Angelina Jolie is a hot button topic, no question. There’s the role she might or might not have played in the demise of Brad Pitt’s marriage to Jennifer Aniston. The fact that she chooses to adopt children from other countries when there are plenty of children in need right here in the USA. The blood vial necklace. The, uh, intense public kiss with her brother. The fact that her father is totally bananas. However, Jolie has forged a great path for women in the movie industry, particular in the action/adventure genre, with her $20 million dollar payout for next summer’s action flick Salt … and the victory is especially sweet when you consider that the role was intended for a man (well, if you consider Tom Cruise to be a man).
“It’s definitely unusual that a female has become an action star,” “Salt” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura says. “But it’s a funny thing. She’s not a female action star; she’s an action star. She’s really the first female to transcend gender. I don’t think it’s occurred before.”