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Natalie Portman

Height: 5' 3"
Birth Name: Natalie Hershlag
Nickname: Nat
Birth Date: June 9, 1981
Birth Place: Jerusalem, Israel
Husband: Benjamin Millepied (8/4/12)

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  • DVD: Black Swan
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  • NEWS & Rumors

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    Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied finalize divorce

    (3/8/24) Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied have officially called it quits after more than a decade together.

    The Oscar-winning actress, 42, split from her director/choreographer husband following news that he had engaged in an alleged affair with climate activist Camille Etienne. According to PEOPLE, their union was dissolved last month in France, where the former couple resided with their children, son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 7.

    Last May, French outlet Voici reported that Millepied had cheated on Portman, but was determined “to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together.”

    “He knows he made an enormous mistake and he is doing all he can to get Natalie to forgive him and keep their family together,” a source told PEOPLE. “Natalie is incredibly private and has no intention of playing this out in the media. Her biggest priority is protecting her children and their privacy.”

    The pair met while Portman was making Black Swan back in 2009, with Millepied choreographing the film’s dance scenes. The actress said it wasn’t an instant connection, but she knew he was the one after they spent time together.

    “I met my husband on it, so I think I was in, like, dreamland,” Portman said during a SiriusXM Town Hall interview in 2018. “… He was teaching me to dance … It was definitely exciting and fun. It was beautiful. I don’t know about instant. It was like I really got to know him and that was when it seemed like, ‘Oh this is the person.’ ”

    Portman celebrated their 10-year wedding anniversary in 2022 with an Instagram tribute, writing, “Ten years today @benjaminmillepied, and it keeps getting better…”

    After news of Millepied’s alleged extramarital dalliance went viral, Portman had to adjust to seeing her name in tabloid headlines.

    “It was initially really tough for her, but her friends rallied around her and helped get her through the worst of it,” a friend of the couple tells PEOPLE.

    “Natalie is coming out of a really tough and painful year but she’s come out the other side of it stronger and is finding joy in her family, friends and work.”

    Before news of the alleged affair went public, an insider told Us Weekly that the pair had been “having problems” for more than a year, saying that Millepied would “sometimes not return home and was taking work trips that didn’t add up.” The source said that Portman “began to suspect infidelity” and was “humiliated and crushed” by the news.

    “She didn’t give up on [her marriage] lightly,” the insider told Us. “But it became pretty apparent toward the end of last year that her heart had gone out of it.”

    Natalie Portman Notes Decline Of Film As A Primary Form Of Entertainment: “It Feels Much More Niche Now”

    (2/21/24) If it’s the end of the film industry as we know it, Natalie Portman feels fine.

    In a Vanity Fair interview, Portman said she is thankful that cinema is shifting among younger viewers.

    “The striking thing has been the decline of film as a primary form of entertainment. It feels much more niche now,” Portman said. “If you ask someone my kids’ age about movie stars, they don’t know anyone compared to YouTube stars, or whatever.”

    She continued, “There’s a liberation to it, in having your art not be a popular art. You can really explore what’s interesting to you. It becomes much more about passion than about commerce. And interesting, too, to beware of it becoming something elitist. I think all of these art forms, when they become less popularized, you have to start being like, OK, who are we making this for anymore?”

    Portman said Hollywood is now a “two-sided coin.”

    “[It’s] amazing, too, because there’s also been this democratization of creativity, where gatekeepers have been demoted and everyone can make things and incredible talents come up,” she said. “And the accessibility is incredible. If you lived in a small town, you might not have been able to access great art cinema when I was growing up. Now it feels like if you’ve got an internet connection, you can get access to anything. It’s pretty wild that you also feel like at the same time, more people than ever might see your weird art film because of his extraordinary access. So it’s this two-sided coin.”

    Dorian Awards Nominations

    (2/5/24) Film Performance of the Year
    Colman Domingo, Rustin (Netflix)
    Paul Giamatti, The Holdovers (Focus Features)
    Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple, Paramount)
    Sandra Hüller, Anatomy of a Fall (Neon)
    Greta Lee, Past Lives (A24)
    Trace Lysette, Monica (IFC)
    Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer (Universal)
    Natalie Portman, May December (Netflix)
    Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers (Searchlight)
    Emma Stone, Poor Things (Searchlight)

    Eiza González To Star Opposite John Krasinski And Natalie Portman In ‘Fountain Of Youth’ For Apple And Skydance

    (1/19/24) Eiza González is set to star opposite John Krasinski and Natalie Portman in Apple‘s Fountain of Youth, a feature film based on an original idea that will be directed by Guy Ritchie and hails from Skydance Media. Also starring John Krasinski, Domhnall Gleeson and Natalie Portman, the film will be produced for Apple by Skydance, Vinson Films and Project X Entertainment.

    Written by James Vanderbilt, the pic follows estranged siblings (Krasinski and Portman) who partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth. They must use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an epic adventure that will change their lives — and possibly lead to immortality.

    Hailing from a first-look partnership between Apple and Skydance, Fountain of Youth will be produced by Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. Tripp Vinson will produce through his Vinson Films along with Project X’s Vanderbilt, William Sherak and Paul Neinstein. Ritchie & Ivan Atkinson and Jake Myers also are producing, with Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella) serving as executive producers.

    Fountain of Youth has been a high priority for Skydance after getting a script from Vanderbilt that sources said “blew execs away,” but the studio needed the right package of talent before it moved forward with the film. Ritchie, who has been as busy as any director in town, had been eyeing the project since the spring, with Krasinski also circling it around the same time, but the dual strikes forced things to be put on pause.

    The project reunites González with director Ritchie for a third time after recently wrapping production on their most recent collaboration on a new, untitled action movie in which González stars alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill. González will also star opposite Cavill in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, which will release in theaters on April 19th.

    González will next lead David Benioff and D.B Weiss’s series, Three Body Problem for Netflix. The series debuts on the streaming platform on March 21st. She will also soon be starring in the boxing limited series, La Maquina, opposite Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna. The show will debut as Hulu’s first Spanish language series. Also upcoming, González will star in the mystery sci-fi movie ASH directed by the musician Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) opposite Aaron Paul.

    She is repped by CAA, Linden Entertainment, the Lede Company and Jackoway Austen.

    John Krasinski & Natalie Portman To Star In Guy Ritchie’s ‘Fountain Of Youth’ For Apple And Skydance

    (1/11/24) Following the success of The Family Plan last month, Apple Original Films and Skydance are reteaming on another tentpole as Deadline is hearing John Krasinski and Natalie Portman are set to star in Fountain of Youth with Guy Ritchie directing. Skydance Media will serve as the studio, and the film will be produced for Apple by Skydance, Vinson Films and Project X Entertainment.

    Written by James Vanderbilt, the pic follows two estranged siblings (Krasinski and Portman) who partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth. They must use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an epic adventure that will change their lives — and possibly lead to immortality.

    Hailing from a first-look partnership between Apple and Skydance Media, Fountain of Youth will be produced by Skydance’s David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. Tripp Vinson will produce through his Vinson Films as will Project X Entertainment, with Vanderbilt, William Sherak, Paul Neinstein producing for the company. Ritchie & Ivan Atkinson and Jake Myers also are producing with Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and Chad Villella) serving as executive producers.

    Fountain of Youth has been a high priority for Skydance after getting a script from Vanderbilt that sources said “blew execs away,” but the studio needed the right package of talent before it moved forward with the film. Ritchie, who has been as busy as any director in town, had been eyeing the project since the spring, with Krasinski also circling it around the same time, but the dual strikes forced things to be put on pause. Once the strikes were settled, both gave their commitments, and the delay also opened the door for Portman to land the other lead with her schedule opening up at the top of 2024. The plan is to shoot during first quarter this year.

    The news comes a month after Apple and Skydance’s The Family Plan starring Mark Wahlberg became the biggest film to premiere on Apple TV+. The partnership has a strong slate ahead with some high-profile titles including the genre-bending action film The Gorge, starring Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy, and the recently announced action-adventure film Mayday, with Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh set to star in the lead roles.

    Krasinski is in post-production on IF for Paramount, which he wrote, directed, produced and stars in. The film will release theatrically in May and features a cast including Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fiona Shaw, Lou Gossett Jr and Steve Carell. Paramount is positioning IF as one of its big pics of 2024.

    His directing career took off after helming, writing and starring in the Oscar-nominated 2019 thriller A Quiet Place, one of the surprise hits of the year, leading to its 2021 sequel A Quiet Place: Part II. On the acting side, he recently wrapped his hit series Jack Ryan, which aired its final season last summer on Prime Video.

    For Portman, this marks a reunion for her and Apple as she and her producing partner Sophie Mas inked a first-look TV deal with Apple TV+ for their production company MountainA. Through this deal, they are producing the Apple Original limited series Lady in the Lake, which will be Portman’s TV acting debut. MountainA also produced the dark comedy May December from director Todd Haynes, in which Portman stars opposite Julianna Moore. She received Golden Globe and Spirit Award nominations for the role. MountainA produced the docuseries Angel City through Max last year.

    Ritchie has been as busy as any director over the last year started with his critically acclaimed Afghan war thriller The Covenant, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which bowed in April. He also shot two films in 2023 — the World War II actioner The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, starring Henry Cavill, and an untitled heist thriller reuniting him with Gyllenhaal and Cavill, which they shot with a SAG AFTRA interim agreement in the fall.

    Project X and Radio Silence had another big year on the Scream franchise front as Scream VI, which they produced, became the top-grossing film in the franchise’s history.

    Portman is represented by CAA and Attorney George Sheanshang, Krasinski is represented by WME and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham, Ritchie is represented by WME and Vanderbilt is represented by WME. Radio Silence is repped by UTA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

    Nominations For The 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards

    (12/11/23) The awards ceremony will Air Live on CBS and Stream on Paramount+ on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
    FANTASIA BARRINO (THE COLOR PURPLE)
    JENNIFER LAWRENCE (NO HARD FEELINGS)
    NATALIE PORTMAN (MAY DECEMBER)
    ALMA PÖYSTI (FALLEN LEAVES)
    MARGOT ROBBIE (BARBIE)
    EMMA STONE (POOR THINGS)

    Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

    (12/5/23) The 39th Spirit Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2024 on the beach in Santa Monica, CA hosted by Saturday Night Live alum Aidy Bryant. The awards will be streamed live on the IMDb and Film Independent YouTube channels, and across other social platforms.

    BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
    Jessica Chastain - Memory
    Greta Lee - Past Lives
    Trace Lysette - Monica
    Natalie Portman - May December
    Judy Reyes - Birth/Rebirth
    Franz Rogowski - Passages
    Andrew Scott - All of Us Strangers
    Teyana Taylor - A Thousand and One
    Jeffrey Wright - American Fiction
    Teo Yoo - Past Lives

    ‘May December’ Trailer: First Look At Todd Haynes Film About Scandalous Romance; Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore & Charles Melton Star

    (9/26/23) (Video (US Only)) Todd Haynes’ May December will open the New York Film Festival on Friday, but Netflix is giving an intriguing sneak peek via the first official trailer for the film that was the talk of Cannes this year.

    Starring Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton, the film picks up 20 years after an affair between an adult woman (Moore) and a much (much) younger man (Melton) – think Mary Kay Letourneau – made tabloid headlines. In the present day, famous TV star Elizabeth (Portman) visits the now-married couple while researching a film that will be based on the old scandal.

    As the official logline puts it, “as Elizabeth attempts to get closer to the family, the uncomfortable facts of their scandal unfurl, causing difficult, long-dormant emotions to resurface.”

    Directed by Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch and story by Burch and Alex Mechanik, the film had its world premiere in Cannes, with its North American rights were acquired by Netflix for $11 million after an all-night bidding war. Producing are Portman, Sophie Mas, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, Grant S. Johnson, Tyler W. Konney, Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell, with the exec producing team of Madeleine K. Rudin, Thomas K. Richards, Lee Broda, Jeff Rice, Jonathan Montepare, Samy Burch, Alex Brown, Thorsten Schumacher and Claire Taylor.

    Haynes, of course, is known for such groundbreaking films as Poison, Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven, I’m Not There, Carol, Wonderstruck and Dark Waters. His documentary The Velvet Underground was an official selection at the 59th New York Film Festival.

    May December will be released in select theaters (U.S. and Canada) on November 17 and then December 1 on Netflix.

    Check out the trailer above, and the new official poster here.

    Apple Suspends Deals With Producers, Including Natalie Portman & Adam McKay

    (9/16/23) Apple has become the latest entertainment company to suspend additional overall and first-look deals this month as the WGA strike is getting past the four-and-a-half-month mark.

    As has been the case with the other recent suspensions at Disney, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. TV and CBS Studios, impacted are non-writing producers who are not currently rendering services due to the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. I hear the handful of pacts that are being suspended include those for Natalie Portman’s MountainA, the company she formed with producer Sophie Mas, and Adam McKay’s Hyperobject Industries. A rep for Apple declined comment.

    A number of the streamer’s high-profile deals with non-writing producers are still ongoing as they are working on projects, including Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman’s Playtone, which is behind the upcoming Apple series Masters of the Air. Martin Scorsese, who signed a film and TV deal with the streamer in 2020, also has been busy finishing and promoting his upcoming Apple feature Flowers of the Killer Moon.

    Disney’s suspensions, enacted earlier this week, included deals with Gina Rodriguez and ThIs Is Us alums Justin Hartley, Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore at 20th Television, Yara Shahidi and Marc Webb at ABC Signature as well as Hiro Murai, Billy Porter and Stacey Sher at FX Productions. The studios will provide salaries for the impacted assistants through the end of 2023 and development executives through the first week of October.

    WBTV’s list of suspensions included marquee names such as Greg Berlanti, Bill Lawrence and Mindy Kaling. The NBCUniversal studios — both film and TV — suspended the pacts for Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Prods, among others. CBS Studios put on pause deals with such companies as Phil McGraw’s Stage 29 and DeVon Franklin’s Franklin Entertainment. The studio also will continue to pay salaries to assistants associated with the suspended term deals through the end of 2023.

    TV studios initiated the first wave of suspending overall and first-look deals –- primarily with writers — in early May, just days into the WGA strike. There have been more rolling suspensions over the past couple of months as more producers wrapped work on shows amid an industry production shutdown.

    The new round comes as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are stretching into the fall. In the first piece of good news in weeks, the WGA and AMPTP said yesterday that they have agreed to meet next week.

    ‘May December’ Teaser: Natalie Portman & Julianne Moore Lead Cast Of Todd Haynes’ Buzzy Drama

    (9/5/23) (Video) “My love, I think about you all the time.” Netflix has released the first trailer for May December, Todd Haynes’ buzzy drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.

    May December refers to the nature of a scandalous romance between a married woman and a 13-year-old that was a tabloid staple when it happened 20 years ago. As happened in the May-December romance between teacher Mary Kay Letourneau and Vili Fualaau, Moore’s character served time for seducing an underaged teen, but eventually married the youth, and they moved away to raise a family and live quietly. The film’s trigger is the interaction between the couple (Charles Melton plays the husband) and an actress (Portman) who travels to Maine to study the life of the woman she will play in a film. Sparks fly between the three of them as unresolved issues resurface in the romantic drama.

    In May December, Portman plays TV star Elizabeth, who is researching a new part by ingratiating herself into the lives of Gracie (Moore), whom she’ll be playing onscreen, and her much-younger husband, Joe (Charles Melton). Per the official logline, as Elizabeth attempts to get closer to the family, the uncomfortable facts of their scandal unfurl, causing difficult, long-dormant emotions to resurface.

    The film had its world premiere in Cannes and its North American rights were acquired by Netflix for $11 million after an all-night bidding war. May December will open the New York Film Festival on September 29.

    The Black List script was penned by first-time screenwriter Samy Burch. The film will be released domestically in theaters on November 17 and then December 1 on Netflix.

    May December is produced by Will Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum of Gloria Sanchez, Killer Films’ Christine Vachon and Pam Koffler, and Portman and Sophie Mas. Grant S. Johnson and Tyler W. Koney also produced and fully financed through their respective companies Project Infinity and Taylor & Dodge.

    Watch the teaser above.

    Natalie Portman, husband Benjamin Millepied separate, ‘on the outs’ after his alleged affair: report

    (8/7/23) Natalie Portman and her husband, Benjamin Millepied, have reportedly separated following rumors he had an affair.

    A source told Us Weekly Monday that the couple, who share two children, called it quits after 11 years of marriage.

    “After news of his affair came out, they’ve been trying to work on their marriage but are currently on the outs,” the insider claimed.

    Reps for Portman and Millepied did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.

    Portman, 42, was spotted in Sydney last week without Millepied, 46, despite it being their wedding anniversary.

    The “Black Swan” star’s 4-carat, Jamie Wolf-designed ring was also noticeably missing from her finger — just weeks after she was photographed looking upset while out with the dancer.

    It comes two months after speculation about Millepied’s alleged dalliance with climate change activist Camille Étienne began to swirl.

    French magazine Voici published images of Millepied and Étienne, 25, meeting up in his office. They were seen entering the building separately and then leaving 10 minutes apart almost two hours later.

    The accompanying article claimed Portman had learned of her husband’s alleged infidelity several months prior.

    At the time, Page Six exclusively reported that the couple were battling to save their marriage.

    Sources told us that the duo initially separated last year but were able to work through their marital woes.

    “They have not split and are trying to work things out. Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family,” one insider dished.

    The source added that Portman is an “incredibly private” person and “her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids,” referencing son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6.

    Étienne is the author of “For an Ecological Uprising: Overcoming Our Collective Powerlessness” and counts famed environmental activist Greta Thunberg as one of her pals.

    Millepied, for his part, met Portman in 2009 on the set of her Oscar-winning film, “Black Swan,” for which he was the choreographer.

    He got down on one knee in 2010, and they said “I do” in Big Sur, Calif., in 2012.

    Natalie Portman To Be Feted At Deauville

    (7/6/23) Todd Haynes’ latest pic May December will head to France’s Deauville American Film Festival following its Cannes Competition debut, where lead actress Natalie Portman will be feted with the Deauville Talent Award. Starting her career aged 15 in Luc Besson’s Leon, Portman has had a varied career with roles in large franchises like Star Wars and smaller indie pics like Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. In 2017, Portman was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Jackie by Pablo Larraín. Previous Deauville Talent Award winners include Jesse Eisenberg and Thandiwe Newton. Deauville runs September 1-10.

    Natalie Portman flashes wedding ring at French Open amid Benjamin Millepied cheating rumors

    (6/7/23) Still going strong?

    Natalie Portman flashed her massive wedding ring while attending the French Open on Wednesday – amid reports that her husband, Benjamin Millepied, allegedly cheated on her with a younger woman.

    The “Black Swan” star, 41, was all smiles as she sat in the stands with friends.

    On several occasions, Portman held up her hand to her face, showing off her 4-carat, Jamie Wolf-designed rock.

    She wore a printed wrap dress, black wedge heels and a Christian Dior straw hat, topping off the look with a pair of cat-eye sunglasses and a black Christian Dior bag.

    Millepied, 45, was not present with his wife for the sporting event.

    Portman’s outing comes nearly a week after news broke that the French dancer was allegedly having an affair with 25-year-old Camille Étienne.

    Last Friday, Page Six exclusively reported that Millepied was fighting to save his marriage to his wife, whom he wed in 2012.

    Sources told us that the twosome separated last year but managed to work through their issues — only for the latest allegations to emerge.

    “They have not split and are trying to work things out,” a source close to the couple told Page Six. “Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family.”

    The insider added that Portman is “incredibly private” and “her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids.”

    French magazine Voici published photos of the ballet dancer and Étienne going into his office separately on May 24 and exiting 10 minutes apart two hours later.

    The publication claimed that Millepied had been spending time with the climate activist and alleged that the “Thor: Love and Thunder” star learned about her husband’s affair “in early March.”

    Just days before the cheating scandal surfaced, Portman and Millepied were seen packing on the PDA in Paris.

    The couple was spotted sharing a kiss and socializing with friends — including Portman’s “May December” director Todd Haynes — while dining at Georges.

    However, since news of the alleged affair surfaced, Portman has been seen sans her hubby.

    The “No Strings Attached” actress was all smiles while out in Paris on Saturday, watching a soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Clermont Foot 63 at Parc des Princes stadium.

    Portman and Millepied met in 2009 on the set of her ballet movie, “Black Swan,” which her future husband choreographed.

    They tied the knot in Big Sur, Calif., three years later.

    The couple share two children: son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6.

    Natalie Portman wrote about ‘grieving wife’ one day before husband Benjamin Millepied’s affair shocker

    (6/3/23) Natalie Portman seemingly hinted at her marriage woes one day before husband Benjamin Millepied’s affair was exposed.

    On Thursday, the “Black Swan” actress, who is an avid reader, gave her 8.7 million Instagram followers a glimpse at her latest read — which is notably about a “grieving wife.”

    “When X, a polarizing and elusive artist, drops dead in her office, her grieving wife sets out to uncover the truth of X’s life,” Portman captioned a photo with her head buried in the book.

    “Part narrative fiction, part fake biography — Catherine Lacey’s Biography of X already feels wholly original and I can’t wait to discuss with you all. #JuneBookPick.”

    Portman, 41, recently discovered that the ballet dancer, whom she wed in 2012, was having an affair with 25-year-old Camille Étienne.

    Sources told Page Six that the twosome separated last year but managed to work through their issues — only for the latest allegations to rock their world once again.

    “They have not split and are trying to work things out,” an insider told us. “Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family.”

    “She is incredibly private,” they added. “Her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids.”

    Portman and Millepied, 45, share two kids: son Aleph, 12, and daughter Amalia, 6.

    While it’s unclear when Millepied’s affair with the climate activist started, we’re told he and Portman have been having marriage problems since she was filming “May December” in November.

    Although they were photographed kissing in Paris last month, French magazine Voici alleged that Millepied is still spending time with Étienne in a report published Friday.

    “In early March, the star of the ‘Star Wars’ saga discovered that her husband was having an affair with a young woman,” the magazine claimed.

    The outlet also published images of Millepied and Étienne going into his office separately on May 24. After nearly two hours, they both exited the building 10 minutes apart.

    Reps for Portman and Millepied declined to comment. Étienne didn’t respond to our request for comment.

    The “Thor: Love and Thunder” actress and Millepied met in 2009 on the set of her Oscar-winning ballet movie, where he was the film’s choreographer.

    “I think I was in, like, dreamland,” Portman said of working with her beau during a SiriusXM interview in 2018.

    “He was teaching me to dance. You know, one of those romantic [stories] … It was definitely exciting and fun. It was beautiful. I don’t know about instant. It was like I really got to know him and that was when it seemed like, ‘Oh this is the person.'”

    Ahead of their marriage troubles, the couple celebrated their 10-year anniversary in August 2022.

    “It keeps getting better,” Portman wrote on Instagram at the time.

    Natalie Portman, Benjamin Millepied fight for marriage amid his affair with 25-year-old

    (6/2/23) Natalie Portman and her ballet dancer hubby Benjamin Millepied are battling to save their marriage after she discovered that he had an affair with a 25-year-old woman, sources tell Page Six.

    We’re told the pair, who married in 2012, separated last year but managed to work through their relationship woes.

    Now their marriage has once again been rocked by revelations that he cheated. New photographs from France suggest that the former New York City Ballet principal dancer has been spending time with glamorous young climate activist Camille Étienne.

    And a source close to the couple tells Page Six, “They have not split and are trying to work things out. Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family.”

    “She is incredibly private,” the source added. “Her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids.”

    We hear it was an open secret on the set of Portman’s upcoming movie “May December,” which shot in November over the course of 23 days, that she and Millepied were having problems.

    And word at the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month was that the couple were still on thin ice. Portman, 41, was in the French Riviera city making the promotional rounds, but Millepied, 45, was nowhere to be seen.

    A source close to the couple insisted they were still an item at the time. Meanwhile, Portman and Millepied were snapped right after the film fest at a Beyoncé concert in Paris May 26. More photographs showed them kissing while having dinner May 29 in the French city.

    Then on Friday a new report in French magazine Voici alleged that Millepied has been spending time with Étienne.

    “In early March, the star of the ‘Star Wars’ saga discovered that her husband was having an affair with a young woman,” the magazine claimed.

    The mag has published images of Millepied and Étienne going into his office separately on May 24 and exiting ten minutes apart almost two hours later.

    Etienne, a pal of eco superstar Greta Thunberg, has made a number of short films on the environment and written the book “For an Ecological Uprising: Overcoming Our Collective Powerlessness.” She was also reportedly named by French Vanity Fair as one of the “50 French women who made 2020.”

    Portman and Millepied met in 2009 on the set of her Oscar-winning ballet movie “Black Swan,” for which he did the choreography. He was in a long term relationship with fellow dancer Isabella Boylston. They got engaged in 2010 and married at Big Sur, Calif., in 2012.

    Portman was pregnant with their first child when accepting her Best Actress award for the film in 2011, saying, “To my beautiful love, Benjamin Millepied, who choreographed the film and has now given me my most important role of my life,” pointing to her stomach.

    The couple share son Aleph, 12, and Amalia, 6.

