Tom Cruise has had an unusually short "To Do" list since finishing work on Valkyrie, with his mooted comedy projects still stuck in development hell. But apparently he's back in the saddle, as Moviehole reports that he's in talks for Phillip Noyce's planned 28th Amendment.
The story apparently sees an American President, Ben Cahill (who Cruise'd be playing) discover a secret committee run by Denzel Washington that has controlled the American government since World War II. Yes, they were apparently the men on the grassy knoll who shot Kennedy, because they're willing to assassinate any President who threatens to expose them. So now Cahill's in the firing line, and wishing that he'd let Hilary win the nomination instead, we're guessing.
The fact is that any sane person would rather have Denzel running the US than Tom Cruise, but nevertheless if the pairing comes off it should be a proper thriller - and Noyce is not unfamiliar with the corridors of power, having haunted them before in the likes of Clear and Present Danger. The script's by Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci, the writers behind Transformers, the upcoming Star Trek and Cruise's last big action hit, Mission: Impossible III. It's been a while since Cruise did a good ol' school thriller, so this could be a welcome return to the genre that made him a megastar.
Empire,15/5/2008,written by Helen O' Hara
