The Linky City

Two bits from Chicago
Roger Ebert the eclectic international and intergenerational cast list of the new Roger Ebert Presents At the Movies. Congratulations to all! This can only be a gazillion times smarter than the previous short run with the Bens.
Wall Street Journal saddest movie news of the day: a classic cinema shut down in Chicago.

General Linkage
Cinematical Matt Damon's "abs double." A funny quirk of crediting.
Show Tracker What are Mad Men cast members up to between seasons?
The Social Network's official site overfloweth.
Ferdy on Films announces her favorites of the year. It's almost exclusively a festival list but she considers going by theatrical release like we do a hegemonic. Ouch!

Confession/Question
Weird reader question coming, so bear with me. Before you interview a star, the publicists almost always say "no personal questions!" and I'm always like "uh, why would I ask one of those?". I am so tied up in the celluloid that it honestly never occurs to me to say something like "so tell me who you're screwing." The only time this interests me is when it has curio above/below the line value -- for instance, I love knowing which costume designer or art director is married to which actor or actress -- or when its part of the overarching Hollywood Mythology (superstar couples like Brad & Angie, Newman & Woodward, Matt & Ben, Liz & Dick, Warren & Annette, etcetera). But sometimes my lack of interest in offscreen celebrity dating shocks even myself. I was reading on PopBytes that Macauley Culkin and Mila Kunis just broke up and I didn't even know they were a couple. Or if I knew it, I never committed it to memory. And they've been together for 8 years! I blame this ignorance on having next-to-no Mila familiarity until she started working on the big screen regularly a couple of years ago. (I have only seen, like, 2 episodes of That 70s Show.) Whenever a TV star is suddenly in demand in the movies, I have that damn info-lag.

So my question is this: Which specific aspect of celebrity life or the movie industry or whatnot do you have almost zero interest in, despite your interest in everything else???

This Link Roundup Will Soon Be Adapted Into a Stage Musical

Towleroad Far From Heaven being adapted into a stage musical. I've been burned on this sort of thing too many times but at least it's by the composer of Grey Gardens and that had a few lovely tunes.

 

And would make a good stage-to-movie candidate actually...

NYT the latest injury from the set of the Spider Man musical on Broadway. Wednesday matinee cancelled. I am 100% certain that someone will one day write a bestseller about the behind-the-scenes of this disaster prone production
Cinema Blend Peter Weir not interested in a sequel to Master & Commander. Awww. Maybe they should just adapt it for a stage musical instead. Kidding.

photo src

Movie|Line has a jolly interview with Mike Leigh on the eve of the release of Another Year. I love this bit on why he'd never make a superhero film (no, really. the question was posed to him in a way that's not as crass as it sounds)

I use film to make a personal kind of film in a very specific, particular way. And there is no more reason for me to do what I think you're suggesting than there would for me to give up being a film director an become the pilot of a jumbo jet flying across the Atlantic. Or a brain surgeon or, indeed, a coal miner.

I love thinking of Mike Leigh as coal miner. Tee hee. Come to think of it. He would make a GREAT director for a coal mining movie or a... wait a minute. I have it. Topsy-Turvy demonstrated that Leigh can sell a musical number. So... Mike Leigh, directing the acclaimed musical Floyd Collins about that explorer trapped in a cave!

Floyd Collins is so pretty. Let's listen to a couple of its songs.

Her Awesomeness Audra McDonald & Hair's Will Swenson doing
"Through the Mountains" from Floyd Collins. 

Matt Doyle (Gossip Girl) doing "How Glory Goes" from Floyd Collins.
This song is perfection but it must be hard to sing because there are a lot
of bad versions on YouTube. This version gets better as it goes.

My brain does like to wander. Obviously needed a break from thinking / writing about Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar Oscar...