    In addition to “Black Swan” they also collaborated on Portman’s 2018 movie “Vox Lux.”

    They celebrated their ten year anniversary in August 2022, posting Instagram messages to each other.

    “It keeps getting better,” Portman wrote.

    Rep for Portman and Millepied declined to comment. Étienne didn’t respond to our request for comment.

    Nominations For The Critics Choice Super Awards

    (2/22/23) This year’s winners will be revealed March 16.

    BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPERHERO MOVIE*
    Angela Bassett – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
    Zoë Kravitz – The Batman
    Elizabeth Olsen – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
    Natalie Portman – Thor: Love and Thunder
    Letitia Wright – Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

    Nickelodeon’s Kids‘ Choice Award Nominations

    (2/2/23) The awards show will air live on Saturday, March 4 at 7 pm ET/PT from L.A.’s Microsoft Theater.

    FAVORITE MOVIE ACTRESS
    Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff/The Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
    Letitia Wright (Shuri, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
    Lupita Nyong’o (Nakia, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
    Millie Bobby Brown (Enola Holmes, Enola Holmes 2)
    Natalie Portman (Jane Foster/The Mighty Thor, Thor: Love and Thunder)
    Sarah Jessica Parker (Sarah Sanderson, Hocus Pocus 2)

    Natalie Portman Decries “Re-emergence Of Antisemitism” And Hate Speech

    (12/5/22) In an emotional Instagram post, actor Natalie Portman is condemning the rise of antisemitic hate speech and expressing gratitude to all who speak out against “all forms of racism.”

    “Seeing the re-emergence of antisemitism makes my heart drop,” Portman writes. “This hatred must be combatted with boundless love for each other. Today, I send extra love to all my fellow Jews. And I send love to all those standing with us against these violent words and actions. It’s been painful and frightening to listen to, and I’m extremely grateful to those who continue to speak up against antisemitism with us, and against all forms of racism.”

    Portman and similar sentiments shared by other celebrities follows recent reports about the rise of antisemitism and other hate speech on Twitter — including comments made by Kanye West — since the platform was acquired by Elon Musk.

    Last week, Amy Schumer said on Instagram: “I was bullied for being Jewish in the town I grew up in and was made to feel embarrassed for my Judaism. Now I am proud to be descended from survivors of auschwitz. There are less than 17 million Jews in the entire world. We don’t recruit. We don’t try and change laws to enforce our beliefs on other people bodies. Hug a Jew today. Anti semitism is harmful to black people. Let’s look at who we are empowering.”

    ‘Lady In The Lake’ Apple+ Series Forced To Halt Production After Extortion Threats From Baltimore Locals

    (8/28/22) An Apple TV+ series filming in Baltimore stopped production Friday after several people threatened the producers and tried to extort money from them, Baltimore police said.

    A spokesperson for the Baltimore Police Department said the crew was filming around 4 PM in the downtown area when the producers were approached by several people. The group claimed if they didn’t stop filming they would come back and shoot someone, police said.

    However, they said no violence would occur if they were paid an unspecified amount. Producers decided to halt filming and seek a new location. Local news outlet The Baltimore Banner reported that drug dealers attempted to extort $50,000 from the production, which producers declined to pay.

    Deadline has reached out to the studio on the show, Endeavor Content, for comment.

    The Apple+ series stars Natalie Portman and has been filming in Baltimore for the past several months.

    The series is based on a book by former Baltimore Sun reporter and author Laura Lippman, and also stars Baltimore native Moses Ingram, who recently appeared in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series.

    Lady in the Lake takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes a housewife and mother to reinvent herself as an investigative journalist. That sets her on a collision course with a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs, and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda,” according to a production description.

    Inside Natalie Portman’s 10-month workout routine and diet for ‘Thor’

    (7/7/22) This is how she got her Marvel-ous arms.

    Natalie Portman trained for 10 months and stuck to a strict high-protein meal plan in order to shape up for “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

    “Natalie did five sessions a week and did not miss one session for the whole time period we trained,” Portman’s trainer Naomi Pendergast told Us Weekly in an interview published Thursday.

    The fitness trainer explained that 41-year-old Portman’s major goal was to bulk up in her arms and really get shredded in the abdominal area.

    “The initial goal was to build arm and abdominal definition,” Pendergast told the website. “We also worked on stability and agility for injury prevention as Natalie had some dynamic stunt scenes that required her to move, twist and land in various positions.

    “I was also really pleased she got through the challenging stunt process without any injuries.”

    Her workouts consisted of boxing, skipping around, core work, and weightlifting.

    And because she was working out so rigorously, Portman, who is a vegan, had to switch up her diet so she could ensure enough protein intake to gain muscle as opposed to losing weight.

    Pendergast shared that during filming, Portman would eat a vegan-based breakfast of oats and berries and a protein shake and her snacks on set would consist of fruit, nuts and salads. For lunch, Portman would have a vegan falafel dish with another protein shake and for dinner she’d eat vegan curry and a third protein shake.

    “This amount of food was obviously way more than Natalie normally eats, but it was essential for her to maintain this throughout filming to keep the muscle she had developed,” Pendergast said.

    The RPX Fitness director explained that while she provided the guidance, it was Portman’s dedication that helped her meet her fitness goals for the Marvel film.

    “I provided the exercises and guidance, but she did the rest,” Pendergast said. “She is focused, determined, and humble. Natalie turned up every session that was scheduled for the 10 months and gave 100 percent, even on the days she was tired.”

    The “Black Swan” actress discussed her new muscular figure, telling Variety that she saw herself in a new light.

    “On ‘Black Swan,’ I was asked to get as small as possible,” Portman recently told Variety. “Here, I was asked to get as big as possible. That’s an amazing challenge — and also state of mind as a woman.”

    She added, “To have this reaction and be seen as big, you realize, ‘Oh, this must be so different, to walk through the world like this. When you’re small — and also, I think, because I started as a kid — a lot of times I feel young or little or, like, a pat-on-the-head kind of person. And I present myself that way, too, because of that.”

    Portman’s co-star Chris Hemsworth also had to go the extra mile to prepare for his role as Thor.

    As Page Six exclusively revealed, Hemsworth, 38, had to eat eight meals a day to look like the God of Thunder.

    “Thor: Love and Thunder” hits theaters Friday, July 8.

    ‘Days Of Abandonment’ Starring Natalie Portman Not Moving Forward At HBO

    (8/2/21) HBO has pulled the plug on The Days of Abandonment, the film starring Natalie Portman based on Elena Ferrante’s best-selling novel.

    “Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO Films’ Days of Abandonment prior to the start of filming,” HBO said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the production will not move forward. We are very sorry we won’t be able to bring this beautiful story to the screen with our talented writer/director and cast. We send our sincere thanks to our cast, producers, and crew for all their passion and hard work.”

    Details on why Portman stepped down were not immediately known.

    The film, which had been in pre-production, hailed from writer-director Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Portman and her MountainA Films, Maven Screen Media, Len Amato’s Crash & Salvage and Fandango. Ferrante also served as an executive producer.

    Written and directed by Betts, The Days of Abandonment revolved around Tess (Portman). When Tess, who abandoned her own dreams for a stable home life, is in turn abandoned by her husband, her world is thrown off its axis. Adapted from Ferrante’s tour-de-force novel, it’s described as a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis that confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche.

    The cast also included Rafi Spall and Mary-Louise Parker. THR first reported the news.

    Natalie Portman And Julianne Moore To Star In Todd Haynes’ ‘May December’

    (6/12/21) Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore are set to star in Rocket Science’s May December for Carol director Todd Haynes. The screenplay was written by Samy Burch with the story by Burch and Alex Mechanik. Rocket Science is handling international sales beginning at the Virtual Cannes Market, where UTA Independent Film Group and CAA Media Finance are representing U.S rights.

    Jessica Elbaum and Will Ferrell of Gloria Sanchez Productions and Christine Vachon (Shirley, Dark Waters) and Pam Koffler (Dark Waters, Colette) of Killer Films will produce alongside Portman and Sophie Mas under their MountainA banner. Principal photography is scheduled to commence next year.

    Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, Gracie Atherton-Yu and her husband Joe (23 years her junior) brace themselves for their twins to graduate from high school. When Hollywood actress Elizabeth Berry comes to spend time with the family to better understand Gracie, who she will be playing in a film, family dynamics unravel under the pressure of the outside gaze. Joe, never having processed what happened in his youth, starts to confront the reality of life as an empty-nester at 36. And as Elizabeth and Gracie study each other, the similarities and differences between the two women begin to ebb and flow. Set in picturesque and comfortable Camden, ME, May December is an exploration of truth, storytelling and the difficulties (or impossibility) of fully understanding another person.

    “What so appealed to me about Samy Burch’s exceptional script was how it navigated potentially volatile subject matter with a kind of observational patience that allowed the characters in the story to be explored with uncommon subtlety,” Haynes said.

    May December will see Moore and Haynes reunite for the sixth time, following previous collaborations including Far from Heaven. It comes as Haynes’ documentary The Velvet Underground will have its premiere as part of the Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival next month. Portman recently wrapped principal photography on Marvel Studios/Disney’s Thor: Love and Thunder for director Taika Waititi. Moore will next star in Universal’s Dear Evan Hansen which will be released this fall.

    Haynes is repped by CAA and Cinetic Media; Portman is represented by CAA and Agence Adequat; Moore by WME and Management 360; Burch is represented by Grandview; and Elbaum, Ferrell and Gloria Sanchez are represented by UTA, Mosaic and attorneys Jackoway Austen.

    Rocket Science’ Cannes slate includes Sean Penn’s Flag Day, which screens in Official Competition, and Eva Husson’s Mothering Sunday which screens in the Premiere section. Recently announced projects include: Zach Braff’s A Good Person starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman; Robbie Williams biopic Better Man from director Michael Gracey; Sophia Banks’ Black Site starring Jason Clarke, Michelle Monaghan and Jai Courtney; and Oliver Hermanus’ Living starring Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood.

    Natalie Portman To Headline HBO Films’ ‘The Days Of Abandonment’ Based On Elena Ferrante’s Novel

    (4/13/21) Oscar winner Natalie Portman is set to star and executive produce HBO Films’ The Days of Abandonment, based on Elena Ferrante’s best-selling novel. The film, which is currently in pre-production, hails from writer-director Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Portman and her MountainA Films, Maven Screen Media, Len Amato’s Crash & Salvage and Fandango. Ferrante also serves as an executive producer.

    Written and directed by Betts, The Days of Abandonment revolves around Tess, played by Portman. When Tess, a woman who abandoned her own dreams for a stable home life, is in turn abandoned by her husband, her world is thrown off its axis. Adapted from Ferrante’s tour-de-force novel of the same name, The Days of Abandonment is a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis that confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche.

    Betts executive produces with Portman and Sophie Mas via MountainA, along with Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler for Maven Screen Media, Len Amato for Crash & Salvage, Ferrante, Domenico Procacci for Fandango and Maria Zuckerman. HBO Films produces in association with Medusa.

    MountainA was founded in 2020 by Natalie Portman and Sophie Mas to produce film and television projects. Under a recently announced first-look deal with Apple TV+, MountainA is behind Lady in the Lake, an upcoming Apple Original limited series, which will mark Portman’s TV acting debut. She is co-starring with Lupita Nyong’o on the series, directed and co-written by Alma Har’el. Portman and Mas will serve as executive producers through MountainA.

    Maven Screen Media is devoted to addressing the gender imbalance in film, as well as narratives told through the female lens. Maven reunites with Betts after their successful collaboration on Novitiate, which won the director’s prize at Sundance.

    Upcoming films from Maven Screen Media, include two women making their directorial debuts in Amy Koppelman with A Mouthful of Air starring Amanda Seyfried and Paul Giamatti, and Camille Griffin with Silent Night starring Keira Knightley, Lucy Punch, Lily Rose Depp and Matthew Goode. Maven is in post on Infinite Storm, directed by Malgo Szumowska and starring Naomi Watts.

    Crash&Salvage is the newly formed production banner from Emmy-winning producer Len Amato, former President of HBO Films, Miniseries and Cinemax. Created in January 2021, Crash&Salvage develops projects for film and television as well as Music-based projects with emerging artists. Under his banner, in addition to The Days of Abandonment, Amato also has in development at HBO White House Plumbers, a limited series directed by David Mandel, written by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck, and starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux.

    Ferrante is the author of The Days of Abandonment (Europa, 2005), which was made into a film directed by Roberto Faenza, Troubling Love (Europa, 2006), adapted by Mario Martone, and The Lost Daughter (Europa, 2008), soon to be a major motion picture directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Oscar Award-winner Olivia Colman. She is also the author of Incidental Inventions (Europa, 2019), illustrated by Andrea Ucini, Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey (Europa, 2016) and The Beach at Night (Europa, 2016), illustrated by Mara Cerri. The four volumes known as the “Neapolitan quartet” (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) were published by Europa Editions in English between 2012 and 2015. My Brilliant Friend, the HBO series directed by Saverio Costanzo, premiered in 2018. Her most recent novel is The Lying Life of Adults (Europa, 2020).

    Fandango is a film production company founded in 1989 by Domenico Procacci. The company has won numerous awards, including two Grand Prix in Cannes with Gomorrah and Reality both directed by Matteo Garrone. On the TV side, Fandango produced the Gomorrah series with Cattleya and Sky and L’Amica geniale (My Brilliant Friend), the HBO – RAI series co-produced with Wildside / The Apartment, based on Ferrante’s novels. The series based on Ferrante’s latest novel La vita bugiarda degli adulti (The Lying Life of Adults) is currently in development with Netflix.

    Zuckerman currently serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Topic Studios. Since taking the helm, she has helped usher in several new productions and projects including The Mauritanian, a political drama directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald and starring Jodie Foster, Tahar Rahim, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Shailene Woodley (STXfilms); Pablo Larrain’s upcoming film Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana (NEON); and the upcoming surfing documentary series, 100 Foot Wave set to premiere on HBO/HBO Max later this year.

    Betts is repped by CAA and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. Portman is repped by CAA and the Law Offices of George Sheanshang. MountainA is repped by CAA and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Ferrante is repped by Edizione e/o.

    Natalie Portman And Producing Partner Sophie Mas Sign Apple First-Look TV Deal

    (3/17/21) Oscar winner Natalie Portman and producing partner Sophie Mas have inked a first-look deal with Apple. Under the multi-year agreement, Apple TV+ will have a first look on television projects to be developed and produced by Portman and Mas through their newly formed production company MountainA. This marks the first producing deal for the pair.

    The TV deal makes sense for all parties as Portman, Mas and Apple worked together on the recently announced Apple Original limited series Lady in the Lake, which marked Portman’s TV acting debut. She is co-starring with Lupita Nyong’o on the series, directed and co-written by Alma Har’el. All three women serve as executive producers along with Dre Ryan, who will co-create and co-write the series with Har’el, who will write the pilot. Portman and Mas will serve as executive producers through MountainA.

    Lady In the Lake is an adaptation of Laura Lippman’s New York Times bestselling novel of the same name. The limited series takes place in 1960s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother Maddie Schwartz (Portman) to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood (Nyong’o), a hardworking woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

    The series will be produced by Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, is executive produced by Har’el alongside producing partner Christopher Leggett through her new production company Zusa. Crazyrose principals Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross will also serve as executive producers, and Julie Gardner will executive produce for Bad Wolf America. Lippman and Ryan will also executive produce on the project. Endeavor Content is the studio.

    Apple TV+ has not only become a place that is attracting A-list talent for first-look deals but also award-winning female storytellers with Portman and Mas now joining that group. Talent with deals at Apple TV+ include Oprah Winfrey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kerry Ehrin, Monica Beletsky, Sharon Horgan and Alena Smith. Apple has also recently inked deals with Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón, Jason Katims, Lee Eisenberg and Simon Kinberg. To date, Apple has also inked overall and first-look deals with companies including Appian Way, the film and television production company founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and co-run by Jennifer Davisson; Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures; Ridley Scott’s Scott Free Productions; A24 and Imagine Documentaries; as well as with Sesame Workshop and Peanuts.

    Besides Lady In the Lake, some of Mas’ other producing credits include Call Me by Your Name, Ad Astra and Patti Cake$.

    Portman is repped by CAA and the Law Offices of George Sheanshang. MountainA is repped by CAA and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.

    Natalie Portman & Lupita Nyong’o To Star In ‘Lady In The Lake’ Series At Apple From Alma Har’el, Dre Ryan, Jean-Marc Vallée, Bad Wolf & Endeavor Content

    (3/10/21) Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o are to star in a limited series adaptation of Laura Lippman’s book Lady In The Lake for Apple TV+.

    The series will be directed by Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, who co-created and will co-write with Colony and The Man In The High Castle writer Dre Ryan. Lady In The Lake is produced by Jean-Marc Vallée’s Crazyrose and Bad Wolf America, the U.S. arm of the His Dark Materials producer. Endeavor Content is the studio. Har’el is writing the pilot episode.

    The limited series takes place in 60s Baltimore, where an unsolved murder pushes housewife and mother, Maddie Schwartz, played by Portman, to reinvent her life as an investigative journalist and sets her on a collision course with Cleo Sherwood, played by Nyong’o, a hard-working woman juggling motherhood, many jobs and a passionate commitment to advancing Baltimore’s Black progressive agenda.

    It marks the first lead television role for Black Swan and Thor star Portman as well as the first major small screen role for Black Panther star Nyong’o as well the first television project for Har’el (left), who won a DGA Award for her feature film Honey Boy.

    The straight-to-series order is exec produced by Portman, Nyong’o, Har’el, Ryan, Christopher Leggett, who is Har’el’s producing partner through her new production company Zusa, Portman’s producing partner Sophie Mas, Crazyrose principals Jean-Marc Vallée and Nathan Ross, Bad Wolf America’s Julie Gardner and author Laura Lippman.

    Vallée and Ross exec produced Big Little Lies and Sharp Objects and are working on Gorilla and the Bird at HBO and Players Table starring Sydney Sweeney and Halsey for HBO Max. Bad Wolf is also behind HBO’s The Night Of and Industry and Sky and AMC fantasy drama A Discovery of Witches.

    Portman is repped by CAA and the Law Offices of George Sheanshang, Nyong’o is repped by CAA, Mainstay Entertainment and Del, Shaw, Moonves, et al., Har’el is repped by WME, Range and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Ryan is repped by WME and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Lippman is repped by Vicky Bijur Literary Agency, Darren Trattner of Jackoway, Tyerman, Wertheimer, and WME, Bad Wolf America is repped by WME and Crazyrose, Vallée and Ross are represented by David Weber at Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern.

    Natalie Portman says getting ‘Lolita’ treatment at 12 messed up her sexuality

    (12/8/20) Natalie Portman resents being painted as a “Lolita figure.”

    The 39-year-old actress went on Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast Monday to talk about her childhood, parenthood, and the pitfalls of growing up a star.

    The Jerusalem-born “Garden State” star turned 12 on the set of her first big film, “Leon: The Professional,” in 1994, and revealed to Shepard that she “didn’t allow the full expression of who I was at that time.”

    Portman went on to explain how the industry took a toll on her intimate development.

    “Being sexualized as a child took away from my own sexuality because it made me afraid,” said the A-lister, who won an Oscar for her portrayal of a twisted femme fatale in “Black Swan,” and played similarly troubled characters in films like “Beautiful Girls,” when she was 14.

    “So many people had this impression of me that I was super-serious and prude and conservative as I got older,” Portman told Shepard during their 90-minute conversation. “I consciously cultivated that because it was a way to make me feel safe. If someone respects you, they’re not going to objectify you.”

    In 1997, Portman was offered the role of Lolita in Adrian Lyne’s film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 book about a middle-aged man who becomes sexually involved with a 12-year-old. She turned it down because of the overtly explicit content and because she didn’t want to be seen as a jailbait tease in real life. Turning down roles — and refusing to do kissing or love scenes — became part of Portman’s self-defense techniques.

    She lamented, “At that age you do have your own sexuality, and you do have your own desire and you do want to explore things … but you don’t feel safe necessarily.” She added, “You build these fortresses.”

    Even Shepard admitted to having a picture of Portman in his toolbox “for 12 years,” saying, “I became obsessed with you.”

    The star — who went on to marry French dancer Benjamin Millepied, and called herself “boring” — has spoken out on the issue before. At the 2018 Women’s March in Los Angeles, the star said she’d been a victim of “sexual terrorism,” pointing out that the local radio station had a countdown to when she was 18, “euphemistically the date that I would be legal to sleep with.”

    Shepard pointed out that Portman has the “opposite trajectory” of many Disney stars, like Miley Cyrus and Bella Thorne, who were given clean-cut roles on-screen, but then went on to break out and own their over-the-top sexuality publicly.

    “It’s totally true,” said Portman.

    Portman group will bring NWSL to Los Angeles in 2022

    (7/21/20) Actress Natalie Portman and venture capitalist Kara Nortman lead a group that will bring an expansion National Women's Soccer League team to the Los Angeles area in 2022.

    The team, tentatively named Angel City, will bring the league to 11 teams. Louisville FC will join the nine current NWSL clubs next season.

    Portman and Nortman are joined by gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, the cornsortium's president in the majority-female group. Others involved include actors Eva Longoria, America Ferrera, Jennifer Garner and Uzo Aduba.

    Tech entrepreneur and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, the husband of tennis star Serena Williams, is the lead investor through his firm Initialized Capital. Portman, Nortman and Uhrman all have a financial stake in the team.

    “I think it’s so important to have role models and and heroes that are women for kids — both boys and girls — to see. And, it’s just such an incredible sport in that it really is a team sport,” Portman said in an interview with The Associated Press. "You see one woman’s success and all the others are cheering her on because one woman’s success is the whole team’s success.”

    Among the founding group are more than a dozen former players, including Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach and Julie Foudy, as well as other female business leaders.

    Portman said she heard Wambach, a former U.S. national team forward, speak at a Time's Up event and started thinking about how female athletes are regarded in society. Then she and Nortman met Becca Roux, the executive director of the U.S. Women's National Team Players Association.

    “We started going to games and we just got so into it. And it was just kind of a revolution to see my son and his friends, these little 8-year-old boys at the time, wanting to wear their Rapinoe jerseys. And Alex Morgan jerseys. I was like, 'Wow, this would be a different world.' It wasn’t unusual to them at all," Portman said.

    There were hints that the group was coming together last year when Portman, Gardner, Longoria and other celebrities went to a national team exhibition game at LAFC's stadium before the World Cup.

    The women also reached out to a local supporters group that has been campaigning to bring a team to Los Angeles. The plan is to bring on additional investors as the team takes shape.

    “We knew that there would be a strong and passionate supporters group here to support this. And from there it was about, `How do we do this in the right way? How do we do this differently?'" Uheman said.

    The group is partnering with the LA84 Foundation, a nonprofit formed after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics that promotes youth sports. Angel City also announced its formal support of the foundation's Play Equity Fund, aimed at helping kids in minority and underserved communities.

    “We believe these players need to be playing on one of the best stages in the world. But we also know that we have the power and the platform and the voice to make a meaningful impact in our community," Uhrman said. “And so it’s important for us to do that from Day 1. In the same way that we are building to put 11 incredible players on the field from Day 1.”

    The NWSL, which began play in 2013, was the first professional team sport to return to action in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, with the Challenge Cup tournament in Utah. The semifinals are set for Wednesday.

    The official name of the Los Angeles club, and where it will play, are expected to be announced later this year.

    “The growth trajectory of the NWSL is incredibly exciting, but we also need to be strategic and thoughtful about how fast we expand and the communities we partner with,” NWSL Commissioner Lisa Baird said in a statement Tuesday. “We’ve long sought the right partner in LA considering the NWSL fanbase that already exists in the region and the massive interest in women’s soccer in general."

    Natalie Portman comes out in support of Defund the Police movement

    (6/9/20) Natalie Portman has become the latest celebrity to come out in support of the Defund the Police movement.

    The Oscar winner on Monday shared several images with information about police defunding, alongside a lengthy caption in which she confessed that the police have made her always feel safe, crediting that to “the center of my white privilege.”

    “When I first heard #defundthepolice, I have to admit my first reaction was fear,” the 39-year-old “Star Wars” actress wrote.

    “My whole life, police have made me feel safe. But that’s exactly the center of my white privilege: the police make me as a white woman feel safe, while my black friends, family and neighbors feel the opposite: police make them feel terror.”

    She concluded: “I’ve gotten to the age in my life, where if my gut feels uncomfortable, I take the situation as wrong. But this concept initially made me uncomfortable because I was wrong. Because the system that makes me feel comfortable is wrong. #defendblacklives#defundthepolice.”

    The movement, which has grown out of protests following the killing of George Floyd, calls for reducing police budgets and investing that money directly into poorer communities of color, funding better schools, housing and medical services.

    Other celebs supporting this platform include John Legend, America Ferrera, Jane Fonda, Lizzo, Brie Larson and The Weeknd. All of them signed an open letter supporting the initiative.

