It's been a rocky road to production so far, with both Angelina Jolie and Marion Cotillard circling and departing already. But the word from the Heat Vision blog is that Blake Lively and Scarlett Johansson are currently competing for the lead in Alfonso Cuaron's **Gravity{
Robert Downey Jr is already attached to star, but by all accounts it's the female role that's very much the lead. The 3D thriller involves astronauts repairing the Hubble telescope, when disaster strikes in the form of a storm of space debris. Initial reports seemed to indicate a pair of survivors, of whom Downey was one. THR's story though, is fairly clear that the female lead makes it through the storm alone, to fight her way back to Earth and her daughter. Does this make the Downey role her contact on the ground?
Both Johansson and Lively have screen-tested over the last two weeks, with a decision from studio Warners (Gravity was originally set up at Universal, but that's another story) due shortly. Johansson has star power of course, and has worked with Downey previously, squeezing into Black Widow's catsuit for Iron Man 2. But Warners have their eye on Gossip Girl Lively as a future big movie name: she impressed in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, just finished shooting Green Lantern, and is reportedly turning industry heads in Ben Affleck's crime drama The Town.
It's a catfight we'd buy tickets for, but we're sure it's all disappointingly civilised. Filming on Gravity is currently pencilled in for January. Who would you prefer to see in the spacesuit?