Taglines: No Plan. No Backup. No Choice.
Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agents Jane Carter (Paula Patton) and Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway) and brilliant tech whiz, Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are tasked with finding a courier carrying nuclear launch codes. Very unfortunately, their mission goes awry and the codes fall into the hands of a sultry assassin, Sabine Moreau (Léa Seydoux).
Meanwhile, team leader Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must be extracted from a Moscow prison and the group is assigned the task of breaking into the Kremlin to retrieve information about the intended recipient of the codes; a man code-named Cobalt. Shortly thereafter, Cobalt blows their cover and, before Ethan and Benji can escape, a tremendous explosion rocks Red Square. Ethan finds himself and the entire IMF being blamed to the point that the President invokes “Ghost Protocol” – a complete dissemination of the agency.
Having inherited a new team member, WILLIAM BRANDT (Jeremy Renner), Hunt finds himself, for the first time, working with a team he did not choose. On the surface, Brandt is a desk-bound analyst, but he carries a more complicated past. Begrudgingly, Ethan and this new team must work together as one – all without any support or backup from the now-defunct IMF – if they are to clear their names, complete their mission and prevent nuclear annihilation.
In developing this plot, Appelbaum recalls, “J.J. called us and asked if we could come up with a story with a way to show Ethan in a different light from the previous films. Ethan Hunt is the heart of the franchise, but they were looking for a way to tell a story that’s really about him trying to lead a team, and keep the team intact, against great odds.”
Thus was born the concept of the Ghost Protocol, in which the entire IMF agency was being disavowed. “We thought that without having resources, it would be a great way to instantly bond Ethan to his team and to help us fall in love with these other characters. We wanted to challenge Ethan as both player and coach – a guy who’s not only in it, but is in it with a team that isn’t fully gelling. So, he’s got to try and pull the team together, all while working on the fly.”
Another caveat unique to this film is they are also stripped of their usual support – no resources, no extractions, no backup. “In the world of technology and information that we live in, we wanted to strip the agents of their ability to rely on immediate intel and access. We wanted the gadgets that they use to not always be working properly. To not necessarily make their jobs easier,” says Nemec. Ethan’s Gecko Gloves, which he uses to climb the outside of a building, and the otherwise-indispensible mask making machine both fail the team when most needed.
Adds Appelbaum, “It’s the idea that everything in life doesn’t go off exactly like planned and we wanted that to be true for our agents, as well. They couldn’t rely on their agency, they couldn’t always rely on the tools and gadgets and tricks that they had. They really had to rely on themselves. This movie isn’t about unlimited firepower. These people are smart in their intuition and their training, in really clever and inventive ways.”
The producers even encouraged Bird to incorporate his own ideas about what makes a spy movie cool. “When I first got involved, they said, ‘Well, we have this story line but, other than that, are there any cool things you’ve always wanted to see in a spy movie?’ It was like looking at it from a moviegoer level, in terms of what kinds of things you’d want to see if you were sitting in the audience watching this.”
Things such as Brandt’s Eyecam lens (a contact lens which functions as a video display), throwing off a meet-and-swap meeting with Moreau, a sandstorm chase and, after Ethan retrieves his mission assignment from a payphone, which “will self-destruct in five seconds” – but doesn’t, at least not without a swift kick from Mr. Hunt, all came from Bird. “He really brought that constant sense that the mission plan is not 100% working.” says Nemec. “Brad was able to look at things with a little bit of a ‘fun’ lens, which we loved.”
Complicating matters is the team members’ knowledge of Ethan’s reputation within the agency. “Part of starting off with finding him imprisoned is wanting to play into a character that isn’t necessarily coming into this with a bunch of medals on his chest. The team isn’t going, ‘Of course I’ll follow that guy into battle!’ It’s more like, ‘Well, that guy did something that earned him being imprisoned.’ So, they’re always wondering if he’s making the right calls along the way.”
The producers also wished to create a film that, though part of a series franchise, could stand alone, story-wise, so that audiences didn’t have to be familiar with what had gone on in the previous MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies to enjoy or follow GHOST PROTOCOL. “We made a conscious effort to make it so if you had never seen the other films, it didn’t matter,” Burk explains. “You could watch this film and easily follow the story and understand Ethan’s backstory and where he is because the movie is completely self-contained. And, if you have seen the previous films, then you’ll be able to draw more from it.”
