German director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck has taken some time to make his first film since his Oscar-winning 2006 breakout hit, The Lives Of Others. But at last he seems to have made a decision, and looks set to direct the Angelina Jolie/Sam Worthington thriller, The Tourist.
Von Donnersmarck hasn’t yet signed on the line that is dotted, but Variety is reporting that he has become Jolie’s number one choice for the director’s chair on the film, following several meetings with top-level contenders.
With filming set to start in February of next year,** The Tourist** needs a director to come on board sooner rather than later, so expect to see Von Donnersmarck’s name confirmed soon.
The Tourist will star Jolie – who seems to have chosen the movie ahead of Wanted 2, at least for now – as an Interpol agent who recruits Worthington’s American tourist in a deadly scheme to catch a target… who just happens to be Jolie’s former lover. Oooooh!
Jolie and Von Donnersmarck’s interest has reignited a project which had looked to be waning after original star Tom Cruise passed in favour of James Mangold’s Knight And Day. Not even Worthington’s presence, as part of his attempt to star in every movie ever made, could do much to get the Spyglass film off the ground, but now it looks like The Tourist has been given flight clearance.
Christopher McQuarrie wrote the screenplay, reworking the original draft, by our very own Julian Fellowes.