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Tom cruising
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DUBAI — Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and a host of other Hollywood artistes and technicians would be gracing Dubai in the coming few weeks for the filming of Mission: Impossible IV.

Laying the speculations about the movie to rest, an official statement by the Government of Dubai Media Office on Tuesday confirmed that the fourth edition of the hit movie series will be shot in the emirate.

“The latest installment of the globally renowned action thriller ‘Mission: Impossible,’ starring Tom Cruise, will be filmed in Dubai within the coming few weeks,” the statement said. “Filming in Dubai would be the longest among other international cities that will feature in MI4,” and will last at least three weeks, the statement said, without identifying the other locations that would feature in the movie.

Details of filming in Dubai were agreed upon between the production company Paramount and the local establishment, following two months of meetings and location scouting. Actual filming of the project, that will attract more than 400 industry professionals, is expected to commence within the next few weeks.

Already a favoured spot for most entertainment activities in the region, which got a fillip following a series of Dubai Government initiatives like the launch of Dubai Studio City, Dubai International Film Festival etc., the local establishment hopes the decision of such a famous movie brand to film in the city would reinforce Dubai’s status as a regional entertainment hub.

The production will see several Dubai Government and private organisations involved, with roles of departments like Dubai Police, Civil Defence, Roads and Transport Authority etc clearly demarcated.

Apart from several other entities like Dubai Media Incorporated, Dubai Studio City and Emaar will also chip in to ensure the smooth running of the production work.

Famed locations like Burj Khalifa and the recently opened Meydan will be some of the locations touted to feature in the film.

Spearheading the production would be Brad Bird who directed The Incredibles, a film that grossed in excess of $261b in box office in 2004, and Ratatouille which won the Oscar for best animated film in 2007.

Oscar winner Tom Cruise, who starred in the previous three Mission: Impossible movies, will take the lead role in this one too. It is estimated that the total takings of all the films Cruise had taken part in throughout his career amassed to around $6 billion, including the collective revenues of the three Mission: Impossible movies which reached $1.4 billion.

The existing three films in the series, released in 1996, 2000 and 2006, were inspired by a Mission: Impossible television series that first aired in the mid 1960s.

news@khaleejtimes.com