was beautiful. That's
02:51why we're here.
02:52What was your brief to Tom Cruise? Because I know he does his own stunts. You've worked
02:55together in the past. Do you guys give each other briefs on what to do?
03:00Oh, exhaustively. We talk about it endlessly. There's a lot of planning, a lot of engineering,
03:06a lot of very careful planning in terms of where to put the cameras so that we can always
03:10see that it's Tom doing the stunts. And it's all about immersion. It's all about creating
03:14experience that puts the audience in the middle of the act.
03:18How important are reviews for you, my friend?
03:20Reviews?
03:21Oh, well, it's all about the audience. That's why we do it. Everything we do in these movies
03:27is about your experience, your immersion, and just getting people to come see it on
03:31the big screen.
03:32My heart was in my mouth in the last sequences. Were you equally fearful?
03:37As scary as they are for you to watch, you have a pretty good idea of how they turn out.
03:43I don't know.
03:44Really?
03:46The advantage is I get to be the first person who sees it. The disadvantage is I don't know
03:50how it's going to turn out.
04:00Welcome to Gulf News Readers. First, you need to tell us, you were picking as in Mission
04:05Impossible. We like the nerdy part of it as well. Are you excited about being in Abu Dhabi
04:10for the showcase?
04:11Always, yeah. I mean, I think this is my fourth time in Abu Dhabi. It's always a quick trip
04:16for me. I'm usually with work, you know, unless I'm filming here. But it's always a treat.
04:21I also feel very welcome. I feel an immense sense of civic pride from the people of Abu
04:25Dhabi. They all seem very eager to kind of share the city, which is a lovely thing. So
04:30yeah, to be back any chance I get, I'm always happy.
04:33Simon, to be working with Tom Cruise, who does crazy stunts, where does that leave you?
04:38Do you feel a bit overshadowed what's happening here?
04:41No, I'm very happy where I am. I don't have to do them. I'm the one that's kind of saying,
04:44go up to the top of the mountain, Ethan, and jump off that cliff. Believe me, I get the
04:48best part of it.
04:49You feel weirdly in control, don't you? You are like the puppet master, aren't you?
04:53I am, I am. Benji can really shout at Ethan and he listens, you know. It's this very,
04:57very funny relationship that they have. But it's founded in a real sort of sense of companionship.
05:02It's very sweet, that friendship, I think.
05:04Right. Simon, you proved that nerds rule. Did you always set out to have that kind of
05:09huge audience rooting for you? You're always the underdog. We love you for that.
05:12I know. I think it's probably because I am one. Although, you know, standing here in
05:17Abu Dhabi at the premiere of Mission Impossible, I don't feel like an underdog, to be honest.
05:21It's an absolute pleasure to be here. And I feel so, so proud of this film. We made
05:25it under extraordinary circumstances. You know, we started in 2020. We all know what
05:30was happening in the world at that time. And we kind of found a way to make a film in that
05:36situation. And we pioneered the technique. You know, we were incredibly diligent, safe.
05:43The approach we took was, you know, just so thorough. And that's down to Tom. You know,
05:47he would be on the phone every night calling dignitaries and politicians and trying to
05:52get stuff, you know, done. And here we are.