Television producer Ben Winston has “developed a relationship” with Tom Cruise , which is how that 2024 Paris Olympics stunt came to fruition. “I just pitched to him from start to finish. That first pitch included every element that you saw last night,” Winston, 42, told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published on Monday, August 12.
“Only, when I told him, it was a man in a balaclava who jumped from the roof of the stadium.” Cruise’s feedback? He was going to be the one to perform the stunt by jumping “off the roof” and “drives through Paris.” Winston knew that would be better.
“The only reason I pitched the balaclava is because it was the difference between a one-day shoot and a four-day shoot plus rehearsals,” the producer continued. Some of the Olympics stunt was filmed in March and while Cruise’s involvement leaked, the details stayed under wraps. “When we were filming with Tom, he was never actually holding the Olympic flag .
He always was holding a white flag,” Winton explained. “So, whenever we were photographed with him, the press always said we were filming Mission Impossible . Everyone wonders what was faked and what wasn’t.
Interestingly, one of the only things that was faked was the flag.” Rumors started to swirl about Cruise’s involvement ahead of the Sunday, August 11, closing ceremonies. “I was disappointed that little things leaked over the last couple of weeks,” Winston admitted.
“Suddenly, more and more p.