In Hollywood, there is a list of names. It isn't written down. It's not drawn up by a singular person or a committee. Yet, every director, producer, and studio executive is generally in agreement as to who is on it (and it's about the only thing those individuals can agree on).

It's a list of stars who can carry a big-budget movie, and getting one of them in your film is essential to getting it made. With the price tag for action flicks climbing into the $200 million range, the lead needs to have worldwide recognition and a firmly established track record. If the star that's attached to a project suddenly drops out, only another name from the list can guarantee the movie will still happen. And, traditionally, the stars on that list have been almost exclusively male.

Which is why it was such a surprise that after Tom Cruise dropped out of the title role in an action thriller originally called "Edwin A. Salt," he was replaced by Angelina Jolie. The script was rewritten -- including changing the character's name to "Evelyn" -- and next July you'll get to see Angelina proving she can lead a movie as well as any man in "Salt."

So how did Jolie get on the list? By proving that audiences around the globe will turn out to see her, especially in action flicks. She was an Oscar winner but hardly a household name when she was cast in 2001's "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." It was a big hit -- grossing over $130 million in the U.S. -- that significantly raised her profile, but her films over the next four years failed to match its success.

That changed in the summer of 2005 when tabloid headlines and savvy marketing made "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" the most successful film of both her and Brad Pitt's careers. Then, last year, she showed that she could bring audiences in on her own in "Wanted." That film earned $134 million domestically, plus an impressive $207 million in foreign markets.

In "Salt," Jolie plays a CIA operative who is accused of being a secret Russian agent plotting to assassinate the President. According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura ("Transformers"), tailoring the script for her meant more than just switching all the pronouns. He told USA Today, "We had to rethink the whole notion of how a man vs. a woman operates in the business world, in personal relationship and in friendships."

So why did Tom Cruise drop out of the movie to begin with? Apparently, he felt the serious tone was too similar to his "Mission: Impossible" movies. He instead chose to make the more comedic action caper "Knight & Day," costarring Cameron Diaz, which will also hit theaters next July.

To get a preview of Angelina Jolie in "Salt," take a look at the exclusive trailer below.