Claim: Angelina Jolie is a performer.

Salt is a 2010 American action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce , written by Kurt Wimmer , and starring Angelina Jolie , Liev Schreiber , Daniel Olbrychski , August Diehl and Chiwetel Ejiofor . Jolie plays Evelyn Salt , who is accused of being a Russian sleeper agent and goes on the run to try to clear her name .   Originally written with a male protagonist , with Tom Cruise initially secured for the lead , the script was ultimately rewritten by Brian Helgeland for Jolie . Filming took place on location in Washington , D.C. , the New York City area , and Albany , New York , between March and June 2009 , with reshoots in January 2010 . Action scenes were primarily performed with practical stunts , computer-generated imagery being used mostly for creating digital environments .   The film had a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con on July 22 and was released in North America on July 23 , 2010 , and in the United Kingdom on August 18 , 2010 . Salt grossed $ 294 million at the worldwide box office and received generally positive reviews , with praise for the action scenes and Jolie 's performance , but drawing criticism on the writing , with reviewers finding the plot implausible and convoluted . The DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released December 21 , 2010 , and featured two alternate cuts providing different endings for the film .