“Lives of Others” Director Rejoins Depp-Jolie Spy Thriller

Oscar-winning writer-director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has returned to the Johnny Depp-Angelina Jolie project he had once abandoned. Smart move, Flo.

Donnersmarck, who directed the 2008 Best Foreign Film "The Lives of Others," is once again slated to helm "The Tourist," reported Hollywood Insider. The movie is about an American (Depp) in Europe who gets caught up with an Interpol agent (Jolie) on the hunt for a criminal.

The script must be a peach, because a host of A-list actresses and directors has been attached to this thing at one time or another. A partial list includes Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron, Bharat Nalluri, Sam Worthington and Alfonso Cuaron. Donnersmarck had punted on the project back in November, reported The Playlist.

Speaking of secret agent Jolie, her upcoming thriller, "Salt," is another project that Cruise jumped ship on. Word is that re-shoots were recently required, according to the New York Post, due to a dispute between director Phillip Noyce and producer Lorenzo DI Bonaventura.

"The reshoots had to be done because the completed version just didn't look good," a source told the Post. "There were at least two scenes which were bad, including the climax, so some changes had to be made pretty quickly."

Let's hope "The Tourist" doesn't get mired in a similar mess. Assuming the casting holds, though, "Tourist" it's at least guaranteed to be nice to look at.

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