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Wednesday
04Nov2009

Depp, Cuarón Taking a Trip With Angelina's 'Tourist'?

DateWednesday, November 4, 2009 at 11:41PM
Remember the stupid bit in the first couple Mission: Impossible movies where everybody would rip their faces off to reveal someone new underneath? That must be the blueprint for The Tourist, a film that has undergone massive changes in important positions, all in the last couple months. When Tom Cruise was interested, the film had director Bharat Nalluri and Charlize Theron. Cruise dropped out and was replaced by Sam Worthington, and all systems were go.

Then Nalluri left, following by a departure by Theron. No worries: That's what Angelina Jolies are for. But there was still no director. It looked for a while like it would be Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others), but he turned down the project. Oh, and did we mention Sam Worthington has found better things to do with his time? Yeah, apparently so.

As the project stands now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Johnny Depp might replace Worthington and Alfonso Cuarón is in negotiations to direct. So wait a minute. This movie lost its leading man (twice), its leading lady, and its director...and it got appreciably better? Has that ever happened before?

I would argue Jolie is probably a better all-around performer than Theron, and Depp and Cuarón certainly don't need to prove their games at this point. So yes, this movie looks better than it ever has and it's all thanks to instability. For whatever reason, actors and directors bail on projects all the time, but you almost never see this much turnover.

The natural inclination is to say, "Well if you've got Depp and Cuarón, it must be a great script." OK, maybe. But then why did everyone else bolt? There could be contractual things - "if the movie isn't in production by X date, talent can opt out" - but none of that really matters now because you have two of the most dangerous on screen performers of their generation possibly thisclose to making a film with one of the best directors in the world.

Now all we can ask is that this remake of the 2005 French spy flick Anthony Zimmer is worth all this bookkeeping.

AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment1 Comment |

Reader Comments (1)

Would this be the 1st movie that Depp & Jolie will be starring in together? Hopefully there are no more changes!

Thursday, November 5, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterKrystal

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