Moving On...
Pop Eater have you heard this crazy story about 80s star Marilu Henner? Seems she has something called "superior autobiographical memory" - fascinating story really and totally unrelated: I've always thought Marilu was a hilarious celebrity.
Go Fug Yourself Fug or Fab Style: Mila Kunis
In Contention Jafar Panahi banned from making films. So terrible. As Guy says, this puts the silly annual Oscar bitching into perspective.
AV Club Will Smith and Mark Wahlberg offered $1 million to box each other for charity cuz they both starred in boxing picture, see? This story cracks me up on so many levels. Like, no movie stars would risk their billion dollar faces for charity. The only risk movie stars take with their moneymakers is plastic surgery.

Tired of critics awards yet? You can say so if you are. The London Critics Circle have offered up nominations. Sadly, The King's Speech -- the only British film that doesn't need any Oscar boost -- is the only one they're willing to back for crossover attention; it shows up on both their "Film of the Year and "British Film of the Year" lists and doubles up on Helena Bonham-Carter and Colin Firth in two acting categories, too. (sigh) Whew... I thought Colin Firth was in danger of losing his Oscar momentum there for a second. Thank god, they threw their weight behind him.

Screen Actors Guild Nominations

JoBeth Williams welcomes you! "They're heeeeeeeee--eeeere"

Giggly Rosario Dawson & Angie Harmon announced the SAG nominations at 9:00 AM EST after being introduced by JoBeth Williams.

Though this is the last major clue as to where Oscar acting nominations will go, it is not the "this is it!" twin that many like to claim.

Important Differences From SAG to Oscar: Contrary to what you often read on the internet there is not significant overlap in the voting pools between SAG and Oscar. Unless they've recently changed their rules, SAG randomly chooses a sliver of its membership each year to do the nominations. Some miniscule percentage of them might be Academy members but the numbers don't add up to a big percentage. SAG is a mammoth union, representing 200,000 film, tv and background performers and all dues paying members can vote on the winners. Oscar's acting branch is infinitely harder to join; it's a final club on steroids to use The Social Network as handy 2010 reference. There are 1,205 voting actors in the Academy who all get nominating ballots. All of the Academy's 1,000+ actors are or were SAG members (having acted in films for years) but the other 198,795 SAG members are definitely not members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Other key differences: SAG nominators are (statistically) fonder of child and very young adult actors than Oscar. They're also arguably more populist in their choices overall having given the big prizes to people from smash comedies like Renée Zellweger in Chicago (2002) or Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) and arguably more influenced by your place in the Hollywood food chain, choosing legends over newbies for wins in hotly contested contests like Bening beating Swank in 99/00, Day-Lewis over Brody in 02/03 or Christie beating Cotillard in 07/08.  They are also not allowed to vote their own mind when it comes to "lead" versus "supporting" issues. Oscar voters may vote for you in whichever category they personally feel is correct. SAG voters may only vote for you in the category that your studio submits you in (which explains Keisha Castle Hughes' bizarre "supporting" citation at SAG for Whale Rider).

Nominations with commentary after the jump

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Golden Globe Nomination Announcement

8:12 AM Nothing happening yet.
8:13 Flashbulb tests! That's it.
8:16 Okay Josh Duhamel and Katie Holmes and Blair Underwood are there.

Blair, Josh and Katie for what it's worth.

8:18 Guy Lodge cracks me up. On Twitter he says to me "The Holmes will not be hurried."
8:19 Blair begins. Here we go.
8:35 We've been on a short break. They start again in 4 minutes. I know I could wait to cut and paste press releases but I like to type fast. I type like the wind.

Movies

ORIGINAL SONG
Bound to You (Burlesque)
Coming Home (Country Strong)
I See the Light (Tangled)
There's a Place For Us (Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
You Haven't Seen the Last of Me (Burlesque)

• It hurts me deeply that the Globes don't have musical performances. CHER!

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE MOTION PICTURE
Alexandre Desplat (The King's Speech) -interview coming soon
Danny Elfman (Alice in Wonderland)
A.R. Rahman (127 Hours)
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (The Social Network)
Hans Zimmer (Inception)

• The Social Network score is brilliant and modern and smart and it's certainly racking up awards attention. But will Oscar bite? It's so not that traditionalist's branches cuppa.

