How Joe Carnahan Spent His Time on Mission: Impossible III

Director Joe Carnahan -- who is busy blowing up everything in The A-Team this weekend -- has had his fair share of brushes with almost greatness. White Jazz, an adaptation of the James Ellory novel, was supposed to film in 2007 with George Clooney and Chris Pine, but never happened. Ditto the remake of Bunny Lake is Missing with Reese Witherspoon. And he's still trying to get his Medellin Killing Pablo script made -- with Edgar Ramirez as Pablo Escobar and, perhaps, Christian Bale as a law enforcement official (shades of Public Enemies). And, of course, there was Mission: Impossible III.

M:I III was supposed to be Carnahan's post-Narc breakout film. He spent 15 months working on it -- with Kenneth Branagh, Carrie-Anne Moss and Scarlett Johannson joining Tom Cruise in the cast -- only to quit a month before filming because of "creative differences." 15 months on Mission: Impossible! What could he have possibly been doing that entire time?

Well, having fun. In an interview with David Poland, Carnahan states that he hold no grudges against either Tom Cruise or Paramount for what happened on Mission: Impossible III. "I had 15 months of the best time. Sh*t, I was in Europe for six months of that -- eating out and drinking in the best restaurants on Paramount's dime. Who can find any fault with that? That was fantastic."

Who can find fault with that? Other than Paramount's accounting department. Hollywood: Where sometimes not making a movie can be just as rewarding as making one.

· DP/30 Sneak Peek - Joe Carnahan, 'The A-Team' [The Hot Blog]