Even if director Alfonso Cuarón hadn’t made two of the finest films of the 00s with “Y Tu Mamá También” and “Children of Men,” we’d be excited about “Gravity;” a relentlessly tense script and a supporting role from the ever-reliable Robert Downey Jr, who’s now arguably the biggest movie star on the planet, are in the bag, but the visionary helmer is the seal on the $80 million space drama, set for release in 2012. The only trouble is, Cuarón and backers Warner Bros. have had serious problems landing a female lead, a character who has to carry 90% of the film on their shoulders.
Angelina Jolie was originally intended to take the lead role, but passed not once but twice, and seemingly every actress who’s ever carried a movie, or might one day carry a movie, from established names like Sandra Bullock, Naomi Watts and Marion Cotillard, to rising stars like Carey Mulligan, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Olivia Wilde, Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, have all been approached by the studio and the filmmaker.
Rachel Weisz was loosely linked to the part a few days ago, but now, fortunately, it looks like Cuarón’s quest may be at an end, as Risky Business are reporting that a firm offer has gone out to Natalie Portman, whose name was among the legions linked to the film, to take the lead role. The article suggests that the rave reviews that the actress has been picking up from Venice and Telluride for her performance in Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” convinced Warners to let Cuarón offer Portman the role without screen testing. She’ll read the latest draft of the script in the next few days, and a decision is expected shortly.
While not an international action star like Jolie, Portman’s gained enough geek cred with the Star Wars prequels and “V For Vendetta” that she can probably bring an audience in, and, from the buzz on “Black Swan,” she’s already pulled off a gruelling, physically challenging role like “Gravity.” At the same time, with that performance, which many are suggesting is a lock for an Oscar nod, and the high profile trio of “No Strings” (formerly known as “Friends With Benefits”) “Your Highness” and “Thor” next year, she’s in demand, and may well be fielding several major offers (more on which shortly…).
If we were betting men, however, we’d say that Portman will come on board, unless there’s a major schedule conflict with David O Russell’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” or Tom Tykwer’s “Cloud Atlas,” neither of which seem to have a solid start date yet, and the chance to work with Cuarón has got to be a tempting one. Filming’s set to kick off in January, before Downey Jr. goes off to “The Avengers,” and we’re glad that things finally seem to be coming together on the project.