Beaks here...

Kurt Wimmer's EDWIN A. SALT is a smart, taut action script about a CIA operative forced on the lam when he's wrongly accused of being a Russian sleeper agent. As comeback vehicles go, it's an ideal piece of material for Tom Cruise - something he must understand since he's stuck with the project after losing two talented directors (Terry George and Peter Berg).

Despite these difficulties, EDWIN A. SALT is apparently back on track, with Phillip Noyce attached to direct. While I admire George and Berg, Noyce has a much more proven track record with this genre: PATRIOT GAMES is solid enough, CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER remains the best of the post-RED OCTOBER Clancy adaptations, and THE QUIET AMERICAN is a fantastic adaptation of Graham Greene's angry take on early CIA involvement in Vietnam. Why they didn't offer him the film in the first place, I've no idea.

Actually, while this is just breaking in the trades, Noyce has been on board for a month or two now (if not longer). I know there have been table reads with some potential cast members, but I'm pretty sure they've yet to make any firm offers. Currently, the film is set up at Columbia Pictures with Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Sunil Perkash producing. Potential SAG strike notwithstanding, a start date should be announced soon.