SCREENPLAY
Boyle & Beaufoy (127 Hours)
Cholodenko & Blumberg (Kids Are All Right)
Chris Nolan (Inception)
David Seidler (The King's Speech)
Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

• After the NYFCC wins, this is great news for Lisa Cholodenko and team. Will Oscar be next? The King's Speech and Inception may prove tough Original Screenplay competition.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Biutiful (Mexico/Spain)
The Concert (France)
The Edge (Russia)
I Am Love (Italy)
In a Better World (Denmark)

• Of these films only Mexico, Russia and Denmark are eligible for the Oscar category. But it's as delicious as gourmet prawns that the great I Am Love keeps showing up for awardage. It's definitely one of the Best Pictures of the year, even though it's continually ghettoized for foreign consideration only.

ANIMATED FEATURE
Despicable Me
How To Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Tangled
Toy Story 3

• For what it's worth it's important for people to know that animated films are no longer eligible for the Musical/Comedy category which is but one of many reasons why that category is atrocious this year.

LEAD ACTRESS (COMEDY)
Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)
Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs)
Angelina Jolie (The Tourist)
Julianne Moore (The Kids Are All Right)
Emma Stone (Easy A)

• Many people were counting on Emma Stone to receive kudos here (so deserving) but I never believed it on account of Lindsay Lohan's absurd snub for Mean Girls back in the day. But go Emma! She was Grade A in that film. Though my heart remains with The Bening as it always does.
  
  As for The Tourist being a comedy... I think that's called "unintentional comedy" isn't it? I didn't know those were eligible here.

LEAD ACTOR (COMEDY)
Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
Paul Giamatti (Barney's Version)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)

• The HFPA really likes Spacey. Remember when he got that weirdass nomination for The Shipping News. Yeah, that one stuck out. Speaking of sticking out... is it really necessary to nominate Johnny Depp twice? I mean, he'll show up if you just hand him the one.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
Michael Douglas (Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps)
Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

• No Mark Ruffalo. *sniffle* Which is a bit strange (though not entirely unforseen) given the support for The Kids Are All Right in so many other categories. More on the Globe snubs here.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The Kings Speech)
Mila Kunis (Black Swan)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) *most likely to give great speech*

Natalie isn't the only one who wants Mila

• I will just come out and admit it. When Tarantino gave Kunis a prize in Venice, I thought he was thinking with his second brain. If that's the case the Globes and the BFCA are also using their southern cortexes. Perhaps I misunderestimated awards voters but it just did not read to me at all like an "awards" performance even though I like it just fine. This is not to imply that non-"bait" performances shouldn't be considered. Quite the contrary! Just a reiteration that I remain surprised that she gained traction for it. I guess the Supporting Actress race was skewing towards 50+ women and "we can't have a category of an entire category of old ladies!" He said sarcastically.

BEST DIRECTOR
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
Chris Nolan (Inception)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)

• Interesting gets for Hooper and Russell in a way, since The Globes tend to prefer Big Name directors in the same way they prefer Big Name acting. I wouldn't count out Danny Boyle for an Oscar nod just yet but 127 Hours is certainly slipping, isn't it?

MOTION PICTURE (COMEDY/MUSICAL)
Alice in Wonderland -all posts
Burlesque --all posts
The Kids Are All Right -all posts
Red
The Tourist

• I'm sorry but what? I think they need to retitle this category "MOTION PICTURE (DUMPING GROUND FOR ALL GENRES OTHER THAN DRAMA)" Our friend Glenn on this lineup

  "Is it too late to nominate "the 2010 Golden Globe Nominations" in the Best Musical/Comedy category? They certainly were good for a laugh."

LEAD ACTRESS (DRAMA)
Halle Berry (Frankie and Alice)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Michelle Williams  (Blue Valentine)

• Berry's intense focused late term campaigning helped. And the Globes respond to glittery stars. 

LEAD ACTOR (DRAMA)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

• I can't imagine Wahlberg repeating at the Oscars and though the list is VERY young for Oscar all told, perhaps it's Duvall vs. Bridges for the 5th spot and not Gosling vs. someone. Or are we merely employing wishful thinking?

