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 “Mission: Impossible III” lives up to the tradition of spy thrillers taking audiences to exotic international locations. However, Abrams is careful to note, the locations were chosen because they were specifically part of the story he tells. “I didn't want the audience to get `travelogue syndrome,'” he says. “The places we chose are integral to the whole story.”
Enzo Sisti in Italy and Eric Schwab in China worked with production designer Scott Chambliss and the filmmakers to find locations that could be incorporated into the film organically.
“From the very start, J.J. didn't want `Mission: Impossible III' to look super-slick,” explains the production designer, Scott Chambliss, who previously collaborated with Abrams on the television series “Felicity” and “Alias.” “He wanted it to be grounded in reality. He wanted grit and texture and reality to the character. That meant that our locations had to have the same reality and also be at the enormous scale that befits a `Mission: Impossible.'”
To bring that to life, the filmmakers chose, in Chambliss's words, “a huge Vatican sequence, a huge rooftop sequence in Shanghai, and huge factory sequence in Berlin. J.J.'s concept drives the scale of all the action in our story.”
In order to find the kind of unique locations they were looking for, Chambliss embarked on a worldwide scout. “I've visited some of the most amazing, exciting locations in the world,” he marvels. “Every country we visited offered incredible opportunities and incredible challenges as well. We looked for places with dramatic power. This isn't a fantastical world, it isn't a period piece; every place we go, we want to believe in it.”
Principal photography began in Rome. The first thrilling action sequence took place on the Tiber River, which runs through the middle of the city. The filming in such a public place caused great excitement, with crowds of paparazzi and onlookers crowding the banks and bridges overlooking the river.
Tom Cruise and the actors playing the other members of the I.M.F. team - Ving Rhames (Luther), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Declan) and Maggie Q (Zhen) - took part in a high speed motor boat chase on the Tiber, which featured the incredible backdrop of the Vatican itself.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers describes the scene: “We're flying along in this speedboat, going through these archways, and all of a sudden I hear this sound in my head - the theme to `Mission: Impossible': dun, dun, dun dun, dun, dun, dun dun… doodle doo, doodle doo… and I realize, it's coming from Tom. Tom's actually singing it. He's still that same kid, sitting down with popcorn and ice cream to watch the show on a Friday evening. He still believes in the magic of it.”
From Rome, the production moved south to the Palazzo Reale Della Reggia Di Caserta, near Naples, which would double for the Vatican.
Chambliss was responsible for transforming the monumental fortress into the Vatican courtyard. “The scene involves a party for 300 people in a gigantic rotunda; it had to have a texture and a punch so that it wouldn't get lost in the enormous architecture. We very studiously went through mounds of research on Vatican ceremonies, public and private. As it turns out, they don't have one single color palate for their ceremonies, so we fabricated dozens of enormous Papal banners.”
From there, the production moved to Shanghai, China. From the very beginning, Abrams envisioned a sequence taking place in the Far East; after scouting Japan, the filmmakers took a trip to China and found a location unlike any other in the world. The China locations were produced with the assistance of China Film Co-Production Corporation and The Fourth Production Company China Film Group Corporation.
“Shanghai is a futuristic, science-fiction city,” says Abrams. “It's also a city that reveals a real cost to its expansion: old neighborhoods are being razed in order to build these monolith office buildings. That was fascinating - the ancient as counterpoint to the brand new and what's next.”
“Shanghai was just astonishing,” adds Chambliss. “Even though so many people are being displaced, there's this incredible spirit of optimism and energy. I think they consider themselves the city and country of the future.”
The production also found that a short distance from Shanghai, many fishing villages still live in much the same way that they have for centuries. With this in mind, the writers decided to showcase this part of the country.
“Our locations managers and props designer identified a handful of cities outside of Shanghai; Xitang was the most unusual in terms of its look for an American film - I hadn't seen this before,” says Abrams.
Xitang is an ancient fishing village about a two-hour drive outside Shanghai. It is estimated to be around 1,000 years old and boasts a 700-year-old restaurant. “Xitang is the setting that bookends the film,” explains Abrams. “We wanted to use the ancient town as a backdrop for an emotional endpiece.”
One location in the United States was a homecoming of sorts for Abrams. When preparing to film Ethan Hunt's home, Abrams asked Chambliss to style the set after Abrams's own house. “It made things simple for me,” says Chambliss. “I just called J.J.'s wife, Katie, and asked if I could come over to take some pictures.”
According to Michelle Monaghan, the director was unprepared for how much like his own home the set would look. “J.J. kind of freaked out,” she says. “He was checking it out and was like,`This is my bathroom.' It was pretty funny.”
 Next Page: About the Theme |
  Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) was slated to direct M:i:III but dropped out in favor of another film.
“M:I:III” delivers all of the incredible action and breathtaking stunts that moviegoers expect from the franchise.
In exploring that, the filmmakers created a new life for Ethan Hunt
Writing team took special care to create a villain worthy of Ethan Hunt.
Let's talk about Ethan Hunt's IMF team members.
J.J. wanted to put his own stamp on the action sequences.
The locations were chosen because they were specifically part of the story.
The theme to “Mission: Impossible” is originally written by Lalo Schifrin, the theme sets the stage for all the action and suspense to come.
This is J.J. Abrams's vision, with his voice as a filmmaker.
Tom Cruise has achieved success as an actor and producer in a career spanning two and a half decades.
Ving Rhames, Philip S. Hoffman, Billy Crudup, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Alexander, Keri Russell, Simon Pegg, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Michelle Monaghan, Maggie Q
J.J. Abrams, Paula Wagner, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Stratton Leopold, Dan Mindel, Scott Chambliss, Maryann Brandon, Mary Jo Markey, Colleen Atwood, Michael Giacchino, Vic Armstrong, Roger Guyett, Dan Sudick.
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