Working with Angelina Jolie in Salt after Bone Collector (1999) was an interesting experience for director Phillip Noyce. “Ten years ago, Angelina was relatively inexperienced,” the Australian director says over the phone. “She was just discovering her instrument, acting. That is not to say she was not accomplished, considering she won an Academy Award for her very next film after Bone Collector , Girl Interrupted .
Ten years later, Angelina is the most photographed woman on the planet. If I need to know where she is, I just had to log on to the Internet,” says Noyce with a laugh.
“She, however, never brought any of that baggage to the set. She still is the same highly-accomplished actress. Then I was the teacher, now I had a lot to learn from her, especially since she has done so many action movies. She brought so much to the action sequences. We shared a deep exchange of ideas. In Bone Collector, she was one component in the big picture, while now she is the lead actor.”
The one area where the lovely Ms Jolie has not changed a bit, according to Noyce, is she displays “No fear. There is a positive recklessness about her. Usually when artistes reach the top, they tend to become less adventuresome. Angelina, however, is always willing to try anything.”
Salt , set for release in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and English on July 23, tells the story of Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy going through all manner of trials to clear her name.
Gender bender
The movie had an adventurous time in production, including the gender of Agent Salt changing from Edwin to Evelyn. “We couldn't find the right actor to play Salt,” says Noyce. Incidentally, Tom Cruise was offered the role but rejected it feeling it was too close to his Ethan Hunt of the Mission Impossible movies.
“That was when Amy Pascal from Sony Pictures suggested Angelina and it took me three seconds to agree. It was a perfect casting choice. I went with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura to Angelina's mansion in the south of France. We spent a week there. Angelina agreed immediately and she was very enthusiastic about the role.”
Noyce says the basic story remained the same. “The relationships became more complex. For instance, Liev Schreiber plays Angelina's boss in the film. There is a great emotionality to the relationship which would not have been possible, had Salt been a man. Also when you film fight sequences on the most beautiful woman in the world, the film becomes hugely entertaining.”
Noyce describes the film as a blend of historical fact and popcorn fiction. “A lot of research went into the movie. While the characters behave in a realistic manner, the action is spectacular. Salt is a blend of reality and fantasy which the audience can believe in. We haven't used much CGI and Angelina has done most of her stunts. It is her you see on the screen, which adds to the sense of identification.”
Describing the film as an origin story, Noyce says there will be sequels. “Hopefully the audience will be able to tell us what they want in the sequel.”
The 60-year-old director feels even with the end of the Cold War, the concept of a Russian spy is not dated. “Look at the news a couple of weeks ago of a bunch of Russian sleeper spies being deported. I am sure it goes on in every country.”
The political thriller is not a new arena for Noyce as he directed Harrison Ford as Jack Ryan in Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994). Noyce says there is “a huge difference between Ryan and Salt. Ryan is an analyst, a thinker, a human computer who very reluctantly takes off his jacket to fight. Salt, on the other hand, is a trained field operative and action is her business.”
Jack Ryan's CIA is, however, not very different from Evelyn Salt's CIA. “In Clear and Present Danger, Ryan goes after the rogue operatives. The good and bad in the CIA is a staple of all spy thrillers. There is always something rotten in the state of Langley!”
