Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men, Prisoner of Azkaban) began shooting his ambitious sci-fi movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney back in May, and Warner Bros. have now set a release date for November 12, 2012.

Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. George Clooney will play the team leader at the space station, while Bullock will play the female lead. Most of Gravity will just involve her on-screen, so it’ll be interesting to see Bullock back in a sci-fi setting in that type of environment.

Warner Bros. have also set a release date of December 25, 2011 for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close which stars Bullock and Tom Hanks. The Oscar-friendly date will only involve a limited release, but it will open wide January 20, 2012. In the movie Bullock and Hanks play the parents of a brainy nine-year-old who searches for a lock that matches a mysterious key left behind by his father, who died the year before in the North Tower on September 11, 2001. Director Stephen Daldry (The Hours) is a rare filmmaker who has been nominated for a best directing Oscar for every feature he’s made, so put this movie on your awards radar.

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Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity initially had a hard time getting off the ground. Angelina Jolie turned down the lead role twice, and talks with Natalie Portman didn’t work out (which on hindsight was probably due to her pregnancy). Luckily Sandra Bullock signed on, but then Robert Downey Jr. had to pull out because of The Avengers, only to be replaced by George Clooney.

Things have been quiet on the project since Clooney’s casting 4 months ago, but producer David Heyman (Harry Potter) recently confirmed that filming will now begin in May in the UK.

From Collider:

I’m doing Gravity with Alfonso Cuaron, which starts the end of May. Which is great. The whole film has been pre-vised and figured out, it’s f**kin’ awesome. I mean, unlike anything you’ve seen in space. It’s just great. He’s a privilege to work with—he’s a real visionary.

…we’re using technology that’s never seen before. This film will be more immersive, I believe, than anything you’ve seen before. You will really feel like you are in space. It will not be an objective view of space, it will be an immersive view of space. And you know as you say, with Children of Men, he loves these long shots. It’s gonna be a really bold, bold film.

Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. George Clooney will play the team leader at the space station, while Bullock will play the female lead. Most of Gravity will just involve her on-screen, so it’ll be interesting to see Bullock back in a sci-fi setting in that type of environment.

Heyman said Gravity wouldn’t be filmed in 3D, but will be converted and released as a 3D film as “you can make the 3D in a post process much more easily than if you were shooting all live-action or sitting in a room.”

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Last month we heard that Robert Downey Jr. had left Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity due to scheduling conflicts. The man has a lot of upcoming projects, including The Avengers and Oz, the Great and Powerful, which meant a trip into space with Sandra Bullock wouldn’t be happening. It is, however, happening for George Clooney who Warner Bros. has brought on-board to replace him.

THR say that Warner Bros. considered scrapping the movie after Downey Jr. bailed (Angelina Jolie had already turned down the role of the female astronaut twice, and efforts to get Natalie Portman didn’t work out) but as Clooney has agreed to star in the movie production will likely begin early next year.

Much of the film, which will be 60% CGI, is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. George Clooney will play the team leader at the space station who also survives the space disaster, but previous reports mentioned that if Downey took on the role he would only be required for 3 weeks of filming, so the character may not be around a whole lot.

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Last month there was speculation that Robert Downey Jr. may have to bail on Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity due to scheduling conflicts, and now according to THR that is indeed the case. Downey has a lot of upcoming projects, including The Avengers and Oz, the Great and Powerful, which means a trip into space with Sandra Bullock won’t be happening.

THR say that Bullock is still in negotiations for the movie, which will be 60% CGI. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. Robert Downey Jr. would have starred as the team leader at the space station, but his character would have only appeared in the first act (you can probably guess why).

Downey leaving is a blow for Warner Bros. as having the actor in trailers would have drawn people in, but as the role would only require 3 weeks on set they can easily find another actor. The eventual replacement may not have the same star power as Downey Jr. but this will be Bullock’s movie anyway, and she proved last year that she was a box office draw.

It would be a shame for Cuaron if Gravity fails to get off the ground due to casting issues. Angelina Jolie and Natalie Portman both passed, so hopefully Bullock remains on-board and Cuaron gets to return to sci-fi. Children of Men was one of the best movies of 2006 and I can’t wait for his follow-up.

