Rumored to hit in December earlier this year, it looks like Sony/Columbia have indeed slotted Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck’s “The Tourist” for a December 10 bow.

A romantic spy drama based on the 2005 French film “Anthony Zimmer,” this U.S. version (directed by Von Donnersmarck (a German and the same man behind “The Lives Of Others”) follows a bumbling American tourist (Depp) as he finds himself romantically involved with an international spy (Jolie) in what sounds very much in the vein of a Hitchcockian tale, but likely isn’t the case (it’s a fun little story, but isn’t all that meaty). Some sites will tell you that this means “The Tourist” is chasing an Oscar bid, but clearly they haven’t read the script. While not bad by any means, certainly enjoyable, and the version that will hit the screen is probably less fluffy than the version we read, Sony’s move is probably more akin to Warner Bros. placing “Sherlock Holmes” in December last year. The holiday season has become the new tentpole month and “The Tourist” should be engaging, but escapist entertainment that does well at the box-office, but is unlikely to pull in any Academy statuettes. Timothy Dalton, Steven Berkoff, Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell co-star in the pic which shot in Venice earlier this year.

Source: The Playlist