Is “The Tourist” starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie going to come out by the end of the year?
Deadline is reporting that the film — a romantic spy drama about a bumbling American tourist (Depp) who becomes inadvertently involved with an international spy (Jolie) — will be the European distributor Studio Canal’s biggest ever release, and will hit between 1,500 to 2,000 screens across the continent. The site says, “Although there’s no specific date yet, the thriller may be released as early as Christmas.” Surely, an early release in Europe wouldn’t see a release much later in the U.S.?
The film is currently shooting in Venice, among other European locales, with director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (“The Lives Of Others”) at the helm. Recent set pictures from Venice are curious, because Depp looks pretty dark, menacing and composed, while his character is supposed to be nebbish, afraid and weak, but this is probably because *spoiler* the film is probably shooting its scenes out of sequence (one hopes at least).
Based on the 2005 French film “Anthony Zimmer,” the project has had its share of pre-production issues. Bharat Nalluri was originally scheduled to direct then left, Donnersmarck quit at one point, Alfonso Cuaron almost stepped in and a litany of A-list actors have been attached, including Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron and Sam Worthington. Three writers have made passes on the script including Julian Fellowes (original draft), Christopher McQuarrie (“Valkyrie”), Jeffrey Nachmanoff, (“The Day After Tomorrow,” “Traitor”) and William Wheeler (“The Hoax”), but the last draft we read, which seemed to have all their revisions, was quite buoyant, charming and light (in a good way — though admittedly, the tone may have shifted to something much more serious, we honestly don’t mind the light touch, who needs another action thriller that takes itself too seriously).
Also, Fox News recently printed one of the stupidest rumors we’ve heard lately claiming Johnny Depp’s girlfriend/baby mama Vanessa Paradis wanted Depp to leave the project because of the sultry sex scene he and Jolie share in the movie. First off, again, we’ve read the script. The scene — which several publications have made much ado about — is brief and more of a lusting shower scene and sure, will probably be made pretty hot in the film, but it is *spoiler ahead* a tiny little flash of a dream sequence. We wouldn’t sweat it too much. Actors Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell recently joined the cast. [Photos via AceShowbiz/Accidental Sexiness/MTV]