Tom Cruise on new mission

LOS ANGELES: Oscar-nominee Tom Cruise kicked off on Thursday the rollout of the fourth installment of the "Mission Impossible" franchise with a limited "fan screening" in Japan ahead of its world premiere next week.

Cruise, 49, returns as super agent Ethan Hunt saving the world yet again in "Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol" packed with stunts and action scenes, some featuring the world's tallest building -- Dubai's 828-metre (2,716 ft) Burj Khalifa.

In the latest in the series of action blockbusters that has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, Impossible Mission Force IMF.L operative Hunt and fellow agents get blamed for a terrorist bombing of the Kremlin and are forced to run.

The agency is dissolved and the group -- without any resources or backup -- must find a way to clear the agency's name, prevent another attack and avert a nuclear war.

Asked at a press conference for local media broadcast on the movie's Japanese website how he coped with hard training and long hours on the set, Cruise said: "I just love what I do and I do it because I want to entertain."

"I love being a part of the team and telling a story," said the actor dressed in a military green sweatshirt highlighting his muscular arms and torso.

Major parts of the film were shot in Dubai, where it will officially open on December 7, while the action also takes Hunt to Moscow, Budapest and Mumbai.

Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc ., said Cruise chose to start the film's tour in Tokyo ahead of the Dubai splash as a gesture to his Japanese fans and the nation that suffered so much from the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis.

The film will be released in Japan on December 16 and in the United States on December 21 with theatrical releases around the world staggered over several weeks.

Two-time Academy Award winner Brad Bird directed the film and the cast include Jeremy Renner, nominated for an Oscar for his role in the 2008 war film "The Hurt Locker." Other actors include Simon Pegg and Paula Patton.

Bird won the Oscars for animated films "The Incredibles" released in 2004 and "Ratatouille," released in 2007.

Cruise is producing the film with J.J. Abrams who last teamed up with the actor in 2006 for "Mission Impossible III."

Cruise made his screen debut 30 years ago and since has made 34 films and was involved in a producing role in 17, earned Oscar nominations for leading roles in "Born on the Fourth of July" and "Jerry Maguire." He was also nominated for a supporting role in "Magnolia."

Cruise's last film, 2010 action comedy "Knight and Day" co-starring Cameron Diaz, got mixed reviews.

But the Mission Impossible series has been a solid bet both at the box office and with critics. All three installments garnered more than 50 percent of favourable reviews on aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes with the third scoring 70 percent of positive reviews. AGENCIES

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Akshay ‘Khiladi’ Kumar Back in Play

MUMBAI: Many considered Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar to be an action specialist before he turned to the commercial comedies of today. Now we are not quite sure. It’s been quite some time since we saw Akshay doing an action flick and it seems the actor is realizing the same.

With action movies like ‘Dabangg’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘Singham’ and ‘Force’ creating quite some hype at the box office Akshay seems to be quite keen to make a comeback in action movies before he gets too old for them. Now this is definitely the trigger for Action turning towards action but the fact that he has not does action for long also seems to bother the Bollywood star. In a recent interview Akshay recently claimed that he had put his attention away from action movies coz his son was pretty young but now when he is a 10 year old kid the star wants to shift his focus back.

Also the star feels that at an age of 44 he merely has another five years left to his action movie career. He therefore wants to dedicate maximum of his time to working on action flicks now.

It all started in the 1990s when Akshay begun his acting career mostly with action packed movies. However it was not long before the action hero turned towards doing more of drama, romance and comedy. Akshay’s first movies like ‘Khiladi’ (1992), ‘Main Khiladi Tu Anari’ (1993), ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’ (1995), ‘Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi’ (1996), ‘Mr and Mrs Khiladi’ (1997), ‘International Khiladi’ (1999), ‘Khiladi 420' (2000), awarded him the nick name of the ‘Khiladi’.

It’s almost been a decade but the khiladi inside Akshay wants to make a comeback and with an upcoming movie ‘Khiladi 786’ the much awaited Akshay ‘Khiladi’ Kumar seems to be back. The movie is also supposed to star the hilarious Paresh Rawal and Music director, singer and actor Himesh Reshammiya.

The film is states for a Diwali 2012 release and there is no doubt that many will be waiting eagerly for the action flick to hit the screens next Diwali. It is an Akshay Kumar home production and the genre is not strictly action rather action-comedy. Akshay’s upcoming release includes ‘Rowdy Rathore’ starring Sonakshi Sinha and directed by Prabhu Deva. The flick is expected to hit the theatres by June 2012. Also lined up is Milan Luthria’s sequel of ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’. This movie is hitting the screens in August 2012. Seems the year 2012 is going to be a very Akshay year at the box-office.

Having proven his mettle now and again in the different genres of movies Akshay wants to get back to what he loves the most. It was only to get back in action that the star signed up for movies like ‘Rowdy Rathore’ and ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’. It seems the star is also keen on doing more of negative characters that positive now. His last negative role dates back to 2001 when he did a negative stint for ‘Ajnabee’. The recent success of negative characters in movies like Dhoom have made Akshay thinking on it as a success recipe to increasing his fan base.

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Ranveer Singh Turns Writer

MUMBAI: Opportunity is something that you should not miss and that is exactly what young actors are doing now. Most young actors today believe that they need to make the most while the sun is shining and therefore they come up with all creative ideas that they have in them. Ranveer Singh made a dashing appearance into Bollywood last year with his debut movie Band Baajaa Baaraat that paired him against Anushka Sharma. He soon became the most popular actor especially with lot of female fan following. He is now on the charge with Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl on the verge of release.

However, the latest news is that Ranveer Singh has turned writer and he has decided to plan the movie himself if there are no directors that are willing to take the story. Ranveer Singh is sure that the script that he has will be liked by the audience and therefore he would like to go ahead with the subject that he has in his mind. Talking more about the script that he has he said that it is a dark comedy and he has almost complete the story. He said that the script is very contemporary and therefore the youth will enjoy the way it will come up when it is directed.

He said that he is keen to produce and direct the movie himself in the future once he has completed the entire script and when the screenplay is ready. However, if he does not get all the time he will hire some director that can do justice to the script but continue to be the writer for the script. He is also ready to prepare for the shooting of the movie by next year because he does not believe in delay that happens because of financial problems.

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