Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

*For the Patreon episode, see Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol Commentary.*

**Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol** is episode 167 focusing on the movie of the same name, as part of the The Podcastibles miniseries covering the films of Brad Bird. Posted June 10, 2018.

## Summary

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> Griffin and David discuss the fourth installment of the popular franchise: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. But why was Tom Cruise’s whole career on the line? Did David Sims attend a red carpet event for this movie weirdly in Britain? Ofcourse we all know what a 'ghost protocol' is right? Together they discuss the stunts, Limp Bizkit, SNL pitches and more.
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This movie not only was Brad Bird's first live-action movie, but it also refreshed not only the M:I franchise but also Tom Cruise's Hollywood stardom. He's not just that weird crazy guy anymore... actually, I guess he still is, but now he's the crazy guy who will do crazy stunts for the movie. As for Bird, this wasn't so much a cashing of a blank check as it was a guarantor of a blank check to come.

So here we go: #TheTwoFriends recap the concept of the M:I franchise, Tom Cruise's career as a star and more importantly a producer, inside baseball on his move from Paramount through a bunch of other studios...and then it's onto this movie itself. Oh, except first there's some talk about Jeremy Renner's role in this movie, and how it may have been radically changed during the script doctoring that happened mid-stream while making the movie.

For Tom Cruise handsomeness, is this the peak, the trough, or cruising altitude? Brad Bird and Tom Cruise seem to have many of the same, ah, personality traits - it made for a good result here, but they haven't worked together again since. Was it just too much for them to have to deal with another one of themselves? What kind of a name is "Ethan Hunt" anyway?

Stay tuned for Ben's title-driven SNL pitches, and the post-credits stinger when not-taking-any-of-their-shit Producer Rachel offers words on-mic...

### Milestones and Ephemera

* Assigned seating: David insists on sitting across from Griffin, not next to him
* Producer-In-Training Rachel is on the 1's and 0's - and Griffin attempts to shepherd all his bits through
* This was not a summer movie
* Tom Cruise in *Tropic Thunder*: desperate to be funny, but also really is funny
* Eating on-mic: yes, Griffin AND Ben with a white cheddar bagel twist, with the levels turned way way up. Griffin was also drinking a raspberry coffee like a maniac.
* The Tom Selleck of our time: Josh Holloway
* A new candidate to star in "The Ben Hosley Story": Sean Harris. If the movie features time travel into the future: Ron Howard
* Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol : David :: RoboCop : Griffin
* Not a fan of heights, helicopters, or airplanes: David
* May or may not be on RAYA, the dating app for celebrities: Griffin
* Still an atheist: Ricky Gervais
* Ben’s SNL M:I parody pitches:
	+ Mission: More Reasonable!
	+ Mission: Enough Already!
	+ Mission: Geez Louise!
	+ Mission: You Can’t Believe This Stuff!
	+ Mission: No No No No No No That’s Insane!
	+ Mission: Are You— But That’s Not— Wait— What— You Can’t Do That— Damn, Aw Maybe You Can!
* Box Office Game: Weekend of December 16, 2011 (limited), Weekend of December 23, 2011 (wide)
	+ Wide release weekend is the same box office game as The Adventures of Tintin *and* We Bought a Zoo.

### Sponsors

* Griffin, shut up for a second - David and Ben are gonna handle this one, and Ben dunks all over Griffin's ass by pointedly being on-time and not chewing food directly into the microphone.
* CRASH! Busting through the wall of the studio is David's arch-nemesis Wet Ransfer! He’s 7’2”. That's what's on his birth certificate. Except no one knows what that means... oh, no, David points out he's really **We Transfer**. Moving files safely and securely from one place to another, and there are no promo codes, no logins, it's free! wetransfer.com, share big files. Also, as part of Producer Rachel's training, Ben points out Detective Dormer on the floor... just let him sleep.
* **Brooklinen** makes bedding. David has their Luxe sheets and he knows it sounds corny, but says they have genuinely helped with his sleeping. He loves them and hopes he gets to keep doing ad reads for them - best sheets ever! $20 off and free shipping for listeners!

## Quotes

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> | David: |  This is my favorite action movie of my lifetime.
> | Griffin: |  Eh, it's pretty good.
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## References

1. ↑ Blank Check Podcast. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Audioboom. Retrieved on May 12, 2022.