MOTION PICTURE (DRAMA)
Black Swan -all posts
The Fighter -all posts
Inception -all posts
The King's Speech -all posts
The Social Network -all posts

• These were largely expected but it's a good get for The Fighter which will need to capitalize on its populist appeal in the Oscar race ahead.

The television nominations and the end of the live broadcast are after the jump.

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Red Carpet Lineup: Swan Break

The New York premiere of Black Swan was held last night at the Ziegfeld which is the theater for premiere's here in Manhattan. I have so many fond memories of the place. All the stars were in attendance including Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Cassell and Barbara Hershey. Plus the deliciously dark rival ballerinas Mila, Natalie and Noni.

I think it goes without saying but I'll say it: Winona Ryder is still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Those eyes. That coloring. Gah.

Why Noni is wearing a tux we can't be sure but we love that she did. Why Aronofsky refuses to shave that Flynn mustache we can't be sure but we wish he would. Why Natalie is carrying around Nabokov's Lolita* we... wait, what?

There's got to be a story there. I hope it does not involve obsessive fans of The Professional.


*Okay, it's apparently a clutch by Olympia Le Tan  - thx Dom - fashioned as a replica of the literary classic. The replica costs only $1,321.00 more than the real thing. But can the real thing hold your lipstick, keys and money?

Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman

Venice Awards: Somewhere, Black Swan, Barney's Version, Miral

Festivals tend to have more than one jury so let's deal with the sidebar prizes first, before we get to the main competition jury, headed by Quentin Tarantino. But a little preview: Natalie Portman went home empty-handed for Black Swank but Mila Kunis didn't. Interesssssssting.

Various Sidebars

Europa Cinema Award: This honor comes from the Venice Days sidebar and the winning film was Bertrand Blier's Le Bruit des Glacons (The Clink of the Ice), a dark French comedy about an alcoholic dealing with cancer.

The Queer Lion: This prize focuses on the way films portray gay characters and themes. The winner was En el futuro (In the Future), a 62 minute black and white film directed by Mauro Andrizzi. None of the summaries seem to tell you what it's about. Hmmmm. It played in the Orizzonti sidebar of the festival. Guess they didn't like the disturbing sapphic tryst angle of Black Swan all that much.

Brian Award: Here's another highly specialized honor. This award was chosen by the "Italian Union of Rational Atheists and Agnostics." The winning film was Roberta Torre's I Baci Mai Dati (The Kisses Never Given) about a poverty stricken girl who performs miracles.

Golden Lion Cub: This is not to be confused with the top prize which is called The Golden Lion. The Cub is voted on by "schoolchildren" -- of which age I do not know -- and was given to Richard J Lewis's adaptation of the bestseller Barney's Version. Paul Giamatti plays Barney who the official synopsis calls "politically incorrect, impulsive, irascible and fearlessly blunt." so you know you've got a showy Best Actor Oscar contender there. Dustin Hoffman is his difficult father, Rosamund Pike his dream girl and Minnie Driver his ex-wife. Does Giamatti have another Sideways on his hands in terms of adult appeal and future awards play? And why would schoolchildren like it? Curious.

UNICEF Award: Julian Schnabel's political message movie Miral took this. The film, which opened to mixed response, looks at the Israel-Palestine problem through the life of a Palestinian orphan, played by Freida Pinto. Hiam Abbas co-stars. The film is supposed to arrive in December from the Weinsteins but it could be a hard sell given the always divisive topic. It's quite a personal project for Schabel as it's based on the book written by Schnabel's real life girlfriend, writer Rula Jebreal and his daughter Stella Schnabel also acts in the film. She's also in Basquiat and Before Night Falls.

LION OF THE FUTURE: This prize is also known as the "Luigi De Laurentiis" and the jury headed by Fatih Akin (Soul Kitchen, Head On) unanimously chose a film from Turkey by Seren Yüce called Cogunluk (Majority).

CONTRACOMPTO ITALIANO PRIZE: Aureliano's 20 Sigarette. The Italiano jury also gave a special prize to the actor Vinicio Marchioni for the same film.

