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Paramount sued its insurer on Monday for refusing to cover the vast majority of its losses due to pandemic-related closures on “Mission: Impossible 7”.
According to the lawsuit, the studio’s insurer, Chubb, said it would only pay $ 1 million for COVID-19-related losses under its “civil authority” policy. Production was delayed seven times between February 2020 and June 2021, including at least six due to the pandemic.
Paramount had a “casting” insurance policy for the production, with a coverage limit of $ 100 million. Such insurance is intended to cover losses resulting from the unavailability of key film personnel – such as star Tom Cruise or director Christopher McQuarrie – due to illness, death or kidnapping.
Paramount argues that closures related to the pandemic should have triggered this provision of the policy, as the closures were intended to protect actors from disease.
Chubb, however, maintained that COVID closures are only covered by the studio’s “civil authority” policy, which covers costs resulting from government-mandated closures. This policy has a limit of $ 1 million.
Production was initially scheduled to begin in Venice, Italy on February 24, 2020. At the time, the studio cited local authorities’ ban on public gatherings and said it was postponing filming “out of caution.”
However, according to the lawsuit, production actually stopped because one of the people covered by the actors’ insurance policy fell ill. The costume does not name this person – although it should have been someone irreplaceable – and it does not say if the person has contracted COVID or some other disease. A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of health information.
Chubb paid $ 5 million under the actors’ insurance policy in connection with the delay, according to the lawsuit.
Production was then due to start in March, but was postponed to July due to Italian government restrictions. In October 2020, there were two separate outbreaks on the set – one in Rome and one in Venice – each of which caused further delays.
In December 2020, Cruise exploded on a set in the UK when he saw two crew members standing close to each other near a computer screen. He has threatened to fire anyone who violates COVID protocols.
“You can tell that to people who lose their fucking homes because our industry is shut down,” he said at the time, in a leaked audio to The Sun newspaper. “It’s not going to put food on their table or pay for their college education. This is what I sleep with every night – the future of this fucking industry! So I’m sorry, I’m beyond your apologies. I told you, and now I want it, and if you don’t, you’re out. We’re not closing this fucking movie! Is this understood? If I see him again, you’re screwed. “
Production came to a halt twice more, once in February 2021 when cases rose in the UK.In June 2021, another COVID outbreak on the plateau caused another shutdown. Production was also delayed when the British government imposed a quarantine on crew members returning from filming in Abu Dhabi.
The lawsuit doesn’t say how much Paramount is looking for, other than that the $ 5 million payout is a “small part” of its total losses.
“Mission: Impossible 7” is scheduled for release on May 27, 2022.
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