June 3, 2008

Tom Cruise is going back to work. No, not on a new film: He’s going to shoot the three final scenes on “Valkyrie,” the movie that began production one year ago in Germany.

Much has been made of Cruise’s decision to make this film. Some gurus claim that film-goers don’t want to see Tom Terrific with an eye patch playing a Nazi, albeit one who tries to assassinate Hitler. No, Tom does not speak with a faux German accent in the movie, but there are random other accents around, including British.

Although the film has yet to be completed, several people I trust have seen “Valkyrie” and testify that it’s a superb thriller. “Bryan Singer is back in form,” says one source, referring to the “Valkyrie” director whose last film was “Superman Returns.”

Cruise will be shooting three scenes in North Africa within the next three weeks. In one, his character, Col. Claus Von Stauffenberg, is badly injured but survives, a key moment in the film’s first act.

Valkyrie has another mark against it -- two changes in its release date. The film is now scheduled for release Feb. 13. That could be a triple advantage, or whammy. It’s Friday the 13th, Valentines Day and Presidents’ Day weekend. That’s Cruise’s chosen release date through his United Artist label, and there’s no way he’s changing it again.