Shanghai will be the starting point for Tom Cruise's new mission, as the Hollywood movie star will debut his new action thriller, Mission Impossible III, in the city April 22nd, said the Shanghai Evening Post.

 

Three chartered planes will take Cruise, the movie director J.J. Abrams, the leading actress Keri Russell and several senior executives of Paramount to Shanghai, marking the beginning of a global tour for the film, the newspaper said.

 

They are scheduled to attend a press conference on the afternoon of April 22nd, and show up on the red carpet and the opening ceremony at the Shanghai Grand Theater.

 

In Cruise's normal fashion, he will not decline shaking fans hands and signing autographs, the Post said.

 

Because the movie will go public in May, the debut on April 22nd will employ many high-tech methods to prevent piracy. According to the newspaper, audience members must pass a security check at the door prior to entering the theater, besides frequently used measures such as banning mobile phones in the cinema hall.

 

 

The producer also prepared two copies of the movie for the global tour, which have been specially processed and are able to present higher definition than usual. It is said to cost US$6,000 per copy, while an ordinary copy costs only US$1,000.

 

Cruise filmed several scenes of the motion picture in Shanghai and Xitang -- a Shanghai's neighboring town in Zhejiang Province in November.

 

The first joyous experience Tom had visiting China is said to be the reason why he chose Shanghai for the third installment of Mission Impossible.

 

(Shanghai Daily March 7, 2006)