Orrizonti Jury

ORIZZONTI FEATURE: The top honor went to Nicolás Pereda's Verano de Goliat

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Noël Burch and Allan Sekula's The Forgotten Space.

ORRIZONTI MEDIUM-LENGTH: Roee Rosen's Tse (Out)
ORRIZONTI SHORT: Peter Tscherkassky's Coming Attractions
VENICE SHORT FILM NOMINEE: This is another short award that has something to do with putting the film in the running for the European Film Awards. It went to David O'Reilly's The External World
SPECIAL MENTION: Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas' Jean Gentil.

Tarantino's Jury. Main Competition

GOLDEN LION: The top prize went to Sofia Coppola's Hollywood story Somewhere.
BEST DIRECTOR: Alex de la Iglesia for Balada Trista de Trompeta
SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Jerzy Skolimowski's Essential Killing
BEST ACTOR: Vincent Gallo for Essential Killing (It's interesting that he won. Guy Lodge at In Contention predicted him as sort of a Tarantino rebel call over more potentially Oscary players like Paul Giamatti. Well done, Guy.
BEST ACTRESS: Ariana Labed for the Greek film Attenberg

Actresses Evangelia Randou and Ariana Labed at Venice (top)
and in a film still from Attenberg (bottom)

"No Natalie Portman?!?", the American internet screams in bewilderment, as it so strangely always expects Americans to win at international ceremonies. Ariana Labed, the one in fuchsia above, plays a sexual innocent participating in an experiment with three other adults in a film that's drawing comparisons to last year's Greek festival sensation Dogtooth. Dogtooth's director is the producer and also acts in this film.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Mikhail Krichman for Silent Souls (Ovsyanki) by Aleksei Fedorchenko
BEST SCREENPLAY Alex de la Iglesia for Balada Trista de Trompeta
SPECIAL LION: This was a jury prize for "overall work" to Monte Hellman


And finally, Tarantino's jury gave the MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD which is a prize for "Young Actor of Actress" to Mila Kunis for Black Swan. Hmmm, should we expect to see the ascending Mila Kunis in the next Quentin Tarantino picture?

YES, No, Maybe So: Black Swan

The gorgeous Black Swan trailer has arrived in glorious quicktime. But here it is in YouTube though, really, go watch it at Apple Trailers where you can blow it up big and be amaze-ed.



I can barely type from the shaking. I'd like to do a yes, no, maybe so but I am only yes. Or rather, a GOD YES.

Though I am not generally prone to visually vomiting out trailer screencaps, I make an exception today since I love the work of DP Matthew Libatique (still awaiting an Oscar nom. grrrrr) and the movie looks dark, dangerous and all around delicious. And I don't even like ballet!*

Here are twelve shots** in chronological order.

pretty princess ballerina all by her lonesome

Strained Natalie Portman, adult sized with a little girl voice.

Barbara f'in Hershey in a role that might be worthy of her?
I dare not hope.

ballerina so sad -- hey, what's that on my back?

Bitchy carefree sexy rival Mila Kunis. Boo! Hiss! Yum!?!

Ballerina Doubled = Self Loathing Metaphor???
These shots FREAK ME OUT.

Natalie watching her Star Wars performance on perma-loop.

A little 'me' time. Wait, isn't she getting plenty of me time by
seeing herself everywhere she goes? She'll go blind!

At this point I was totally scared for my/her life.

holy. shit.

Alternate Title: MUST SEE

Just...chills.

Especially once Natalie Portman's ballerina starts splintering. I can only pray that along with the disintegration of her psyche -- I assume that's why she's turning against herself, is it a self haunting? -- she lies to herself since Women Who Lie To Themselves™ is the greatest of film genres.

Director Darren Aronofsky has yet to make anything less than a must see. Even his weakest effort Pi, was a pretty stunning calling card. Though I suppose if I had to nitpick to try and smother excitement so it stays at normal levels rather than fanboy droolings, three things that are bugging me about this here Black Swan.

