Despite a reputation that director Lars Von Trier puts his leading ladies through hell during production (Björk reportedly swore off acting after Dancer in the Dark), he continues to work with some of cinema’s finest: Emily Watson, Nicole Kidman, Bryce Dallas Howard, and most recently, Charlotte Gainsbourg.   Von Trier was nearly able to cross Penélope Cruz off of his list for the upcoming sci-fi disaster flick Melancholia, but he ultimately lost out to Jack Sparrow when she signed on for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides instead.

Now Deadline reports that the Dane may have found a respectable replacement in Mary Jane Watson herself, Kirsten Dunst.  If the young actress signs on, she’ll join Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Rampling, Alexander Skarsgaard, Stellan Skarsgaard and Udo Kier for a summer shoot in Sweden.  Dunst will soon be seen alongside Jim Sturges (Across the Universe) in Upside Down, a film whose plot synopsis I adore, so I’ll include it after the jump.

Today’s festival titles I doubt could have been any different from one another.  I had a gruesome revenge thriller, goat staring, and something that demands all kinds of adjectives and discussions. Click the jump for Fantastic Fest Day 2, where you can read my reviews for “Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle”, “Antichrist”, and “The Men Who Stare at Goats”. And keep checking back for more coverage of the Austin, TX genre festival.

Michael Haneke, a director whose films are quite good but not for those looking for a nice, pick-me-up (“The Piano Teacher” has nothing do with piano lessons or teaching, I assure you), took home the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival for his film “The White Ribbon” which is a stark black-and-white drama set in a rural German village on the eve of WWI…so still probably not a laugh-a-minute romp.

This is Haneke’s first time taking home the Palme but he’s received love from the festival before, winning Best Director in 2005 for “Cache” and the Grand Prix for “The Piano Teacher”.  Actress Isabelle Huppert, who won Best Actress for “Piano Teacher” at Cannes and served as President of the Jury this year, bestowed the award on a delighted Haneke.

Other awards include the Grand Prix for Jacques Audiard’s tough prison drama, “A Prophet,” and Sony Classics must be pretty happy right now since they bought the rights to both “Ribbon” and “Prophet” before either film screened at the festival.  That’s some nice foresight on their part.

Adding fuel to the Oscar-buzz he’s already gaining for his performance in “Inglourious Basterds”, Christopher Waltz took home Best Actor for his portrayal of Col. Landa, a Nazi “Jew Hunter” (please let the film have bagels on fishing hooks; pleeeease let the film have bagels on fishing hooks) and while Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” provoked strong reactions from its audience, Charlotte Gainsbourg won Best Actress.

Finally, Grand Jury prizes were given to Andrea Arnold for “Fish Tank” and Park Chan-wook for “Thirst”.

Click here to see the full list of award winners.