By choice or not, Halle Berry has stayed on the outskirts of Hollywood's radar in the last few years, appearing in just two relatively low-profile films, with a third indie still awaiting release. The folks behind the "Twilight" franchise, conversely, are at the epicenter of the pop culture zeitgeist.
Variety is reporting that the thriller "Dark Tide" will have Berry and two "Twilight" producers, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, joining forces. Nothing's set yet — the Oscar-winner is still in those mysterious "advance talks" — but if everything works out, Berry will sign on to play a diving instructor who suffers a near-fatal accident with a great white shark and then decides — screw it! — to head back to the ocean.
The script comes from newbie Amy Sorlie, a screenwriter and journalist who — if her Twitter account is an accurate representation — is a committed beach bum based in Los Angeles. Clark Johnson, a veteran director on TV shows like "The Shield" and "The Wire" with a few action/thriller flicks under his belt, will take on helming duties.
It's an indisputable fact that Berry hasn't been in a watchable big screen flick since "X2: X-Men United" in 2003. And there are those stern folks among us who believe the unpardonable sin that was "Catwoman" should require the actress to go door-to-door with apologies and refunds before she gets another job again.
In the absence of much hard fact to go on for "Dark Tide," I'll say this: sharks are scary, water is scary and there are a ton of cool flicks focusing on one or both. "Jaws" (obviously), "Abyss" (James Cameron underwater with silver shape-shifting aliens!), "Sphere" (Dustin Hoffman underwater with a gold mind-reading alien thing!), "Open Water" (never see this if you ever plan on going scuba diving) and "Titanic" (spoiler... Leo dies! The ship sinks!).
Okay, I'm kidding about that last one. But! Sharks and the open ocean have delighted and/or freaked us out before, and who knows if "Dark Tide" can pull off a similar feat? At the very least, I'd be more than happy to see Berry reestablish herself as a Hollywood A-lister, if only because of all the joy, however fleeting, she brought to all of us during that one memorable scene in "Swordfish."
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