SDCC: Scarlett Johansson "verbally agrees" to join Alfonso Cuaron's GRAVITY

All of you who have enjoyed Inception this past week probably don't need reminding that we absolutely NEED Chris Nolan's movie to keep performing and attracting audiences over the forthcoming weeks, for the good of future high-concept originals to be funded in this extremely low-risk studio era. Original movies like Gravity, the ambitious sci-fi thriller that's the brainchild of Alfonso Cuaron and that has Robert Downey Jr attached which was set to film this summer just before Sherlock Holmes 2, but has recently found itself stuck in limbo at Warner Bros. WB are said to be concerned about fronting up the money for such an expensive, 3D, effects heavy and obscure non-mainstream tentpole that revolves around €œa woman as she attempts to make her way back to earth after a satellite crash sets off a chain reaction of further crashes€ that we are told is dialogue-free for lengthy stretches. There's also talk of an elaborate, Kubrick-esque, 20 minute set piece in space that Cuaron is fighting to keep in the film. However, there is some good news today regarding the project as New York Daily News reports Scarlett Johansson has "verbally agred" to lead the movie, potentially making a quick reunion of Black Widow and Tony Stark before The Avengers. Previously, Angelina Jolie was attached but since she departed the film - WB had been struggling to find a replacement. Just to clarify, despite Downey Jr's long-time attachment - he is only supporting (or 'book-ending' the film with two scenes, as some say), and instead Johansson is up for the lead role of Ryan Stone, the intelligent medical engineer who spends the majority of the film's screen time alone, by herself. Bleeding Cool have posted a synopsis of the film from FX company Framestore, which is legit as it's since been removed from the effects site;

Framestore is about to embark on one of its greatest challenges yet, Gravity is the next Avatar in terms of ambition. There are many innovative and visually stunning aims for this project. The entire film will be made here at Framestore. In effect the film, as Avatar was, is 60% CG feature animation with the balance being hybrid CG and live action elements. Starring Robert Downey Junior, the film is a contemporary survival thriller that follows a woman as she attempts to make her way back to earth after a satellite crash sets off a chain reaction of further crashes. Because it€™s set in space, most shots require every element to float in zero-gravity. But then factor in that this is a stylish Cuarón flick, directed with his trademark languid feel, and you begin to realise the full scale of our challenge. Cuarón€™s long and fluid style (the opening shot alone is slated to last at least 20 minutes) leaves no cut points to hide behind. In short, this is a hybrid of a fully animated, photo-real feature film with a blockbusting visual effects movie. Fortunately, having worked with Alfonso before on Harry Potter and Children of Men, we know one another extremely well. Now we are looking for the best talent in the world to help us realise this massive and beautiful film. Over the next few weeks we are interviewing and looking at reels of those in-house who want to join in as well as making trips to the US, Canada and Australia. This is CG feature animation meets real world on a large and beautiful scale.

I like Johansson a great deal but only when's cast in the right roles. She made a great Black Widow in Iron Man 2, and I think she surprised a lot of people with how convincing she was as a bad-ass superheroine. This would undoubtedly be the biggest test of her career, as she'll need to keep our interest in her struggle with only her physical nuances as her tool but she's pretty much as good as anyone in her age bracket right now and has some box office appeal, with is obviously essential to the movie getting made. We too wonder if her hubbie Ryan Reynolds challenged her to do this movie after he made Buried, the film where he has had to act almost the whole movie within the restrictions of a coffin!