Middle Age Hollywood

While it probably won’t top Inception at the box office this weekend — yes, you told me so — Salt is still a major success, most of which can be attributed to Angelina Jolie. Can you think of another female star in 2010 who could lead an action film to $40 million in ticket sales on opening weekend? Of course not. But by 2014, Angie might have company in the form of Scarlett Johansson.

Take this with the grain of salt it deserves, but according to Gatecrasher (the New York Daily News version of Page Six), Johansson has “verbally agreed” to take the female lead opposite Robert Downey Jr. in Alfonso Cuarón’s upcoming 3D epic, Gravity. You’ll recall Gravity as the film that will feature an opening shot that lasts for 20 minutes, and enough 3D whizbag special effects to make Avatar feel inadequate.

And that’s where Johansson comes in. Before 2009, her appearance in a film usually meant that it was either an indie, a box office poison pill, or both. But He’s Just Not That Into You — an ensemble which was sold on the presence of her body — marked a sea change. Followed up by Iron Man 2 — in a role that could be described as Jolie-Lite — and you’ve got the makings of a trend that will be certified when Gravity and The Avengers roll out in 2012.

Ironically, the female lead in Gravity was originally offered to Jolie, but she turned it down. Gatecrasher makes the silly assumption that she didn’t want to play co-star to Robert Downey Jr. (forgetting apparently that she plays co-star to Johnny Depp in the upcoming The Tourist). But if that is the case, you can’t really blame her — she isn’t 26 anymore and this isn’t her Gone in 60 Seconds/Tomb Raider period. You know who does turn 26 this fall? Yep, you got it. If you wake up one morning and read that Scarlett Johansson has taken the lead in Wanted 2, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Source: movieline