International Insider: Mission Possible; Submarine Tragedy; Cannes Lions Roars

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Rome’s iconic monuments are getting lots of mileage in Hollywood movies this summer. Since May, the Eternal City has hosted the world premieres of “Fast X” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” two blockbusters that burned rubber and wreaked havoc on its cobblestoned streets. Universal held its “Fast X” red carpet in the Roman Forum’s Temple of Venus, with the Colosseum as a backdrop, in early May. Weeks later, Paramount descended for the June premiere of “M:I 7,” with Tom Cruise prancing down the same Spanish Steps that serve as the setting for spectacular car chases in both movies.

Wondering if you should choose to accept the latest “Mission: Impossible” entry? Maybe you’re sick of all the bombast at the movie theatre lately? Well, put it another way: Do you really want to disappoint Tom Cruise?

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Come one, come all, Insiders. Jesse Whittock back again this week to take you through the past week in international film and TV. Let’s get started. If you’re not already subscribed, click here and make that right.

Welcome back, Insiders. Jesse Whittock with you this week to look back on the last seven days in international film and TV. Here we go. Also, sign up for the Insider newsletter here.

Tom Cruise is bringing more death-defying stunts than ever before to In a new behind-the-scenes clip from the upcoming action flick, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie headed to the Lake District in northwest England to film the franchise star participating in «one of the most dangerous sports in the world,» speedflying. «While it may look similar, speedflying is not skydiving,» McQuarrie explains in the clip. «Skydiving is fairly predictable, speedflying is incredibly unpredictable.»While skydivers look for an open field to land in comfortably, for speedflyers, the point is to accelerate and spiral as close as possible to the mountains and rock formations — just feet off the ground — before landing at a high rate of speed.The intense scenes were too dangerous to film with a helicopter or drone, so the crew had to construct their own gimbal system, rigging up two cameras to track Cruise's rapid descent down the mountains, reaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.«It is truly a one-of-a-kind adventure,» McQuarrie says in the clip of directing Cruise through his increasingly daring stunts in thefilms.

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”The Spanish Steps, RomeIt was a gorgeous day on the Spanish Steps in La Bella Roma, as Paramount Pictures got rid of the mobs of summer tourists usually found here and rolled a red carpet all the way down the 135-step staircase to celebrate the global premiere of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reeckoning Part One.”Of course Tom Cruise was front and center, as he’s the now 60-year-old face of the franchise that he began when he was 35; this one is the seventh in the series, and as usual is also filled with beautiful, much younger women. They were all in Rome, too, including Rebecca Ferguson (39), who is a veteran of the “M:I” flicks, as is Vanessa Kirby (35), along with franchise newcomers Hayley Atwell (41), Pom Klementieff (37) and Mariela Garriga (34).Our favorite Farmboy, Cary Elwes, also stars (he’s 60 too, if you were wondering) and joined the glitzy celebration, as did the flick’s other male co-stars Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Henry Cznery and Shea Whigham, along with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie.

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Tom Cruise. The 60-year-old action star opened up to ET's Rachel Smith when asked if it's at all feasible that the senior field agent for the elite covert operations agency, Impossible Mission Force (IMF), will soon hang up his parachute and running shoes.ET was the only American outlet at the U.K.

Jameela Jamil – actress, writer, podcaster – has said she will work with any brand “as long as they’re not in the diet industry – in that case, please do not approach.”

Cosmopolitan Magazine’s editor-in-chief, stopped by Stagwell’s Sports Beach Monday morning to talk about her latest projects and her obsession with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his fiance Lauren Sanchez.Q: You are a bit of a media jack of all trades. What are you doing while you’re in Cannes and what kinds of conversations are you looking forward to having during the festival?A: Right now, I’m working on waking up from a very late dinner last night at Hotel du Cap, which was extraordinarily fun. The whole of Cannes is like a sport, isn’t it? If you can get through to the end of it you deserve a medal. Q: I know. I think I need another coffee after this. It’s quite early. I wanted to ask you about some of your current projects. I know you’re doing production stuff. Tell me how you got into that. I know you have a big editorial background. What was your path?A: I was a journalist for a long time and then I was an editor for a long time and now I’m more entrepreneurial.

Legendary Olympic athlete Michael Johnson has called on sporting brands to support athletes who want to speak out about social change and other issues meaningful to them. 

Tom Cruise is serious about his stunt work, and in he wasted no time taking on a death-defying scene!Cruise sat down with ET's Nischelle Turner in Rome this week to preview the upcoming action flick, and he shared an interesting fact about the production, revealing that the most dangerous stunt of his career — a motorcycle jump off of a cliff into a base jump — was the first-ever scene filmed for .«Well, we know either we're gonna continue with the film or we're not,» Cruise said with a laugh of planning the death-defying stunt. «Let's know day one… Do we all continue, or is it a major rewrite?»In all seriousness, the actor added, it all came down to focus.

Paramount President of International Theatrical Distribution Mark Viane kicked off the studio’s CineEurope presentation with his annual cheeky pre-taped spoof video, this time essaying the role of Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt before appearing on stage dragging a parachute and sporting a wig.

Tom Cruise famously does all of his own stunts, but one of them very nearly ended in disaster on the set of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One have arrived, with critics praising the latest instalment in the Tom Cruise action franchise as “incredible” and “exhilarating”.Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the seventh Mission: Impossible film – which premiered in Rome on Monday (June 19) – sees Ethan Hunt (Cruise) confront faces from the past as a new weapon threatens to wipe out humanity.Alongside Cruise, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny and Ving Rhames reprise their previous roles, while additions to the cast include Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Shea Whigham and Pom Klementieff.Fandango’s Erik Davis described the film as “an impeccably made action film that does not stop entertaining”, adding: “Each action sequence is long, crazy & intense. The story is big & sprawling, but I like how it both felt complete & left you dying for what comes next.”I had the absolute best time watching #MissionImpossible – an impeccably made action film that does not stop entertaining.

Tom Cruise has promised to “fight for big theaters” and preserve cinema culture while at the world premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1.While at the Spanish Steps in Rome, Cruise delivered a passionate speech about films, acting and working with film director Christopher McQuarrie, per Variety. Cruise said during his speech: “There is a community that we are all part of — different cultures and ways of life, we all join together to enjoy cinema.

Tom Cruise is back in theaters with the latest installment of Mission: Impossible and the initial reactions of the film following its world premiere in Rome are in.