Like many of the characters he plays, Clive Owen was reserved, astute and insightful throughout his public appearance at the Apple store in downtown Manhattan on Friday. Interviewed by American Psycho director Mary Harron as a part of a series of conversations co-hosted by Apple and indieWIRE, taking place during the Tribeca Film Festival, Owen touched on two of his recent projects while fielding broad questions about his professional interests.

Although not currently starring in any theatrical releases, Owen was in town performing opposite Julia Roberts in the corporate spy thriller Duplicity, the sophomore feature from Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy (a special guest at the store the following night). "I read the script and thought it was brilliant," Owen said, adding that shooting was halfway done. "I'd met Tony already, and he screened Michael Clayton for me. Obviously, when I saw that, it was a no-brainer." Meanwhile, Owen has another thriller in his queue: He plays an Interpol agent fighting global arms dealing in The International, which finished shooting in New York last January and hits theaters next year. Directed by Run Lola Run visionary Tom Tykwer, The International has provided Owen with "as good a director as I've ever come across. He's incredibly on top of every aspect of filmmaking."

It was back in April that Clive Owen became The International, switching things up after his time as a bank robber on Inside Man. Now he's finally got a co-star in Naomi Watts. Word over at The Hollywood Reporter is that she just signed onto the action thriller, which will head into production this fall at the hands of Run Lola Run helmer Tom Tykwer, from a script by first-time-scribe Eric Singer. The movie is about an "obsessive Interpol agent," played by Owen, who is leading an investigation into one of the most powerful banks in the world. His aim -- to expose their penchant for world-wide arms brokering, corruption and murder. Watts will be an assistant district attorney from the Big Apple who teams with Owen to bring the bank down.

This is an old, oft-used story -- the evil big business that must be brought down by the unstoppable and honest good guy, but I'm hoping that Tykwer infuses it with some Lola energy. I'm actually one of those people who liked both The Princess and the Warrior and Winter Sleepers, so I'm not too worried. Watts should be ready for the task -- she just finished hunting down answers against the Russian mob for Eastern Promises. As for Owen, I'm sure he'll be great, as long as the script is nothing like Derailed -- a movie that even he couldn't pull from the stinky depths of crap.

It's usually only a matter of time before any filmmaker makes a bad film, but early in many careers it is easy to think certain directors can do no wrong. Currently I feel this way about Tom Tykwer, who has been solid since his debut film, Deadly Maria. I have to confess I haven't yet gotten around to viewing the two films he made prior to his breakthrough, Run Lola Run, but I mean to really soon (if only watching movies was my first priority these days). The thing that is so special about Tykwer, though is, visible just with his last four features: He keeps improving upon his visual style while constantly changing things up a bit. Following last year's beautifully enchanting Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, I am very eagerly awaiting his next film.

That film has just been officially announced as The International, and it is set to star Clive Owen. And, from the sound of what little there is to know about the plot, it sounds like this is a film for anybody who still wishes Owen could play James Bond. It is an action-thriller about an Interpol agent (Owen, I assume) working on a case involving corruption and arms-dealing within a powerful banking institution, one which his own agency seems to be protecting. Tykwer is expected to begin shooting from Eric Singer's script this September.

This news is exciting because Owen's involvement could expose Tykwer to a bigger audience. Run Lola Run should have made the director a big name, but unfortunately too few people saw his even better subsequent films. Of course, we all saw recently with Children of Men that Owen isn't exactly the big draw that he should be either. Whether or not people see the film, though, is their own business. For me, I am only a bit worried about this film's script. It seems to be Singer's first screenplay, so it is hard to be prejudiced, but that doesn't mean I'm not wary. That said, though, the director's last two films were based on the work of others (he was fortunate enough to work off of Kieslowski on one of those) and were still great, so hopefully this won't be a problem.