Tom Cruise Tosses the Salt In Favor of Starting a Food Fight

Posted by Rob Hunter (rob@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 12, 2008

For reasons known only to him and his dietitian, Tom Cruise has decided to pass on Edwin A. Salt, the CIA spy thriller that has also seen at least four big name directors come and go in the past year. Instead, The Hollywood Reporter claims he’s circling Food Fight, “a warmhearted comedy about a snooty New York chef who is forced to cook meals at a school cafeteria.” Absolutely screams “Tom Cruise vehicle” doesn’t it?

Food Fight is written by Adam Brooks, who also wrote and directed the better than expected Ryan Reynolds film Definitely, Maybe. Cruise is no stranger to comedy, but he’s definitely an infrequent visitor. Not counting cameos in Austin Powers in Goldmember and a prematurely revealed scene-stealing performance in Tropic Thunder, Cruise hasn’t played comedy since 1996’s Jerry Maguire. Beyond that it’s another thirteen years before you reach 1983’s Risky Business. It’s a shame that he doesn’t do more comedic roles because he’s actually pretty damn funny when he wants to be. Go ahead and do a YouTube search for “Tom Cruise Matt Lauer” if you don’t believe me.

As mentioned above, Cruise’s defection from Edwin A. Salt is just the latest in a long list. Terry George, Michael Mann, and Peter Berg have all been attached to direct at some point, with the chair currently occupied by Philip Noyce. Cruise’s absence created a void that has reportedly already been filled by Angelina Jolie. The newly retitled Edwina A. Salt (that’s not true… yet) is currently undergoing draft revisions regarding the gender/name change. The film is about a CIA agent wrongfully accused of being a double agent who must race to find the real traitor. This plot has been explored previously in the very cool Kevin Costner film, No Way Out.

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