Two words: family comedy! That's right, Cruise has decided to forgo the title role in the CIA thriller Edwin A. Salt (perhaps inspired by his gender-blind clothes swapping, he's ceded the part to Angelina Jolie) in favor of a mawkish comedy so cutting-edge that it attracted the director of Drillbit Taylor. Says THR:

The A-lister is loosely attached to "Food Fight," a warmhearted comedy about a snooty New York chef who is forced to cook meals at a school cafeteria, with Cruise playing the role of the chef.

..."Drillbit Taylor" helmer Steven Brill had been in talks to direct "Food Fight," but they came to naught; a search for a new director is under way.

Might we suggest Brian Robbins or Howard Deutch? Forgive us for being glib, but when Cruise sees his future No Reservations retread trounced by the Jolie-overhauled Edwina Salt, even a follow-up cameo in Tropic Thunder 2: Let's Get Retarded won't be enough to stop the bleeding.

• Jolie replaces Cruise in 'Salt' [Variety]
• Chef Tom Cruise in 'Food Fight'? [THR]

boomp3.com

Steve Guttenberg launched the initial shot in the seventeenth annual Upper West Side food fight in New York City on Thursday afternoon. Although, it appears that the Cocoon star appeared to be the only participant in the weekend long food fight. After pelting him with a banana, Guttenberg told the photog that he was "It" and now had to tag somebody else before the weekend was finished. While the food fight has been going on for seventeen years, Guttenberg has high hopes that this will be the event's breakout year. Guttenberg said, "The past few years, it's just been my agent and myself throwing Girl Scout Cookies back and forth at each other. This year, I think we can do better than that. I know that we can do better than that."

[Photo Credit: Bauer-Griffin]

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