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It's a remake...
The Tourist is that most troublesome of Hollywood beasts, an English-language remake of an existing foreign film. If alarm bells are ringing at the prospect of another Vanilla Sky -esque waste of time, it probably won’t help to know that the original was only released as recently as 2005!
A French thriller starring Sophie Marceau, Anthony Zimmer follows a notorious career criminal in his attempts to shrug off the attentions of the world’s police by recruiting a former lover to entrap a stranger, and thus convince the authorities he’s the man they’re after.
A critical success, the film was nonetheless a commercial flop, putting less than a million bums on seats during the entirety of its French release. At least there shouldn’t be too many people complaining if the remake falls short of the original…
With Lasse Hallstom’s name long having been attached to the project, Sony broke cover back in 2008, announcing that British TV director Bharat Nalluri would be behind the camera. More or less an unknown in Hollywood, Nalluri has racked up an impressive roster of credits in British telly, having directed episodes of Spooks , Hustle and Life On Mars .
But if making the step up to Hollywood director wasn’t already daunting enough, it soon looked as though Nalluri would be pointing his lens at the most famous actor on the planet…
Tom Cruise was initially attached...
That’s right, the starring role was initially offered to Mr. Perma-Grin himself, Tom Cruise. In a piece of casting that would require a fair bit of disbelief-suspension, Cruise reportedly signed-on to play the average Joe who finds himself caught in the crossfire when he is duped by a beautiful stranger.
However, you don’t get Hollywood’s biggest star on board without expecting to have to make a few tweaks, and sure enough, Cruise apparently had an issue or two with the script, as written by Gosford Park scribbler Julian Fellowes.
Not a man to be denied, Cruise requested Christopher McQuarrie be brought in to give the screenplay a bit of a re-write. Having worked with McQuarrie on Valkyrie , Cruise was clearly quite enamoured with the Oscar-winner, with The Tourist just one of a number of projects the pair were said to be working on.
However, whilst McQuarrie did indeed do some work on the script, it wasn’t to be for the dynamic duo, with Cruise confirmed to have left the project by the summer of 2009…
Cruise jumped ship, but Theron & Worthington climbed aboard...
And so began the game of musical chairs that has made up The Tourist ’s exhausting casting process. The film had been looking as though it would boast the enviably glitzy pairing of Cruise and Charlize Theron, with the South African-born actress signing on in November 2008.
However, that soon went up in smoke come August 2009, when Cruise was revealed to have left the project, leaving Sony back at square one with regards to their leading man. Or were they?
Because no sooner was Cruise revealed to be off the scene, then Sam Worthington’s name was being bandied about as a potential replacement. An eyebrow raising swap then (and presumably a cost-effective one for Sony), but sure enough, the rumours turned out to be true, as Worthington was revealed to have signed on to fill the Cruise-shaped hole in the cast.
So, with all the uncertainty out of the way, surely the movie could finally begin shooting? Er, not quite, no…
Theron was replaced by Angelina Jolie...
Just when Sony must have thought things were going their way, they were hit with a double-header of departures as both Theron and director Nalluri jumped ship in October 2009.
However, as with Cruise’s departure, a silver lining was swiftly announced, this time in the shape of Angelina Jolie. Having already stepped in to rescue another Cruise cast-off in the shape of Salt , Jolie was revealed to be repeating the trick for a second time, stepping in to fill Theron’s shoes as smooth operator Cara Mason.
The slippery Mason should offer Jolie another strong female role to be reckoned with, and the star has been talking up the project as a more Hitchcock-esque thriller than the kinetic Salt .
“The film is a little more of a throwback to those movies where people took a little more time,” she told CinemaBlend. “You (often) don’t get to indulge in moments like they used to… looking at each other, hanging out on the balcony, somebody having a cigarette. And I think it’s too bad. It doesn’t work in every film, but for The Tourist , we studied (those movies).”
Balcony fans, it sounds as though your ship has come in! So with Jolie in the bag, and a start date pencilled in for January 2010, who were Sony going to draft in as their new director…
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck joined for a while...
Happily for Sony, not only did they manage to find a new director in plenty of time, they bagged themselves an Oscar-winner to boot! Professional typo-generator Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck was the man in question, with the director signing on for his first project since the gong-hoarding The Lives Of Others arrived back in 2006.
However, given The Tourist ’s troubled history, it was never going to be that straightforward, and sure enough, von Donnersmarck had only been in situ for a matter of weeks before leaving the project citing those notorious “creative differences”.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Sam Worthington also decided to change his mind, with the Avatar star leaving the project at the same time as his errant director. Jolie was still in place, but with no director or leading man on board, it was looking increasingly unlikely that The Tourist would ever find its way out of development hell, let alone be ready to film by January.
However, Sony had one last ace up their sleeves, and they were about to play it in a spectacular bit of casting…
Worthington was replaced by Johnny Depp...
In of the most spectacular trade-ups in recent memory, Sony managed to replace the erstwhile Worthington with none other than Johnny Depp! With Jolie already providing significant star wattage, the signing of Depp suddenly catapulted The Tourist from showbiz merry-go-round to seriously exciting proposition.
As Depp deadpanned to Collider, “I suspect there may be paparazzi in Venice,” and naturally, his pairing with Jolie saw tabloid interest in the project multiply drastically overnight. However, Depp was keen to stress his excitement over proceedings, with Jolie coming in for some especially gushing praise.
