After a few rounds of casting and crew musical chairs, THE TOURIST finally seems to be coming together, complete with its very own director (original director Bharat Nalluri previously dropped out of the project). Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has been tapped as Spyglass’s top pick for the remake of French film ANTHONY ZIMMER. While negotiations are not formal as of yet, the film is expected to be a hot property, and if the film is von Donnersmarck’s for the taking, I don’t think we’ll be seeing him turn it down.

In August, we got word that Sam Worthington was replacing Tom Cruise as our “tourist.” And, just last week, we found out that (what had been) Charlize Theron’s role had been offered to Angelina Jolie. While Worthington’s involvement is official, we are still waiting for final confirmation on Jolie’s casting, but she is expected to choose THE TOURIST over a variety of other offers (including the sequel to WANTED).

Von Donnersmark has not directed since winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for 2006’s THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

The original French film THE TOURIST is based on, ANTHONY ZIMMER, is a thriller from 2005. That film focused on the titular Anthony Zimmer, a man on the run from both the police and the Russian mafia. After undergoing plastic surgery, Zimmer is no longer recognizable, thus putting his mistress Chiara in the crosshairs of those looking for him. Knowing she’s being followed, Chiara picks an innocent man to unknowingly pose as Zimmer in order to lure the police and the mafia closer to her. The American version of the film will focus on a female spy (Jolie) who uses an innocent tourist (Worthington) to lure out a criminal she once had an affair with. Sort of the same, sort of not.

The new version is slated for a 2011 release.

Source Variety