Adam Sandler Cruises for Thriller
It's a superstar pairing of serious proportions.
Adam Sandler, who proved he could play it straight in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love, is in talks to join a thriller that would cast the funnyman in an unfunny role opposite Tom Cruise.
And Sandler wouldn't be the only actor playing against type in Collateral. Cruise has been tapped to play a bad guy in the gritty drama, which takes place over the course of one night on the streets of Los Angeles.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Sandler was scheduled for a meet and greet Wednesday night with director Michael Mann to discuss a starring role opposite Cruise.
If Sandler signs on, he would play the role of Max, a cab driver who realizes the passenger (Cruise) he's been ferrying around all day is a contract killer that only he can stop.
Cruise's involvement in the project, which has been stuck in development slo-mo at DreamWorks, was only announced this week. Originally intended to start production in early 2001, the movie will now start shooting in October for a 2004 release date.
The movie would signify a major persona shift for its two stars more familiar to audiences as the hero and comedian (no need to explain who's who).
Sandler dipped a toe in the drama pool last year with an unconventional romance, Punch-Drunk Love, which earned the actor rave reviews and a Golden Globe nomination for his performance as the slightly off-kilter Barry Egan.
Cruise, in the meantime, has steered clear of playing bad guys, other than his role as the blood-sucking Lestat in 1994's big-screen adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire. That may change soon since Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner recently shelled out beaucoup bucks for the rights to the book The Devil in the White City about a debonair 19th century Chicago doctor-turned-serial killer.
But most of the time, his pretty mug is more likely to be saving the world from Russian MIGs (Top Gun), prosecuting an "untouchable" military man (A Few Good Men), playing a super spy (Mission Impossible I and 2) or uncovering corruption (Minority Report).
In fact, Cruise is due to segue back into hero mode after Collateral's shoot, starring in and producing Mission: Impossible 3 with Narc director Joe Carnahan taking over where John Woo, the second installment's helmer, left off.
Even Sandler's not straying too far from the funny fold. The thesp, who's getting married this month, plays a more familiar doofus in his role opposite Drew Barrymore in their joint production Fifty First Kisses, due in theaters Valentine's weekend 2004.
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