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Mission: Impossible 7’s studio is suing its insurance company over an alleged failure to COVID insurance payout.

Filming had to be stopped seven times during the pandemic, when members of the crew tested positive to the coronavirus.

The film and entertainment industry was hit hard by the epidemic, with many cinemas had to close for long periods all around the world.

Paramount’s team say the studio was covered for losses exceeding $100m (£73m), but Federal Insurance Company argued, the suit says, that some of the losses claimed were only covered to a value of $1m (£730,000).

Paramount is claiming the insurer only paid a “small portion” of the losses, “denying coverage for the majority of them”, and therefore “breached contract”.

Actor Tom Cruise is also a producer on the film, allegedly had threatened to fire crew members after a breaches on the set of Mission: Impossible 7 in England in December if they did not take Covid precautions seriously.

In the lawsuit, Paramount put that filming for Mission: Impossible 7 was supposed to start in Venice in February 2020, but filming had to shut down when one of the people working on the film became ill with Covid.

In March filming shifted to Rome, but that also got delayed by Italian Covid restrictions.

In October 2020, there was a Covid breakout among the crew in Rome, so production moved to Venice, but then crew and extras tested positive.

In February, 2021 filming in the UK was halted due to a surge in Covid cases in the country and government quarantine restrictions.

Production moved to Abu Dhabi, Dubai.

Then in June 2021, more cast and crew tested positive for Covid-19 in the UK.

Paramount claimed that Federal said many of its losses were not covered and that the insurer would not pay out for production halted by positive tests.

“Shockingly, Federal stated that there was no evidence that those cast and crew members could not continue their duties, despite being infected with Sars-Cov-2 and posing an undeniable risk to other individuals involved with the production,” the Paramount lawsuit said.

Paramount did not say how much the shutdowns had cost, but said its losses “far exceeded” the $5m Federal had agreed to pay for the first instance of coronavirus in February 2020.

Paramount is seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages.

The delayed Mission: Impossible 7 is due to be released in May 2022.

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