    Lifetime Presents Variety’s Power of Women: Frontline Heroes

    (5/28/20) Lifetime Presents Variety’s Power of Women: Frontline Heroes will air Tuesday, June 9 at 10/9c on Lifetime and Facebook. Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts will virtually host the special, which features appearances from Cate Blanchett, Patti LuPone, Janelle Monae, Laverne Cox, Jennifer Garner, Tiffany Haddish, Gigi Hadid, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Nicole Kidman, Blake Lively, Helen Mirren and Natalie Portman.

    Natalie Portman Responds To Rose McGowan Oscars Cape Criticism, Mentions Harvey Weinstein

    (2/12/20) Natalie Portman has fired back at activist Rose McGowan, who blasted her for faux activism stemming from the gesture of wearing a cape at the Academy Awards featuring the names of snubbed female directors.

    McGowan said in a Facebook post Tuesday that Portman’s gesture was hollow and asked her to “stop pretending you’re some kind of champion for anything other than yourself.” McGowan said Portman has “worked with two female directors in your very long career- one of them was you.”

    Portman’s Oscars outfit featured a cape embroidered with the names of Greta Gerwig (Little Women”), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Mati Diop (Atlantics), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy) and Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire).

    “Some thoughts on Natalie Portman and her Oscar ‘protest,’” McGowan’s Facebook post said. “The kind of protest that gets rave reviews from the mainstream media for its bravery. Brave? No, not by a long shot. More like an actress acting the part of someone who cares. As so many of them do.”

    Portman responded today with her own statement.

    “I agree with Ms. McGowan that it is inaccurate to call me ‘brave’ for wearing a garment with women’s names on it. Brave is a term I more strongly associate with actions like those of the women who have been testifying against Harvey Weinstein the last few weeks, under incredible pressure,” Portman said. McGowan has been a vocal Weinstein accuser.

    “The past few years have seen a blossoming of directing opportunities for women due to the collective efforts of many people who have been calling out the system,” Portman said. “The gift has been these incredible films. I hope that what was intended as a simple nod to them does not distract from their great achievements.”

    Portman corrected the record in her own comments, noting that she has collaborated with female filmmakers on “shorts, commercials, music videos and features.” She named Marya Cohn, Mira Nair, Rebecca Zlotowski, Anna Rose Holmer, Sofia Coppola, Shirin Neshat “and myself.”

    Rose McGowan calls Natalie Portman’s Oscars 2020 dress ‘deeply offensive’

    (2/12/20) Rose McGowan was not a fan of Natalie Portman‘s silent act of protest on Sunday’s Oscars 2020 red carpet.

    The actress and Harvey Weinstein accuser, 46, called out Portman in a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday, accusing her of not taking the actions to support women in the industry.

    Portman, 38, attended the awards show wearing a black and gold Dior dress with a cape embroidered with the names of the female directors who were snubbed by the Academy: Lorene Scafaria (“Hustlers”), Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Mati Diop (“Atlantics”), Marianne Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”), Melina Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”), Alma Har’el (“Honey Boy”) and Céline Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”).

    “I find Portman’s type of activism deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work. I’m not writing this out of bitterness, I am writing out of disgust. I just want her and other actresses to walk the walk,” McGowan said. “Natalie, you have worked with two female directors in your very long career- one of them was you. You have a production company that has hired exactly one female director- you.”

    “What is it with actresses of your ilk? You ‘A-listers’ (??) could change the world if you’d take a stand instead of being the problem. Yes, you, Natalie. You are the problem. Lip service is the problem. Fake support of other women is the problem.”

    McGowan also recalled a Women in Film event that she attended, at which Portman “reeled off depressing statistics and then we all went back to our salads.” She called the female speakers “frauds,” referring to the organization itself as a “joke.” McGowan also plugged her book, “Brave,” in which she details multiple alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein, whom she only refers to as “the monster.”

    Portman has been outspoken against abuse and manipulation in the industry, and supports the Time’s Up movement.

    “I am singling you out because you are the latest in a long line of actresses who are acting the part of a woman who cares about other women,” McGowan wrote. “Actresses who supposedly stand for women, but in reality do not do much at all.”

    “Until you and your fellow actresses get real, do us all a favor and hang up your embroidered activist cloak, it doesn’t hang right,” she concluded.

    Though some supported McGowan in the comments, plenty also scolded her for the harsh critique. “You don’t get to decide what her effort means or say what she’s feeling. You don’t get to tear another woman down,” one person said.

    “Just because you believe one is the right way to protest does not mean she is in the wrong. I thought you were about uplifting woman and standing together?,” another wrote.

    Oscars: Natalie Portman Wears Cape Embroidered With Names Of Snubbed Female Directors

    (2/9/20) Natalie Portman paid tribute to women directors on the Oscars red carpet, wearing a black Dior cape with the names of those who were not nominated this year.

    Embroidered in gold on the cape were names such as Lulu Wang, who directed The Farewell, Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Kasi Lemmons (Harriet), Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) and Alma Har’el (Honey Boy).

    “I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year, in my subtle way,” she told L.A. Times reporter Amy Kaufman.

    Kirsten Schaffer, Executive Director of Women in Film, LA released a statement when the nominations were announced in regards to the lack of women in the Best Director category: “It’s disheartening that even as the number of women nominated for awards in documentary, short film, and technical categories increases, there have still only been five women considered for the Best Directing award in its 92-year history. The Academy has made efforts to balance its voting bodies, but gender equality and diversity do not just happen. Without deep systemic change in the industry and a real commitment to equity in film finance, distribution, and marketing, this bleak trend will continue.”

    Only five women have been nominated for best director in Oscar history. Kathryn Bigelow is the only woman to have won a best directing Academy Awards, for 2009’s The Hurt Locker.

    This year’s best directing nominees are Martin Scorsese for The Irishman, Todd Phillips for Joker, Sam Mendes for 1917, Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Bong Joon Ho for Parasite.

    You can watch Portman’s explanation below: Video.

    ‘The Death & Life Of John F. Donovan’ Trailer: Kit Harrington, Natalie Portman & Jacob Tremblay Lead Xavier Dolan’s English-Language Debut

    (11/15/19) (Video) “I had just turned 11,” the now-grown Rupert Turner recalls. “The kids at school were mocking for me being a new guy. My mom and I were barely speaking anymore. All my dreams had disappeared.”

    Except one.

    Here’s the first trailer for The Death & Life of John F. Donovan, director Xavier Dolan’s English-language debut that had its world premiere at Toronto in September. Its formidable cast includes Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Jacob Tremblay, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Thandie Newton, Ben Schnetzer, Emily Hampshire and Sarah Gadon.

    Here’s how it plays out: Heartthrob film and TV star John F. Donovan (Harington) died alone and unexpectedly following a series of scandals. One particular fan, 11-year-old Rupert Turner (Tremblay), has some singular insight because he and Donovan were secret pen pals for five years. The adult Rupert (Schnetzer) writes a book as an adult about his experiences, providing rare look into one man’s life.

    Michael Gambon narrates the R-rated film Dolan co-wrote with Jacob Tierney.

    Entertainment One drama opens the film in theaters December 13; it hits VOD the same day. Have a look at the trailer above.

    Natalie Portman celebrates Rosh Hashanah with family and friends

    (10/6/19) Natalie Portman rang in the Jewish new year with family and friends at Serafina in White Plains on Sunday.

    “It was a huge group of about 16 .?.?. They were celebrating Rosh Hashanah. She was with her daughter and her husband and they were taking pictures of food, laughing and having fun. She seemed very happy and doted on her daughter,” an insider told Page Six.

    Portman even brought her own challah bread, honey and pomegranate to the restaurant, and the group said a prayer in Hebrew.

    ‘Lucy In The Sky’ Trailer: Natalie Portman Transcends Space In Noah Hawley Feature Debut

    (8/26/19) (Video) In the first full trailer for the Noah Hawley-directed Lucy in the Sky, Natalie Portman plays the titular astronaut and at one point in the trailer she says that space is the “Only place where anything makes sense.” Based on the trailer, that sentiment is true — well for her character at least.

    In Hawley’s feature debut, Portman plays Lucy Cola, a woman whose determination and drive as an astronaut take her to space, where she’s deeply moved by the transcendent experience of seeing her life from afar. Meanwhile, back at home, as Lucy’s world suddenly feels too small, her connection with reality slowly unravels.

    As the creator of the surreal comic book series Legion, Hawley brings that aesthetic to the big screen with Lucy in the Sky but dials it down a bit (at least that what it seems like in the trailer. It is clear that Lucy has some problems with her husband Drew (Dan Stevens) and what seems to be an affair with a fellow astronaunt Mark (Jon Hamm). All the while she is grappling with what seems to be an obsession about space.

    The film, which will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month, also stars Ellen Burstyn, Zazie Beetz, Nick Offerman and Tig Notaro. Watch the trailer above and check out the debut poster here.

    Natalie Portman Astronaut Pic ‘Lucy In The Sky’ To Blast Off This Fall

    (8/9/19) Fox Searchlight has set October 4 for the limited release of Noah Hawley’s Lucy in the Sky, which stars Natalie Portman as an astronaut who returns from space.

    With Lucy‘s new date, Disney officially is still keeping the wide release for Fox’s Joe Wright-directed Amy Adams feature The Woman in the Window on the same date. That pic is going back for reshoots, with the studio to assess whether it gets moved or not.

    In Lucy in the Sky, Portman’s astronaut returns to Earth to learn that her boyfriend (Jon Hamm) is having an affair with an astronaut trainee. She bottoms out and desperately tries to correct all that is wrong. Also starring are Dan Stevens, Ellen Burstyn and Zazie Beetz. No word yet if Lucy will hit Telluride or TIFF.

    Hawley, Brian C. Brown and Elliott DiGuiseppi wrote the script, which is inspired by real-life NASA Captain Lisa Nowak. In 2007, Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando with a knife and a BB gun in order to confront her former lover, fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein, and his new girlfriend.

    The pic is produced by Reese Witherspoon (who was once to star in the project), Bruna Papandrea, Hawley and John Cameron.

    October 4 is a big weekend: Warner Bros. opens its R-rated Todd Phillips DC movie Joker, while Sony Pictures Classics’ opens Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory, which won best composer at Cannes for Alberto Iglesias’ work as well as Best Actor for Antonio Banderas.

    Natalie Portman Is Female Thor In ‘Thor Love And Thunder’ Opening Fall 2021 –Comic-Con

    (7/21/19) Natalie Portman is set to portray the female Thor, Thor 4 director Taika Waititi announced today. The film will open in fall 2021. Portman played Jane Foster in the first two Thor movies.

    No surprise here at Marvel’s Comic-Con panel, but Taika Waititi was on hand to talk about Thor 4 along with Tessa Thompson who played Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok along with Chris Hemsworth. Why no surprise? News broke earlier this week that Waititi was returning to Thor. He’s also here for FX’s What We Do In Shadows later tonight at the San Diego Convention Center. Thompson appeared earlier on HBO’s Westworld panel.

    Valkyrie will be “re-investing in her people” and rebuilding Asgard said Thompson. “The love I feel for him is thunder,” said Thompson.

    Waititi was reading one story line by Jason Aron called The Mighty Thor which is what the fourthquel will be based on. “That story line is incredible is full emotion, love and thunder and introduces for the first time female Thor,” said Waititi. Thompson and Hemsworth haven’t seen the script yet.

    What’s happened to Thor posts Endgame? “He’s heading to the 7-11 for a little Netflix subscription and at this point he might be on the couch, who knows,” said Hemsworth.

    Natalie Portman says she didn't date 'creepy' Moby as a teen

    (5/23/19) Natalie Portman has denied she ever dated Moby, insisting he was simply “a much older man being creepy with me.”

    In his new memoir, Then It Fell Apart, the 53-year-old musician claimed the Black Swan star flirted with him in his dressing room after a show when he was 33 and she was 20. They then allegedly began dating and he “tried to be her boyfriend”, but she broke things off after meeting someone else.

    In a new interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Oscar-winning actress disputed his version of events and insisted she was only 18 and fresh out of high school when they met.

    “I was surprised to hear that he characterized the very short time that I knew him as dating because my recollection is a much older man being creepy with me when I just had graduated high school,” she said.

    “I was a fan and went to one of his shows when I had just graduated. When we met after the show, he said, ‘Let’s be friends.’ He was on tour and I was working shooting a film, so we only hung out a handful of times before I realized that this was an older man who was interested in me in a way that felt inappropriate.”

    The 37-year-old went on to blast staff at Moby’s book publisher Faber and Faber for not checking his claims before the memoir came out earlier this month.

    “There was no fact checking from him or his publisher – it almost feels deliberate,” she continued. “That he used this story to sell his book was very disturbing to me. It wasn’t the case. There are many factual errors and inventions.”

    Moby, who had previously mentioned their alleged relationship in an interview in 2008, wrote in his memoir that he couldn’t fathom why a “beautiful movie star” would be interested in “a bald binge drinker” and was relieved when she broke up with him.

    “I thought that I was going to have to tell her that my panic was too egregious for me to be in a real relationship, but one night on the phone she informed me that she’d met somebody else. I was relieved that I’d never have to tell her how damaged I was,” he wrote.

    Man Arrested Outside Natalie Portman's Home for Violating Restraining Order

    (3/27/19) Natalie Portman was caught in the middle of a scary situation at her Los Angeles home after a man she'd previously been granted protection against showed up outside her property.

    Law enforcement sources say Portman saw the man -- who claims he the character "John Wick" -- around 3:30 Tuesday afternoon just outside of her home. We're told Portman immediately called cops and left the premises.

    Police showed up within minutes and arrested the man for violating a restraining order the actress had against him.

    Our sources say it was on January 31, 2019 when the man showed up at Portman's home and tried to gain access onto the property. During that encounter, cops were called and he was placed on a psychiatric hold.

    Natalie Portman granted for restraining order against 'John Wick'

    (2/22/19) Natalie Portman has been granted her request for a restraining order against an alleged trespasser calling himself John Wick.

    The actress called in the authorities after the man, who has not been publicly identified, reportedly gained entry to her gated community in Los Angeles on January 31 and showed up at her front gate.

    A police report of the incident, obtained by The Blast, reads, “(The man) rang the intercom/doorbell multiple times but said nothing when attempts to engage him were made over the intercom.”

    When cops showed up to investigate, they confronted the intruder, who claimed his name was John Wick – the same moniker used by Keanu Reeves’ assassin character in the 2015 movie of the same name.

    However, officers found a Colorado Driver’s License in his possession, which provided them with his real identity, and then had him placed on a mental hold after telling cops he “had spoken to the reporting person several times, telepathically, and that he had traveled from Colorado to Los Angeles to meet the individual.”

    The suspect was also slapped with a firearms restraining order by the lead detective.

    Meanwhile, Portman filed legal papers requesting the temporary restraining order in court on Wednesday, and now her motion has been granted.

    Under the terms of the protective order, the alleged stalker must stay at least 100 yards away from the Black Swan star, her husband, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, and their young children, Amalia and Aleph.

    A follow-up hearing has been scheduled to take place in March, when Portman will likely seek to make the restraining order permanent.

    Natalie Portman says she was sexualized as a child star, felt ‘unsafe’

    (12/29/18) Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman opened up about what it was like to be a child star and how society treats its young celebrities.

    Portman, 37, who stars in the new film “Vox Lux” as Celeste, a pop star who survived a horrific event as a teenager, recently revealed that the first piece of fan mail she ever received was when she was a budding 13-year-old actress. It was a “rape fantasy” written and sent to her by a man.

    “I understood very quickly, even as a 13-year-old, that if I were to express myself sexually, I would feel unsafe and that men would feel entitled to discuss and objectify my body to my great discomfort,” Portman told People. “I felt the need to cover my body and to inhibit my expression and my work in order to send my own message to the world that I’m someone worth of safety and respect.”

    The “Black Swan” star said she realized later on that she was sexualized, but has come to terms with it.

    “I know I was sexualized in the ways that I was photographed or portrayed, and that was not my doing,” she said. “That becomes a part of your public identity.”

    Natalie Portman On Midterm Elections, Inclusion Riders, ‘Jane Got A Gun’ & Glamming It Up For ‘Vox Lux’

    (12/16/18) (deadline.com) As an actress, Natalie Portman has never been short of audaciousness, from her breakthrough role aged 12 as a precocious assassin in Léon: The Professional, to the role that won her the Oscar, as a masochistic ballerina in Black Swan, to her turn as Jackie Kennedy in Jackie. She builds on this repertoire of complex protagonists with Brady Corbet’s Vox Lux, in which she plays Celeste, the survivor of a brutal school shooting who becomes a pop superstar after she writes and records a heartfelt anthem for the victims. The film is a commentary on the loss of innocence, set against the backdrop of our nation’s tragic gun culture and obsession with celebrity.

    Did you know Brady Corbet before this project? Were you looking to do a musically-themed movie?

    I watched his film [The Childhood of a Leader] and was really impressed by his work. His writing [in Vox Lux] was so specific and great. I would say the words as I was reading the screenplay; both the form of how Celeste says words and how she speaks in a specific manner. And she’s monologuing all the time. The content that she’s saying; she’s an incredible character and sometimes says nonsense, and sometimes says really insightful things all mixed together. It was a childhood dream come true to get to sing, like singing with a brush in front of the mirror, but I wouldn’t categorize this movie as a musical.

    How does the PTSD from the school shooting impact her as she gets older?

    It definitely affects her. Whenever we go through devastation, it haunts us, but she picks herself up. Because she had the experience, it becomes like a common occurrence, and people learn to live with the most extraordinary circumstances.

    Production was delayed due to financing dropping out. How did that time off further assist in your preparation?

    I was on my way to the airport to fly to New York when they called me, and I turned around and went back home. I had prepped everything, but had to prep again and I worked on the accent. In preparing the choreography we had three or four weeks with Benjamin [Millepied]. He was working with his company at the same time. He’d teach me and then I’d rehearse with movement trainer Raquel Horsford. I also did five or six recording sessions.

    What rock musical documentaries did you watch in preparing to play Celeste?

    I watched all the top ones, but I don’t really feel that she’s based on a particular person at all. I learned a lot about the lifestyle of what they’re doing, the rigor of being on the road, the taxing shows night after night, all the work and preparation, the dynamic relationship between all of the people a pop star travels, lives and works with; the family members and how they fit in. Sometimes they work for the pop star. Having difficult relationships with siblings seemed to be a recurring theme. I picked up on all their small behavior.

    Being politically active, how did you feel after the midterm elections?

    I feel excited about the many types of people who are representing more of what America looks like. The typical make-up of our government is slowly looking more like the make-up of our country. [Editor’s note: In an election record, 101 women won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives including such landmarks with the first female Muslims, Native American and youngest candidate being elected.]

    Being an active member of Time’s Up, do you find that there’s any resistance from the industry in the campaign for inclusion riders on productions?

    There is a resistance because I think a lot of people are making the argument that you’re hiring someone for their talent, not for their gender. Of course, I don’t think that anyone thinks the argument should ignore bias. There’s the great orchestra example which started a few years ago. The top orchestras were entirely male and what they started doing were auditions behind a curtain to judge the listening of the music. Suddenly there was a 50/50 parity in the make-up of their orchestras. They didn’t realize the unconscious bias against women. Most industries can’t do job interviews behind a curtain. It goes to show that we have so much bias in not recognizing talent and allowing it to express itself. Of course, no one wants to get a job because of their marginalization, you want to get the job because of your talent. But there are so many who don’t get the opportunity since they are marginalized, and there are those who actually appreciate others’ values, talent and voices.

    Roles for women—have they improved since you first began in this business?

    I think it’s still really challenging, there’s a lot of tropes that are repeated and revisited. Also for women of color, it’s extremely difficult to be represented. However, this year, we saw the first Asian-American female story to be told by a studio in 25 years [Crazy Rich Asians]. Latinos are even more poorly represented; that is something people aren’t being shown at all. But white women are the most represented of all the women and it’s a challenging thing to show a full humanity. So, I think there’s a lot to be done when it comes to giving more opportunities to other people, and allowing people from all types of experiences to tell their stories.

    You have increasingly become more involved as a producer on the projects you star in. What do you love about that part of the job, and does it help to have a voice in productions when they become challenged, as was the case on Jane Got a Gun?

    It’s nice to be a part of projects I believe in and can help shepherd, even if I’m not the director or writer. I’m still learning and I’m not one to claim something when I have so much to learn. With Jane Got a Gun, that started with a lot of genuine interest in the creative process, and turned into a harrowing experience for everyone involved. I don’t look at that as any sort of victory. It was very challenging and humbling, an experience where you learn how much you can be better and how much you still have to learn.

    Will you direct again?

    Yes, but I’m not sure what.

    Has there ever been any talk of doing a sequel to your first breakout film Léon: The Professional, where we see a much older Mathilda?

    There was a little bit of talk about that at one point, but I don’t have any plans to do that project.

    Natalie Portman doubles down on apology to Jessica Simpson

    (12/6/18) Natalie Portman is following up on her original explanation of her comments about Jessica Simpson with a direct apology.

    “Thank you for your words. I completely agree with you that a woman should be allowed to dress however she likes and behave however she likes and not be judged,” the actress, 37, commented on the singer’s Instagram post.

    “I only meant to say I was confused — as a girl coming of age in the public eye around the same time — by the media’s mixed messages about how girls and women were supposed to behave. I didn’t mean to shame you and I’m sorry for any hurt my words may have caused. I have nothing but respect for your talent and your voice that you use to encourage and empower women all over the globe.”

    The “Black Swan” star had previously tried to clarify her comments while talking to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday

    Portman told ET, “I would never intend to shame anybody and that was absolutely not my intention. I was really talking about mixed media messages out there for young women and completely apologize for any hurt it may have caused because that was definitely not my intention.”

    The social media back-and-forth comes after Portman said in a previous interview with USA Today that she was “confused” as a teenager by a photo of the “With You” singer in a sexy bikini, accompanied by an article saying she was a virgin. Simpson, 38, responded with an Instagram post, saying she was “disappointed” in the Time’s Up activist and explained that “being sexy in a bikini and being proud of my body are not synonymous with having sex.”

    Natalie Portman attends ‘Vox Lux’ Cinema Society premiere

    (12/1/18) (Video) We’ve all seen Natalie Portman in full dazzling pop star regalia in images from the Brady Corbet-directed musical drama Vox Lux. With the new trailer for the Neon pic, we actually get to hear the Academy Award-winning actress sing!

    In the trailer, we see a quick journey of Celeste as she goes from a young survivor of a tragic school shooting to a mega pop star — all linked by a singular song.

    “Tonight, we are going to bring it back to where it all began,” says a pop star Celeste (Portman) in front of an arena of fans. We are transported back to a candlelight vigil where young Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) starts singing a song — which plants the seed to her fame. Set to a song written by award-winning singer-songwriter Sia and sung by Cassidy and Portman, the trailer jumps back and forth in time as we see Celeste’s journey to stardom.

    Written and directed by Corbet, the film also stars Jude Law and Christopher Abbott. Vox Lux opens in New York and Los Angeles December 7 and expands nationwide December 14.

    Natalie Portman attends ‘Vox Lux’ Cinema Society premiere

    (11/21/18) Natalie Portman is the latest actor this season to play a pop star on the big screen, in the new film “Vox Lux” — after Lady Gaga in “A Star Is Born” and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” have had hits on their hands.

    Portman sings tunes (penned by Sia and others), and dances to choreography by her husband, Benjamin Millepied.

    At a Cinema Society premiere were Dylan Lauren, brother Andrew Lauren, Carrie Preston and Amy Sacco.

    We hear the crowd was surprised at a Walker Hotel after-party when 16-year-old co-star Raffey Cassidy — who plays the younger version of the Portman character, a Staten Islander — spoke in her real-life posh British accent.

    Natalie Portman Enters Doc Awards Picture With ‘Eating Animals,’ Disturbing Look at Factory Farming

    (11/6/18) Natalie Portman is vying for awards this Oscar season with films that range from the fictional to the disturbingly real.

    Critics are praising her performance as a music icon in Vox Lux, out next month, but her other awards contender comes from the realm of nonfiction, the bracing documentary Eating Animals. She produced and narrated the film that explores the ethical and environmental dimensions of raising animals for slaughter on an industrial scale.

    “It’s about the world of factory farming and what has happened to our system of creating food, because it’s been put into this capitalist, corporate kind of frame,” Portman explains. “I think it’s really upsetting when you see the impact on human health, from so many different aspects—the environmental aspect…to the consumption of the product.”

    The film directed by Christopher Quinn is now available on iTunes, after a theatrical release over the summer. It’s based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer.

    “Reading the book really had a big impact on me,” Portman tells Deadline. “I’d been vegetarian for a long time so obviously I had a lot of care for animals, but I don’t think I ever realized the extent of the mistreatment, the extent of the environmental degradation because of factory farming.”

    In one example of that environmental degradation, the film shows massive hog operations in North Carolina, where pigs are confined in large metal buildings. Their waste collects in lagoons and the “fecal marinade,” as Rick Dove of Waterkeeper Alliance puts it colorfully, is then sprayed over fields.

    “It ends up in the ditches, it ends up in the water and then our river goes out of balance,” Dove maintains in the documentary. “The fish begin to die and people begin to get sick.”

