Mission: Impossible – Fallout director Christopher McQuarrie was an active member of Twitter, regularly answering questions from fans and offering insight into the industry. The filmmaker recently admitted that he wiped his entire Twitter feed clean because he found the negativity on the social media service so overwhelming that it would impact his own emotions.
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When asked by Collider if he had any apprehension about deleting his feed, the filmmaker confessed, “No, none whatsoever. Every now and again I say, ‘Okay, I’m just going to wipe the slate clean and step away from a while.’ The reason I first went on Twitter was to be able to respond to misinformation swiftly. You could correct things that were erroneous in the press. What kept me there was following a lot of funny people. It was a great place to go and have a laugh.”
He added, “It’s become very dark and very angry, owing to God knows what. I can’t imagine what’s going on in the world that might have people feeling divided and dark and angry. I realized that it was affecting me. I was going there to interact with people who were asking me questions and then I would start reading my feed. I would find myself just surfing through that for a very long time, almost desperately searching for something positive… it was just affecting my overall mood, so I just decided to step back for a little bit.”
McQuarrie’s latest film was well-received by both fans and critics, with many claiming Fallout is the best entry in the entire Mission: Impossible franchise, likely leading to the director delivering audiences another adventure. McQuarrie noted that, while he might be gone for now, he’ll probably return to the service at some point.
“When I have something new to interact with everybody with I’ll do it again,” the filmmaker teased.
One of the more passionate and divided fandoms on social media is the Star Wars community, with harassment from “fans” leading various members of the cast and crew to leave social media behind. Earlier this year, McQuarrie shared that it was this toxicity that prevents him from wanting to direct a Star Wars film.
On the anniversary of The Twilight Zone host Rod Serling’s death, McQuarrie shared a tribute to the seminal sci-fi storyteller by praising the ways in which the host injected social commentary into the series’ fantastical plots. One user replied to the filmmaker by claiming the “Social Justice Warrior” agenda should be removed from fiction, which inspired The Last Jedi writer/director Rian Johnson to chime in, resulting in a lengthy, and angry, exchange between a variety of users.
McQuarrie went on to share with Johnson, “My friend, After five minutes of this, I don’t know why you’re still on Twitter. I would have loved to make a Star Wars film someday. I’m cured.”
Making matters even more frustrating is that the exchanges he shared with users have not only soured him on contributing to the Star Wars saga, but also to other established and beloved properties.
When the filmmaker was asked if there was a superhero story he was interested in tackling, McQuarrie admitted, “Nah, after tonight I think I’m good.” He added, “It saddens me, too. I consider myself first and foremost an entertainer. I work for the audience. Tonight I found people I could never work for.”
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is out now on Digital HD and lands on Blu-ray and DVD on December 4th.
Are you disappointed that the filmmaker has left social media behind? Let us know in the comments below!
