Angelina Rubs 'Salt' in Cruise's Wounds

The spy movie Edwin A. Salt has it's fair share of changes. Tom Cruise was going to play the title character, an American spy erroneously believed to be a undercover Russian agent. Then we heard that maybe Will Smith would play the part because Cruise has lost his spark. That turned out to just be a rumor. Then it was reported for reals that Cruise was bounced out, for that very reason, and he would be replaced with Angelina Jolie, who at this stage is one of the best action stars on the planet. Frankly, that was a fantastic decision. The only thing was the film would have to be rewritten a little bit to account for the female spy, which is also a more interesting development than just another Bourne Identity knock-off. You can take it different places with a female character. So that was a go and then sources claimed that Jolie was passing on the renamed Salt after all, to spend time with her kids. So who would take her place? The answer: Angelina Jolie. Moviehole cites an official source who says that Jolie is confirmed for the role and that production on Salt will begin on February 16th. They also have a little more on the plot, reporting that the CIA believes Salt "is out to assassinate the president. While trying to reunite with her family, she struggles to prove someone else is the traitor." If this is finally official, then Salt may come out smelling like a rose. Again, if you want to do an action movie and need a female lead, Jolie is the first person you call. And I think the reunion with her family subplot has some merit; usually spies in blockbuster movies are solitary figures, so that will be another interesting change. As for Cruise, the hits just keep on comin'.

Comments

[Ian]

Oh come on, regardless of what one thinks of Cruise, let's not write bullshit articles, it's been stated by all invovled that Cruise was only loosely attached and that he backed out as his interest waned. Good call, probably, the writer for the film tends to be terrible.

[Get The Big Picture]

Well, Cruise was attached over a year ago, saw the project through the defection of two directors, including his good friend Peter Berg, and left 28th Amendment to concentrate on this film, as did director Philip Noyce. One source told MSNBC this summer that Cruise wasn't pursuing Salt, but I haven't heard Cruise, Noyce, or writer Kurt Wimmer - the "all involved" you referred to - say anything about his loose attachment.

[Ian]

He was hardly ever even attached to 28th, that one fell on and off his plate very quickly. Big actors like Cruise, Damon, and the like are attached to all sorts of films, throwing their name at anything that even slightly interests them.

There's a lot of negativity surrounding Cruise, which I don't really care about, but that his losing interest a project is being turned into some scapegoat is ridiculous. Any big actor flips through projects. When he chose not to film A Beautiful Mind, for example, no one had a thing to say, because he wasn't every writer's favorite punching bag.

Regardless, from what I understand, his main considerations for a while have been some Tourist movie, a comic book thing, or this Venice serial killer story. The latter sounds interesting, I like Douglas Preston. And I guess there's some comedy on the plate too. With big actors, you just never know. But just because some actress takes a role another passed over doesn't make it a story about "wounds." It is a stupid article.

[Ian]

Oh, am I arguing with the person who actually wrote the piece? In that case, I'm sorry for being so rude about it. I disagree with what you said, but I should have stated my case differently.

[Get The Big Picture]

No worries. I invite rudeness.