Tradecraft: Cruise Unsalted

According to Variety, Angelina Jolie is in talks to replace Tom Cruise as Edwin A. Salt. Well, presumably she won't be "Edwin," so I guess they'll have to change the title now (hopefully not to Edwina Salt)... which is a good thing, because that title was kind of underwhelming even though the plot sounds awesome. And I'd prefer to watch Angelina over Tom Cruise any day, so that's a good thing, too. No downside that I can see! Phillip Noyce is still attached to direct the spy thriller written by Equilibrium's Kurt Wimmer. The trade summarizes the script's long and difficult development like this:

Jolie is close to a deal to play the title character, a CIA officer who's accused by a defector of being a Russian sleeper spy and must elude capture long enough to establish her innocence.

Cruise had long flirted with the project, but that ended recently. The well-regarded script had several male movie stars circling.

Jolie took a liking to it, prompting the studio's decision to rewrite it. Sources said the project won't require that much of an overhaul to suit her.... Edwin A. Salt will undergo a title change, and if everything falls into place, the film shapes up as a return vehicle for Jolie, who recently gave birth to twins.

I'll continue to follow this project with great interest. Anyone who's seen Equilibrium knows it has the potential to be one of the coolest spy projects currently on the horizon...