Principal photography wrapped in Shanghai on "Mission: Impossible III" on November 29th, two days ahead of schedule. Production began in Italy on July 12th 2005.
Cruise and Abrams stayed on to hold a press conference for the Chinese media on November 30. At the conference Cruise said, "It's the first time I have visited this spectacular city and our work here went very smoothly. We worked at terrific speed." They also spoke about how impressed they were with the competence of the Chinese movie crews and how well the two nationalities worked together. Abrams told media that "close to 20% of the movie takes place in China." Shanghai is the setting for the most dramatic stunt in the film. "Mission: Impossible III" is the first large-scale American film to showcase contemporary Shanghai. Filming also took place in the ancient fishing village of Xitang, which gives a contrast between ancient and modern China never before seen on the screen.
"Mission: Impossible III" is directed by J.J. Abrams (creator of TV hits "Alias" and "Lost") and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keri Russell, and Maggie Q. The action thriller was shot on location in Europe, Asia, and the United States. "Mission: Impossible III" is scheduled for release May 5th, 2006.
