After we recently profiled the panoply of projects laid at his feet for consideration, the great Tom Cruise has chosen, and is now set to join Cameron Diaz in the James Mangold helmed action-comedy “Wichita,” according to Variety.
Cruise and Diaz are reportedly in advanced negotiations after both approved the script which tells the story of a secret agent who pops in and out of the life of a single woman.
Based on an original script by Patrick O’Neill, “Wichita” has since undergone rewrites from the Diaz-approved Frank and Dana Fox (“What Happens In Vegas”), the Cruise-approved Scott Frank (“Out of Sight”) and from the Mangold-approved Laeta Kalogridis (“Shutter Island”). Yes, Cruise and Diaz are that important, but ugh, let’s not forget the scripts written by committee generally suck (see “Terminator Salvation”)
Other contenders for Cruise’s signature included David Cronenberg’s “The Matarese Circle” with Denzel Washington, Len Wiseman’s “Motorcade,” Bharat Nalluri’s “The Tourist” with Charlize Theron, Susanna Bier’s “Lost For Words” and the Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci scribed “The 28th Amendment,” though the only film to challenge “Wichita” was reportedly “Motorcade.” Cruise may still return to one of these projects in the future.
Sources say the project is being eyed as a 2010 summer flick. This is actually somewhat good news for Cronenberg’s “The Matarese Circle,” that will likely star Denzel Washington. Bad news because Cruise’s star wattage would have insured the project would have been immediately greenlit, and now that’s obviously not gonna happen (at least not yet). But good news for those of us, who don’t want to see Tom Cruise ruin a Cronenberg film with Denzel Washington, which would surely be the biggest film Cro has ever helmed up into this point. We say to the Canadian creepfest director: use your go-to man Viggo Mortensen. He and Washington going toe to toe? Those are acting fireworks we would love to watch.