Sharyland grad is casting Darren Aronofsky's trippy new movie

Betty Mae casting associate Lindsay Graham helped put the right people in place for cutting-edge director Darren Aronofsky’s most recent film The Wrestler. And since that critically lauded drama managed the impossible — getting Mickey Rourke back on the A List — it’s no surprise Aronofosky wants Graham to work her magic on his next film.

The 26-year-old Sharyland native is busy helping to cast Black Swan, a return to surreal territory for Aronofsky, who directed the trippy Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain.

While Graham isn’t spilling secrets about the production, she says Black Swan is a dark drama about a ballerina in New York —- with a little dash of the supernatural. In other words, business as usual for the man at the helm.

“(Aronofsky) is a very intelligent man who knows what he wants,” Graham says. “His stories are complicated and multi-layered.”

She notes that while Aronofsky writes very specific characters with actors already in mind (Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis [That ‘70s Show] came attached to the project), the director is a collaborator who knows how to get results.

“He’s very open, he’ll take all your ideas,” she said. “He’s got a way of getting performances out of his actors.”

• CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT LINDSAY GRAHAM'S CAREER IN HOLLYWOOD
• CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT LINDSAY'S CO-WORKER, ALSO A VALLEYITE, WHO'S WORKING WITH ROBERT RODRIGUEZ
  

Brandon R. Garcia is editor of Festiva. You can reach him at (956) 683-4461 or bgarcia@themonitor.com.