Movieline

Awesome Bookmaker Says Natalie Portman is Odds-On Favorite for Dragon Tattoo

You know that Sony and David Fincher eventually will need to cast a female lead for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and so, as with anything, an enterprising bookie with a vague knowledge of trade rumors and actresses known to wear short hair has made a list of favorites worth betting on as Lisbeth Salander D-day approaches. Bring your rabbit's foot (and a robust grain of salt) and meet me after the jump.

Oh, also: Keep your mouth free of coffee, tea, vodka and/or other popular morning-time drinks, lest the resultant spittake soak your monitor: Natalie Portman is hilarious enough at 11-4 odds (the role famously requires nudity that Portman has already said she plans to avoid going forward), but Emma Watson as the runner-up? Newly shedded locks aside, I'd want a little better than 4-1 payoff to accurately bet Watson would jump into another franchise right out of Harry Potter (especially an R-rated one) when she has higher education to pursue. Or maybe this is just the palate cleanser she needs! Either way, again, grain of salt.

French actress Lea Seydoux is a legit front runner... Kristen Stewart, no... Katie Jarvis (Fish Tank) is actually a great call, though Sony wants someone who can open at least a little... Ellen Page, no... so on and so forth, all the way down to Salander's Swedish originator Noomi Rapace at 50-1. I'm not quite sure what the bookmakers' criteria are besides a little fast publicity (efforts to contact Paddy Power, the prolific Irish bookmaker responsible for the odds just sent Movieline's way, were unsuccessful), but just in case you felt like starting an office pool on this, here's somewhere to start:*

11/4: Natalie Portman

4/1: Emma Watson

6/1: Lea Seydoux

8/1: Kristen Stewart

8/1: Katie Jarvis

10/1: Ellen Page

10/1: Sarah Snook

12/1: Rooney Mara

14/1: Evan Rachel Wood

14/1: Carey Mulligan

16/1: Emily Browning

20/1: Mia Wasikowska

20/1: Keira Knightley

25/1: Anne Hathaway

25/1: Eva Green

25/1: Olivia Thirlby

33/1: Franka Potente

40/1: Michelle Ryan

40/1: Scarlett Johansson

50/1: Noomi Rapace

*Which doesn't constitute an endorsement from Movieline! Just saying.

[via Paddy Power]