Angelina Jolie is at her best when she's acting like a badass. And in this new trailer for "Salt," directed by "Patriot Games" helmer Phillip Noyce, you definitely get to see her acting like a badass. Jolie plays Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who goes on the run after a captured Russian operative implicates her as a sleeper spy in a plot to kill the U.S. president. And then she dyes her hair jet black. It's hot. Watch the trailer.

A year ago, it seemed a remake of Jerome Salle's French thriller "Anthony Zimmer" was all set to begin filming in early 2009 with Tom Cruise and Charlize Theron starring and Bharat Nalluri ("The Crow: Salvation") directing. All of those players have now passed their respective hats though. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Theron is out and will potentially be replaced by Angelina Jolie.

The English-language redo, which is titled "The Tourist," had already seen Cruise replaced with "Terminator Salvation" actor Sam Worthington. Reportedly Nalluri is also off the film and producers seek a filmmaker who will work well with Jolie. Interestingly enough, the female half of Brangelina just finished shooting the action/thriller "Salt," for which she had replaced Cruise in the gender-switched lead role. Read more...

What a strange trip "Salt" has taken. The film originally had Tom Cruise in the title role but when he opted out, they changed the lead's gender to female and brought on no less than Angelina Jolie. "Salt" finds Jolie's character as a CIA agent accused of being a spy. She disguises her appearance and begins a Jason Bourne-style quest to prove her innocence.

Take a glimpse at Jolie as Evelyn Salt after the jump. Read more...

Do you love “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” but find yourself wanting them to set aside the bullets, boobs and bombs and just let the characters breathe a bit? Were you mighty moved by “A Mighty Heart,” but wish the flick wasn’t so damn talky? Now, Angelina Jolie is in the process of reaching for a happy medium between the dramatic and the dim-witted, and if she has her way, “Salt” will soon be adding some flavor to your moviegoing experience.

“It’s very different from that,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently said of “Smith” when we asked him what the two spy films had in common. “[Jolie] is the first person cast, and she is the most important person to be cast too. It’s going to be a very exciting film, Phillip Noyce is directing it, and we are going to start in February. It’s a big spy movie on a big canvas with a lot of attitude.”

Originally called “Edwin A. Salt,” the film was supposed to star Tom Cruise as the title character, an American spy who might or might not also be working for the Russians. Now, “The Quiet American” director Noyce will be overseeing Jolie and reportedly changing her name to Edwina, but keeping the script’s basic structure. Read more...