    Hurricane Florence, which bashed the Carolinas in September, has compounded the problem. At a recent IDA screening of Eating Animals, Larry Baldwin of Waterkeeper Alliance described what the hurricane wrought.

    “We’re in a crap storm,” he declared flatly. “The lagoons…were either over-washed or in some cases actually breached, millions of gallons of this hog waste getting into the flood waters that now is going downstream to communities.”

    Equally distressing in the documentary are scenes of animals suffering in the meat production system and poultry engineered to the point that birds struggle to stand upright.

    “Today’s meat birds have been bred with mutant obese genes to grow faster and fatter than ever imaginable before,” Portman narrates in the film, “so much faster and fatter that if a human baby had her growth similarly accelerated, a two-month old would weigh more than 600 pounds.”

    But the documentary also shows farmers who have rejected the industrial model in favor of raising cattle, hogs and poultry in a humane fashion, in line with methods from decades ago. Frank Reese, a Kansas farmer, raises turkeys and chickens with an actual concern for their quality of life.

    “This is poultry farming 50 years ago,” he says in the film. “Everything I’m doing here is nothing new. In fact, this is very, very old.”

    “It’s exciting to see these small farmers who have preserved these old ways of farming that are more environmentally sound, that are more ethical with treatment of animals, that know what to do,” Portman tells Deadline. “It’s not like we need a new technology to fix this, it’s just kind of going to old practices.”

    The documentary doesn’t disguise the fact that to put meat on a dinner plate, “an animal had to be murdered,” as one rancher phrases it. And yet the film is not about shaming meat-eaters, Portman insists.

    “There was a conscious decision not to…be telling people what to do or making people feel bad about what they do,” she told the audience at the IDA screening. She added that polarizing debates over the proper diet get in the way of solutions. “A big part of the problem is the identity politics of labeling yourself as a certain type of eater—‘I’m a vegan,’ or ‘I’m a vegetarian, I’m an omnivore.’”

    Portman advocates more modest, and perhaps more realistic steps to lessen the demand for meat, which would benefit the environment and reduce the scale of animal suffering.

    “It actually might make a much bigger impact if everyone just has a little bit more consciousness,” she says. “If everyone is conscious of not eating animal products once a day or once a week that would make a huge impact.”

    ‘Vox Lux’ Trailer: Natalie Portman Rocks To The Top, Takes A Fall & Tries A Comeback

    (10/26/18) (Video) “People been trying to take me down for years,” the pop star tells an adoring audience. “But I won’t stay down.” Black Swan Oscar winner Natalie Portman segues to playing a very different kind of entertainer in Vox Lux, whose first trailer streets today. Check it out above.

    Here is the logline: It’s 1999, and teenage sisters Celeste (Raffey Cassidy) and Eleanor (Stacy Martin) survive a violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, making something lovely and cathartic out of catastrophe. Celeste’s performance of it at a memorial service helps catapult her to stardom, with the help of her manager (Jude Law). Her meteoric rise to fame dovetails with a personal and national loss of innocence, and by 2017, Celeste (now played by Portman) has a teenage daughter (also Cassidy) and is mounting a comeback after a scandalous incident almost derailed her career.

    Touring in support of her sixth album, a compendium of sci-fi anthems titled Vox Lux, the foul-mouthed pop savior must overcome her personal and familial struggles to navigate motherhood, madness and monolithic fame — and another act of terrifying violence.

    Brady Corbet wrote and directed Vox Lux, which features original songs by Sia. Neon opens the film December 7 in Los Angeles and New York and expands it nationwide the following week. Let us know if the trailer rocks you or not.

    ‘Vox Lux’ To Strike A Chord This Awards Season As NEON Sets December Release For Natalie Portman-Jude Law Music Drama

    (9/21/18) After acquiring the Natalie Portman-Jude Law music drama Vox Lux out of TIFF, NEON is giving the Brady Corbet-directed movie an awards season push with a limited release on Dec. 7.

    This will be followed by an expansion on Dec. 14 and another wide break on Dec. 21, playing into Christmas and New Year’s. The platform is a similar plan that NEON/30WEST took with their TIFF acquisition last year I, Tonya which earned three Oscar nominations best actress Margot Robbie, film editing, and best supporting actress Allison Janney, the latter winning, and a domestic box office haul of $30M.

    Portman has been getting buzz in her supporting actress role out of TIFF as she plays a tortured pop music idol who built her success on a tragic past. Portman won a best actress Oscar for Black Swan in 2011 and in total counts three noms including 2017’s Jackie (best actress) and 2005’s Closer (best supporting). Law has been nominated twice before at the Oscars for Cold Mountain in 2004 (best actor) and The Talented Mr. Ripley in 2000 (best supporting). Raffey Cassidy does double time in the film as the younger version of Portman’s character as well as her daughter while Stacy Martin plays the sister to Portman’s Celeste. Christopher Abbott and Jennifer Ehle also star.

    Corbet wrote Vox Lux which begins in 1999 when teenage sisters Celeste and Eleanor survive a seismic, violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, making something lovely and cathartic out of catastrophe — while also catapulting Celeste to stardom. By 2017, the now 31-year-old Celeste is mother to a teenage daughter of her own and struggling to navigate a career fraught with scandals when another act of terrifying violence demands her attention.

    Pic is dedicated to Jonathan Demme, who made his mark with concert films from The Talking Heads and Neil Young. Law and Portman are EPs on Vox Lux and it marks their fourth collaboration together after Cold Mountain, Closer, and My Blueberry Nights. NEON beat A24 for the U.S. rights to the pic out of TIFF.

    Among limited releases on Dec. 7, which is a hot launch for independent fare –it’s where Black Swan opened– there’s Focus Features’ Mary Queen of Scots and Roadside Attractions’ Ben Is Back.

    Natalie Portman On Playing Pop Star Celeste In Brady Corbet’s ‘Vox Lux’ – Venice

    (9/4/18) Natalie Portman has played down claims that her character in Brady Corbet’s music drama Vox Lux is a “monster,” but that the film, which follows the rise of her pop star Celeste from the ashes of a major national tragedy, is a “reflection of our society.”

    The Black Swan star plays Celeste, a pop star in 2017 trying to get through a series of scandals and make a comeback.

    Earlier in the film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer’s Raffey Cassidy plays a younger Celeste, who survives a tragedy and becomes a pop star after performing at the memorial service. She is aided along the way by her songwriting sister, played by Stacy Martin, and manager, played by Jude Law. Later in the film, Cassidy plays the daughter. Jennifer Ehle also co-stars.

    Portman says there is the theme of a “loss of innocence” across the movie. However, she says that doesn’t see her character as a monster.

    Corbet, who made his helming debut with 2015’s The Childhood of a Leader which also premiered in Venice added, “She’s not designed to be a monster at all. She’s as much a victim of the era as a leader of the era. The film is very much about the fact that the 20th century was marked by the term ‘the banality of evil’ and the 21st century will be defined by the pageantry of evil. The films themes and the characters are intrinsically linked.”

    Portman said it’s not a movie with a message about gun control but rather a “piece of art” that highlights the intersection of pop culture and violence.

    “I think if anything it’s an incredible reflection of the moment we live in,” she said. “It gives me a feeling that art does, not a message hammered over my head. I hope it makes people feel things that they recognize and they can see some of the things that we’re facing right now.

    “I’ve definitely been interested in the questions around the psychology of what violence does to individuals and to group psychology, coming from a place where people have encountered it for so long. Unfortunately, it’s been a phenomenon in the United States that we experience regularly with the school shootings, which are, as Brady has put it, a type of civil war and terror in the U.S. and what that means for every kid going to school every day and how small acts of violence can create widespread psychology torment.”

    The film is produced by Killer Films and Bold Films in association with Andrew Lauren Productions and Three Six Zero. Sierra/Affinity handles worldwide sales.

    Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum selling artist Sia composed the soundtrack with original music for the film, though Portman was quick to clarify that she is not playing a version of Sia.

    The film is narrated by Willem Dafoe, a point that Corbet equated to being a fan of the sardonic narration in Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities. Corbet also dedicated the film to Jonathan Demme, who gave the young director an award for The Childhood of a Leader.

    Natalie Portman Is Almost Unrecognizable as She Transforms Into NASA Astronaut for Pale Blue Dot

    (7/25/18) (Photo) Natalie Portman’s new look is out of this world.

    The Oscar winner had fans doing a double take Wednesday after she revealed her transformation into fictional NASA astronaut Lucy Cola for the film Pale Blue Dot.

    In the photograph, Portman, 37, sported a bright blue NASA jumpsuit and a lanyard, along with a brown wig cut in a small bob.

    “In character as Lucy Cola. : @hilstills #sneakpeek,” captioned the image on Instagram.

    The film centers around Cola after she returns to Earth from a mission to outer space and how her grip on reality unravels as she becomes entangled in a love affair with a fellow astronaut (played by Jon Hamm).

    Also in the film is Deadpool 2‘s Zazie Beetz, who plays an astronaut trainee, while Legion star Dan Stevens will portray Portman’s onscreen husband.

    Pale Blue Dot‘s storyline is loosely based on true events that occurred in 2007.

    NASA Capt. Lisa Nowak became embroiled in an affair with fellow astronaut Bill Oefelein, but when they broke up, and he began to date Colleen Shipman, Nowak became incensed. She made national headlines when she drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando and packed a trench coat, black wig, pepper spray, a BB gun, rope, trash bags and an 8-inch knife.

    Police reports claimed at the time that she had space diapers with her so she wouldn’t have to stop for bathroom breaks.

    In the early morning hours of that day, Nowak was wearing a black wig and trench coat when she approached Colleen Shipman’s car in the parking lot of Orlando International Airport. She banged on the Shipman’s window and begged for a ride. When Shipman rolled down her window, Nowak sprayed her with pepper spray and tried to get in the car.

    Shipman fled the scene, shaken but unhurt. Police arrested Nowak on attempted murder and kidnapping charges.

    The resulting case was dubbed the “astronaut love triangle.”

    Natalie Portman hosts vegan after-party following factory farming exposé

    (6/19/18) Appropriately the after-party for Natalie Portman’s exposé on factory farming, “Eating Animals,” was a vegan affair.

    We hear Portman and guests, including Ben Stiller, Edie Falco, and filmmakers D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, headed from the IFC Center to Stephen Starr’s Buddakan to discuss the film over kale.

    The Sundance Selects doc, narrated and produced by Portman and based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer, has been called by critics “a lesson in vegetarian fortitude,” “an effective piece of agitprop suffused with sadness” and “a philosophical examination of the potential for human kindness to trump our love of bacon.”

    Figured IFC’s Jonathan Sehring: “You’re gonna laugh. You may cry. I’ll leave that up to you.”

    Natalie Portman calls former classmate Jared Kushner a ‘supervillain’

    (6/16/18) (Video) Natalie Portman appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and slammed her former Harvard classmate Jared Kushner.

    Colbert asked Portman, “You actually graduated in the same class as Jared Kushner, didn’t you?”

    Portman laughed and replied, “That is correct.”

    Prying further, the talk show host asked the “Star Wars” actress if she had any memories of Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and President Trump’s senior adviser.

    She said that they had been “friendly,” but then alluded to the fact that the former classmates were no longer in contact.

    “Unfortunately it’s not very — there’s not a lot funny to say about someone you were friends with becoming a supervillain,” Portman stated. “So, it’s not funny.”

    She added, “He said in some interview that all of the friends he’s lost through politics is like exfoliating. I was like, ‘OK.'”

    “So you’re a dead skin cell?” Colbert retorted, to which Portman stated, “Proudly.”

    And though the actress had some unkind thoughts about Kushner now, according to the Daily Mail, Portman and Trump’s son-in-law were close enough friends that they attended each other’s weddings.

    Portman was reportedly on the guest list for Kushner’s 2009 New Jersey wedding to Ivanka, and three years later, Kushner and his wife attended Portman’s Big Sur nuptials to actor Benjamin Millepied.

    Though it is unclear when Portman and Kushner stopped speaking, the 37-year-old actress was one of the many celebrity supporters of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election.

    Kushner publicly addressed the friendships he lost over his political views and endeavors in a 2016 interview with Forbes and said, “Anyone who was willing to change a friendship or not do business because of who somebody supports in politics is not somebody who has a lot of character.”

    Kushner then added, “People are very fickle. You have to find what you believe in, challenge your truths. And if you believe in something, even if it’s unpopular, you have to push with it.”

    Oprah Winfrey, Natalie Portman, Lena Dunham, Chadwick Boseman Among 140 To Sign Open Letter On Gender Equality

    (5/22/18) Movie and TV heavyweights including Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman and Lena Dunham are among those to sign an open letter calling for action against gender inequality.

    The 140 signatories from the entertainment arena are putting political leaders “on notice” in the letter which is spearheaded by international charity ONE. Also among those to sign are Black Panther stars Letitia Wright and Chadwick Boseman, Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Reynolds, Amy Schumer, Issa Rae, Michael Sheen, Thandie Newton and Natalie Dormer.

    The 140 signatories call for a commitment to help every girl get an education and for leaders to use their power to deliver “historic changes for women.” The letter describes poverty as sexist and says, “We won’t stand by while the poorest women are overlooked.”

    The campaign — which hopes to attract many more signatories — has also been endorsed by prominent names outside the entertainment biz, including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Chelsea Clinton and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington.

    According to a World Economic Forum report from last year, the equality gap between men and women would take 100 years to close at its current rate.

    The letter reads:

    “Dear World leaders,

    We’re putting you on notice.

    For 130 million girls without an education. For one billion women without access to a bank account. For 39,000 girls who became child brides today. For women everywhere paid less than a man for the same work.

    There is nowhere on earth where women have the same opportunities as men, but the gender gap is wider for women living in poverty.

    Poverty is sexist. And we won’t stand by while the poorest women are overlooked.

    You have the power to deliver historic changes for women this year. From the G7 to the G20; from the African Union to your annual budgets; we will push you for commitments and hold you to account for them. And, if you deliver, we will be the first to champion your progress.

    We won’t stop until there is justice for women and girls everywhere.

    Because none of us are equal until all of us are equal.”

    Natalie Portman backs out of trip to Israel over regional tensions

    (4/20/18) Natalie Portman will not travel to Israel to accept the “Jewish Nobel,” citing “recent events” in the country, it was revealed Thursday.

    Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, was scheduled to attend a ceremony there in June and receive the Genesis Prize — which has been called the “Jewish Nobel” by Time Magazine.

    The Genesis organization said Thursday that the Academy Award-winner said “recent events in Israel have been extremely distressing to her and she does not feel comfortable participating in any public events in Israel.”

    Therefore, “she cannot in good conscience move forward with the ceremony.”

    Portman did not specify a reason, but the decision takes place weeks after nine people were killed in Gaza as Palestinian protesters took live fire from Israeli Defense Forces.

    Portman was announced as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate in November, and she committed to “re-gift” the $1 million in prize money to advance women’s equality, the organization said in a statement.

    The Genesis Prize Foundation lamented her decision to cancel the trip and said the whole ceremony would be canceled.

    “Ms. Portman is a highly accomplished actress, a committed social activist and a wonderful human being. The staff of the Foundation enjoyed getting to know her over the past six months, admires her humanity, and respects her right to publicly disagree with the policies of the government of Israel,” the foundation said.

    “However, we are very saddened that she has decided not to attend the Genesis Prize Ceremony in Jerusalem for political reasons. We fear that Ms. Portman’s decision will cause our philanthropic initiative to be politicized, something we have worked hard for the past five years to avoid.”

    Natalie Portman does damage control after supporting Roman Polanski

    (2/21/18) Natalie Portman regrets supporting Roman Polanski and has very little sympathy for Woody Allen in light of the Time’s Up and #MeToo movements.

    “I very much regret it,” Portman, 36, told BuzzFeed about her decision to sign a 2009 petition demanding Polanski be freed from Swiss custody for the rape of then-13-year-old Samantha Geimer in 1977.

    “I take responsibility for not thinking about it enough,” the “Annihilation” star said. “Someone I respected gave it to me, and said, ‘I signed this. Will you too?’ And I was like, ‘Sure.’ It was a mistake. The thing I feel like I gained from it is empathy towards people who have made mistakes. We lived in a different world, and that doesn’t excuse anything. But you can have your eyes opened and completely change the way you want to live. My eyes were not open.”

    Portman also expounded on her support of Dylan Farrow, who accused her adoptive father, Allen, of sexually assaulting her when she was a child.

    “I think there’s a direct connection between believing women about their own experience and allowing women to be experts of their own experience and every woman’s voice being heard,” Portman said. “Whether it’s someone talking about their work and not being listened to, or someone talking about their own experience of assault and being told that they don’t know what they’re talking about, I think there’s a direct connection between that. Of course, do I know anyone’s experience? No. But would I question a man who said ‘Someone stabbed me’? Never … We know that women are systematically not listened to. That victims of sexual assault are systematically not listened to.”

    When asked if she believed that it’s time’s up for Allen’s directing career, however, Portman, who starred in Allen’s 1996 film “Everyone Says I Love You,” pivoted to the bigger picture.

    “I don’t think that’s what the conversation should be about,” she said, adding, “Let’s not talk about what man’s career is over. Let’s talk about the vast art trove we’ve lost by not giving women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community opportunities — let’s talk about that loss for all of us in art. Let’s talk about that huge hole in our culture. I don’t want talk about ‘Isn’t it sad that this person who’s made 500 movies can’t make movies anymore?’ That’s not for me to decide. And it’s also not what I’m upset about.”

    Portman also reflected on her work in the 1996 drama “Beautiful Girls,” which was produced by Miramax — then helmed by now-disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein — and co-starring several of Weinstein’s alleged assault and harassment victims, including Uma Thurman, Lauren Holly and Mira Sorvino.

    In the movie, Portman, then 14, played a 13-year-old girl with whom Timothy Hutton’s character fell in love.

    “In retrospect, it’s weird because so many of the stories around the Weinstein case involve people from ‘Beautiful Girls,'” the Oscar winner said. “I didn’t know that all the adult women I was working with who I was admiring so much and felt so cool to get to be in a movie with them were being harassed at the same time. I was, like, the cute little kid on set everyone was treating totally respectfully and kindly … what we thought was charming then [in movies] is now very troubling.”

    Natalie Portman thought her water broke -- it didn't: 'I’m an idiot'

    (2/16/18) Natalie Portman felt like “an idiot” when she mistakenly believed her water had broken during her second pregnancy.

    The Black Swan actress and her husband Benjamin Millepied welcomed daughter Amalia last February, a sibling for their six-year-old son Aleph.

    Natalie’s water didn’t break during her first pregnancy, and she shared during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday night that she caused a major scene when she was heavily pregnant with her baby girl after feeling some water “drip” on her leg.

    “My mom came over at the end of my pregnancy, to help, and we went to pick up my son from school. And I go and pick him up, and I’ve got his backpack on and we’re walking out,” she recalled. “And I feel a little water on my leg. I look up, thinking, ‘(Is) there something dripping on me?’ Then there was more and more. So, I was like, ‘It’s on!’”

    Believing she was going into labour, Natalie pulled her son off the soccer field and headed to her car where she called her husband, her midwife and her doctor. However, the star’s panic proved to be pre-emptive.

    “Everyone’s going to the hospital…And then I’m like, ‘It’s weird, because it’s just my legs that are all wet.’ and I’m like, ‘Honey can you bring me your backpack for a minute?’ And I looked in it and his water bottle was leaking. And I was like, ‘Ohhh, I just told everybody I was having a baby!’” the 36-year-old laughed, adding, “I’m an idiot.”

    Natalie was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of former U.S. First Lady in movie Jackie at the 2017 Academy Awards.

    But as the brunette beauty gave birth to Amalia just a few days before the awards ceremony, she knew there was no way she could attend.

    “It seemed like a lose-lose though. I was due the same week, so if I went and the baby hadn’t come yet and I was still pregnant, then I could potentially give birth on the red carpet,” she smiled. “But then if I had given birth already, it’s not like I’m going to be like ‘See ya baby.”

    Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh discuss Annihilation 'whitewashing' criticism

    (2/16/18) Annihilation stars Natalie Portman and Jennifer Jason Leigh have been left flabbergasted by a new ‘whitewashing’ controversy surrounding the movie.

    The stars take on leading roles in director Alex Garland’s sci-fi thriller, which is based on the first novel in writer Jeff VanderMeer’s book series.

    The initial book, released in 2014, does not describe the characters played by Portman and Leigh, referring to them only as “the biologist” and “the psychologist”, with subsequent books detailing the women have Asian and Native American ancestry.

    Filmmaker Garland told Yahoo in December he worked exclusively from the first book: “I knew at that time (I signed on to the project) there were supposed to be three books planned, but I didn’t know (anything) about the other two,” he said, before adding he took the movie adaptation in a totally new direction from the novel with author VanderMeer’s blessing.

    “I took a really weird approach to the adaptation. I thought, ‘I’m not going to re-read the book; I’m going to adapt it like a dream of the book’.”

    But now Garland and his producers have come under fire for casting two white actresses to play women of colour and ethnicity, and Portman and Leigh have stepped forward insisting no one knew this about their characters before filming began.

    “Well, that does sound problematic, but I’m hearing it here first,” Portman tells Yahoo in a new interview.

    “It’s probably a valid criticism. I didn’t know that,” Leigh adds.

    Although Portman is disappointed with the oversight, she is still proud of the cast’s diversity. Tessa Thompson, who is of Afro-Latino heritage, stars alongside fellow Latino actors Oscar Isaac and Gina Rodriguez on the female-led ensemble, and Natalie thinks Annihilation is moving in the right direction when it comes to matters of cultural representation in Hollywood.

    “We need more representation of Asians on film, of Hispanics on film, of blacks on film, women and particularly women of colour, Native Americans – I mean, we just don’t have enough representation,” the Oscar winner stressed. “And also these categories like ‘white’ and ‘nonwhite’ – they’re imagined classifications but have real-life consequences…

    “I hope that begins to change, because I think everyone is becoming more conscious of it.”

    Reese Witherspoon is Natalie Portman’s social media coach

    (2/13/18) On January 1, Natalie Portman joined the Instagram community thanks to friend Reese Witherspoon.

    “Reese has been a wonderful support system in teaching me the ways of modernity,” Portman, 36, quipped to Entertainment Tonight. “There’s this thing called social media.”

    Portman, who since the start of the year has posted 23 times, says she’s not addicted just yet.

    “It’s a very new thing in my life, and I feel like a grandmother who’s learning how to use the microwave. Wow, it heats things up!”

    Despite being a newbie to the platform, she’s earned 1.2 million followers and has started following some Hollywood heavyweights including Mia Farrow, Gal Gadot, Jessica Chastain, Shondra Rhimes and Mindy Kaling.

    ‘SNL’ Cut Sketch: Natalie Portman Embraces The Dark Side

    (2/6/18) (Video) Natalie Portman’s hosting gig on Saturday Night Live was one of the season’s strongest – and that doesn’t count the performance you didn’t see. “My Little Stepchildren,” a commercial parody cut for time, is as dark as it is pretty hilarious.

    Watch it above.

    The digital short stars Portman and SNL regular Beck Bennett as parents of a Wednesday Addams type who won’t be shopping at American Girl anytime soon. “Most girls like dolls,” begins the commercial, “but not every girl wants to be a mommy.”

    “I bought my kid a doll and I asked her, Lisa, are you her mommy?” says Portman. “And she said, ‘mommy? Where’s the drama in that? I’m her wicked step-mommy.”

    Yes, with your very own My Little Stepchildren doll – boy or girl – you can stage scenes where the kiddies get sent away to boarding school, and lock away a tiny little birth certificate in an ornate chest of drawers.

    The short recalls SNL‘s “Wells for Boys” parody from December and by all comedy rights shouldn’t be the last in a series.

    Natalie Portman has ‘100 stories’ of Hollywood abuse

    (2/6/18) Natalie Portman is joining the ranks of women who’ve come forward with stories of sexual harassment.

    While the Oscar-winning actress said she hasn’t personally experienced any abuse, she did tell Porter magazine that she has been forced to deal with manipulative and harassing producers. One time, a producer even invited her onto his private plane alone.

    “It was just the two of us, and only one bed was made up. Nothing happened, I was not assaulted,” Portman shared, via the U.K. Telegraph. “I did make a point of saying, ‘This does not make me feel comfortable,’ and that was respected. But that was super not OK, you know? That was really unacceptable and manipulative. I was scared.”

    Like many other actresses, Portman felt that certain behavior from Hollywood bosses was just “part of the process.”

    “I went from thinking, ‘I don’t have a story’ to ‘Oh, wait, I have 100 stories,’” she recalled, “and I think a lot of people are having these reckonings with themselves.”

    ‘SNL’ Promo: Natalie Portman Sizzles, Kenan Thompson Burns In New Clip

    (2/1/18) (Video) Well, it’s not Leslie Jones dressed as Will Ferrell, but this week’s Saturday Night Live promo with Natalie Portman has its charms, including a griping Kenan Thompson.