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Just when it looks like Alfonso Cuaron has finally found his female lead for Gravity in Sandra Bullock (after being turned down by Angelina Jolie twice and Natalie Portman), the director may be about to lose his leading man.

According to Deadline “scheduling problems have made Robert Downey Jr. suddenly doubtful for Gravity“. The actor may only be required for 3 weeks on set as he won’t be leading the film, but fitting that in amongst Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Avengers could be difficult. Plus Sam Raimi and Disney want him for Oz, the Great and Powerful.

Gravity will be an ambitious movie set in space which will be 60% CG feature animation. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite. Robert Downey Jr. would star as the team leader at the space station, and it was never the intention for him to carry the film.

Deadline says that Warner Bros. “expect to work out the scheduling problems” so Downey might not be off the project yet, but the drama and delay over finding a leading lady hasn’t helped matters. I’m sure they could find another actor for the role if Downey is unavailable, but Warner Bros. would prefer a big name as they haven’t put $80 million+ behind a female-lead sci-fi film for a while.

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First Angelina Jolie passed and now it seems Natalie Portman has too. According to Deadline Portman will not be appearing in Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, an ambitious movie set in space which would be 60% CG feature animation. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.

“Scheduling conflicts” is the reason given, an now Warner Bros. must search for another leading lady if this movie is ever going to get off the ground.

The next obviously choice is recent Oscar winner Sandra Bullock who had a great year at the box office last year. Deadline say Warner Bros. is “making a full court press” for the actress, probably because they can’t think of anyone else to lead after her. Naomi Watts, Marion Cotillard, Carey Mulligan, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Olivia Wilde and Blake Lively have all been considered, but none have proved themselves as box office draws (but I guess they haven’t really been given the chance).

$80 million is quite a lot to put behind a movie with a female lead, but only because no studio has done it in a while. Aeon Flux, Elektra and Catwoman killed female lead action movies (because they sucked, not because they had female leads), and now the studios have a situation where Angelina Jolie is the only actress who can carry an action film.

Robert Downey Jr. has signed up to star as the team leader at the space station, but it was never the intention for him to carry the film. Filming was set to begin next year, but that will all depend on if they find a lead.

Who do you think should star in Gravity? Personally i’d be interested in names such as Kate Winslet, Halle Berry or Rachel Weisz.

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At the beginning of the month we heard Natalie Portman was being considered by Warner Bros. for the lead role in Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, an ambitious movie set in space which would be 60% CG feature animation. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.

Now THR report that both Portman and Warner Bros. are in “active negotiations”. Previously it was mentioned that the studio were looking at a number of actresses such as Sandra Bullock, Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts, Carey Mulligan and Scarlett Johansson.

If Portman signs on filming will probably begin sometime next year. Filming was originally scheduled to begin this summer but Angelina Jolie decided against appearing in the film after numerous offers, which caused Warner Bros. to search for another actress who could carry a film all by herself.

Robert Downey Jr. has signed up to star as the team leader at the space station, but it was never the intention for him to carry the film. The plan was to work filming around Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Avengers, but he is only expected to be on set for 3 weeks. The opening shot alone is slated to last at least 20 minutes, so a lot of time will be needed for rehearsals.

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Last week we heard Angelina Jolie had turned down an offer from Warner Bros. to star in Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, an ambitious movie set in space which would be 60% CG feature animation. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.

It was mentioned that the studio were now considering a number of actresses such as Sandra Bullock, Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts, Carey Mulligan and Scarlett Johansson, but now Natalie Portman has apparently been offered the role following buzz from the Telluride Film Festival for Black Swan.

From Risky Business:

As Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller rallied audiences at the Venice and Telluride film festivals last week, Portman has fielded an offer from Warner Bros. to star in the drama “Gravity.” The lead in the epic survival story, co-written by Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron, has been a highly sought role for months, with Angelina Jolie pulling out of it recently.

