The last time we wanted to talk to Tom Cruise, we had to get on a plane, fly 12 hours across the Atlantic, and practically scale the 2,716-foot Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It was easier this time, as the New York City premiere for Cruise's "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" took place at the Ziegfeld Theatre, just a few blocks away from MTV News' Times Square headquarters.
The Big Apple opening brought out an array of Hollywood talent in addition to Cruise: wife Katie Holmes, co-stars Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg, plus Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Queen Latifah, Robin Thicke, Jerry Ferrara and Adam Shankman. Oh, and a couple thousand fans screaming so loud for Cruise you'd have thought they were hanging by a shoelace from the top of the Burj Khalifa.
In defense of these fans, it was freaking Tom Cruise they were cheering for, and it's been more than five years since the last "Mission" film. And if he keeps delivering franchise installments the way he wants, these premieres might happen many more times in the future.
"If I can make 'em at a level I want to make 'em," Cruise told MTV News of continuing the series. "Thing is, I've never wanted to compromise. If we can figure that out, I love making them. As a producer, they're a lot of fun. As an actor, they're really a blast and challenging."
What it comes down to for Cruise is a deep love of the source material: the '60s-era TV series starring Peter Graves, Martin Landau and others. "I just remember watching it at home on television. I loved the music and the whole thing with the gadgets and the team and the places they would go to. It was kind of a family event for us. When I went to Paramount the first time to produce it, they weren't really turning TV series into movies, but I was pretty excited about it. To be today at number four is pretty cool."