4. Skyscraper Jump - Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Obviously, nobody in their right mind was going to let Tom Cruise legitimately jump off the top of a skyscraper in order to capture Mission: Impossible III's base-jumping sequence. However, the decision to film the scene on soundstage still required the actor to perform his signature death-defying feats, with much less risk of being splattered on the street if things went awry.JJ Abrams has been quoted as saying that he was hesitant to include the scene in the script because Cruise was going to want to do it, so building a section of the skyscraper roof in the studio and filming against a greenscreen sounds like a fair compromise. That being said, the crew must have had their hearts in their mouths as the actor launched himself into the air wearing only a safety harness. As seen in the 'Making Of' feature on the movie, there is a hell of a drop as Cruise flies off the edge of the set.