Tom gets Reichstag

Authorities in Berlin have told Hollywood star Tom Cruise that he can, after all, use the historic Reichstag in shooting for his Mission Impossible 3.

A German parliament spokesman said that after talks with Babelsberg Studios, Cruise could shoot some scenes outside the Reichstag and on the steps.

However, the conditions are tight.

The interior of the parliament building, including its famous dome, is to remain off-limits, Speaker Wolfgang Thierse said, fearing that shooting inside for Hollywood fiction would demean its stature.

Moreover, filming can only take place during the parliamentary recess, and final approval will depend on the script, the spokesman said.

Cruise visited the Reichstag, in the heart of the German capital near the former site of the Berlin Wall, in April, and was apparently enthused.

Formally opened on December 5, 1894, the Reichstag only just survived the Nazi era and was heavily bombed during World War II.

It did not become a parliament again until 1999, nine years after Germany was reunified.
- AFP