1. I already wish it were shot on celluloid and... (well perhaps it is but it doesn't look it to me exactly)
2. The nearest film I can think of as a reference point for girlie supernatural terror is Rosemary's Baby and the nearest reference point for girl who seems to be multiple girls at once is Mulholland Dr and few films are ever as good as either of those so... uh... good luck with the company you keep.
   
3. I hate that Barbara Hershey isn't named. She's a f**king Oscar nominee and she's f**king great in certain roles. I hope this is one of them.
   

*Isn't that weird. Because I love dance in general. But ballet. Something stops me from loving it.
** Can you believe I didn't screencap the lesbian makeout between Mila Kunis and Natalie? What's wrong with me.

We Can't Wait #2: BLACK SWAN

The team here with the penultimate We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond entry.

Black Swan
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Sebastian Stan

Aronofsky and Portman on set in NY

Synopsis: a Black Swan dons The Red Shoes... or: a New York-set psychological drama about a veteran ballerina Nina (Portman), who has just won the lead part in Swan Lake, and her fierce competition with new rival Lilly (Kunis) - but Nina goes into downward spiral: is Lilly real or just a figment of her imagination?

Brought to you by: Luke Skywalker's & Spock's moms, Meg Griffin, Gossip Boy Carter, Mickey Rourke's wrestling coach, and a feathered wave of expectation. Oh, and a variety of production folk.

Expected release date: late 2010 - or early 2011 (the gals practiced hard - it should be worth the wait)

Craig: The buzz on this one is fast heating up and will surely build further as more details surface. Although from Thursday's Cannes announcement it appears that it doesn't feature in this year's line-up, in-competition or otherwise (a low blow for Aronofsky after his success with The Wrestler?) - a decision that may well be roundly cheered/booed in equal measure by his hardcore devotees and vehement detractors respectively. I don't know, it always feels as if Aronofsky's films simply attract fierce comment just by the fact that it's him - he pushes people's buttons in extreme ways it seems. He's one of those came-to-prominence-in-the-early-'90s directors, like Tarantino, Fincher, Wes Anderson etc, that some folk seem to love to hate and hate to love. But each of his films, so far, has had a truly distinctive and widely changeable feel to them. But I'm guessing the bigger draw will be seeing Portman take another step on the road to more adult and complex roles, and her pairing up with Kunis. Ballet is shaping up to be the cinematic in-thing this year - who knew? Is it partly due to Cate Blanchett going all plié-happy for Benjamin Button last year? So guys, does Natalie and Mila doing a Pas de deux look like a career swan dive or time for take off? I'm hoping for Fight Club meets Suspiria...

Nathaniel: I can't even imagine Fight Club fused with Suspiria.

But I guess I love any film project by a big time visionary director that one can add a semi-colon and a 'girls gone wild' to. Black Swan: Girls Gone Wild. Yes? I actually don't mean that sarcastically, just psychologically. I love films about unravelling psyches and each of Aronofsky's films have been quite adept at conjuring vivid protagonists at the end of their ropes.

I actually don't want to know more about this one than I already do. I'm just dying to see how Aronofsky uses all of the actresses. Interesting cast.

Left: Portman Swanning about the set

Jason: Since I don't think David Gordon Green's remake of Suspiria is gonna happen - one remake of a movie I adore that seemed so insane as to seem can't-miss from inception - especially since it was supposed to star Portman and I can't see her doing back-to-back ballet films, I guess I'll just get my fix here. I really do like Natalie Portman, but more off-screen than on. I keep hoping she can channel what makes her seem like an interesting person in the real world that one would want to hang out with into a movie. This might not be the movie for that, exactly, but I root for her, is my point.

What this might be a movie for, I think, is... well, up in the air like a series of changements (That's apparently a type of jump in ballet! I looked it up. Consider this your lesson for the day, if it's new to you like it was for me). But whatever weirdness Aronofsky's got in store for us - and the weirder the film keeps sounding, the more excited I grow - I just know that I have loved every single frame of film that he's shot, and I will gobble each new one up insatiably.

Also, hot lesbian sex.

