Christopher McQuarrie delves into the evolution of the “competitive” film business in an extensive masterclass at the Cannes Film Festival and why his collaboration with Tom Cruise provides a blueprint for how to get theater audiences to Cineplex.

"Task: Impossible - Final Estimation" writer, director and producer told French journalist Didier Allouch that dramatic experiences are under siege due to the rise of streaming.

“I’m not sitting here to advocate (streaming) because I’m a hardcore believer in a hard-working big screen experience and I believe what makes the movie special is that there are hundreds of strangers all gathering together to sit in a room and watching something together, experiencing something together,” he said. “Story media is in danger of extinction.”

About 20 minutes after an hour-long conversation, Cruise unexpectedly made a appearance, second only to the Mega Movie star previewing some of the film’s “never done” stunts in a section of Tiktok Creator Workshop at the festival.

"He's not only writing for me. He's able to come in and write for the actors," Crushi said of his affectionately calling him a regular collaborator for MCQ.

While many industry observers want the film to be the last part of a multi-billion dollar franchise, Cruise doesn’t completely rule out future chapters when asked about “the mission” future.

"I'd rather just people see it and enjoy it, and we had a great time, which is fun, and I just hope everyone enjoys it," the actor said. "Enjoy that and know that everything is the crystallization of now."

Cruise discusses how McQuarrie's style provides the rewards needed for Hollywood of Yesesteryear, which is on display in the eighth part of the Mission Impossion series.

"This goes back to the silent film," Cruise said. "When you watch this movie, you'll feel how you use close-ups with the characters."

McQuarrie grew up watching movies from the 70s and many older movies, and he talked about how Cruise “no” when it will be exhibited tonight at Daredevil Stunts.

"Tom said, 'I want to do zero g between the wings of the plane," McQuery said with a smile beside Cruise. "Those who make a living and belong to decades of tradition say, 'No, you won't do that. Tom said, 'Thank you for your precious time.' And then we go on and some of the others."

Cruise also admitted that he was unwilling to recognize the word “no”.

"Don't ask for permission to do this. Just do it. So, don't wait until everything is perfect because it will never be perfect. The movie is not perfect. People are not perfect. Life is not perfect," Cruise said. "But you want to keep moving forward, it's better to do it."

When it comes to franchise stunts, Cruise says fear is not part of his psychology.

"I always feel, you know, I don't mind feeling the unknown, I like that feeling. It's just an emotion to me. It's not paralyzing stuff. It's not annoying stuff. It's not annoying stuff," he said. "I like any effort in life. People may be afraid to do something, and I'm like, 'Okay, I think.' I don't mind facing it and going in... People may be very scared of the unknown and I've never been."

Elsewhere in the speech, McQuarrie opposes the competitive nature of Hollywood and how it negatively affects films, film studios against studios and actors against other actors.

"One of the problems with contemporary cinemas and Hollywood in particular in my career is that I've seen it grow into a game. It's already becoming who is obsessed with whom," he said. "Tom Cruise has no one competing except himself. He understands that together we understand that no one wins unless everyone wins."

One of the most anticipated films of the year, The Last Estimate debuted is one of the films released this year. Paramount will release the event film worldwide on May 21.