Moviegoers hoping to see Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise face off on the big screen will get their chance with MGM's big-budget adaptation of "
The Matarese Circle." Cruise is in final negotiations to take on the role of the Russian spy Vasili Taleniekov, the mortal enemy of American intelligence operative Brandon Scofield (Washington).
Cruise, an ownership partner in MGM division United Artists, had been considering several projects, including the Spyglass Entertainment thriller "The Tourist" and the Universal comedy "Food Fight." Reps still are working out where the "Matarese" shoot will fit in chronologically.