Tom Cruise, star of the Hollywood blockbuster series Mission Impossible has rented out two cruise ships from the Hurtigruten Cruise to house production crew during filming of the seventh installment of the franchise.
According to local media reports in Norway, Cruise rented out the MS Vesterålen and MS Fridtjof Nansen to be used as hotel ships until the end of September.
A Norwegian local paper, Åndalsnes avis, reported that around 200 international and 200 Norwegian crew will work on the filming of Mission Impossible 7.
Sky News reported that Cruise paid some 500,000 pounds sterling ($665,000) to house the crew and protect them from possible COVID-19 infection.
The Norwegian media reported that Mission Impossible 7 received a grant of some 50 million Norwegian Krone ($5,670,000) from the Norwegian film institute to film in the country.
According to Norway’s state broadcaster NRK, Cruise and the Mission Impossible 7 team were given permission to return to Norway in August to film scenes in Romsdal, home to the famous Romsdalshorn mountain after previously having filmed in Preikestolen. This despite Norway’s strict Coronavirus quarantine rules.
Filming originally began in Venice in February, but due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, filming in the country was suspended.
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Mission Impossible for Tom Cruise?
Mission Impossible 7’s filming troubles may not be over yet however: According to a report in the Norwegian daily ITromsø, two Norwegian unions have reported Hurtigruten Cruise to the police for violating Norway’s Immigration Act. The unions claim that since the ships are functioning as hotel, the ship’s Fillipino employees must have a work permit and should be subject to Norwegian minimum wage regulations
“It is completely unsustainable that it should be possible to only dock a boat with a wage level down to NOK 29 ($3.3) per hour,” said union leader Johnny Hansen of the Norwegian Seamen’s Association.
Police said they would investigate, and according to ITromsø have resulted in crew being expelled.
Hurtigruten Cruise was first cruise line to resume ocean sailings
Hrutigruten’s ships are currently laid off due to a coronavirus outbreak on the MS Roald Amundsen which caused dozens of infections and resulted in the suspension of all leisure cruises by the company at the beginning of August.
In June, Hurtigruten Cruise became the first ocean line to resume sailing when the newly refurbished MS Finnmarken set sail from Bergen for a 12-day round trip journey along the Norwegian coastline to Kirkenes and back.
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