    “I’ve saved worlds,” narrates Portman as the slo-mo, glam-shot video begins. “I’ve decimated evil, I’ve fallen in love, I’ve killed, I’ve died, I’ve conquered. But those were only characters. This Saturday, I’ll show the world what I, Natalie Portman, can do.”

    Cut to Thompson and fellow cast member Pete Davidson, waiting not-so-patiently to get to their dressing rooms while Portman poses. “Well, it seems that Kenan’s needs have been compromised yet again,” Thompson says, before the spot’s twist.

    Saturday’s episode will mark Portman’s second time as host, timed to the February 23 release of Paramount’s Annihilation, the Alex Garland-directed sci-fi thriller starring Portman as a grieving biologist who signs on for a secret expedition into alien territory.

    SNL‘s musical guest this week is first-timer Dua Lipa, riding her chart hit “New Rules.”

    Take a look at the promo above.

    ‘Annihilation’ Featurette: Behind The Shimmer Of Natalie Portman Thriller

    (1/28/18) (Video) Annihilation, says actress Gina Rodriguez in this just-released featurette about the upcoming sci-fi thriller from Ex Machina director Alex Garland, is “something we haven’t seen quite yet.”

    She’s talking about “the Shimmer,” the strange, glowing, sinister, shape-shifting phenomenon that threatens to carry out just what the title suggests. If the Aurora Borealis and the Blob had a kid, he’d look like the Shimmer.

    But Garland might just as well have been talking about the film’s release strategy. As first reported by Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. in December, Netflix and Paramount/Skydance negotiated a deal on the Natalie Portman-starrer that gives the streaming service international rights, with the film set for streaming overseas just 17 days after the U.S. premiere on February 23. Paramount will do the traditional theatrical release in the U.S., Canada and China.

    As Deadline reported, the unusual strategy is designed to provide a potentially larger overseas audience while lowering P&A costs for a film likely to have a specialized appeal.

    In addition to Portman and Rodriguez, the film, based on Jeff VanderMeer’s best-selling Southern Reach Trilogy, also features Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac. It was written and directed by Garland.

    Logline: Lena (Portman), a biologist and former soldier, joins a mission to uncover what happened to her husband inside Area X – a sinister and mysterious phenomenon that is expanding across the American coastline. Once inside, the expedition discovers a world of mutated landscape and creatures, as dangerous as it is beautiful, that threatens both their lives and their sanity.

    Annihilation hits theaters February 23. Check out the new featurette, which includes footage from the film along with cast interviews, above.

    LA Women’s March: Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Scarlett Johansson Speak Out

    (1/21/18) Natalie Portman, speaking at the Women’s March rally in Los Angeles, offered a disconcerting account of her first brush with objectification. She said she was excited about the opening of her first film, and discovering her own sense of womanhood.

    “I opened my first fan mail to read some man’s rape fantasy,” Portman said

    Portman, one of many celebrity speakers at today’s event, said that, in an attempt to feel safe, she adopted a bookish, nerdy persona and covered her body to avoid unwanted sexual attention. She said she wanted to send a message that she was worthy of respect.

    “Let’s declare loud and clear this is what I want, this is what I desire,” said Portman. “Where we consensually meet our pleasure.”

    Actress Marisa Tomei took the stage to read a poem about the power of organizing from Marge Piercy, author of Women on the Edge of Time.

    Sophia Bush observed the irony of thousands of activists showing up to participate on a day when the U.S. government is shut down.

    “I am so inspired by all of you showing up,” Bush said, who singled out the organization of black women. “Black women have shown us what it means and proved to us, this year, what it means to speak up.”

    Mary Steenburgen acknowledged the quiet feminism of her mother Nellie. “She didn’t ever march or carry banners or make speeches but she did protest in her own way,” Steenburgen said. “She refused to settle for the word ‘no’.”

    She shared the stage with husband Ted Danson, whom she described as one of the “good men.”

    Danson injected a note of joy in a day marked by rousing, passionate speeches. “Look at us! We’re not alone watching TV, getting sad and scared about what we see,” he observed. “We’re here embracing each other. As long as we keep love in our hearts and fight like hell we’re going to be ok.”

    Nicole Richie took the stage to declare that this is the year when women have said “no more” to abuse and fear. “I am here today because I will not be afraid, I will not be silenced because I know I am standing on the shoulders of all who came before,” Richie said.

    Earlier, Viola Davis quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous statement that time itself can become an “ally of the insurgent and primitive forces of irrational emotionalism and social destruction,” and urged Women’s March attendees not to become complacent.

    “I am speaking today not just for the MeToos,” she said, “because I am a MeToo. When I raise my hand it’s for all the women who are still in silence, the women who are faceless.”

    The Downtown LA crowd had grown to hundreds of thousands of people since this morning, many sporting pink pussy hats, chanting slogans like “This is what democracy looks like,” and carrying signs whose slogans included “Don’t Go Gentle Into That Alt Right” and “Make America Think Again.”

    Mayor Eric Garcetti said the March attracted 500,000 people — making it the largest in the nation.

    Scarlett Johansson told the gathering, “I had many relationships where the power dynamic was so off that I had to create a narrative where I was the cool girl. It allowed me to have the approval that women are conditioned to need.”

    Johansson said that women have been taught to pander and please because they have been taught that their value as women and professionals is derived from their desirability to men.

    “Moving forward means my daughter growing up in a world where she doesn’t have to become a victim of what had become the social norm,” she said.

    Director Rob Reiner said that when Angelenos gathered last year, they were united by one reason — fear of who would occupy the White House.

    “A year has gone by and he has corroborated every one of our fears,” Reiner said. “We cannot whitewash it anymore. We have a racist in the White House. We have a sexist in the White House and he is tearing away at the fabric of our democracy.”

    Reiner said it is the women who will take back the country and return democracy “to where it belongs.”

    A year after millions of women took to the streets to protest President Donald Trump’s inauguration, marchers once again gathered in Los Angeles and other American cities, including Park City, Utah, where Jane Fonda was among the speakers at the Respect Rally, as the movement seeks to gather momentum leading into the 2018 midterm elections.

    Throngs of women — including one wearing the iconic red robe and white bonnet costume from Hulu’s dystopian Handmaid’s Tale — gathered to hear early speeches that touched on themes that have reverberated through social media, including #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter. Early speakers talked about women’s rights, civil liberties and social justice — including calls to institute single-payer healthcare and to defend LGBT rights and women’s reproductive rights.

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein spoke to the crowd via teleconference from Washington DC, where the Senate is scrambling to put together a short term budget agreement to end the temporary government shutdown. She urged a packed crowd in front of Los Angeles’ city hall to continue making their voices heard. “Don’t give up until we have true equality, equality in health decisions, equality in pay and equal representation,” she said.

    Trump remained a favorite target, both in handmade signs and remarks that urged voters to resist. Some posters depicted the president as a poop emoji with flowing yellow locks, or as the Star Wars villain Jabba the Hutt, while one asked, irreverently, “Does This Ass Make My Sign Look Big?”

    Many referenced Trump’s infamous brag to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush about grabbing women’s genitalia, with signs including “Power to the Pussy.”

    Lucia Grajales, an 11-year-old from Burbank, propped up a sign that read, “I may be a child but my future matters most.” She said she was eager for the opportunity to advocate for women’s rights.

    “No one said that kids can’t go protest,” she said. “So I’m here now and I was here last year.”

    Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Allison Janney join LA Women’s March

    (1/19/18) Viola Davis, Natalie Portman, and Allison Janney will be among the thousands of men and women participating in the Los Angeles Women’s March in downtown L.A. on Saturday.

    Elizabeth Banks, Connie Britton, Sarah Hyland, Mila Kunis, Eva Longoria, Ellen Barkin, Rob Reiner, Kamala Harris, and Mary Steenburgen will also take the stage, Women’s March L.A. announced Wednesday. The actors and actresses will join performers Andy Grammer and Keala Settle to support the activist movement.

    The group had previously announced that speakers will also include Scarlett Johansson, Sophia Bush, Laverne Cox, Lea DeLaria, Tony Goldwyn, Paris Jackson, Megan Mullally, Olivia Munn, Nicole Richie, Catt Sadler, Adam Scott, Olivia Wilde, Larry Wilmore, and Alfre Woodard, along with performances from Idina Menzel, Andra Day, Rachel Platten, Maxwell, and The Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles with Melissa Etheridge.

    Women’s March L.A. is part of a larger national movement for women’s rights, human rights, and social justice, with marches taking place all over the country on Jan. 20. The date marks one year that Donald Trump has been president. With midterm elections looming in November, the march will center on turning out the vote, offering on-site voter registration. The organization says speakers will focus on issues like voter turnout, access, restrictions, and intimidation and will discuss a plan of action leading up to November 2018 and beyond.

    Last year’s inaugural march brought 750,000 people to the streets of downtown L.A. This year’s event, which includes music, art and community focused on the movement’s message, will kick off in Pershing Square at 8:30 a.m., with the speakers. The march itself will begin at 10 a.m., ending in Grand Park, with festivities lasting until 3 p.m. Women’s March LA is using Facebook Live on its social media page starting at 11 a.m. PT, streaming the presenters, speakers and performers on the main stage.

    ‘CBS Sunday Morning’: Oprah Winfrey Time’s Up Panel Interview Includes Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes

    (1/13/18) (Video Preview) Oprah Winfrey this Sunday will interview a gathering of prominent Hollywood woman – Reese Witherspoon, America Ferrera, Natalie Portman, Tracee Ellis Ross, Shonda Rhimes, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, attorney Nina Shaw – about the Time’s Up campaign that gained much attention at this year’s Golden Globes.

    Winfrey’s taped interview, conducted earlier this week in Pasadena, will air on CBS Sunday Morning (CBS, 9 am ET). Watch a clip above.

    In excerpts released by CBS, Witherspoon says about the movement to take on sexual harassment, “There’s moments that you have to evaluate whether silence is going to be your only option. And certain times that was our only option. But now is not that time.”

    Witherspoon talks about her own sexual assault at 16 by a director.

    “We’re humans. We’re all humans,” Portman says. “And I think it’s treating people as fellow humans and – and it’s not because you have a daughter that you respect a woman, it’s not because you have a wife or a sister, it’s because we’re human beings, whether we’re related to a man or not. We deserve the same respect.”

    Ross of ABC’s Black-ish says, “At this moment it’s a campaign. “And we’re all sort of workers among workers and women among women, sort of rolling up our sleeves and doing whatever sort of comes to the forefront.”

    Says Kennedy about speaking for women without public profiles, “We have to maintain the momentum of this conversation because they can’t.”

    Natalie Portman Acknowledges 'Pain' of #MeToo Victims Ashley Judd, Mira Sorvino on Globes Red Carpet

    (1/8/18) Natalie Portman and America Ferrera are thanking the many brave females who battled sexual harassment in Hollywood at great cost ahead of the Golden Globe Awards.

    Portman, 36, and Ferrera, 33, — who attended as each other’s dates to the event — are among the A-list stars in support of the Time’s Up movement, which launched Monday to help fight sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood and beyond.

    Portman named Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino as two women who are part of the movement after being blacklisted from the industry after their own experiences with sexual harassment.

    “I think we’ve realized the scope of what we’ve lost, the creative contributions of people who’ve been pushed out of the industry, women like Annabella Sciorra, women like Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd,” Portman told NBC on the red carpet at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. “When we think about other industries and the women who’ve been pushed out of there and the contributions we have lost and also the pain that they’ve been through because of that, the time to change is now and time’s up.”

    Over 50 women — including Judd and Sorvino — have accused Harvey Weinstein , 65, of sexual misconduct since The New York Times and The New Yorker documented decades of alleged sexual misconduct and sexual assault involving a number of women in detailed articles in October.

    Ferrera, who is expecting her first child, also told NBC it’s “incredible to look around and see everyone in solidarity, ready to really address the issues that exist in our industry and across all industries that it’s our job, right now, the time is now for us to do the work that will make women and all people safer and more equal in their workplaces and in their lives,”

    The disgraced movie mogul and producer has denied trying to derail the careers of Sorvino and Judd after director Peter Jackson claimed the disgraced producer attempted to prevent the two women from starring in his Lord of the Rings franchise.

    In response to Jackson’s claims, Sorvino wrote on social media that she was “heartsick” over the news.

    “Just seeing this after I awoke, I burst out crying. There it is, confirmation that Harvey Weinstein derailed my career, something I suspected but was unsure. Thank you Peter Jackson for being honest. I’m just heartsick,” she tweeted.

    Judd also responded to the allegation saying, “I remember this well.”

    Natalie Portman Called Out Golden Globes for Snubbing Female Directors and Celebrities Loved It

    (1/8/18) Natalie Portman didn't let the Hollywood Foreign Press Association off the hook when announcing the nominees for Best Director at the 2018 Golden Globes.

    While introducing the nominated directors with Ron Howard, Portman, who has directed A Tale of Love and Darkness, Eve and New York, I Love You, said, "An here are the all male nominees." Portman's statement garnered cheers from the crowd and viewers at home watching the Golden Globes, like Mindy Kaling, Amber Tamblyn, Gina Rodriguez and Shonda Rhimes, took to social media to cheer.

    "YAS NATALIE GET EM GIRL," Kaling tweeted.

    Female directors helmed some of the year's biggest films, but the Golden Globes left them out of the running. Snubbed directors include Wonder Woman's Patty Jenkins and Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird and Dee Rees for Mudbound.

    "Oh s--t Portman for the win! 'And here are the all male nominees' wheeeeWhoooo!!" Sarah Silverman tweeted.

    "And then my girl #NataliePortman names the all "male" nominees for best director! Preach!" Zoe Saldana tweeted.

    Nominated men included Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh and Guillermo Del Toro. Del Toro won the award for The Shape of Water.

    What do you think of Portman's big statement?

    Hollywood women launch anti-sexual harassment initiative

    (1/1/18) A star-studded group of female Hollywood figures — including Reese Witherspoon, Shonda Rhimes, Natalie Portman and Kerry Washington — has launched a new initiative to combat workplace sexual discrimination and inequality.

    The Time’s Up campaign — spearheaded by more than 300 actresses and executives — will push for a marked increase in women hires along with equal pay and benefits across professions both glamorous and otherwise.

    “The struggle for women to break in, to rise up the ranks and to simply be heard and acknowledged in male-dominated workplaces must end,” the group said in a statement. “Time’s up on this impenetrable monopoly.”

    The initiative will also feature a legal defense fund for both women and men who believe that they’ve been discriminated against or harassed in their workplace.

    “Time’s up on silence,” tweeted producer and participant Shonda Rimes in support of the campaign. “Time’s up on waiting.”

    A range of Hollywood boosters — including Meryl Streep and Steven Spielberg — have already donated to the fund and have raised $13 million thus far.

    “Unfortunately, too many centers of power — from legislatures to boardrooms to executive suites and management and academia — lack gender parity and women do not have equal decision-making authority,” the group said in an open letter released on New Year’s Day.

    The coalition also demanded greater representation for minorities, immigrants, and those in the LGBTQ community whose “experiences in the workforce are often significantly worse that their white, cisgender, straight peers.”

    The effort also counted Emma Stone, America Ferrera and Eva Longoria as supporters.

    Noting recent disclosures of mistreatment by members of the National Farmworker Women’s Alliance, Time’s Up lobbied for more attention to gender-related problems in less prominent industries.

    “We fervently urge the media covering the disclosures by people in Hollywood to spend equal time on the myriad experiences of individuals working in less glamorized and valorized trades,” the letter read.

    In addition, the group will seek legislation that would penalize misbehaving companies as well as a specific push to achieve gender parity at Hollywood studios and talent agencies.

    Hoping to generate momentum, Time’s Up called for women to wear black at the upcoming Golden Globes as a sign of solidarity to the victims of sexual harassment who have come out over the last few months.

    Netflix, Paramount To Stream Internationally Natalie Portman-Starrer ‘Annihilation’ 17 Days After U.S. Release

    (12/7/17) (Trailer) Netflix and Paramount/Skydance are negotiating a deal on the Alex Garland-directed Annihilation that will give the streaming service international rights to the sci-fi thriller, and an opportunity to release the film on its overseas streaming service 17 days after the film premieres in the the U.S. on February 23. Paramount will do the traditional theatrical release in the U.S., Canada and China.

    Putting a major film on Netflix internationally three weekends after its release is as groundbreaking as a similar deal Netflix made with New Line on the next installment of Shaft.

    Garland’s follow-up to Ex-Machina stars Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Gina Rodriguez in a script Garland adapted from the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s bestselling Southern Reach trilogy. After the husband (Isaac) of a biologist (Portman) turns up missing, she volunteers for a secret mission into alien territory — a cordoned-off forest where a shape-shifting, Aurora Borealis-looking being awaits. Seems that previous attempts to explore the area met with disastrous results.

    The deal is similar in spirit to one that Netflix made recently with New Line on its sequel to Shaft, which black-ish creator Kenya Barris scripted and Tim Story is directing with Samuel L. Jackson in the role of John Shaft, with Independence Day: Resurgence and Starz’ Survivor’s Remorse star Jessie T. Usher is set to play Shaft’s son, and Richard Roundtree reprising his character from the original 1971 film. Netflix paid more than half that film’s $30 million budget. When Deadline revealed the Shaft deal, it presented itself as a new model for films that prove challenging on the international front, an opportunity in a fast-changing landscape.

    Annihilation will be the next film to test that model. Aside from covering a majority of the film’s budget, the feeling was that a specialized movie like this realizes the bulk of its theatrical gross domestically. A close cousin would be Garland’s Ex Machina, which grossed $25.4 million domestically and $11.4 million internationally, this with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 94%. Annihilation will potentially be seen by a much larger audience overseas as a fresh Netflix film with far less spending on P&A, was the rational behind this. I expect it to become more common as Netflix is hungry to feed its global audience and films like this prove a challenge to market in overseas theaters.

    Check out the previously released teaser trailer above. Paramount and Netflix would not comment.

    Natalie Portman's #MeToo: A Producer, A Private Plane and A Bed

    (11/20/17) Yes -- Natalie Portman, too.

    The Oscar winner detailed her uncomfortable experience with an unnamed producer while at the Vulture Festival panel at the Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles on Sunday.

    "I had a producer invite me to go on a private plane with him with his company somewhere I was going to," Portman said. "And then I was like, 'Yeah, why wouldn't I accept a flight on a private plane with a big group of people?' And I showed up and it was just the two of us and then one bed was made on the plane."

    "Nothing happened. I was not assaulted," she continued. "I said, 'This doesn't make me comfortable,' and that was respected but was super not OK."

    Portman described the situation as "unacceptable and manipulative," adding that she was "scared."

    "There are so many things that we took for granted as part of our world until it changed a month ago," she said of the swarms of sexual misconduct allegations that have recently plagued Hollywood. "A lot of people have been aware of it for a long time, too, but also a lot of things that we just kind of put up with for reasons of maybe just being numb to it from it being so pervasive or people being so upset about it."

    Like so many other women and men in Hollywood, Portman expressed her support for all those who have shared their stories of sexual misconduct publicly.

    "It's been great that everybody is finally talking about it," she said. "I think my first reaction when I heard everybody coming out was, 'Wow, I'm so lucky that I haven't had this.' And then on reflection, I was like, 'OK, I definitely have never been assaulted. I definitely never. But I've had discrimination or harassment on almost everything I've ever worked on in some way."

    "I think every woman has experienced this kind of discrimination," she continued. "People commenting on my body all the time to me, from the time I was a child. Things that are not OK and not on the same level of abuse, but they have a very comfortable enrichment to discrimination where it's not something I ever thought was a reportable offense."

    ‘Annihilation’ Trailer: Natalie Portman Works Alien Biology In Alex Garland’s ‘Ex Machina’ Follow-Up

    (Video) “Can you describe its form?” “No.” Uh-oh. The questions don’t get much easier from there in the first teaser trailer for Annihilation, writer-director Alex Garland’s follow-up to Ex Machina that stars Natalie Portman. Check it out above.

    Something has done something to the husband (Oscar Isaac) of the Biologist (Portman), and whatever it is, it appears to be quite sinister. In an effort to save him, she volunteers for a secret mission into alien territory — a cordoned-off forest where a shape-shifting, Aurora Borealis-looking being awaits. Seems that previous attempts to explore the area met with disastrous results.

    Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Gina Rodriguez co-star in the pic Garland adapted from the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The filmmaker had penned such pics as 28 Days Later and Dredd before making his directing debut with the AI-themed Ex Machina, which earned him an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nom and won for Best Visual Effects. It also won a slew of British International Film Awards in 2015.

    Paramount Pictures will release Skydance’s Annihilation wide on February 23. Have a look at the eerie trailer and tell us what you think.

    Natalie Portman Uses This App to Get Red Carpet-Ready

    Have you ever wondered where celebrities enlist their makeup artists and hair pros?

    If so, we have Natalie Portman's answer. Instead of going the typical route of going through agencies and managers to find beauty pros, sometimes, the actress seeks the help of PRIV, a wellness and beauty app that brings makeup artists, message therapists and hairstylists directly to your door. Now that the star has a baby, she revealed that the app allows her to keep her hands and feet fresh at home.

    "I don't do much beauty maintenance, and I find it tricky right now having a small baby, but I've been using the PRIV beauty app every once in a while to schedule mani-pedis at the house, which has been nice," she told Harper's Bazaar in the September 2017 issue.

    Although she books mommy-friendly at-home nail appointments, the star has also used the app to book a makeup artist. For the 2017 Oscars Nominees Luncheon, Natalie hired PRIV artist Joanna Makowski to style her hair.

    The beauty pro adorned the expecting mom with soft curls and a simple sheen, for a natural, yet appealing style. Her makeup artist Jo Baker added golden-brown eye makeup, soft, dewy skin and a nude pink lipstick. Her look was paired with a loose-fitting black dress and flats—perfect for a lunch with the industry.

    Good news: If you're in need of a makeup artist, you're only a few clicks from potentially having Natalie's glam squad at your door! The app offers hair, makeup, nail, eyelash extensions and massage services, ranging between $60 and $120 per visit, in Los Angeles, Orange County, New York, Dallas and Houston.

    TriStar Saddling Up Bull-Riding Drama ‘Bronco Belle’ With Natalie Portman

    Sony-based TriStar is in early talks to finance and distribute Bronco Belle, the Khurram Longi-scripted drama. Natalie Portman is negotiating to star as aspiring bull rider heroine Raylene Jackson, and Anna Rose Holmer is in discussions to direct the film. Mad Chance’s Andrew Lazar is producing.

    The movie is a female empowerment tale about a waitress who dreams of becoming a champion steer rider with the help of an ornery veteran mentor. She is not welcomed as she infiltrates the male-dominated rodeo circuit, but the film takes on a Rocky-esque tone because even though she seems overmatched by the beasts she rides, she just will not be denied. The script has a lot of fans around town, and has a lot of heart. Deadline revealed last March that Portman and Holmer were attached to the package that CAA has been shopping. They haven’t been bucked off the drama, and it looks like this film will get made next year.

    Portman most recently wrapped the Alex Garland-directed sci-fi thriller Annihilation, which Paramount just dated for a February 23 release. Holmer directed the indie The Fits. Both are repped by CAA, with Holmer also with Management 360. Longi is with CAA and Independent Talent.

    Natalie Portman Buys Modern Santa Barbara Oasis for $6.5 Million

    (Pic) Natalie Portman bought herself a pad in the hills of Santa Barbara where, on a clear day, ya just might see Heaven.

    The 'Star Wars' star plunked down $6.5 million for a STUNNING 4 bedroom, 5 bathroom home with sweeping ocean views. The seller wanted $6.995 mil. Ya done good, Natalie.

    The home, designed by Barton Meyers, sits on 10.4 acres and blends sleek steel, glass and concrete.

    A bunch of celebs have bought second homes in the area ... from Oprah on down.

    It has the obligatory pool, amazing gardens ... and did we mention the view?

    #FitForQueenAmidala

    Natalie Portman Makes First Post-Baby Red Carpet Appearance Since Welcoming Daughter Amalia

    (Pic1, Pic2) Natalie Portman is back on the red carpet in impeccable fashion.

    On Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actress and mother of two, 35, hosted 150 guests at French brand Christian Dior’s Château de la Colle Noir for a garden party during the Cannes Film Festival to celebrate her newest campaign for Miss Dior.

    The stylish soirée marked Portman’s first post-baby red carpet appearance since she and husband Benjamin Millepied, who was also in attendance, welcomed their second child, daughter Amalia, 12 weeks ago.

    Portman opted for a blue velvet gown from Dior’s Fall collection, which she accessorized with a Fred Leighton cuff that featured Zambian emeralds.

    The Dior event comes three weeks after Portman was spotted returning to work on a photoshoot in Beverly Hills, California in late April.

    Portman and Millepied, 39, welcomed Amalia on Feb. 22. “Mother and baby are happy and healthy,” her rep told PEOPLE in early March. The pair, who married in 2012 in Big Sur, California, are already parents to son Aleph, 5½.

    Back in September at the Venice Film Festival, Portman made her baby-bump debut while promoting her movies Planetarium and Jackie — the latter of which generated an Oscar nomination for Portman’s portrayal as former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis directly following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

    Natalie Portman's Bare Baby Bump Is the Star of James Blake's New Music Video

    (Video) Natalie Portman turned her baby bump into the star of this show.

