Morning

Just got a bit of exciting news. It seems Natalie is close to signing onto a new film. Here’s the Variety report.

Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside) and Natalie Portman (“Star Wars” prequels) are in talks to star in Goya’s Ghosts, the long-in-the-works drama about Spanish painter Francisco Goya. Variety says the drama will be directed by Milos Forman and produced by Saul Zaentz. Filming is expected to start in early fall in Europe.

Written by Jean-Claude Carriere and Forman, the drama is set in Spain in 1792, when Goya was the country’s most famous painter. A scandal arises when his teenage muse is framed for heresy by a manipulative monk who is one of the driving forces behind the Spanish Inquisition.

Bardem will play the monk. Portman will play the muse as well as her teen daughter Alicia, who might be the result of an illicit affair with the monk.

Forman and Zaentz previously collaborated on Oscar-winning films One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Amadeus.

Milos is a great director and Javier is one of the best actors working today. Colour me happy.

Thanks to JC for the heads up.