WLEŃ, Poland–The mission seemed improbable, if not impossible: Convince the residents of a Polish town to let Tom Cruise blow up their bridge.
It was January, and a Hollywood location scout had slipped into the town of Wleń (population: 1,759) on an assignment to secure Mr. Cruise an explodable structure for his next and seventh “Mission: Impossible.” The scene would involve tossing a train going 60 miles an hour into a lake.
An abandoned rail crossing on the town’s edge fit the specifications. Paramount Pictures would repair it, then blow it up. Afterward, it would help finance a new bridge, whose trains would bring in cinema fans, the scout, Robert Golba, told the town’s mayor.
“Billions of people will watch this film,” Mr. Golba said.
This summer, the situation exploded.