“I'd never met Angelina Jolie before but I found her to be a real treat, I mean a real doll,” he said. "She's a nice woman, serious about what she does and loves her man and loves her kids. I was very impressed.”
All of which is lovely of course, but what about the role? Well apparently he’s keen on that as well.
“I liked the French film,” he told Collider, “I liked it a lot. My friend (Yvann Atal) played the part in that and I liked it. So I thought it might be interesting to explore this kind of character.”
Depp will be playing Frank, the patsy approached by Jolie’s character as she attempts to pin her missing lover’s crimes on somebody else. Naturally, she’ll have to use her feminine charms to make it happen, which means Depp and Jolie will be getting up close and personal on the big screen...
The pair share a tabloid-baiting sex-scene...
Fans of famous flesh, its time to hold on to your hats, as The Tourist will reportedly see Jolie and Depp share a steamy sex scene. The news comes as a result of a studio leak, with US mag Life And Style quoting every gory detail direct from a copy of the script.
Sounding ever so slightly hot and bothered, the magazine describes a shower scene in which Depp surprises a naked Jolie with the following smooth moves…
“Walking in, he lifts Cara against the glass, clutching at her slithery body, kissing her frantically. She kisses him back with ardour, wrapping her dripping legs around his back.”
Phew, that’s quite enough of that thank you! Unsurprisingly, the scene has caused quite a splash Stateside, with the New York Post speculating rather fancifully that Depp attempted to get out of the movie in order to avoid upsetting his wife.
Whether or not that really happened is anyone’s guess, but in either case, it didn’t work. Depp is in the movie, and so is Angelina. Not only that, but they’ll also be directed by a rather familiar face…
von Donnersmarck has returned...
Apparently those creative differences weren’t so big after all (either that, or the chance to work with Johnny Depp carries a bit more weight than the chance to work with Sam Worthington), as von Donnersmarck returned to the project for a second time.
With rumours circulating that Alfonso Cuaron was set to fill the director’s chair, von Donnersmarck clearly realised he was passing up a golden opportunity, and has been quick to reassert his enthusiasm over the project, particularly his pair of A-list stars.
“I think what people forget often when they talk about such great stars as Angelina and Johnny, they forget that what they are, really, are actors,” he told MTV. “I think that these parts were just right for them as actors. They can really show what they can do. Angelina is so charming and delicate and feminine and strong and everything at the same time. I think when I talked to her about that part and when we worked on the screenplay together, she saw that she could really be able to do something with it.”
And as for Johnny? “He shows so much of his own complexity in this part,” continues the director. “He's so winning, so charming, so funny, like he is in real life. I think in many ways, this part is quite close to who he is in real life. He is the most funny and charming person you'll have ever met.”
However, if you thought von Donnersmarck would be pinching himself over being delivered such a top cast, you can think again. He’s more or less taking all the credit for bringing them together!
“Believe it or not, Angie and Johnny had never met,” he says. “Through all the years that they've been king and queen of Hollywood, they had never actually physically met, so I was the first person to ever bring them together. So if nothing else, that was a really historical moment.”
Not that he’s boasting or anything…
Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell provide the support...
Whilst Jolie and Depp have understandably claimed most of the headlines, von Donnersmarck has assembled an impressive supporting cast with a distinctly British feel.
Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell will both be appearing in the film, the latter taking a role IMDB have rather unimaginatively described as “English Man”, whilst the former heads up the government types with Depp in their sights.
And whilst character details are slim for both of them, Bettany has at least had plenty to say about his famous co-stars.
“I think it was the first Paul Bettany movie they had ever been in and they were a little nervous,” joked the star to MTV. “I sort of fell massively in love with Johnny Depp, who’s just one of the sweetest, funniest human beings you can possibly imagine. It’s so nice when you meet one of those people who make that much fucking cash, that you kind of go, ‘I’m really glad it happened to you.’ It’s awesome.”
Meanwhile, a quick look further down the cast list reveals some impressive bit-part players in the shape of Timothy Dalton and Steven Berkoff. Again, details are few and far between over who they will be playing, but if they’re the sort of names you can chuck in for minor roles, you know you’re doing something right…
It was filmed on location in Venice...
There’s already plenty of eye-candy amongst the cast, but if anything, the scenery could be even more breathtaking with the majority of the film’s action taking place against the picturesque backdrop of Venice.
“When Angie and I first talked about it,” says van Donnersmarck, “we said, ‘Let's really make Venice a character. Let's have it be about Johnny's character, about her character, but also about Venice. Let's really shoot it there."
As a result, the film was almost entirely filmed on location in the city, with Von Donnersmarck for one, revelling in the chance to spend a good chunk of time in one of Europe’s most beautiful spots.
“Before we knew it, we were all in Venice and lived there for half a year in some of the most fantastic places along the Grand Canal,” he says. “I never set foot in a car or a truck for half a year!”
Alright for some, isn’t it? However, the director is certain the audience will benefit too, with the decision to shoot on location set to take things to a much higher level visually.
“I think that (the audience) will love just seeing a world where somehow everything is beautiful,” he says, “(but) not in a way that seems unrealistic. I hope people will feel transported into a world that is as beautiful as it could be…that's what I was aiming for.”
