Fasten Your Tutus

Darren Aronofsky, the director of last year's phenomenal The Wrestler, is currently working on a movie entitled Black Swan. Apparently he's aiming for a 2010 release, and Fox Searchlight has expressed interest in distributing.

For those of you who haven't heard anything about this one yet, Black Swan is being described as a supernatural drama about a talented ballerina in the New York City Ballet. The dancer lands a major role within her company, but is then tormented by a mysterious rival dancer. She is unsure whether the rival is a supernatural apparition or a figment of her own imagination, and strange occurrences between the two ballerinas increase as they prepare for a big performance of 'Swan Lake'.

Natalie Portman has landed the lead role, while Mila Kunis has been brought on to play her rival. I like both actresses. Portman was especially impressive in 2004's Closer, and Kunis was charming and funny in last year's comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Filming is scheduled to begin this fall in New York.

The storyline definitely sounds interesting, and I can't wait to see how Aronofsky and Portman do together. There's a review of the script over at Script Shadow, so if you're interested in reading more head on over and check it out. Spoilers abound, though, so if you want a little mystery when the film hits theaters, skip it.

Clash of the Thespians

Next year's Clash of the Titans, Louis Leterrier's remake of the 1981 film of the same name, will feature Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades. Perfect casting choices, with the extra fun of remembering Neeson playing good and Fiennes playing bad way back when in Schindler's List.

The film is based on the Greek myth of Perseus, Zeus' mortal son, which I'll have to do some research on before the March 26th release. This will be the first film from Leterrier since 2008's mediocre The Incredible Hulk, and will also star Sam Worthington (of James Cameron's upcoming Avatar) as Perseus.

You can catch both actors in theaters right now. Fiennes makes brief appearances in both The Hurt Locker and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Neeson lends his voice to Miyazaki's Ponyo, and has two more slated for release this year. Five Minutes of Heaven, which premiered at Sundance this year, and The Other Man, out September 11th.

Amen

Jon Hamm, who is incredible in television's best show, Mad Men, has been added to the cast of Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch.

The film is about a young girl who is sent to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. She and her fellow inmates then plan an escape from the facility. Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, and Carla Gugino make up the rest of the cast.

I wasn't a fan of either 300 or Watchmen, but the fact that Jon Hamm is getting film roles thrills me beyond words. I only hope Snyder can cut the slo-mo in this one by at least half.

The Cast of Inception

We know next-to-nothing about Christopher Nolan's follow up to last year's smash The Dark Knight, Inception, a fact which may or may not be remedied with this Friday's release of the teaser trailer. Teasers for Nolan's films are some of the few that actually tease, showing us very little of the plot.

What we do know, though, is that Inception boasts a killer cast. Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are the four headliners. Oddly enough they all have some pretty major projects out this year. Shutter Island. Public Enemies. Nine. Whip It. (500) Days of Summer.

Other members of the cast include Michael Caine, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Ken Watanabe, and Tom Hardy.

Lots of big names. It's not surprising, after The Dark Knight's crazy success at the box office and Heath Ledger's Oscar win, that stars are lining up to work with him. The long list of A-listers in Inception will only bolster already high expectations for Nolan's next. Here's hoping the film lives up to them.

Side note: Am I the only one hoping that Nolan and Cotillard hit it off big time? Like, big enough for her to be cast as Catwoman in the next Batman film?