    While the Oscar winner has already given birth to her second child, daughter Amalia Millepied, James Blake's latest music video is a precious reminder to the actress of her final weeks as a pregnant lady.

    In the black and white visual for his track, "My Willing Heart," the Jackie star's silhouette remains the focus of the piece as she swims, sits and lays with her bare belly in full focus.

    While it's unclear whether her son Aleph makes a cameo in the music video, a toddler pops up for a moment to embrace Portman's bump. In another intimate shot, Portman's belly moves as her daughter seems to kick from inside.

    The project, directed by Anna Rose Holmer, not only serves as artistic expression, but also the perfect pregnancy memento for the mother of two.

    The video comes nearly a month after the actress gave birth on Feb. 22. At the time, the Oscar nominee opted out of attending the 2017 Independent Spirit Awards or the 2017 Oscars, telling E! News, "I feel so lucky to be honored among my fellow nominees and wish them the most beautiful of weekends."

    While a lot of her second pregnancy corresponded with a press tour and subsequent award season for Jackie, people had a hard time figuring out when exactly she was due.

    "It's weird because I'm a small person in general, so you show a lot faster and a lot more when you're small," the petite star told Jimmy Fallon. "Everyone thinks I'm about to pop and about to give birth any minute, and I have months to go...I went to the store the other day to buy water and the guy at the checkout counter was like, 'Almost, huh?' I was like, 'No! Not at all!'"

    Natalie Portman welcomes a baby girl

    Congratulations to Natalie Portman and her choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied.

    The couple welcomed a baby girl, Amalia Millepied, on Feb. 22, her rep confirmed to Page Six on Friday.

    “Mother and baby are happy and healthy,” we’re told.

    The “Jackie” actress was nominated for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, but said she was unable to attend because of the pregnancy — though it turns out she’d actually given birth before the ceremony.

    “I feel so lucky to be honored among my fellow nominees and wish them the most beautiful of weekends,” she said in a statement before the show last Sunday.

    Emma Stone ended up taking home the coveted award for her role in “La La Land.”

    This is the second child for the pair, who welcomed their son Aleph in 2011.

    Portman, 35, and Millepied, 39, first met on the set of Black Swan in 2010 and tied the knot in 2012.

    Natalie Portman Unable to Attend Oscars or Film Independent Spirit Awards 2017 Due to Her Pregnancy

    Natalie Portman will not be rocking maternity styles on the red carpet at the 2017 Oscars or the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards this weekend.

    The 35-year-old star is unable to attend either ceremony due to her pregnancy. Portman is expecting her second child with husband Benjamin Millepied and is in her third trimester. The baby will join big brother Aleph, 5. E! News first confirmed Portman's pregnancy in September.

    "Due to my pregnancy, I am unable to attend the Independent Spirit Awards and the Academy Awards," Postman said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter Saturday, hours before the Film Independent Spirit Awards. "I feel so lucky to be honored among my fellow nominees and wish them the most beautiful of weekends."

    Portman is nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for her leading role in Jackie. She had previously won an Oscar for the 2010 film Black Swan and was nominated before that for her supporting role in the 2004 movie Closer.

    Portman was also nominated for Best Female Lead at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for her role in Jackie. The film was also nominated for Best Feature, Best Director and Best Editing.

    Portman had accepted her 2011 Oscar for Best Actress while pregnant with Aleph and thanked Millepied, a choreographer who worked with her on the film, for giving her "the most important role of [her] life."

    The balance between work and family life is something the actress has always questioned.

    In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2015, she opened up about moving to Paris and how this new chapter with her son and Millepied has changed her. Luckily, she had fellow Oscar winner Cate Blanchett to turn to for advice.

    "Very early on, I asked [Cate] about being a parent," she told the publication. "I said, 'How do you do it? You're a mom. You're the best at what you do.' She said, 'You just do. Stressing about it doesn't help.'"

    According to Portman, her hubby felt the same way. "Most men I know are dealing with the same issues. They say they feel like if they work too hard they won't have enough time with their families," she mused. "Maybe those questions need to be asked of men, too. Maybe the men need better questions."

    Natalie Portman Praises Jackie Kennedy on the 2017 SAG Awards Red Carpet

    Natalie Portman's turn as Jackie Kennedy is one of the buzziest performance of this award season, but Portman just set out to do justice to one of the nation's most iconic first ladies in Jackie.

    "I watched a lot of footage of her from that era and also read a lot of the biographies of her," Portman told E!'s Brad Goreski on the red carpet at the 2017 SAG Awards of the research she did for the role, for which she is nominated tonight. "She really led our nation through such a difficult, dark moment in history, and we're so lucky that she really kept us going in a moment where everyone was feeling a lot of fear and a lot of anxiety about what was going on, not dissimilar to our moment right now."

    Portman also couldn't help but give a shout out to her castmates in the film, which tells the story of Jackie Kennedy's life after the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy.

    "I mean, it's nice to be here celebrating actors because I think with the other actors I was lucky enough to work with—including the late, great John Hurt—it was really always feeling the safety with them, and of course with our director [Pablo Larrain], who really just guided us in such a beautiful way."

    Jackie was John Hurt's last film released before his death on Jan. 27. Portman is also nominated for an Oscar for the role, and Jackie is nominated for both costume design and original score this year.

    Natalie Portman shows off baby bump in Vanity Fair

    (Pic, Cover) Natalie Portman isn’t keeping her baby bump to herself.

    The 35-year-old actress, who is expecting her second child, flaunted her pregnant belly in a black-and-white portrait for Vanity Fair’s new Hollywood Issue.

    Portman’s picture harkens back to Demi Moore’s iconic nude pregnancy photo that appeared on a 1991 Vanity Fair cover. Both Portman and Moore’s photos were shot by the legendary Annie Leibovitz.

    The “Jackie” star is included in the Hollywood Issue with fellow actresses Dakota Johnson, Amy Adams, Emma Stone, Janelle Monáe, Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Ruth Negga, Aja Naomi King, Greta Gerwig, Lupita Nyong’o and Amy Adams.

    Portman announced her pregnancy news in September 2016. She also shares a 5-year-old son named Aleph with husband Benjamin Millepied.

    Oscar Nominations

    ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
    ISABELLE HUPPERT
    Elle
    RUTH NEGGA
    Loving
    NATALIE PORTMAN
    Jackie
    EMMA STONE
    La La Land
    MERYL STREEP
    Florence Foster Jenkins.

    Ashton Kutcher Is ''So Proud'' of Natalie Portman for Speaking Out Against Gender Wage Gap

    Ashton Kutcher is on Natalie Portman's side.

    In a recent interview with Marie Claire U.K., the actress revealed she earned three times less than her male co-star in the 2011 rom-com No Strings Attached.

    "I wasn't as pissed as I should have been," the Jackie star told the mag. "I mean, we get paid a lot, so it's hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy."

    Kutcher has since spoken out on Twitter, sharing a message of support for Portman and gender equality. "So proud of Natalie and all women who stand up for closing the gender pay gap!" the actor wrote online Wednesday, also sharing a link to the interview.

    In Natalie's sit-down with Marie Claire U.K., she recalled agreeing to be paid less than Ashton because of Hollywood's usage of "quotes" to determine actors and actresses pay rates.

    "I knew and I went along with it because there's this thing with 'quotes' in Hollywood," she explained, adding, "His was three times higher than mine so they said he should get three times more."

    Now, Portman isn't afraid to make waves in show biz, and before signing on to play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in an upcoming biopic, ensured the film's director would be female.

    "I don't think women and men are more or less capable, we just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities," she shared. "We need to be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem."

    Natalie Portman: Ashton paid three times as much as me

    Natalie Portman says Ashton Kutcher was paid three times as much as her for co-starring in 2011’s “No Strings Attached.”

    Portman tells Marie Claire she knew about the pay difference at the time the film was being made, but wasn’t as miffed as she should have been. She tells the magazine, “we get paid a lot, so it’s hard to complain, but the disparity is crazy.”

    The 35-year-old says she doesn’t “think women and men are more or less capable. We just have a clear issue with women not having opportunities.” She says women need to “be part of the solution, not perpetuating the problem.”

    Kutcher’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

    Natalie Portman On Jackie Kennedy, ‘Thor’ , ‘Star Wars’ And Loving Work – The Actor’s Side

    (Video) She won an Oscar for Black Swan, she’s buzzed for a second in Jackie, she’s a fanboy favorite in movies like Thor and the Star Wars franchises, she made an acclaimed directorial debut with A Tale Of Love And Darkness . and she has been a star since bursting on to the screen at age 12 in Leon:The Professional. But as Natalie Portman reveals to me in the latest episode of my Deadline video series, The Actor’s Side, she has finally come to admit to herself that she does love acting and takes it very seriously. As she explains she comes from a very academic family and acting wasn’t always on the front burner. Even as she was shooting a Star Wars movie , she dropped everything else to go to college and study just about anything but the profession she was doing so well in already. This is a star, a working mom and wife (she’s pregnant now again with her second child) who says she loves the business she is in, whether it is doing a Marvel comic book movie, exploring a real life person like Jackie Kennedy, finding a different kind of genre to be in, or making a story she has always been obsessed with. In our wide ranging conversation she also talks about taking on a real life , very iconic person in Jackie and how she managed to pull it all off with just a month to prepare before director Pablo Larrain’s cameras rolled. The result has been one of the year’s most critically acclaimed and nominated performances (a recent Critics Choice winner and Golden Globe and SAG contender). To watch just click on the link above.

    SAG Awards Nominations

    The 2017 SAG Awards will be handed out January 29 live on TNT and TBS.

    Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
    AMY ADAMS / Louise Banks – “ARRIVAL” (Paramount Pictures)
    EMILY BLUNT / Rachel – “THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN” (Universal Pictures)
    NATALIE PORTMAN / Jackie Kennedy – “JACKIE” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
    EMMA STONE / Mia – “LA LA LAND” (Lionsgate)
    MERYL STREEP / Florence Foster Jenkins – “FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS” (Paramount Pictures)

    74th Annual Golden Globe Nominations

    The Golden Globes ceremony is set for Sunday, January 8 at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET live on NBC hosted by Jimmy Fallon.

    Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
    Amy Adams, ARRIVAL
    Jessica Chastain, MISS SLOANE
    Isabelle Huppert, ELLE
    Ruth Negga, LOVING
    Natalie Portman, JACKIE

    2016 Critics’ Choice Award Winners

    BEST ACTRESS: Natalie Portman – Jackie

    Critics’ Choice Award Nominations

    The awards air Sunday December 11th on A&E.

    BEST ACTRESS
    Amy Adams – Arrival
    Annette Bening – 20th Century Women
    Isabelle Huppert – Elle
    Ruth Negga – Loving
    Natalie Portman – Jackie
    Emma Stone – La La Land

    Natalie Portman To Receive Palm Springs Fest Award For ‘Jackie’

    Natalie Portman will received the 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Desert Palm Achievement Award for her performance as Jackie Kennedy in Jackie.

    The actress award will be presented at the festival’s Film Awards Gala, hosted by Mary Hart, on Monday, January 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center.

    “Natalie Portman truly brings to life one of this country’s most treasured public figures in the acclaimed new film Jackie,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “Portman delivers a transformative and deeply human portrayal of the former First Lady following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, one of the most challenging moments in our nation’s history. It is our honor to once again present the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress to Natalie Portman.”

    The Festival runs January 2-16.

    Portman received the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actress in 2011 for her Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan. Additional past recipients of the award include Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Marion Cotillard, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts.

    Jackie, from Fox Searchlight and directed by Pablo Larraín, opens Friday, December 2. Previously announced honorees attending the 2017 Film Awards Gala are Casey Affleck, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Negga and the cast of La La Land.

    Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman on Their Time as Child Actors: ''It's a Hard Childhood to Have''

    Other than the fact that they're both successful actresses, it may not seem like Michelle Williams and Natalie Portman have a lot in common.

    However, they do have an interesting similarity between them: they both started in the industry around the age of 11, and they can also both agree it was a far cry from a "normal" childhood.

    "It turned out all right. But it isn't a life that I would want necessarily," Williams explained, chatting with Portman in an interview for Variety magazine. "It's a really long way, and not necessarily a very nice one. It's a hard childhood to have—or a lack of a childhood to have."

    She continued, "I do love doing it, and I can't really imagine doing anything else. I want to keep doing it. But when I see kids on the set, or when I work with kids in movies, I feel really torn about their role there."

    Portman agreed, noting, "We end up doing that a lot, too—more than men—because so many female parts are moms. I feel like I always work with a kid."

    Williams explained how that often leads to her acting on her motherly instincts. "I feel an extra protectiveness and also a desire to be like, 'So, do you have any other interests?'"

    The Jackie actress admitted she had a recent conversation about the same topic.

    "Someone was saying recently: 'Think about what you love when you're 11. Adults who are feeling lost, try and regain that.' And it's funny that they pinpointed that age, because you say you started then," she explained. "That's when I started. I feel that there is something around that time where you do have an instinct about what you really love. I don't know where it came from, because there's no one in my family who was ever a performer."

    She revealed that she came a from a "serious academic family" full of doctors and lawyers.

    "My dad pulled me aside when I was 25 and was like, 'I think it's time for you to go to law school or grad school.' Not that he was saying that acting was bad, but more that he was like, 'I think you'll be more fulfilled if you have something more—like a life of the mind,'" Portman recalled. "So it took me a while, coming from that background, to be like, 'This is what I want, and this is what I love. I enjoy this.'"

    For that reason, Portman says she was motivated to get into directing. "I think it's definitely motivated me to try other things, because I do find myself more fulfilled when I feel like I'm learning something from what I'm doing and pushing myself to new places."

    Read their full interview on Variety.

    Review: In 'Jackie,' a fractured Kennedy fable

    History, lately run amok, is ordered with such tidy, forceful finesse by Natalie Portman's Jacqueline Kennedy in in the piercing "Jackie." Summoning a journalist to Hyannis Port in 1963, not long after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, she coolly sets the record for her late husband's legacy, coining "Camelot" and shaping the mythology. Some details that don't fit the narrative she simply crosses out. "I don't smoke," she tells the Life magazine reporter (Billy Crudup), with a cigarette dangling between her fingers.

    Pablo Larrain's "Jackie," a work of probing intimacy and shattered stereotype, is an electrifyingly fractured portrait of the former First Lady. Gone is the image of the wan, serene Jackie. Here, instead, is a savvy public-relations operator, a steely widow in grief and a woman redefining herself amid tragedy. "I'm his wi--" she begins saying after Dallas. "Whatever I am now."

    The more complicated view of the mysterious Kennedy is inspired partly by the revelatory private interviews conducted by Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and released in 2011. She was not purely her pillbox-wearing public image, not merely a totem of grace, the candid tapes revealed.

    Throughout "Jackie," we feel her discomfort at playing a starring role in an American fairy tale turned nightmare. The disharmony, sounded by Mica Levi's knotted, gloomy score, is always there between persona and person. "We're the beautiful people, right?" she sarcastically quips. Exiting Air Force One, she deadpans to her husband (Caspar Phillipson), "I love crowds." In Larrain's hands, Kennedy's pained public performance is a kind of sacrifice. "Jackie" is at once a deconstruction of the Jackie Kennedy fable and a dramatization of its making.

    Penned by Noah Oppenheim ("The Maze Runner"), "Jackie" evades the traditional biopic format like a disease. It's organized around the Hyannis Port interview with flashbacks to events large and small before the assassination, during it and after. Many of the scenes, quiet and empty, are shot less like flashbacks than like Kennedy's own splintered, haunted memories.

    Some, like her televised White House tour (recreated with black-and-white precision), are familiar. Others are strikingly surreal. Kennedy silently marching through a vacant White House, her pink suit bloodied from the shooting, is an unshakable image that feels straight out of Kubrick.

    And then there's Kennedy stomping through rainy Arlington, her heels digging into the wet ground. Seeking a spot for what will be the Eternal Flame, she is, through force of will, staking a plot in history for her husband. "Have you read what they've been writing?" she first greets the reporter. "It's no way to be remembered."

    Portman's Kennedy is, from the start, probably thornier and more uneasy than the woman ever was. Portman and Larrain have sharpened her and superimposed her story on a rigorously crafted but resolutely cold surface. "Jackie," though endlessly fascinating, can feel like a character study conducted on a surgical table.

    Larrain, the talented Chilean filmmaker of the Oscar-nominated "No" whose equally complex "Neruda" is also out soon, is interested in dissecting Kennedy but not solving her. "I'll settle for a story that's believable," says Crudup's reporter. The truth, Kennedy says, is out of reach.

    What is within the grasp of "Jackie" — aside from a compelling, intricate performance from a fully committed Portman — is a sense of how difficult it may have been for Kennedy to make things look so easy. With preternatural poise, she served as a bulwark of decorum and order against the chaos of the times. It's chilling now to hear the advice of Kennedy family friend William Walton (the great Richard E. Grant) after Lee Harvey Oswald is gunned down. He tells Kennedy to take the kids to Boston and "build a fortress." ''The world's gone mad, Mrs. Kennedy."

    "Jackie," a Fox Searchlight release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for "brief strong violence and some language." Running time: 100 minutes. Three stars out of four.

    How Natalie Portman became Jackie O

    It’s not easy being Jackie.

    Until her death in 1994, former first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was one of the most famous, photographed women in the world. Every outfit was obsessed over; every facial expression — indeed, each word she said — analyzed. This was never more true than during the time period following her husband John F. Kennedy’s assassination in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, when she impressed the world with her graceful stoicism.

    The new biopic “Jackie,” by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, stars Natalie Portman in the lead role. The film focuses on the week after the assassination, alternating between the day itself, the state funeral, occasional flashbacks and the interview Kennedy gave to Life magazine in Hyannis Port, Mass., one week after the assassination.

    “Don’t let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot,” she said in that interview, consciously planting the seeds for a presidential myth. “There will be great presidents again. But there will never be another Camelot.”

    So how to become Jackie, a role that has been played over the decades by dozens of actresses, from Katie Holmes to Jaclyn Smith, Ginnifer Goodwin to Roma Downey?

    For one, there’s the voice: Kennedy had a distinctly patrician, unusual accent. “She has that breathy, almost girlish sound, but with an affected air of calm,” said dialect coach Tanya Blumstein, who worked with Portman. “A lot of the girls went to Miss Porter’s [the Connecticut boarding school Jackie attended], and they were forcibly lady-fied. Jackie’s accent is mid-Atlantic but peppered with Long Island.”

    For a flashback scene to Kennedy’s famous televised 1962 White House tour, “We . . . re-created it down to the last scene,” said Blumstein. “Every syllable, every breath. I made sheets where I charted every inhale, exhale. It was like conducting an orchestra. And we had a week to prepare it.”

    That meant Portman’s look had to be on point, as well. When it came to doing makeup, stylist Miwoo Kim knew what her focus was going to be: “The eyebrows. Jackie Kennedy’s most iconic feature, to me, was her eyebrows,” said Kim. “It took a lot of time and finesse to make sure Natalie had those signature brows. We wanted to look real, but also not like a caricature, which is why we tried to keep it simple and elegant. We couldn’t take too much creative liberty because we were transforming Natalie into an icon.”

    Spirit Awards Nominations

    The 32nd annual kudo ceremony takes place the day before the Oscars on February 25, live on IFC at 2 PM PT.

    BEST FEMALE LEAD
    Annette Bening - 20th Century Women
    Isabelle Huppert - Elle
    Sasha Lane - American Honey
    Ruth Negga - Loving
    Natalie Portman - Jackie.

    Natalie Portman Talks "Wild" Transformation for Jackie (Her Voice!)

    Natalie Portman is Jacqueline Kennedy.

    Her work as the former first lady in Jackie has award season pundits (correctly) predicting big things for Ms. Portman.

    The film follows the hours and days following JFK's assassination.

    "It was wild because she's such an iconic figure and I've never really thought of myself as looking like her particularly," Portman told me last night at the movie's gala screening at AFI Fest presented by Audi when I asked about seeing herself for the first time as Jackie. "But when you have the hair and the makeup and the wardrobe, it really transforms you."

    And what a transformation it was. Close your eyes during the movie and you'll think it's the real Jackie you're hearing on screen.

    That voice stayed with Portman so much so that she would find herself using it off set. "Not intentionally, but unconsciously a few times," she said with a smile. "People were like, 'Natalie, you're doing the Jackie voice!' Because t's so glamorous, you know? It's so...extravagant."

    The Pablo Larrain-directed film co-stars Peter Sarsgaard as Robert Kennedy, Greta Gerwig as the first lady's social sectary Nancy Tuckerman and Billy Crudup as an unnamed journalist interviewing Jackie after the funeral.

    The movie is a haunting reminder of the assassination, but also takes a look inside Jackie's final days in the White House. Watching Portman drinking, popping pills and smoking while roaming through the White House is operatic and intimate at the same time. Seeing her spin out of control while trying to control the aftermath is mesmerizing.

    Award season isn't the only thing Portman has to look forward to these days. She's pregnant with her and her choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied's second child. Their son Aleph is five years old.

    The actress looked gorgeous last night in a loose fitting Christian Dior gown with a smiling sun design perfectly positioned over her baby bump. She wore a matching tuxedo jacket.

    Portman revealed she was expecting in September when she slipped into baby bump hugging gown at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of Planetarium.

    Fox Searchlight releases Jackie in theaters on Dec. 2.

    ‘Jackie’ Trailer: Natalie Portman Channels A First Lady’s Sadness And Strength

    (Video) Question: Did Jackie Kennedy believe in fairy tales? Answer: “I believe that the characters we read about on the page end up being more real than the men who stand beside us.” Here is the first full trailer for Jackie, starring Oscar winner and current awards-season player Natalie Portman as the First Lady of Camelot.

    There is plenty of the iconic pink dress and pillbox hat, but there’s also a hard look at just how devastated she was by the 1963 assassination of her husband, POTUS 35 John F. Kennedy. “I’m not the first lady anymore,” she says in a whispery, succinct voice. “I lost Jack somewhere.” From the trailer, it looks less like a biopic and more of a treatise on loss and coping from a grieving widow and mother. Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, Richard E. Grant and John Hurt co-star in the film directed by Pablo Larrain from Noah Oppenheim’s script.

    Jackie, which started generating buzz at Cannes and went on to win Best Screenplay at Venice and the Platform Prize in Toronto. Fox Searchlight acquired the LD Entertainment picture at Toronto and has set a limited release in the awards-season sweet spot of December 2. Have a look at the trailer above and tell us what you think.

    Hollywood Film Awards Get Political: Natalie Portman Speaks Out, James Corden Cracks Jokes

    If an award show takes place on the Sunday before Election Day, you better believe that celebs will use the moment to weigh in on politics.

    And that's exactly what happened tonight at the Hollywood Film Awards.

    "This is it," host James Corden said during his opening monologue. "This could be the last awards ceremony before the apocalypse. Come Wednesday morning we could all be watching a real-life version of The Purge."

    Robert De Niro thanked the HFA for being honored with this year's comedy award, but said, "I know we're here to celebrate movies in Hollywood...but it's two days before a frightening election and the shadow of politics is hanging over us whether we like it or not and it's hard fro me to think about anything else. So let me just lay it out right here--we have the opportunity to prevent a comedy from turning into a tragedy. Vote for Hillary Tuesday."

    Leonardo DiCaprio didn't say Hillary Clinton's name, but you knew who he was talking about when he and Fisher Stevens received the documentary award for their climate change doc Before the Flood.

    "Let's all use our power as citizens to do the right thing," DiCaprio said. "Please vote...Vote for people who believe in the science of climate change." (Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a fabrication created by the Chinese government.)

    Natalie Portman, who took home the actress award, stars in Jackie as Jackie Kennedy in the hours and days following the assassination of JFK. "We have obviously heard so many crazy things that have been said about women this year politically and to women and I feel so lucky to be a part of this film that is about a woman who was known maybe first for being a wife—first to Kennedy and then to Onassis—but then really became someone who could be recognized on her own merits just as Jackie," Portman said.

    Corden said of the 2016 movie slate, "This year they brought back Star Wars with a female lead, they rebooted Ghostbusters with a female lead and I pray to God they reboot the Clinton presidency with a female lead."

    There was a smidge of GOP representation in the room. Not only was Clint Eastwood a presenter, but when Corden asked Trump supporters to raise their hands, one woman jumped out of her seat and did a little dance while another woman raised both her hands.

    "This is good," Corden said. "These speeches have made an impact because when they polled the room it was 50-50."

    Other HFA winners included Nicole Kidman, Justin Timberlake, Tom Hanks, Eddie Murphy, Tom Ford, Mel Gibson, Lily Collins, Hugh Grant, Janelle Monáe, Naomie Harris and the cast of the upcoming real-life drama Gold.

    The star-studded gala took place at the Hilton Beverly Hills and was presented by Virginia Black whiskey.

