"Tourist" traps Theron, Worthington

By Jay A. Fernandez

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Charlize Theron and Sam Worthington finally got their passports.

The Oscar-winning actress and the much-in-demand Aussie star, who is taking over for Tom Cruise, have signed on to a remake of the 2005 French spy thriller "The Tourist."

Theron has long been attached to the project, which revolves around an American tourist manipulated by a female Interpol agent in Europe.

Filming is scheduled to begin in January. Bharat Nalluri ("Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day") is directing from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes and Jeffrey Nachmanoff. Universal-based Spyglass Entertainment is partnered on the project with French producer Canal Plus.

Worthington last starred in "Terminator Salvation." He next stars in James Cameron's "Avatar," which Fox will release in December, and "Clash of the Titans," which Warner Bros. will release in March.

Theron, last seen in the 2008 Will Smith movie "Hancock," returns to theaters in the fall with Guillermo Arriaga's directorial debut, "The Burning Plain," and the Cormac McCarthy adaptation "The Road."

Cruise had been flirting with "The Tourist" since last year, before he finally moved on to an untitled Fox project with "Walk the Line" director James Mangold.

(Editing by dean.goodman at Reuters)