Tom Cruise and the fiction: The Graz Karlau is so unreal!

Tom Cruise and the fiction: The Graz Karlau is so unreal!

This year's film production around the iconic “Mission Impossible” series caused turmoil in the media, especially with regard to the presentation of the prison in Graz. Despite the elaborate staging and the impressive scenes that take place in the "Graz, Karlau Prison", reality is different: the actual Filmcrew from "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning ” never turned in Graz.

In the latest part of the series, the assassin Paris, played by Pom Klementiaff, is guarded by several police officers, while Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are looking for a daring liberation action. They use silicone masks to enable their escape from prison. However, it is emphasized that neither Tom Cruise nor Chris Hemsworth, who are mentioned in the scenes as inmates, have ever been to Graz Karlau.

The actual place and legal questions

The "Karlau" itself is a real prison that is located in the Gries district. However, it could not be used for the shooting because the name "Karlau" is not protected because it is a public facility. As long as the name is not used, it may be used in film productions. Kleinezeitung.at notes that the prison and the dark corridors in the film do not correspond to the reality of the interior of Karlau.

An important point is the question of financing for such film projects. While the film funding agency Cinestyria was not involved in "Mission Impossible", the James Bond film "Specter" received financial support from Styria, whereby it was actually shot there. These differences in terms of funding and the associated legal basis illustrate the challenges that film productions in the region have to face. Administration.steiermark.at pointing out that the legal foundations and guidelines for film funding should be checked precisely before submitting a support for funding.

locations and restrictions

In the Karlau itself, the conditions for filming are severely restricted, since only men with prison terms of 18 months or more are accommodated there. These strict requirements meant that planned filming for another film, "tactics", which is scheduled to come to cinemas in 2024, could not take place in Karlau. Instead, a former barracks were used as a backdrop.

Overall, it should be noted that the film industry in Austria, both with regard to the presentation of places and with regard to the questions of funding, faces major challenges. The fictional images presented in international blockbusters often contradict the actual use of the specified locations.