Several critics have given Darren Aranofsky’s Black Swan the same sort of ecstatic praise that they bestowed on his The Wrestler two years ago. The film opened the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday (to a standing ovation), where The Wrestler won the coveted Golden Bear award when it premiered there in 2008. “Every film festival benefits hugely from a strong opening film, and they don’t come much stronger than Black Swan, ” critic David Gritten wrote in the London Daily Telegraph . But Roderick Conway Morris commented in the New York Times, “The movie is billed as a psychological thriller but the psychology is as monochrome as the settings and characterization. … And the climax of the film is as inevitable as it is implausible.” Todd McCarthy, the former Variety critic, gave the film a mixed review on Indiewire.com, remarking, “As a sensory experience for the eyes and ears, Black Swan provides bountiful stimulation. … But when the script by Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz, based on the latter’s story, struggles to carve out a real-world parallel to the life-and-death struggle depicted in the dance story, it goes over the top in something approaching grand guignol fashion.” Nevertheless, the performances of Natalie Portman and Winona Ryder, have received virtually unanimous praise, with several already predicting Oscar nods for each.

Source: Contactmusic

Josh Whedon has hinted that the Black Widow is not going to be the only female character in The Avengers. The Avengers cast has been assembled and Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L Jackson are all going to join forces as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye and Nick Fury and they will be joined by Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. But she will not be the only female in the ensemble cast according to the movie’s director Josh Whedon. Talking to the Sunday Herald-Sun [via Moviehole] he said, “It is true that the movie is only going to have one female Avenger. But she will not be the only female character.” However Whedon didn’t go further to suggest who would be joining Johansson on the cast list but characters such as Pepper Potts from Iron Man, Peggy Carter from Captain America and Jane Foster from Thor could mean an appearance from Gwyneth Paltrow, Hayley Atwell and Natalie Portman. Speaking about working on the adaptation Whedon said: “It will be a new story that has many things from different arcs of the comics in it. There is no one Avengers story that you can just do the way that you can do the origin of Spider-Man. “You really have to cull from the original and The Ultimates, which is one of the Avengers titles.”

Source: FemaleFirst

Apple has just released the first trailer for Darren Aronofsky’s new film Black Swan, which has been set for release on December 1. Click here to watch the first trailer for this new film, which stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder.
Black Swan follows the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Source: MovieWeb

Rooney Mara has bagged the female lead role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. The 25-year-old actress – whose movie credits include Dare, Nightmare On Elm Street and Youth In Revolt – will play Lisbeth Salander in the eagerly anticipated adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s novel, according to the Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog. New York-born Rooney will star opposite 007 heartthrob Daniel Craig in David Fincher’s film. The 42-year-old James Bond star will also play the male lead in adaptations of the other two novels that complete late author Larsson’s hit Millennium trilogy. The movie will be an English-language remake of the Swedish smash hit film of the same name, which starred Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth.

Source: The Press Association

Daniel Craig has signed has signed on to play the lead in the American adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s best-selling mystery novel The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. After the news became public, fans started wondering who would be cast as the lead female in the much-anticipated flick. The role of Lisbeth Salander, the punky math genius and computer hacker was reportedly offered to Natalie Portman but she turned it down. Other stars such as Ellen Page and Carrey Mulligan also auditioned for the role, but rumor has it that the execs are eyeing a relatively unknown actress for the lead. 4 names that have been making the rounds are Rooney Mara, Léa Seydoux, Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe. One of those ladies will not be so unknown if she gets the part in this movie starring alongside Daniel Craig!

Source: HollyScoop.com