Here at Fandango, we're always on the lookout for new, exciting, movie-related missions to take on. Earlier this month, yours truly was called upon to tackle one of the most exhilarating missions yet.
And so the message went...
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Mission Briefing
Good evening, Mr. Davis. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Travel to Vienna, Austria and infiltrate the global premiere of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Find out everything there is to know about Vienna, Mr. Davis. You'll need this information in order to gain entry to its famed State Opera House, home of the film's red-carpet premiere. Once inside it is up to you to speak to the film's stars, including Tom Cruise, and find out just what makes Rogue Nation the best Mission: Impossible movie yet.
Good luck, Mr. Davis. This message will self-destruct in five seconds.
Mission #1: Zero in on the three most important things to do in Vienna, Austria
In order to successfully infiltrate the Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation premiere and speak to its stars, I needed to know more about the city of Vienna. The gorgeous Austrian city is home to some spectacular sights, including the Church of St. Stephen, the State Opera House and one of the world's oldest functioning Ferris wheels.
For real, this thing is all kinds of old. Like 1897 old.
1. Find a guy
When you visit a foreign country, you need a guy. A guy to show you what's what and what's where -- a local who knows how to get you to the right spots. Meet my guy in Vienna, who we'll call "Mr. Rogue."
Rogue Nation Tip: The big plane sequence in the film originally began as a joke. Director Chris McQuarrie notes, "We were looking at a model of the A400 and I made a joke about him hanging off the side as it took off. Tom didn't blink. He just said "Yeah, I could do that."
2. Devour the local food
Once I've toured the city, I need to take part in any of its most important traditions... like visiting several sausage carts and devouring some of the best local food you'll find anywhere on this planet.
Rogue Nation Twitter Tip: And speaking of that plane sequence...
.@MissionFilm Fun Fact: Why is @TomCruise wearing a suit in the plane scene? Cause it's a nod to this airplane scene pic.twitter.com/wSWna7dbkI
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) July 24, 2015
3. Locate the State Opera House
Now that I've seen Vienna and enjoyed its most popular delicacy, it's time to find the State Opera House -- home to the Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation global premiere, as well as one of the film's greatest action sequences.
Rogue Nation Tip: Director Chris McQuarrie told me the opera house sequence was the most difficult to convince both the studio and Tom Cruise of its importance. Neither could see how an action scene would play out at the opera, but McQuarrie dazzled everyone with his concept and wait till you see how it plays out in the movie. That sequence will go down as one of the year's best, I guarantee it.
Extras: The first and last shot of the production took place at the Vienna State Opera house, making it a fitting location for the film's global premiere.
Mission 2: Infiltrate Rogue Nation premiere
It was hot -- like 90-degrees hot -- and several streets around Vienna's State Opera House were shut down for the Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation premiere. In order to gain entry on behalf of Fandango, I'd have to look slick and knowledgeable -- like all the best movie spies. I envisioned how Ethan Hunt would dress if he were on an important mission at a movie premiere, and I went with that.
With tuxedo and press badge, I accessed the premiere's sprawling red carpet, overlooking hundreds of fans who turned out to see stars Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson.
As Cruise and Pegg signed autographs and took selfies with fans for over two hours, I found a spot on the red carpet where I could hopefully fulfill my final mission...
Mission 3: Find out why this is the best Mission: Impossible movie yet
Now, in order to complete this final mission, I really had to talk to one man and one man only: Ethan Hunt himself, Tom Cruise. But how do you get near a guy who's surrounded by this?!
It wouldn't be easy and I needed to be better prepared. So I stopped Rogue Nation (and Jack Reacher) director Chris McQuarrie and asked him one of the most important questions of the night...
Finally, it was time. Cruise was approaching...
Unfortunately there were 12 other people around me and only one of us would be asking a question. What would Ethan Hunt do in this situation?
Well, I guess that's pretty simple -- he'd just be the first guy to ask the question. And so I was.
Mr Cruise, why is this the best Mission: Impossible movie yet?
Mission accomplished!
To celebrate, I watched Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation on a giant IMAX screen inside the Vienna State Opera House. Curious to know what THAT looks like? Check it:
And as a bonus, here's a tiny piece of Tom Cruise introducing the film and thanking his director and best friend, Chris McQuarrie.
Here's @TomCruise introducing @MissionFilm inside the Vienna opera house #Fandango pic.twitter.com/I3UkXbmA9m
— ErikDavis (@ErikDavis) July 23, 2015
That was that. Another successful mission for Fandango. As I settled into my flight home with a juicy book about characters who are in way over their heads, an e-mail popped up from a mysterious sender. I started reading...
"Good evening, Mr. Davis. Your mission, should you choose to accept it..."