    ‘Jackie’ Added As AFI Centerpiece Gala

    Fox Searchlight’s Jackie has joined this year’s slate of AFI Centerpiece Galas at the 2016 fest. Directed by Pablo Larrain, Jackie, starring Oscar winner Natalie Portman, will screen on Monday, November 14, at the TCL Chinese Theatre.

    The film, which debuted at the Venice and Toronto film festivals, is an intimate portrait of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, portrayed by Portman, which takes us into the iconic First Lady’s world during the difficult days immediately following her husband’s assassination. Noah Oppenheim penned the screenplay. In addition to Portman, the film stars Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup and Oscar nominee John Hurt. Jackie is produced by Juan De Dios Larraín, Oscar nominee Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Liddell, Scott Franklin and Ari Handel.

    Jackie joins previously announced Mike Mills-directed 20th Century Women; Elle directed by Paul Verhoeven; and Damien Chazelle-helmed La La Land starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

    The fest runs November 10-17.

    Gotham Awards Nominations

    Winners to be bestowed November 28 at Cipriani Wall Street.

    BEST ACTRESS

    Kate Beckinsale - Love & Friendship (Amazon Studios)

    Annette Bening - 20th Century Women (A24)

    Isabelle Huppert - Elle (Sony Pictures Classics)

    Ruth Negga - Loving (Focus Features)

    Natalie Portman - Jackie (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

    Natalie Portman on Playing Jackie Kennedy: "A Complex Portrait of a Woman"

    Natalie Portman is getting lots of Oscar buzz for her work starring as Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming drama Jackie.

    "You dream about when you make something having people connect to it and relate to it so when the finished product is out [and] people really connect to it emotionally it's exactly what you dream about," Portman told E! News last night the New York Film Festival premiere of the Pablo Larraín-directed film.

    Jackie follows the first lady during the days after Pres. Kennedy was assassinated.

    "I hope that people get a complex portrait of a woman," Portman said. "I think one of the great things about the film that Pablo made is it's not trying to tell you what to think about her. It's just creating this very specific and detailed portrait of many of the aspects of this woman. And she's complex and smart and strong sometimes and weak other times."

    She continued, "She's a human being and I think it's rare to get to see a woman's humanity in that much detail in film."

    Peter Sarsgaard plays Robert F. Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy hits close to home. "My daughter takes ballet at the ballet school she funded," the actor said. "She's everywhere."

    Jackie is in theaters on Dec. 2.

    And Jackie isn't the only thing Portman is celebrating these days. She is also pregnant with her second child with her dancer-choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied. Their son Aleph Portman-Millepied is five.

    ‘Jackie’ Trailer & Poster: Natalie Portman As Camelot’s First Lady

    (Trailer, Poster) “Do you like to believe in fairy tales?” The first teaser trailer for Jackie, starring Oscar winner Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy, starts with Camelot’s first lady dressed in black and staring blankly out of a limousine window — and we all know why. This clip later shows her in the famous pink dress and hat, attending functions, greeting people and delivering a birthday cake for 3-year-old John Jr. Better times.

    But then there’s a shot of the convertible speeding through downtown Dallas en route to Parkland Memorial, and the Great Tragedy is revisited. The rest of the trailer gives us a look behind the veil at how she coped with the assassination of her husband in 1963. Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup co-star in the film, with Max Casella playing then-future MPAA chief Jack Valenti.

    Pablo Larrain directed the pic, which started generating buzz at Cannes. Noah Oppenheim wrote it. Fox Searchlight acquired Jackie at Toronto and has set an awards-baiting December 2 limited release it in an awards sweet spot. Have a look at the trailer above and poster below and tell us what you think.

    Natalie Portman On 'Jackie': “She Took This Real Control Over Her Family's Story” – Toronto Studio

    Six years ago, the news broke about a potential Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy movie with Rachel Weisz in the title role, and her then fiancé Darren Aronofsky directing from Noah Oppenheim’s script. At last year’s Berlin, Pablo Larrain was approached by Aronofsky about directing Jackie after the Black Swan director, then head of the Berlin jury, was floored by the Chilean director’s competition entry The Club. Natalie Portman watched The Club in Paris, and soon after, decided to put on the pill box hat. By Cannes, Jackie was an official ‘go’.

    Since its debut at Venice and the Toronto International Film Festival, critics have praised Portman’s uncanny portrayal of the widowed First Lady and remarked how Larrain and Oppenheim have sublimely broken all the biopic rules in a movie that follows Jackie Kennedy post-JFK assassination. Deadline’s Michael Cieply described Jackie as an “almost one-woman show about truth, fiction.” When it came to diving into the role and making Mrs. Kennedy someone more than a cultural fashion icon, a primary source for Portman was the seven-part interview that historian and Kennedy aide Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. conducted with the First Lady. It was one of three interviews she gave following her husband’s assassination. The eight-and-a-half hour interview conducted in the early part of 1964 was kept private throughout her life.

    What struck Portman? “She had this ironic wit,” says the Oscar-winning actress who has a shot at a third nomination this year after Black Swan distributor Fox Searchlight snapped up U.S. rights to Jackie on Monday for a December 9 release. Adds Portman on Mrs. Kennedy, “She took this real control over her family’s story and she really had a deep understanding of history to know the story you tell is the one that lasts; it doesn’t matter what really happened.”

    Awards momentum for Jackie is already in place with Oppenheim’s script taking the best screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival.

    Fox Searchlight Buys Natalie Portman-Starrer ‘Jackie’ In Toronto; Sets Dec. 9 Release

    It took two festivals for it to happen, but Fox Searchlight has finally closed a deal with LD Entertainment for U.S. rights to Jackie, the Pablo Larrain-directed drama that stars Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy. The film covers the days following JFK’s assassination in Dallas in 1963, as the grieving widow with two young and suddenly fatherless children tried to cement her slain husband’s historical legacy. FSL quickly set the film for a December 9 release.

    This adds another lauded movie to the Oscar race, and it is the first major studio deal for an acquisitions title since Toronto began last week.

    Several bidders have circled since the film’s debuts in Venice and Toronto — word was the bids neared the eight-figure range and that interested parties included EuropaCorp. While others vied for it, it has felt inevitable that the film would go to FSL presidents Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley. Jackie comes out of the festivals with enviable awards momentum, and FSL has experience in moving quickly to take a Toronto film and turn it into an awards contender, as it did with The Wrestler. Jackie got strong reviews for what has been touted as a career performance by the Oscar-winning Portman as the former First Lady, facing one of the nation’s darkest moments with grace, dignity and a determination that the husband slain alongside her in that Texas motorcade would not be forgotten by history. She crafted the “Camelot” image that has always defined the JFK presidency.

    Screenwriter (and current Today executive-in-charge) Noah Oppenheim won Best Screenplay at this year’s Venice Film Festival. It was FSL that guided Portman to her Oscar in Black Swan. Portman stars in Jackie with Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt, and Peter Sarsgaard. The film is produced by Juan De Dios Larraín, Darren Aronofsky, Mickey Liddell, Scott Franklin, and Ari Handel. The filmmaking team includes cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine, editor Sebastián Sepúlveda, production designer Jean Rabasse, costume designer Madeline Fontaine and music by Mica Levi.

    “Pablo Larraín’s Jackie is a daring, one-of-a-kind cinematic portrayal of a beloved icon. Led by an indelible performance from Natalie Portman and supported by a richly talented ensemble of actors and artists, the film is one we are thrilled to bring to audiences later this year,” said Gilula and Utley.

    “I am delighted that Fox Searchlight will be releasing Jackie,” said Larrain. “Their movies have been an important influence on me as a filmmaker, and it is a personal achievement for me to have them bring this very special story of a beautiful, sophisticated and mysterious woman to the world. Jackie was the most unknown of the known women of the 20th century.”

    Larrain directed the upcoming Neruda (The Orchard releases it December 16, which means the director will launch two films in two weeks) and No, latter of which was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film on behalf of Chile at the 2013 Academy Awards.

    Said the producers: “LD Entertainment, Protozoa Pictures and Fabula are proud to collaborate with Fox Searchlight Pictures in bringing Pablo’s English-language debut feature to stateside audiences.”

    Jackie first started creating buzz at Cannes, when the film was first shopped with promo footage. Fox Searchlight had rights to match the final bid because the shingle once planned to make the movie back when Aronofsky was aboard to direct. FSL hung onto rights that complicated the traditional auctions that are usually held for star-driven prestige films like this one. FSL’s offer was lower at Cannes than what the financiers sought, and other bidders were reluctant to put themselves on the line to be used as stalking horses.

    This gives FSL heads Gilula and Utley a viable contender. It remains to be seen how the film that the distributor planned to push for Oscars, The Birth Of A Nation, will fare in the heat of awards season, given the backlash over a 17-year-old rape charge against writer-director-star-producer Nate Parker. Even though he was acquitted, it is an open question how it will impact the film’s Oscar chances. FSL made a record $17.5 million deal for the film as it swept the awards at Sundance last January.

    The Jackie deal was brokered by Fox Searchlight’s EVP Business Affairs Megan O’Brien and SVP Acquisitions & Co-Productions Ray Strache, and CAA, which also packaged and arranged the film’s financing, and Mickey Liddell on behalf of LD Entertainment. Larraín is represented by CAA and Management 360, as is Oppenheim. Portman is represented by CAA.

    Natalie Portman is expecting her second child

    (Pic) Natalie Portman is pregnant with her second child, according to reports on Thursday.

    The actress showed off a rounder-than-usual middle in a clingy white gown at Wednesday night’s Venice Film Festival premiere of “Plantetarium,” sparking the pregnancy chatter.

    Portman, 35, and dancer husband Benjamin Millepied, 39, are already parents of a 5-year-old son named Aleph.

    Now living in the States after a stint in Paris, the Long Island-bred star recently said how happy she is to be back, noting, “They’re very cool in France.” The family has been residing in Los Angeles after Millepied stepped down earlier this year as dance director of Opera de Paris amid reports of tension between him and some of the dancers in the company.

    Reps for both Portman and Millepied didn’t immediately return our requests for comment.

    Portman plays Jackie Kennedy, her 'most dangerous' role

    Natalie Portman said Wednesday that portraying a grief-stricken Jacqueline Kennedy was her "most dangerous" film role, as the piercing bio-drama "Jackie" entered the race for the Venice film festival's prestigious Golden Lion.

    Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain's first English-language feature is an intimate look at the woman who shaped her famous husband's legacy, offsetting public images and audio recordings with an exploration of Jackie's private side.

    The glossy drama starts a week after John F. Kennedy's 1963 murder in Dallas, as his new widow gives an interview with Theodore H. White of Life magazine (played by Billy Crudup).

    "I felt like it was the most dangerous film I've ever done because everyone knows what Jackie looked like, sounded like, walked like," Portman told journalists at the world's oldest film festival.

    Larrain said they had drawn from the many biographies on the iconic first lady, as well as a source material gathered by historian Arthur Schlesinger, including recordings of Jackie chatting with her friends.

    "The challenge was having someone so well known as Natalie, playing someone so well known as Jackie. But I think cinema is connected to the old magicians, with someone pulling a rope here or moving a light there.

    "We created an illusion that talks of pain, loss and desire," Larrain said.

    - 'Most unknown of the known' -

    The film is non-chronological, moving back and forwards between the mourning Jackie determined to control every word the journalist writes, to the blood-splattered one, sitting next to her husband when he is shot dead.

    We go from her recording a tour of the White House for CBS News (real-life footage from 1962 recreated down to the smallest detail here), to her swallowing down pills and alcohol as she struggles to manage her grief.

    Through scenes with her priest, we learn of Jackie's struggle to mourn a man with roving eyes who she no longer slept with and whose death has left her fearing poverty, loneliness and social oblivion.

    "You have all the records about everything, but a ton of things you will never know as it happens behind doors. Jackie was someone incredibly mysterious, the most unknown of the known people," Larrain said.

    "We tried to sneak a camera inside her private space, creating a fiction based on paradox, emotions and mystery," he said.

    The film peaks with Jackie's strategy of painting a fairy-tale picture of JFK by using "Camelot" as a sobriquet for JFK and the Kennedy Administration, an epitaph which stuck.

    Her analogy with the 1960 Lerner and Loewe musical, which appears in the film's soundtrack, elevates the Kennedy kingdom to the level of the one ruled by the legendary King Arthur.

    Jackie managed "to create an illusion of royalty, gathering together a whole nation" for the spectacular state funeral, with America's elite and foreign dignitaries alike processing in the wake of the horse-drawn coffin.

    "It's interesting because it's not something she got through a family name, through birthright. She was a queen without a throne," Larrain said.

    ‘Jackie’: Natalie Portman On “Dangerous” Role In Pablo Larrain’s Look At A Woman In Crisis (But Don’t Call It A Biopic) – Venice

    Chilean director Pablo Larrain told me in Cannes last May that his Natalie Portman-starrer Jackie would not be a classic biopic — and he wasn’t kidding. His first foray into helming an English-language movie, which world premiered at the Venice Film Festival today, focuses on the days immediately following the assassination of John F Kennedy from his sudden widow’s perspective.

    It takes viewers through how the First Lady dealt with the aftermath, from standing by as Lyndon B Johnson was promptly sworn in as the new president aboard Air Force One, to telling her two small children that their father “had to go to heaven,” planning her husband’s funeral and exiting the White House. None of the above (and there’s a lot more) is handled in the classic sense, rather moving about to depict a version of what were Jackie’s anguish, anger, incomprehension and private moments after a shot heard round the world. Applause was hearty at press screenings this morning and reviews have been laudatory; there is awards buzz around Portman’s ethereal portrayal of a woman in crisis.

    But is it a biopic? Not according to Larrain, the Oscar-nominated director of 2012’s No. “I don’t think so. It is an approach to something that is fascinating to us.”

    It’s told from Jackie’s point of view as she shares flashback details with a reporter (Billy Crudup) at home in Hyannis Port — making clear she will be editing him as she goes along; recounting intimate details while admonishing that he can’t print them.

    The film is often shot in close-up of a woman who was one of the most adored yet enigmatic of the 20th century. At a press conference today, Larrain said, “I remember the first day of shooting, we had set up the camera and (Natalie) just kept walking towards the camera — and that was the movie. I wanted to be very, very close and intimate… I believe (Jackie) was someone incredibly mysterious; one of the most unknown known people.”

    “I don’t think the movie will deliver all the answers,” Larrain added. “It needs an audience to digest it. Even after the movie, you still don’t get who she was; I found beauty in that.”

    Portman said playing Jackie was “right up there” with her most challenging parts. “It felt like the most dangerous… Everyone knows her or has an idea of her… We tried to get to some things that people could get past and believe I was Jackie.”

    There are scenes recreated from the famous tour Jackie gave of the White House in 1962 which depict her behind-the-scenes as cautious and hesitant, but also set up her desire to keep history alive on Pennsylvania Avenue. That feeds into some of the film’s scenes post-assassination and how JFK will be remembered, and by extension how she will be.

    Portman was asked about any similarities she found between herself and the former First Lady. She deferred to Larrain who said, “It’s not about how they look. When somebody is so well-known as Natalie and is playing somebody as well-known as Jackie; (it’s about) when does the audience believe it.”

    He continued, “Sometimes I feel you can be at risk when you try to make the actor look just like the person and you work just on that and then the movie starts and it’s like a photo. Natalie does a great imitation, but it could not sit there. With the tools of cinema, we tried to create an illusion.”

    Speaking of playing Jackie as almost two distinct people — the public and private persona — Portman said she and Larrain had done a lot of research. “We noticed when looking at the existing film and audio tape of Jackie, her voice and presence were very different when it was a public interview. She got a lot more coy and shy. There were a lot of small details.” In 1964, she had recorded a series of interviews with historian and former Special Assistant to the President, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and Portman noted that in those tapes, “You can hear drinks and ice clinking in the background and she had a much different tone and quality of voice.”

    “That’s a big part of the conflict,” Portman said. “When you know you’re a symbol, people see you as something from the outside. How can you maintain your humanity?” There’s a scene in the film that perfectly depicts this she noted, “She was a mannequin for a lot of people.”

    John Hurt plays a priest in the film to whom Jackie confides before going to the Arlington Cemetery burial site for her late husband and the two children she had earlier lost, Arabella and Patrick. Of those discussions, where Portman’s Jackie speaks frankly and uses the priest almost as confessor, she said today, “It’s so many things at once that she’s dealing with. The loss of a loved one leads to a questoning of faith, but this happens in such a sudden, violent, tragic, traumatic way and it’s shocking when those kinds of questions come up so suddenly.”

    Larrain noted, “When you deal with something like this, you have all the official information and records but there is a ton of things you would never know because it happened behind closed doors. So we tried to sneak a camera inside there and create a fiction.”

    The eponymous tune from the Lerner and Loewe production of Camelot is used more than once in the film, and truly packs an emotional punch. Larrain said, “We used Camelot to explain what it means. Jackie was a queen. What happened here is they were able to create an illusion of royalty. She was a queen without a throne.”

    Jackie hails from Jackie Productions Ltd, Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa, LD Entertainment, Larrain’s Fabula, Wild Bunch and Why Not Productions. Insiders has international sales. There is currently no U.S. distributor. It next screens in Toronto.

    Natalie Portman: People in LA are much nicer than Parisians

    (Video) Natalie Portman is glad she left Paris for Los Angeles.

    “Everyone smiles a lot here — it’s very nice,” the actress told Jimmy Kimmel in an interview that aired Thursday night. “They’re very cool in France.”

    Portman, whose husband Benjamin Millepied is French, says she didn’t realize she had gotten used to behavior in Paris until “I got here and I was so surprised when you get in an elevator and someone starts a conversation … or someone would smile at my child.”

    The Oscar winner, who was born in Israel and grew up in Syosset, Long Island, talked to Kimmel about the strict etiquette rules she says come with entering a shop in Paris, sharing advice that a friend gave her.

    “There’s a lot of rules of politeness and codes of behavior there that you have to follow,” Portman said. “When you go in some place, you have to say ‘Bonjour’ before you say anything else, and then you have to wait two seconds before you say anything else.” If you don’t follow this protocol, she says, “They’ll think you’re super rude and then they’ll be rude to you.”

    In February of this year, Millepied stepped down as dance director of Opera de Paris, Paris’ premier ballet company, amid reports that there was tension between him and some of the company’s star dancers. He held the position for 15 months.

    Portman, 35, and Millepied, 39, have a young son named Aleph.

    Natalie Portman: 'I'm done' making Marvel movies

    Natalie Portman doesn’t expect to return to Asgard — or the rest of the Marvel cinematic universe — anytime soon.

    Having played the astrophysicist and love interest Jane Foster opposite Chris Hemsworth in two Thor movies, Portman recently told the Wall Street Journal she probably won’t be making further appearances in the superhero mega-franchise.

    “As far as I know, I’m done,” she told the newspaper. “I mean, I don’t know if maybe one day they’ll ask for an Avengers 7 or whatever, I have no idea. But as far as I know, I’m done, but it was a great thing to be a part of.”

    Marvel declined to comment on Portman’s interview, but her remarks should come as no big surprise, since Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige previously confirmed the actress won’t appear in next year’s threequel Thor: Ragnarok. At the time, he said there were “many reasons” for Portman’s absence, “many of which are in the film, so you will see that.”

    Foster hasn’t been seen in a Marvel movie since 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, although the character was referenced in Avengers: Age of Ultron last year.

    Beyond the Marvel universe, Portman’s upcoming projects include a Jackie Kennedy biopic and a Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic. Her directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, opens Friday in select theaters.

    Natalie Portman Helps Empower Women Through Education: 'It's an Amazing Way to Engage Young People'

    Natalie Portman is lending a hand to a great cause.

    "I've been very interested in girls' education," the actress, 35, tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "So I did some research and saw that WE – previously known as Free the Children – was really the most efficient and effective school creator."

    She adds, "In 2015, I traveled to Kenya in support of WE's Power of a Girl project and was able to see the ripple effect that a girl's education can have. WE has young people in developed countries – primarily in North America – raising money to build schools for their peers in developing countries like Kenya, China, and India. It's an amazing way to engage young people."

    After traveling to Kenya, Portman became inspired by the power of teamwork.

    "WE creates this sustainable system, so it's not just a new school, but also wells, health clinics and organic gardens that the locals learn how to tend for food," says the actress. "The goal is to build a village that can be sustained by local people for the rest of its lifeline."

    In celebration of an incredible charity, WE will be hosting a series of 14 stadium-sized events held across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.

    "WE Day brings together world-renowned speakers and award-winning performers with tens of thousands of young people to celebrate their contributions and kick-start another year of change," the website states.

    WE Day airs Sunday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.

    Marta Kauffman Sets Miniseries At HBO Starring Natalie Portman, Drama Series At Amazon

    Marta Kauffman, whose Grace and Frankie is wrapping production on its third season, is ramping up the slate of her Okay Goodnight, which is behind the popular Netflix comedy series starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

    Kauffman and Okay Goodnight have miniseries We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves in development at HBO. Natalie Portman is attached to star in and executive produce the project, based on Karen Joy Fowler’s award-winning novel of the same name. Additionally, Okay Goodnight is developing an American version of the hit Israeli TV family drama Shtisel. The adaptation, titled Emmis, has been sold to Amazon.

    “These two projects demonstrate the range I envision for Okay Goodnight, and I couldn’t be happier to see them come to fruition,” said Kauffman.

    We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is a twisty tale centered on university student Rosemary Cooke (Portman), whose complex and unusual upbringing is marred by the unexpected disappearance of a “twin sister” at the age of 5. Christopher Monger, the Emmy nominated co-writer of HBO’s Temple Grandin, is penning the TV adaptation, with Homeland and Tyrant co-creator Gideon Raff on board as executive producer alongside Portman and Okay Goodnight’s Kauffman and Robbie Tollin. Okay’s Hannah KS Canter is co-producer.

    Emmis is an intricate and authentic family drama that offers a rare glimpse into the insular world of the ultra-orthodox community. Etan Cohen is writing, directing and executive producing the adaptation.

    The original series, which premiered in 2013 on Israel’s YES Network, won four Israeli TV Academy Awards.

    Okay Goodnight has several other projects in the pipeline as well, including Seeing Allred, a fully authorized feature-length documentary about the life and legacy of American Civil Rights lawyer Gloria Allred, which is now seeing a distributor. The documentary is co-produced with Katahdin Productions, with Roberta Grossman and Sophie Sartain as both executive producers and directors.

    Kauffman directed the opener for Season 3 of Grace and Frankie, which wraps production later this month in Los Angeles.

    “Directing Grace and Frankie was an organic progression from what I have done over the past two years on the show,” said Kauffman. “Working with our cast felt so right, so natural. We had a shorthand, and we had way too much fun.”

    Grace and Frankie earned two Emmy nominations in July, including a second lead actress nom for Lily Tomlin, who is also this year’s SAG Life Achievement Award recipient.

    Kauffman, who also co-created one of the biggest series in TV history, NBC’s Friends, will receive the 2016 Outstanding Television Writer award at the 23rd annual Austin Film Festival & Screenwriters Conference this fall. Earlier this year, Kauffman and her Friends co-creator David Crane received the WGA’s Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for lifetime achievement in television writing.

    Natalie Portman Reveals All About Becoming a Mom, Director and Aging in Intimate Emails to Author Jonathan Safran Foer

    In a series of intimate exchanges with author and longtime friend Jonathan Safran Foer, Natalie Portman opens up about her life as an actress, director and mother, musing on the passage of time while simultaneously juggling mundane tasks including laundry and bath time.

    Portman, 35, has stayed largely out of the limelight since giving birth to son Aleph in 2011, with then-fiancé Benjamin Millepied. (The pair wed in 2012.) However, her emails offer a glimpse of her domestic life now, which paint a strikingly normal portrait of parenthood. Specifically, the Oscar winner says that she savors family time on the weekends.

    "When I'm not working, I'm pretty much exclusively with my family, so my rituals have to do with school, meal preparation, playdates, bedtime," she writes as part of an exchange published in The New York Times' T Magazine. "I do the whole week's laundry, which I love because it's a task with a clear beginning and end. And then we spend the weekend together as a family – usually somewhere in nature, often with friends who have children. Lots of cooking."

    At the end of one email, she writes that she has to go get her son out of the bath, "where Lego Batman is alternately battling dinosaurs and performing a concert." She ended another by declaring that "I gotta go to sleep though there's some loud Harry Potter music blasting in the house."

    The former child star also says her decades in front of the camera made her feel ready to tackle her directorial debut with A Tale of Love and Darkness.

    "What I always look for in my work are new challenges – things I'm not sure I can do," she writes. "And oftentimes I can't do them, and I fail. But that's what keeps me interested, and nothing offers knowledge and self-knowledge like failure."

    Motherhood, she says, also helped her prepare to helm the film. "It made me much calmer under stress, because there's that weird parent thing you develop, that when things get really bad, your voice gets calm and your blood pressure slows, and you can make everything okay again."

    The Harvard graduate also acknowledged her soulful side in the email exchange, revealing that an ex-boyfriend once dubbed her "Moscow" because "he said I was always looking out the window sadly, like 'Moscow,' like some Russian novel or Chekhov play."

