Ari Handel

Russell Crowe to Officially Play Noah for Director Darren Aronofsky

There was a time when director Darren Aronofsky was going to helm the sequel/spin-off The Wolverine as his follow-up to his award-winning Black Swan. Instead, Aronofsky will take the director's chair for his passion project, the Biblical epic Noah, with the lead actor he has sought since February. Aronofsky announced the casting news in a fawning (even for Hollywood) press release.

I'd like to thank Paramount and Regency for backing my team's work to breathe new life into the biblical epic. I rejoice that Russell Crowe will be by my side on this adventure. It's his immense talent that helps me to sleep at night. I look forward to being wowed by him every day.

• Noah
• Russell Crowe
• Darren Aronofsky
• John Logan
• Ari Handel

Natalie Portman's Black Swan Body Double Wants Her Due

In response to a recent interview the L.A. Times conducted with Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied — aka Natalie Portman's fiancé and her baby bump's daddy — in which Millepied claimed that the actress who earned an Academy Award for her portrayal of a psychologically distraught ballet dancer actually performed "85%" of her scenes in the movie, Portman's body double, Sarah Lane claims that her participation in the movie is being downplayed and that "of the full body shots" only "5 percent are Natalie." The 27-year-old American Ballet Theatre soloist claims that she is the victim of a "cover-up" and wants to set the record straight.

• Black Swan
• Ari Handel