Berg licks Cruise’s Salt

When Michael Mann left his post directing the spy thriller EDWIN A. SALT, I honestly didn’t think the film had much of a future. But I guess when you’ve got Tom Cruise starring, a movie doesn’t go away that easily. According to Entertainment Weekly, Sony is in talks with Peter Berg to take over for Mann and direct Cruise in the film. Cruise and Berg have never worked together but Berg just wrapped HANCOCK with one of Cruise’s best buds Will Smith. The studio was also reportedly quite please with Berg’s work on HANCOCK and has been in discussions with him about the SALT gig. The movie would star Cruise as a CIA agent wrongly accused of being a Soviet spy. While on the run from his former colleagues, he looks to prove his innocence. The script was written by Kurt Wimmer (THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR). Cruise still has not decided definitively on his post-VALKYRIE project. He’s got a number of projects in the works in addition to SALT including THE HARDY MEN with Ben Stiller.