In the wake of “Swan” notices, Cuaron finally got the green light from the studio to relay the offer to Portman without requiring a screen test. Portman, who couldn’t make it to Telluride’s “Swan” screenings Sunday, is expected to read the latest version of the script this week and make her decision shortly.

Although Cuaron, Downey and the studio have juggled multiple potential stars, including Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, none has come up all cherries. But the role now is Portman’s if she feels up for it. As an added benefit to the studio, even with a nice raise, her salary would only come in at about half of Jolie’s.

Out of all the names mentioned I would have probably gone for Portman too. Awards season buzz for her role in Black Swan may be a bit premature at the moment, but regardless of whether she gets nominated or not she is still a good actress, and one I would gladly pay to see with Robert Downey Jr. in an Alfonso Cuaron film.

Robert Downey Jr. has signed up to star as the team leader at the space station, but it was never the intention for him to carry the film. He will work filming around Sherlock Holmes 2 and The Avengers but he is only expected to be on set for 3 weeks. Although, the opening shot alone is slated to last at least 20 minutes, so a lot of time will be needed for rehearsals. If you’ve seen Children of Men you’ll be familiar with Cuarón’s long and fluid style.

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Earlier this year Angelina Jolie turned down an offer to play the lead in Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, an ambitious movie set in space which would be 60% CG feature animation. Much of the film is devoted to a woman’s struggle to get back to Earth (and her daughter) after her team at a remote space station are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite

Robert Downey Jr. signed up to star as the team leader, but it was never the intention for him to carry the film. Following the performance of Salt at the box office Jolie is the only proven actress who can carry a big budget movie. Because of this Warner Bros. has gone back to Jolie with another off, but she has turned it down once again.

From Deadline:

Gravity, the 3D film that Warner Bros is mobilizing with director Alfonso Cuaron and Robert Downey Jr., is suddenly in danger of falling back to earth after Angellina Jolie said no to a full court press and a big money offer to star in the film. It has put Warner Bros in a bind. The studio needs an actress who can hold the screen and draw an audience to an $80 million film. Much like Tom Hanks’ role in Cast Away, the Gravity heroine is the only person onscreen for a large part of the movie. Beyond Jolie, which other actress do you bet on?

Cuaron first courted Jolie when the project was tethered at Universal. She was intrigued with the filmmaker, but passed around the time it landed at Warner Bros. I’m told the studio tested or met with actresses including Sandra Bullock, Natalie Portman, Marion Cotillard, Naomi Watts, Carey Mulligan, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Olivia Wilde, and Blake Lively, in meetings and tests that have been conducted since May. Warner Bros made a second overture to Jolie, but she just passed for a second time.

For years studios have been clueless when it comes to making big female-lead movies. The same studio that got Christopher Nolan to make Batman Begins had 10+ writers and a special effects guy working on Catwoman the year beforehand. The bad movies (and subsequent flops) caused studios to avoid having actresses as leads, and now they have a situation where only Angelina Jolie can carry an action movie.

Out of the names above i’m not sure who i’d go for, although i’d personally prefer Emily Blunt. From the looks of things they are only going for white actresses so Zoe Saldana and Halle Berry are out.

Who do you want to lead Gravity?

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Last month we heard that Scarlet Johansson had “verbally agreed” to take on the leading-lady role in Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, however according to Heat Vision Green Lantern actress Blake Lively is also in the running and a decision is expected within the next week or two.

Earlier this year Robert Downey Jr. signed up to star in the film, however he will not be the lead. Downey will play the leader of a team posted at a remote space station. While he and a female colleague are travelling outside the space station, the other team members are decimated by debris from an exploded satellite.

Much of the film is devoted to the females struggle to get back to Earth and her daughter. Angelina Jolie was attached at one point, however she passed. Marion Cotillard also tested for the role but it looks like one of the young blonde actresses will land the part instead.

Gravity will be as ambitious technology-wise as Avatar, with 60% of the film being CG feature animation. The opening shot alone is slated to last at least 20 minutes long, which is longer than anything Alfonso Cuaron has done before (Children of Men).

No start date has been set, however it may begin filming early next year.

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