Black Swan | featured news

"The King's Speech" was crowned best picture Sunday at an Academy Awards ceremony as precise as a state coronation, the monarchy drama leading as expected with four Oscars and predictable favorites claiming acting honors. Colin Firth as stammering British ruler George VI in "The King's Speech" earned the best-actor prize, while Natalie Portman won best actress as a delusional ballerina in "Black Swan."

The ballet thriller "Black Swan" won four prizes Saturday at the Spirit Awards honoring independent film, including best picture, best actress for Natalie Portman and director for Darren Aronofsky.James Franco was picked as best actor for the survival story "127 hours," while the Ozarks crime story "Winter's Bone" earned both supporting-acting prizes, for John Hawkes and Dale Dickey.

The New York Film Critics Circle awards dinner is traditionally a festive, elegant affair honoring the filmmakers and actors voted best in their category each year by one of the most prestigious critics’ groups in the country. But after last night’s edition — the 76th in the group’s proud history — all talk of the pleasures of Colin Firth’s charming acceptance speech as Best Actor or Michelle Williams’ sweet presentation to Mark Ruffalo as Best Supporting Actor was drowned out by chatter about critic Armond White and director Darren Aronofsky.

No. 2 "True Grit" scores the best ever domestic cume for the Coens; "Black Swan" dances into No. 9 with $8.5 million. Paramount's True Grit finished New Year's weekend with a dazzling domestic cume of $86.8 million, the best ever gross for the Coen brothers and upping the Western's profile as Oscar voters mull their choices.

Actress Natalie Portman is engaged to a ballet dancer and choreographer and expecting her first child with him, People magazine reported on Monday. The 29 year-old actress met the French choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, during the production of her newly released movie, "Black Swan," which has earned her Oscar buzz.

Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids Are All Right, The King's Speech and The Social Network will vie for Outstanding Cast.

More than half the votes in last week's Trailer Park poll went to expected winner Black Swan (with 57%). There is definitely a lot of interest in Darren Aronofsky's latest, far more than any of the other nine films. I am a bit surprised to see the Joaquin Phoenix documentary I'm Still Here garnering so few votes and coming in seventh place (4.1%), though I am glad to see people were into second-place winner, Machete Maidens Unleashed! (10.8%).

Darren Aronofsky's mysterious ballerina thriller "Black Swan" has picked up new cast members (Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel, and Barbara Hershey), and is close to finding a studio home.