Natalie Portman courted by Cuaron and Malick

In the wake of raves in Venice and Telluride for her performance in Black Swan, Natalie Portman finds her supernova star in rapid ascension as she fields offers from upper echelon directors. Last week when Angelina Jolie dropped out of Gravity, it was widely rumored that Rachel Weisz might step in. Word now from THR is that Warner Bros is interested in Portman to star with Robert Downey Jr in the space thriller, and the studio is waiving the prerequisite screen test.

The $80 million 3D survival story, which Alfonso Cuaron will direct, centers on a woman stranded on a space station after satellite debris slams into it and wipes out the rest of the crew. Robert Downey Jr. already has committed to a supporting role, but much of the picture is devoted to the female character, who must survive a solitary ordeal much in the way Tom Hanks did in “Cast Away” or James Franco does in “127 Hours,” another Telluride sneak screening.

Gravity is scheduled to begin filming in January, with a narrow launch window before Downey rockets off on other missions. Portman is reading the script before making a decision but Cuaron is not her only suitor. Terrence Malick could be wooing her for a project he’s developing with Brad Pitt involving Jerry Lee Lewis, and THR says another role is being written with Portman in mind by Oscar-winning playwright Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love, Brazil).