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| Tom Cruise - received an unexpected honorary Palme d'Or after the Cannes red carpet premiere of Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
The audience at the red carpet Cannes Film Festival unveiling of Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning were well primed by the time the latest opus hit the screen of the 2,300 seat Lumiere Theatre in the Palais des Festivals last night.
As they entered the auditorium they were greeted with a 40-piece orchestra whacking out the unmistakeable theme tune. Rounds of applause greeted practically every one of Cruise's death-defying stunt.
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| Tom Cruise with his honorary Palme d'Or Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival/© Andreas Rentz/Getty |
The general consensus was that the 62-year-old superstar could still hack it in his sixth decade whereas many of his contemporaries have opted to grow old gracefully.
Director Christopher McQuarrie oozed unctuousness when he told the assembled ranks: "I want to thank this extraordinary cast – when I tell you how extraordinary they are, it wasn’t just showing up to work every day. This film was made during a pandemic and two industry strikes.
“The last two films were made over a period of seven years with a lot of uncertainty, a lot of gaps in between their faith and their hard work, their dedication, their unquestioning devotion to this. This film would not be possible without the hard work of each and every one of these people standing up here. It’s the most extraordinary cast in the world.”
Cruise was equally fulsome in his praise of McQuarrie: "Every step of the way what you’ve done and how you’ve expanded it – it just went beyond our expectations. I look forward to making a bunch of other kinds of movies with you, I can’t wait.”
Just to set the seal on the evening Cruise was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or following his recent Bafta fellowship.
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| The stars come out for Mission Impossible red carpet with Tom Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie, centre, surrounded by cast members Photo: Courtesy of Cannes Film Festival |