Building the Team
“I loved the show when I was a kid,” says Cruise. “I felt that, as a film, it could take us to different locations, have pulse-racing action sequences and smart, innovative tech. It was the first film I ever produced. As a filmmaker and as an actor, I’m always thinking about the audience. I want to entertain them and give them a new adventure every time.”
The last film, Mission: Impossible III, was directed by J.J. Abrams who returns as a producer on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL. “I like to work with people who I admire, like J.J., who are really smart and talented. I really loved the television work he had done, particularly with ‘Alias,’ and I wanted him to make his first movie with me. We had an amazing time on M:I 3 and I love J.J., so to work with him again on this would mean we’d get to have some fun together and create another amazing movie.”
To write the new film, Abrams brought in two of his collaborators from his popular television show, “Alias,” Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, who had worked on that series for three years. “When approached us about doing this film, they immediately came to mind,” says Abrams’ producing partner Bryan Burk. “We know their ability to work in this genre, to craft interesting and unique stories in the espionage world and to create really big set pieces. They know how to bring the characters to life and make them rich.”
“These are the hardest movies to make,” says Cruise. “It’s always about coming up with a fresh story – how do we make it interesting and keep up the suspense?” The first three films were mammoth hits, collectively grossing more than $2 billion worldwide. Each helmed by a different director, it gives each Mission film a unique look and feel.
Animation director Brad Bird may not have been the most obvious choice for a huge action film, but he did end up being the easiest. Having only made three movies to date – and all of them animated – he won Academy Awards® for Best Animated Feature Film for two of them: “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille” so he certainly had an incredible track record.
The fact that the director came from an animation background didn’t affect the producers’ choice, but his skill as a filmmaker did. “Brad was someone we’d been a longtime fan of. It was only a matter of time before he jumped over to live action. Thankfully, it was with us.” says Bryan Burk.
Cruise had also admired Brad’s work ever since he first saw his animated films. Recalls Bird, “ had seen ‘Incredibles’ and liked it a lot and just wanted to meet with me. So, I went over to his house and we just talked about movies. We were immediately very comfortable with each other and about our attitudes towards the medium of film.” Cruise adds, “I called him up and said, ‘Look, you wanna come by? I’ve got to meet you.’ And it was like an old friend talking about our favorite movies. When we were talking, I said, ‘If you ever want to direct live action, please direct me.’ Even in his animated work, he shoots like a live action director. His sequences are amazing, as are his characters. He has great wit and sense of composition and he knows how to keep the tension and suspense in his stories.”
Recalls Bird, “I had known J.J. for years and we’d been trying to find something that we could collaborate on, but the timing never seemed to work out. I came to J.J. and told him, ‘I’ve got this project that I’ve put aside – is there anything cool?’ And he goes, ‘Mission: Impossible?’ He told me the idea and I was immediately intrigued, and it just suddenly went into hyperspace from there.” Echoing ’s approach to giving each director their own voice, Bird says “They don’t try to get the directors to conform to the style of the franchise, which would mean just plugging yourself in and being a robot,” he explains. “All of the films contain similar elements, with Ethan Hunt addressing unsolvable problems, but each one has its own distinct flavor and style.” It was an opportunity Bird couldn’t pass up. “It was a chance to work with J.J. and , all in one fell swoop.”
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Directed by: Brad Bird
Starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway, Paula Patton, Lea Seydoux
Screenplay by: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec
Production Design by: James D. Bissell
Cinematography by: Robert Elswit
Film Editing by: Paul Hirsch
Costume Design by: Michael Kaplan
Set Decoration by: Rosemary Brandenburg, Andrew Del Rosario, Elizabeth Wilcox
Art Direction by: Michael Diner, Helen Jarvis, Christa Munro, Michael Turner, Martin Vackár, Grant Van Der Slagt
Music by: Michael Giacchino
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for for sequences of intense action and violence.
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 21, 2011
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