Jose: I wasn't a fan of Aronofsky until The Wrestler, which technically didn't make me a fan but showed me he can be visionary without being full of himself (like he was in all his previous films). If he manages to be as visually inventive and emotionally smart as he was in that movie, we're in for something great here. Then again I will approach Black Swan with care because he might fall back into extreme self indulgence. But I'm sure it's not easy to spoil something with that cast (Hershey, Ryder and Cassel together sound orgasmic) and I'm dying to see Portman release her inner nut (even in Closer she was too restrained), I'm hoping she shows us that going insane while wearing a tutu is the most fun a girl can have with her clothes on.

Craig: Girls Gone Wild! Hot lesbian sex! This sounds like it could be Aronofsky's entry into the new wave of exploitation flicks. Forget Grindhouse - this is DanceHaus! (Something tells me Lady GaGa might dig this film). But if this turns out to be Haute tension in ballet shoes or Mulholland Dr. with LA's Hollywood of broken dreams changed for NY's ballet stage of high hopes then I'll be happy. Of course, I may have expectations for this that may well never materialise... and Jason, that'll be all-round bad news if Suspiria mark 2 doesn't get the go ahead. Ya wait for one bleak ballet-themed film to come along... could two at once be one too many?

I'm definitely angling for Aronofsky to return to the visual grittiness of Pi and Requiem for a Dream for this, more so than the golden-hued fantasyland of The Fountain. Aronofsky certainly seems to be delving into psychological and (hopefully) Gothic waters with his subject matter here, unless I'm reading the buzz all wrong, which may be the case. I mean, he's even cast a formidable quartet of raven-haired ladies in it.

Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky

Robert: Between this and The Kids are All Right, lesbians could be the theme for 2010. Hell, this could single-handedly save the movie industry. Forget 3D!

I admit that despite usually disliking overly bombastic films, I'm a maniacally proud Aronofsky fanboy. I'm glad that after the low key-ness of The Wrestler, people haven't forgotten that he's a real visual artist and I'm looking forward to whatever inventiveness he has in store for us with this one. Really, I'm giddy, especially after hearing one supposed insider describe it as "The Red Shoes meets Repulsion." (Suspiria meets Fight Club also good!) The aggressive lesbian ballerina sex is clearly what's gotten most of the attention so far and I'm not one to argue. I think if any other film were hyping up the girl-on-girl this much, I'd roll my eyes in annoyance. But in this case, whatever get's the asses in the seats and raises Mr. Aronofsky's profile. I'll be buying my ticket based on my love for Darren. The hot lesbian action will just be a bonus (though as I have 'Nam-like flashbacks to Requiem for a Dream, I wonder if we may be overestimating the eroticness of it all).

Dave: The Red Shoes instantly comes to my mind when thinking of deranged ballerinas; not that I want this to be a film they might as well have called 'The Black Shoes', I'm sure Aronofsky has something a bit different up his sleeves. (Not least the hot lesbian sex.) My mother is a ballet obsessive, so I grew up surrounded by images of ruffled tutus and pink ballet shoes round every corner. So to an extent I suppose I hope that Black Swan will unpack my childhood and reveal all the dirt and kinkiness I was too young to see. Swan Lake is the obvious reference point here, so I'm intrigued by just how strongly that story will work into what's hopefully a sea of psychological perversity.

The cast fascinates me. I look at it and it seems like such a strange collection of people; but I can see it working so, so gloriously. It seems like a cast that, for one reason or another, haven't really 'delivered' in a while, but Aronofsky showed last time around how he can boost any flagging career. Oh, and for giving Mila Kunis her first (hopefully) plum role - Darren, I salute you.

Craig: Clint Mansell is again doing the score for Aronofsky and apparently he's integrating some of the musical themes from Swan Lake into it. Music has always played a really integral part in Aronofsky's films and this has the possibility to make for their most intriguing collaboration yet. Imagine that cascading, ominous score for Requiem being woven into Swan Lake - it could be fierce...

So, who wants to see Portman pirouette into personality-shifting oblivion, or who wants to see her give Kunis the kiss-off?

"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond" complete series: The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.