Whoa, weird. It was already an odd pairing when it was reported that Denzel Washington and David Cronenberg were in negotiations to work together on a political thriller called, “The Matarese Circle” for MGM.
While, Cronenberg has worked within the framework of Hollywood, he wasn’t exactly an insider and working with Denzel was a rather big move for the mostly under-the-radar director. Well, crank it up a notch or two, apparently United Artists c0-head (which is under the MGM banner) Tom Cruise is interested too.
Based on a Robert Ludlum (‘Bourne’ books) spy novel set in the Cold War, ‘Circle’ focuses on two agents, one U.S. and one Russian who uncover an century-old conspiracy that threatens to create chaos in the world. Michael Brandt and Derek Haas are adapting the screenplay.
Washington would obviously play the American, so the Russian would be played by Cruise?? According to Variety, yes, he’ll play his bitter rival. We guessed Viggo Mortensen, since he seemed to play such a convincing Russkie in Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises.” Maybe they’ll change the charcter to be… uh, American? Obviously Cruise doesn’t even do German very well. The film is expected in 2010 and it looks like Cruise will be on board.