The case of the bridge in Pilchowice, which according to media reports was supposed to be blown up during work on another film in the “Mission: Impossible” series, is back like a boomerang. As onet.pl reports:
The [ubiegłoroczne – przyp. istotne.pl] controversy was addressed by director Christopher McQuarrie. He explained that the film’s producers had never sought permission to blow up the bridge. The Polish side approached them with such a proposal, and the person allegedly responsible for the subsequent disinformation was said to have acted out of revenge because they had not been given a job on the film starring Tom Cruise.
The blockbuster’s director assured everyone that the crew had not intended to blow up the historic structure. The person who allegedly sabotaged the project was said to be Andrew Eksner, a Polish-American filmmaker. The latter sued the filmmakers working on “Mission: Impossible 7,” including Cruise himself. He is demanding payment for his work.
Onet:
When the old railway bridge in Pilchowice, Lower Silesia, was selected, Eksner—as he writes on social media—wanted to handle the matter legally. He was therefore sidelined and removed from the film. The production decided to hire someone else: “shady characters” with connections in the Polish government. “These people are not afraid to break the law,” he writes.
The filmmaker’s tweet
The matter was addressed on his Facebook profile by Piotr Rachwalski, former president of Koleje Dolnośląskie:
This matter will haunt the Hollywood Hun crew for years to come. The upside of the whole mess is that the bridge has become a star among technical monuments, and no one will dare touch it now.
I hope that, despite the owner who tried to blow it up, it will nevertheless be possible to restore service on this beautiful railway line.
Post by the former KD head
It is not known what will come of all this. We will probably return to the topic..
Let us recall. We have reported on the matter many times. In August last year, we reported that a post by Daniel Gibski, deputy Lower Silesian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments, had appeared on Facebook:
Due to the enormous interest in the subject and the nationwide importance of the matter, in order to dispel doubts regarding the progress of the administrative procedure aimed at entering the railway bridge over Lake Pilchowickie into the register of monuments, we decided to publish the decision concluding the proceedings of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments in this matter. The decision has entered legal circulation; it is not final.
I would like to thank Dr. hab. Prof. Magdalena Gawin, General Conservator of Monuments, Dr. hab. Katarzyna Zalasińska, Director of the Department for the Protection of Monuments at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, as well as the residents of Lower Silesia and everyone who stood up for the monument and thereby demonstrated tremendous, unprecedented awareness of the value of the national heritage.
Details below:
The case of the alleged blowing up of the bridge by the famous Tom Cruise for the purposes of another film in the “Mission: Impossible” series caused a huge stir, not only in the media. (We reported on it, among other places, in the article Will There Be a Jelenia Góra–Lwówek Railway Connection? It Is to Run Across the Famous Bridge).
However, as Polskie Radio Wrocław reported at the time:
Ultimately, a statement was issued by Christopher McQuarrie, director of the seventh installment of “Mission: Impossible.” It said that the Polish side had suggested to the filmmakers that part of the 111-year-old bridge could be blown up, since it had to be dismantled anyway for bridge repairs. In the end, the filmmakers decided not to come.
What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.