The Governor of Svalbard gives priority to the needs of polar bears over the wish by the producers of Mission: Impossible to fly helicopter when filming. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Mission: Svalbard without helicopter for Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise and the production team for the next Mission Impossible will have to make filming at Svalbard without permission to land helicopters.
March 14, 2023
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It is the PolarX production company in Longyearbyen that got its application to fly helicopter turned down by the Governor’s office, The Times reports.
The company had sought permission for 30 landings during the filming of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two
Svalbard has very strict environmental regulations aimed to protect the fragile Arctic archipelago halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
The filming is supposed to take place soon. Spring is the time of the year when the female bears comes out of the snow caves with cubs and should not be disturbed.
Helicopter stunt pilot Marc Wolff, who has worked with Tom Cruise says to The Times that “it’s something we have to take into consideration nowadays, the noise and disturbance to wildlife in terms of helicopters.”
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The production company has appealed the Governor’s decision.
In 2021, the same Longyearbyen-based PolarX production service got permits to land at three glaciers with personnel when filming a Disney production about the dramatic climate changes harming Svalbard and the Arctic.
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