 Columbia Pictures executive Amy Pascal suggested Angelina Jolie to Noyce , who had often spoken to Jolie in the past about a desire to create a female spy franchise . Pascal even invited Jolie for a Bond girl role , but the actress playfully replied that she was more interested in playing James Bond himself instead . Jolie was sent Salt 's script in September 2008 and liked it . Wimmer , Noyce , and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura went to visit Jolie at her home in France to discuss a possible script and character change . Writer Brian Helgeland helped with the character development and dialogue of the script based on the notes that came out of those discussions with Jolie and to accompany the gender change , the title character 's name was changed to Evelyn Salt . 
