Red tape hinders smooth filming of 'Mission Impossible' in UAE
Action movie fans and Tom Cruise are the two entities in this world who want Mission Impossible 7 to be filmed and released as fast and safe as possible. Late last year, Cruise's rant against his crew members for allegedly disobeying social distancing norms is still being talked about. And now, he's facing another roadblock, as COVID-related red tape is hindering his film's shooting.
UK on UAE's 'red list' because of COVID-19 mutation
The Mission Impossible crew, after shooting in locations like Italy, Norway to the UK, was to roll cameras in the UAE. But the country has put the UK on the red list, since the nation has become the breeding ground of a more transmissible variant of the COVID-19 virus. As a result, flights to and from the UK have been banned at several locations.
Meet E484K: UK variant undergoes another mutation
Latest reports state that another mutation labelled E484K has happened to this variant of novel coronavirus, which scientists have already spotted in its South African and Brazilian counterparts. University of Leicester's virus expert Dr. Julian Tang told BBC that if this variant spreads everywhere, a new form of COVID-19 will take shape. To tackle that, necessary modifications in vaccines have to be engineered.
UAE authorities mandate self-isolation, thus delaying production further
In such a tense scenario, it is natural for UAE authorities to clamp a mandatory self-isolation for the entire cast and crew of the title, as they are shifting base from a dangerous COVID-19 haven. This means another round of production delays, which only those employees earning top salary on this project can tolerate. That is, however, not the case with junior employees.
Morale is really down, says an insider of the film
Even if the crew manages to start shoot, there is no guarantee on when they will be home as the team is shooting both Mission Impossible 7 and 8 back to back. Add to this situation the dedication of Cruise, who has bought two sophisticated robots equipped with on-the-spot swab tests to monitor COVID-19 safety on set. "Morale is really down," an insider commented.
