Given the various attempts at finding a leading lady, Alfonso Cuaron must be starting to think that his sci-fi drama Gravity is as cursed as the space station that gets destroyed as part of the plot. Angelina Jolie flirted with the film for ages before finally passing and now one of Warner Bros. big other choices for the crucial lead role, Natalie Portman, has taken a look but decided it’s not for her.
So while the anxiety pills get passed around the office, the studio is now throwing itself into getting its other favourite, Sandra Bullock,into a space suit. Bullock has been extremely picky with her acting choices since winning the Oscar last year, and has only signed on to a couple of projects, including Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close with Tom Hanks.
Getting her to commit to Gravity would be a big deal for Warners and Cuaron, because it’s a risky film that carries a big price tag for a drama of this type ($80 million), will be filmed in 3D and needs to get moving so that Robert Downey Jr can fill the other main part.
But while plenty of actresses have shown interest in the lead, which will mean whoever gets the job spending most of her time alone as an astronaut who is stranded when her colleagues are killed by asteroid debris hitting their space station, locking in the right talent hasn’t been an easy task.
If Bullock says no, expect the executives to run further down their wish list, which according to Deadline includes the likes of Naomi Watts, Carey Mulligan, Marion Cotillard, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish and Rebecca Hall.
Which makes us think it would be fun to open up the casting to you lot (since you did such a good job choosing Zack Snyder for Superman): if you could pick someone who could handle so much screen time and still make the role compelling, who would you choose from either that list of actresses or any other talented female performer?