Scholastic Kid Reporters Emmet Smith (left) and Erika DeJesus ham it up with Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise at one of four New York City premieres of this summer's top blockbuster. Get caught up in the action! Check out a slideshow of our Kid Reporters covering the Mission Impossible III premieres. (Photo: Suzanne Freeman)

Wednesday, May 3—There was a light drizzle falling even though the sun was out. You could hear the cars honking and cops yelling to move traffic along. Hundreds of high school kids were screaming with excitement while radio station Z-100 blasted the Mission Impossible theme song from large black speakers tied to street signs. It was all designed to build anticipation for Mission Impossible III (MI 3) and the arrival of its star, Tom Cruise.

The street along the Hudson River in downtown New York City was crowded with people, including some 350 city high school students with free tickets to see the summer's opening blockbuster movie. MI 3 premiered in four different theaters in New York on Wednesday as part of the fifth annual Tribeca Film Festival.

As a member of the Scholastic Kids Press Corps, I was there for the excitement at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center, where Cruise was expected to arrive on a motorcycle. As I stood in the press pen, I couldn't believe that in a matter of minutes I would be face-to-face with one of the biggest superstars in the world!

All of a sudden we heard helicopter blades beating the air. Kids in the background started yelling, "He's going to jump from a helicopter."

All eyes were trained anxiously on the chopper hovering over the river between New York and New Jersey. My heart began to beat faster and faster. Then, we heard the roar of a motorcycle, and I could see Tom Cruise heading for us on the West Side Highway, followed by police cars with blinking lights. He stopped his motorcycle right in front of the red carpet laid out especially for his arrival, just a few feet from where my colleague, Emmet Smith, and I were standing with our camera crew.

Instantly, everyone moved into action. Cameramen joined the screaming fans, yelling out, "Tom, over here!" The high school kids, all dressed in black and red MI 3 T-shirts, held out notebooks for autographs. Camera phones popped up over the heads of the crowd on the ends of outstretched hands.

Cruise worked his way around the red carpet before finally making it to us. As he started to walk toward the kids on the other side of the sidewalk, Emmet and I joined in the shouting, trying to get the superstar in his black leather jacket to look our way.

After making it through the crowd of burly security guards who surrounded him, he approached us with a big, beautiful smile on his face. He shook our hands as we introduced ourselves.

Tom (yes, I think I can call him that now!) told us that working on MI 3 was exciting.

"It was a blast. I had so much fun," he said. "I love my cast and the director [J.J. Abrams]. It was just really exciting. I love making movies. I get so excited every day when I'm working. I'll never forget the experience I had working with all these people."

Tom told us that he had always wanted to kick off the summer with a great movie, and MI 3 was it. In Tom's own words, "It's the best Mission I've made."

We wished him well and congratulated him on the birth of his daughter.

"Thank you so much," he said. "That's really nice of you."

He then made his way down the line of students, signing autographs and posing for pictures in front of camera phones and shiny silver digital cameras of every shape and size.

Once he made his way from the arts-center entrance to the corner of Chambers and West, he jumped into a shiny orange Mustang Saleen and peeled out, waving to us as he drove away. He was on his way to the South Cove boat launch for another premiere.

At the cove, a 51-foot Sea Ray Sundancer was waiting to take him up the Hudson River to the neighborhood known as Harlem for his third premiere of the day. This one was at the Magic Johnson Theaters on 125th Street in Harlem. Cruise arrived driving a Maybach 62.

After making his third stop, he caught the D train at the subway station around the corner to get to the Ziegfeld Theater, his fourth and last premiere of the day. So, what did he think of his subway ride? Probably that it was peaceful, since he was the only one in the subway car! (Security kept everyone else out.)

He ended his wild ride through New York by jumping on top of an SUV in front of the Ziegfeld, where two other Scholastic News Reporters were waiting for him—along with hundreds of other members of the press.