An incredible parking lot that is so visually breathtaking inspired a movie set of a hit Hollywood action film.
The stunning parking garage was used in a key scene in the film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The structure was not in Mumbai, India, but built at the Canadian Motion Picture Park, in Vancouver, British Columbia where the bulk of the movie was made. Blogger Gerry Garrett insists the idea was based on an idea from Volkswagen and in particular, the inside of a 20-story car tower at its Autostadt attraction in Wolfsburg, Germany. The word translates as “auto state” but says “car city” is more accurate.
The attraction opened in May 2000 and more than two million people reportedly visit it every year. Autostadt includes several hotels, restaurants, a museum, and other attractions such as “car silos”. If a Volkswagen is bought direct from the factory with pickup, it can actually be delivered from these vending machine-style displays. The car is lifted electronically from a cubbyhole in one of two towers which holds up to 400 vehicles
The Autostadt customer centre in Germany (Carsten Koall/EPA/REX/Shutterstock)The Mission: Impossible version of the silo was created by Mike Meinardus, a special effects supervisor and his crew in Vancouver over a six month period. It is said to have included a 78-foot tall centre supporting two 23-foot parking paddles which weigh more than three tonnes. The VW version, however, is far larger the Mission Impossible version held about 70 cars.
Filmmakers and actor Tom Cruise, wanted scenes to be as “real” and “authentic” as possible. According to the blog, the actors "were suspended from cables attached to the ceiling" and ends of the paddles to stop falls between vehicle platforms which were a guide to planned jumps.
'My neighbours parked on my drive so I blocked them in - now they're furious'
Inside one of the two car towers (Rolf Schulten/imageBROKER/REX/Shutterstock)Cruise famously makes a three-story leap from the floor level into a car on a moving paddle. This was slowed at the end of his fall by a decelerator which was 'digitally erased' during post production. Mr. Meinardus said “Each paddle weighs 6,700 pounds and there’s only about a half-inch clearance between the paddle and the decks, so it’s like a giant sheer.
The scene was shot in a studio, but the influence came from Volkswagen (FOCKE STRANGMANN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)"When it was running, we’d have sirens and safety meetings, to make sure that nobody was rappelling between there.” He added that it was “challenging work" and almost as dangerous to choreograph at it looked. The cast and crew were, however, elated with the way it turned out.
Tom Wilkinson, who starred in the movie, died recently after a long movie career. It included the 1998 romcom Shakespeare in Love, Christopher Nolan's 2005 blockbuster Batman Begins and the aforementioned action film 2011 action thriller Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol which was his last appearance before he died.
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