Darren Aronofsky’s "Black Swan" Gets More Cast

By our guest blogger, Matt Jussim

Over the years, Darren Aronofsky has taken the helm on a slew of interesting projects including "Pi," "Requiem for a Dream" and "The Fountain." Currently in pre-production, Aronofsky's latest project, a thriller with a supernatural twist, "Black Swan," recently revealed its full cast to Slash Film.

It  already had been announced that Natalie Portman will star as Nina, a veteran ballerina competing against a rival dancer, Lily, who is played by Mila Kunis. Now the film has added Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder and Barbara Hershey. Ryder plays Beth, Nina's friend/enemy who used to be the star dancer but is nearing the end of her career. Cassel is the handsome but sinister Yevna, who is the stage director.  Hershey is Nina's mother.

The plot of the film seems to have an aura of mystery around it, which suits Aronofsky’s style. Portman is a solid casting choice, but it’s hard for me to picture Kunis in a role as serious as this. Teamed with Aronofsky, Portman has the potential give one of the best performances of her career. The choices of former Academy Award nominees Hershey and Rider shows potential, and so does the casting of Cassel, who proved in "Eastern Promises" that he is a quality supporting actor.

The script for the project was an original concept written by John McLaughlin and also underwent a re-write by Mark Heyman, who co-produced Aronofsky's "The Wrestler." The release date of the film is scheduled sometime in 2010.