April 16, 2010 
Sharpen those scissors! Danish funnyman Lars von Trier has found the leading lady of his next feature film, entitled Melancholia – Ms. Kirsten Dunst. No doubt she will be treated with the modesty Lars bestows upon all his actresses.
The report comes from Mike Fleming at Deadline, although the nature of Dunst’s role is unknown. In fact, much about the film is unknown. Only that it will be a psychological disaster film that centers around Planet Melancholia, an enormous celestial body that looms threateningly close to Earth.
Dunst’s role once belonged to Penelope Cruz; that is, before she abandoned the project to star in Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides.
Melancholia also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgaard, Stellan Skarsgaard and Udo Kier.
It begins shooting this July in southern Sweden. We expect to hear about Dunst’s nervous breakdown in early August.
Read more about Melancholia here, and check out my glowing review of Von Trier’s last film, Antichrist.
Discuss: Say what you will about the way Von Trier treats his female characters – he gets great performances out of his actresses. Charlotte Gainsbourg picked up Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in Antichrist, while Bjork received the same prize for her work in Dancer in the Dark. Does Dunst have the chops to keep up with Lars?
Quickflix 
Reading it now, how funny it is, that Dunst got the Best Actress prize at Cannes.