Tom Cruise is either the biggest movie star out there right now or his publicist has cut an amazing deal with Variety as the trade mag has yet again posted an article dedicated to the films Cruise may star in, keeping his name in the news cycle and in a way that does not involve his marriage to Katie Holmes or Scientology. I am a Cruise fan so I think it’s nice to see, but it just seems a bit odd to keep on batting around the same films, although this time around a couple have been declared out of the running.
The Susanne Bier (Things We Lost in the Fire) directed film for Universal/Working Title romantic comedy, Lost for Words and The 28th Amendment for Warner Bros. and director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) are both no longer in the mix. However, the films still being considered include:
- Motorcade: Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld, Live Free or Die Hard)
- The Tourist: Directed by Bharat Nalluri and already starring Charlize Theron
- Wichita: Directed by James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line) and already starring Cameron Diaz
- The Matarese Circle: Directed by David Cronenberg and already starring Denzel Washington
Apparently script doctors have been hard at work on all of these titles and receiving upwards of $250,000 a pop for their work, a considerable bump compared to other work around town.
Scott Frank has recently put in work on the action/comedy Wichita, Richard Curtis worked on Lost for Words, Paul Attanasio is rewriting The Matarese Circle, which Cronenberg also recently said he put some of his own time into rewriting.
Also, Billy Ray is working on Motorcade and Valkyrie screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie is working on The Tourist.
As for what these films are all about I will give you the scoop for those still in contention from the last Cruise update.
The Matarese Circle: Directed by David Cronenberg and co-starring Denzel Washington this is an adaptation of the Robert Ludlum thriller of the same name. In the film Cruise would go head-to-head with Washington as two bitter enemy spies who, after spending two decades trying to kill one another, find themselves in the crosshairs of the Matarese, a powerful group at the root of a conspiracy. The script contemporizes Ludlum’s original Cold War premise.
The Tourist: The Spyglass remake that would co-star Charlize Theron. A rewrite was turned in this week by Christopher McQuarrie. In the film Theron will play a female Interpol agent who uses an American tourist (Cruise) in an attempt to flush out an elusive criminal with whom she once had an affair.
Motorcade: A Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) directed DreamWorks thriller that pits the U.S. president against terrorists who commandeer his motorcade on the streets of Los Angeles. Billy Ray is racing to complete a rewrite of the script, with Cruise’s input.
Wichita: A possible team-up with Cameron Diaz, playing an undercover agent who gets thrown together with a woman who has man trouble.
Siumply because I want to see how it turns out, I am personally hoping Matarese Circle wins out. How about you?