    "Clearly there were grounds for this ex getting fired," she added. "But he did have a point – I have that longing, yearning, it's-better-over-there tendency."

    Even so, Portman says she's also very capable of staying in the here-and-now, especially when she is spending time with her son.

    "Yesterday we saw five bunnies when we left the community pool, and they didn't clear my Wonder Line, but the look in my son's eyes definitely did," she wrote. "He also made prolonged eye contact with a horse, during which it was pretty clear they were having some sort of communication. That made me feel wonder."

    Parenthood in general seems to evoke feelings of wonder in Portman, as she admits to getting a little schmaltzy about the passage of time.

    "Time goes exponentially fast as a parent. I hate saying it, cause ugh, we hated it so much when people said it to us," she wrote. "They always said it, and now we say it, and it's awful, and we're old. But it's also true."

    Natalie Portman not returning for 'Thor: Ragnarok'

    Natalie Portman will not be reprising her character in the upcoming superhero sequel, Thor: Ragnarok.

    The Oscar-winning actress played Jane Foster, love interest of Chris Hemsworth's Asgardian god, in the previous two movies - 2011's Thor, and 2013's Thor 2: The Dark World.

    But Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed on Friday that Natalie would not appear in the next movie Thor: Ragnarok, which is due to be released in 2017.

    "(There are) many reasons (she won't appear), many of which are in the film, so you will see that," Kevin told the Empire Film Podcast. "There are only a couple scenes on Earth in this movie. The majority, 95% of the movie, takes place in the cosmos."

    He also stressed that a third movie in a film series provides "the opportunity and the time to really change things up".

    Jane Foster was mentioned in last year's Avengers: Age of Ultron movie, during a conversation between Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark and Thor, but was not actually seen.

    Her last appearance in the Marvel universe was in Thor: The Dark World, which featured her character being poisoned by a powerful entity known as the Aether, bringing about a near-apocalypse.

    While Natalie is not yet returning to the superhero franchise, Chris will reprise his hammer-wielding role for the third Thor instalment, while Mark Ruffalo will be returning as Bruce Banner/Hulk. Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett and Jaimie Alexander are also confirmed to be starring in the superhero movie.

    Natalie Portman Looks Elegant in Refined Patterned Gown at Beijing Film Festival

    (Pic) Natalie Portman’s red carpet style never disappoints.

    The Oscar winning actress took to the 6th Beijing International Film Festival in China’s capital — and brought her elegant style along with her.

    Portman, 34, donned a patterned, floor-length gown that featured a plunging neckline and black sash at the waist. she topped off the look with a simple, sleek up-‘do, sporting a middle-part.

    The actress has a loyal following in China, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and was slated to introduce a special screening of her directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness.

    The Thor actress has been keeping busy, with a number of movies slated to be released this and next year. Last month, Portman gushed to PEOPLE about her 2015 film Knight of Cups, saying that her costar, Christian Bale was “fun” but “sometimes scary” to work with.

    “Christian would do surprising things all the time,” Portman told PEOPLE of her first time working with Bale. “It’s fun to watch — and sometimes scary, like when he’s, like, diving off a dock into the ocean when you don’t expect it in the middle of a scene.

    “But he also keeps everything feeling very alive and spontaneous. It was really a fun, unusual experience.”

    Natalie Portman on Women in Hollywood: 'There's Still a Long Way to Go'

    Like many women working in Hollywood and the film industry at large, actress Natalie Portman knows that her opportunities are better than most, but that we have a long way to go to gender-neutral equal opportunity and pay.

    "For myself I feel excited about the opportunities I have, but I am concerned that there's not more female directors," Portman tells PEOPLE, speaking in support of her new film Knight of Cups. "It's a big deal and it feels cultural because living in France the past few years [with husband Benjamin Millepied and son, Aleph, 4], the entire young generation of directors in France is women and it feels really interesting that that isn't happening here as much.

    "We still have a lot more work to do," she adds. "I think that the conversation has definitely become more widespread which is very important, but the problem is just as severe, actually probably more severe because it's been so long that it hasn't changed. There's a long ways to go but it's great that we're having the conversation."

    Knight of Cups is playing in select theaters.

    Natalie Portman: Why Working with Christian Bale on Her New Movie Was 'So Fun' and 'Sometimes Scary'

    On the set of her new film Knight of Cups, Natalie Portman says she and costar Christian Bale were often encouraged to go rogue with their dialogue and actions – which the star says was both incredibly freeing and fun, but also sometimes frightening.

    "Christian would do surprising things all the time," Portman, 34, tells PEOPLE of her first time working with Bale in Terrence Malick's philosophical drama Knight of Cups. "It's fun to watch – and sometimes scary, like when he's like diving off a dock into the ocean when you don't expect it in the middle of a scene. But he also keeps everything feeling very alive and spontaneous. It was really a fun, unusual experience."

    The film revolves around handsome lost soul Rick (Bale), who is on a journey of personal discovery, much of which he experiences via romantic relationships with women, past, present and future. Portman plays Elizabeth, a well-meaning young woman who strays from her husband and becomes entangled in a passionate affair with Rick.

    Natalie Portman: Why Working with Christian Bale on Her New Movie Was 'So Fun' and 'Sometimes Scary'| Movie News, Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Terrence Malick

    "It's got that complication to it," Portman says of what drew her to the role. "Because in one sense [their relationship] has the most authentic love, but also it's the most forbidden. So there's this gentleness and a generosity between them, but it's the wrong relationship to be having."

    Like her work with Bale, Portman describes director Terrence Malick as an inspiring, creative force of nature.

    "He really doesn't go along with any rules and rituals of filmmaking, " she says. "Every movie usually follows a very similar schedule and setup, and he frees himself from all of that. He never tells you what to think or feel, which I really appreciate. "

    The film's ensemble cast also includes Cate Blanchett, Brian Dennehy, Frieda Pinto, Imogen Poots, Wes Bentley, Teresa Palmer, Isabel Lucas and Antonio Banderas.

    Knight of Cups is playing in select theaters.

    Natalie Portman’s Feature Directorial Debut ‘A Tale Of Love And Darkness’ Acquired By Focus World

    Focus Features’ multiplatform label Focus World has acquired U.S. rights to Natalie Portman’s feature directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, which premiered at Cannes last year. Focus World will open the movie in a platform theatrical release later this year in contention for the Oscars.

    The film is based on Amos Oz’s bestselling memoir about his childhood growing up against the backdrop of the latter days of Mandate Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel. The family drama set against war-torn Jerusalem is told through the eyes of a young boy whose adolescence is impacted by a devastating family tragedy and a turbulent and changing world. The project has been a labor of love for Portman, who produced the movie and wrote the screenplay. A Tale of Love and Darkness stars Amir Tessler and Gilad Kahana. The film is vibrantly shot by DP Slawomir Idziak and features a sublime piano score by Nicholas Britell.

    The feature was produced by Ram Bergman and David Mandil and executive produced by Nicolas Chartier, whose Voltage Pictures was a financier on the film, and Allison Shearmur. The deal was negotiated by Focus World SVP Anjay Nagpal and EVP Business Affairs Beth Lemberger and by CAA on behalf of the filmmakers. Given the film’s Hebrew language and intense subject matter, this title took some time to sell stateside coming out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival.

    See Natalie Portman Transform Into Jacqueline Kennedy Wearing Famous Pink Chanel Outfit on Set of Jackie

    (Pic) The resemblance is uncanny.

    Natalie Portman channeled the late Jacqueline Kennedy while on the set of her latest project Jackie on Tuesday.

    The film, which costars Peter Sarsgaard and Greta Gerwig, follows the First Lady's story in the days after becoming a widow at the young age of 34.

    The Oscar Award-winning actress, 34, was pictured descending the steps of a plane wearing the iconic Chanel pink skirt suit – recreating the day (Nov. 22, 1963) that John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas.

    In the first photo released from the set of the movie, Portman stuns while portraying an emotional but poised First Lady.

    Jackie is expected to be released in 2017.

    Natalie Portman, Nicholas Hoult & Thandie Newton Board Xavier Dolan’s ‘The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan’ – Berlin

    Natalie Portman, Nicholas Hoult and Thandie Newton have boarded the already-starry cast of Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan’s English-language debut The Death And Life Of John F. Donovan. The trio join the previously announced Kit Harington, Jessica Chastain, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Michael Gambon, Bella Thorne, Chris Zylka and Emily Hampshire. It is a measure of Dolan’s pulling power with talent that the 26-year-old has assembled such an impressive lineup.

    The film takes place in the early 2000s and centers on the tribulations of John F Donovan (Harington), an American TV star in his late 20s, and his correspondence with Rupert Turner, a young actor-to-be living with his mother in England. Their lives take dramatic turns when the existence of their pen pal relationship is publicly exposed, eliciting the most ill-founded assumptions and sending Donovan in a vertical downfall. A decade later, the young actor recollects his relationship with his past idol over the course of an interview.

    Lyse Lafontaine of Lyla Films (Laurence Anyways), Dolan and Nancy Grant of Sons of Manual (Mommy, Tom At The Farm, I Killed My Mother) are producing with exec producer Joe Iacono.

    eOne’s boutique arm Seville International is handling international sales of the film with the exception of France, where the producers are jointly handling the rights with Seville, and in the U.S., where the film is being jointly handled by CAA. eOne and Les Films Séville will directly distribute throughout Canada and Québec. Production is set to begin the spring.

    It is a measure of Dolan’s prolific nature — he’s already made six features not to mention directing Adele’s blockbuster video Hello — that Seville is also handling sales at Berlin on Dolan’s French-language It’s Only the End of the World, starring Marion Cotillard, Vincent Cassel and Lea Seydoux. That project is based on a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce of the same name. After 12 years of absence, a writer goes back to his hometown, planning on announcing his upcoming death to his family. As resentment soon rewrites the course of the afternoon, fits and feuds unfold, fuelled by loneliness and doubt, while all attempts of empathy are sabotaged by people’s incapacity to listen, and love.

    Portman is coming off her directorial debut A Tale Of Love And Darkness. She has Jacqueline Bouvier/Kennedy/Onassis biopic Jackie in the pipelines, as well as Alex Garland’s eagerly-anticipated Annihilation. Hoult has also had a stellar year, rocking a scene-stealing performance in Mad Max: Fury Road. He has Iraq drama Sand Castle in the pipelines opposite Henry Cavill, Rebel in the Rye as well as X-Men: Apocalypse. Newton will next be seen in HBO’s reputedly steamy re-imagining of Michael Crichton’s classic Westworld.

    Xavier Dolan is repped by CAA and LBI Entertainment. Portman is repped by CAA and Law Offices of George Sheanshang. Newton is repped by WME. Hoult is represented by UTA, 42 and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson.

    Tonight Show Video: Sia, Natalie Portman and Fallon Perform 'Iko Iko'

    Tonight Show Video: Sia, Natalie Portman and Fallon Perform 'Iko Iko'.

    Natalie Portman Is 'Very Concerned' About Gun Violence

    Natalie Portman may play a gun-slinging cowgirl in her latest film, Jane Got a Gun, but in real life, she is a strong advocate for tighter gun laws in the United States.

    "I definitely am very concerned about gun violence in our country," Portman told PEOPLE at the movie’s New York premiere.

    When asked if she agrees with President Obama's recent effort to increase gun ownership regulation, the actress passionately expressed her support. "Yes, absolutely," the 34-year-old replied.

    Portman admitted that while filming Jane Got a Gun – which she also produced – she was nervous about working with the weapon.

    "I always want to be sure of safety, especially because I was a producer on the film, I felt responsible for everyone, not just as an actor," Portman told PEOPLE. "But we had such an amazing crew, they really assured me that they were taking care of everyone and calmed me down."

    She also said she was initially worried that the heavy use of weapons in the film would glorify gun violence, but quickly pointed to the difference in government protection between the film's western time period and modern day.

    "But I think also, showing that this is a time when there wasn't government and there wasn't anyone helping, there weren't police," she explained. "That's different than our current situation."

    In the film, Portman stars as a pioneer woman living in New Mexico who accepts the aide of her former lover in defending her family from an outlaw and his gang of ruffians.

    Also starring Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor, Jane Got a Gun hits theaters Jan. 29.

    Natalie Portman Reveals She Has Not Yet Seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens

    Apparently, The Force is not strong enough to get Natalie Portman to see The Force Awakens yet.

    The actress – and Star Wars veteran – stopped by Good Morning America on Wednesday, where she revealed that she has not yet watched the franchise's newest film.

    "I haven't been able to see it yet," she said, adding that she's only heard positive reviews about the film.

    "I've heard it's amazing and it's so nice that it's sort of this continuing part of everyone's shared cultural knowledge."

    Portman, 34, famously starred as Naboo monarch Padmé Amidala, the mother of Luke and Leia, in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, starting with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

    But despite the success of the films, Portman said she struggled to land another serious movie role after the trilogy ended.

    "Star Wars had come out around the time of Seagull, and everyone thought I was a horrible actress," she told New York magazine in 2014. ":I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me."

    Portman reunites with two of her Star Wars costars, Joel Edgerton and Ewan McGregor, in her upcoming film Jane Got a Gun.

    "The three of us sort of had a reunion," she said. "It was nice that we all had that familiarity to start off with."

    Natalie Portman As ‘Jackie’; First Look As LD Entertainment Boards Biopic

    (Pic) LD Entertainment has joined Protozoa Pictures’ Jackie to finance and produce the film from director Pablo Larraín. Shooting is underway in Paris on the movie that follows the movements of Jacqueline Kennedy after the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy. Check out the first photo of Natalie Portman as the late First Lady.

    Darren Aronofsky is producing with his Protozoa partners Scott Franklin and Ari Handel, along with Fabula Films’ Juan de Dios Larraín and LD Entertainment CEO Mickey Liddell. Noah Oppenheim (Allegiant) penned the script which was on the 2010 Black List.

    Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, and John Hurt also star in the pic. Larraín scored an Oscar nomination with his 2012 film No and has a Golden Globe nomination for El Club this year; he’s also tipped to be shortlisted for the Foreign Language Oscar later this week. Jackie is his first English-language feature.

    “Pablo is a masterful filmmaker, the cast is top notch, and we are thrilled to be working with him and our producing partners,” says Liddell. LD’s recent productions include Niki Caro’s The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain and Daniel Bruhl; Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s Leavey, starring Kate Mara and Edie Falco; Sean Ellis’ Anthropoid, with Cillian Murphy and Jamie Dornan; and Risen with Joseph Fiennes and Tom Felton.

    Vincent Maraval’s Insiders represents international rights to Jackie, with CAA handling the U.S. Bliss Media’s China-based company, Bliss Media China, will distribute the film in the Middle Kingdom.

    Executive producers are LD’s Jayne Hong, Pete Shilaimon, and Jennifer Monroe; Why Not Productions’ Pascal Caucheteux; Bliss Media’s Wei Han; and Protozoa’s Joshua Stern.

    Natalie Portman will blow your head off in Jane Got a Gun trailer

    Natalie Portman will blow your head off in Jane Got a Gun trailer: .

    ‘Jane Got A Gun’ French Premiere And Press Junket Cancelled- Paris Attacks

    The French premiere and press events for Natalie Portman-starrer Jane Got A Gun have been cancelled in the wake of the Paris terror attacks. The news was confirmed this morning by French distributor Mars in an email to journalists. The junket for the film, directed by Gavin O’Connor, was due to take place on Sunday with the premiere on Monday. The film is due to be released November 25 in France.

    Natalie Portman Kicks Off the Toronto Film Festival at Pre-Opening Night Party

    (Pic) The Toronto International Film Festival is out the gate!

    Natalie Portman hit the red carpet on Wednesday for TIFF's exclusive "soiree," ahead of the festival's official opening night on Thursday. The Oscar winner posed for pictures on the red carpet before sitting down for an intimate conversation about her life and career.

    While fielding questions from reporters on the carpet, the 34-year-old actress shared her optimism about the future for women in the film industry.

    "Well, I don't know that I've seen them change but I do feel that there's a lot of conversation right now about female directors, and why there aren't more of them," she told the Toronto Star. Portman made her directorial debut at Cannes in May for A Tale of Love and Darkness.

    "I think the conversation is pushing studios to hire more women and also for women to start getting more inspiration and support ... which is exciting," Portman said. "It hasn't quite changed yet, but the conversation is, I think, a big, important step."

    The actress stunned in a floral, embellished dress with her hair pulled back.

    Portman has found success at TIFF in the past. Black Swan premiered at the festival in 2010, starting her eventual journey to Oscar gold.

    More than 350 films are scheduled to screen at the 40th anniversary of the festival, kicking off with Demolition, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts, on Thursday.

    In directorial debut, Portman focuses on her native Israel

    In her feature film directorial debut, Academy Award winning actress Natalie Portman brings to life the autobiographical novel of celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz about his youth during the Jewish state's founding years.

    But in many ways, the Israeli-born Portman says "A Tale of Love and Darkness" also mirrors the story of her own family. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants to pre-state Israel and other relatives perished in the Holocaust.

    "When I read the book it was the first time I could visualize an entire film in my head. It really just inspired so many images right away," she told The Associated Press on Thursday ahead of the film's premiere in Jerusalem. "It was also so personal. I related to so many of the stories because of family histories that I've grown up with and the nostalgia for a country that maybe is not what you think it is."

    Besides directing, the 34-year-old Portman also wrote the screenplay based on Oz's 2002 autobiography and stars in the Hebrew-language feature as Oz's troubled mother, Fania, a cultured and imaginative woman whose dreams can't withstand the grinding everyday reality of Israel's early days.

    Portman said that Oz, a perennial candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, gave her his blessing and a single piece of guidance.

    "His one sort of specification was 'Please make your own piece. Don't just film the book. Make something that is from you. Make your own creation.' So it was very liberating," she said.

    Thursday's grand opening at Jerusalem's Cinema City movie complex, with the Israeli cast and former President Shimon Peres in attendance, marked a homecoming of sorts for Portman, who was born in Jerusalem and speaks fluent, albeit accented, Hebrew.

    As a child, her family moved to the United States, where she made a memorable feature film debut in 1994's hit-man tale "Leon: The Professional." Additional roles in "Heat" and "Beautiful Girls" catapulted her into the spotlight.

    Portman grew up on screen, becoming a worldwide celebrity in her teens and early 20s starring as the tragedy-bound spouse of future evil Jedi master Darth Vader in George Lucas' second "Star Wars" trilogy. She then gracefully moved into adult roles, including "Goya's Ghosts," ''The Other Boleyn Girl" and "Closer," which brought her a first Oscar nomination.

    In 2010, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role as an obsessed, paranoid ballerina in "Black Swan."

    Now married and a mother, Portman has returned to her roots. She's been a proud ambassador for Israel, while also speaking out against the hawkish policies of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She said the film's focus on the time of Israel's birth brought the changes the country has gone through since into clearer focus.

    "I think it is very natural for everything at the beginning to start out with a very idealistic dream of creating," she said. "Then there is reality and there is the naivety of when you start it and the biases you had when you started that muddied that utopian dream."

    Still, she embraces her Israeli heritage.

    "I think I have gained more from being from this place," she said. "You are a representative for your people whether you want to be or not. You are asked a lot of things all the time just by virtue of being Israeli and even by virtue of being Jewish."

    Sighting

    Natalie Portman sipping carrot juice at Delectica on Third Avenue.

    Natalie Portman Gets a 'Lob'

    (Pic) Natalie Portman doesn’t often mess with her straight, mid-length brunette strands, but when she does, well, it’s pretty much the same look, just a little breezier. No pixies or blonde highlights for this star, but we are loving her updated do: A swingy, slightly more layered do that grazes her shoulders. Sure, it’s barely three inches off, but the shorter style is a slightly more sophisticated one for the petite, youthful star. It somehow makes her look even more Parisian (a distinction we bet she’d welcome).

    Natalie Portman on Israel: ‘It’s a very strange place to be from’

    (Cover) After a few years away from the headlines, Natalie Portman is ready for her return. And she’s doing it with a project that’s particularly personal for her.

    Based on the autobiographical Amos Oz novel “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” the 34-year-old’s directorial debut is set during the formation of Israel in the years following World War II, the country where Portman was born and her father grew up.

    “It’s a very strange place to be from. When you say, ‘I’m from Israel,’ everyone wants to have a 10-hour political conversation. Everyone has a very strong, passionate opinion about it,” the Long Island-raised actress told Harper’s Bazaar. “But I’m grateful for it. I had so many friends who asked when we were younger, ‘Who am I? What’s my identity?’ I never questioned my identity.”

    Portman would end up spending six months in the country last year while working on the film, which also features a script from the Oscar winner written entirely in Hebrew.

    But Portman, who obtained the rights for the novel over tea with Oz, didn’t just direct and write the film; she also stars in it as Oz’s mentally ill mother.

    “The power of words is at the center of Judaism, and the creating of a people through storytelling. So I wanted to show the birth of this writer as he relates to his mother,” she said in the magazine’s August issue, out July 21.

    Despite her close ties with the country, Portman would be OK answering fewer questions about it.

    “I get asked so many questions about the Middle East, and I’m like, ‘Can you please just ask me about my dress? Let’s just talk about the dress!'” she jokingly told the interviewer.

    Natalie Portman Explains How Living in Paris Has Transformed Her Style and Beauty Regime: "I Feel More Sexy"

    Natalie Portman is living the good life—or la bonne vie, we might say—in France, and her beauty routine has benefitted from it.

    The actress, who currently resides in Paris with husband Benjamin Millepied and son Aleph, 4, opened up to the French magazine Gala about her new life as a Parisienne. As it turns out, the City of Light not only fosters a vibrant, creative culture—it also allows women to feel, well, sexier too.

    "I confess, I feel more sexy. It's so amazing to me that I feel [like] another person," Portman told the magazine.

    "In Paris, everything seems easier," she continued. "We can afford not to do much in beauty and still have the beautiful air. The French are more natural than Americans, that's obvious…I spend my time observing to try to imitate them."

    While Portman's beauty routine abroad may be simpler, she does still have some go-to staples that seem pretty universal: Compact power, lipstick and absorbent papers are key in her routine—as well as her favorite Diorshow Kohl liner. The actress often opts for a red lip (but, as she explains, never with the smoky eye). Her most-loved French product? Hervé Herau Gel-crème Extra-riche to keep her skin soft and dewy.

    As far as staying in shape in a city known for its decadent, buttery foods, the actress run three times a week and frequently practices yoga to maintain her svelte figure.

    And Natalie's style remains classic as ever—although she finds herself wearing one bold color more than others.

    "In Paris, I wear red. This is perfect for the most chic capital of the world," she said.

    Sightings

    Natalie Portman at Charles Hotel eatery Henrietta’s Table while in Cambridge, Mass., to speak at Harvard Class Day.

    Natalie Portman Arrived at Harvard Eager to Prove She Wasn't 'Just a Dumb Actress'

    (Video) She may be an Oscar-winning actress and the director of an upcoming film, but Natalie Portman says that when she showed up at Harvard University as a freshman, she was eager to prove that she "wasn't just a dumb actress."

    The A Tale of Love and Darkness actress/director returned to her alma mater in Cambridge, Mass., on Wednesday to serve as the keynote speaker at Harvard College's Class Day ceremony, an honor she referred to as "one of the most exciting things I've ever been asked to do."

    "When I came in as a freshman in 1999, I felt like there had been some mistake" and "that I wasn't smart enough to be in this company," said Portman, perfectly coiffed with pin-straight shoulder-length hair, black strappy high heels, and a dress with an eggplant vegetable print.

    In high school, Portman faced a different kind of social scrutiny, with classmates who weren't particularly concerned about her acting career.

    "I went to a public high school on Long Island. The girls I went to school with had Prada bags and flat-ironed hair. People didn't pay much attention to the fact that I was an actress. I was known for having a backpack bigger than I was, and always having whiteout on my hands," said Portman.

    But when the academically minded college freshman (she was voted "Most Likely to Appear on Jeopardy" by her high school class) headed to Harvard, she assumed her classmates felt she didn't belong.

    "When I got to Harvard just after the release of Star Wars: Episode 1, I feared people would assume I had gotten in just for being famous, and not worthy of the intellectual rigor here," said Portman.

    And while she eventually came to love her time in Cambridge, she admits there were challenges.

    "It's easy to romanticize my time here, but I had some difficult times here," said Natalie. "Being 19, dealing with my first heartbreak, taking birth control that's now off the market due to its depressive side effects…."

    But after graduating with a degree in psychology in 2003, Natalie recognized that though she dismissed acting as "frivolous" in the past, it was her true calling.

    "I admitted to myself I couldn't wait to go back and make more films," said Portman. "I had reclaimed my reason."

    One of those films is her upcoming directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, an experience Portman calls "the deepest and the most meaningful" of her career. The period film, also starring 8-year-old Gilad Kahana, was shot entirely in Hebrew.

    "All of these are challenges [in shooting the film] I should have been terrified of, as I was completely unprepared," said Natalie. "But once there, I had to figure it all out, and my belief that I could handle these things was half the battle."

    Natalie Portman urges Harvard grads to take risks

    Natalie Portman advised graduating Harvard seniors Wednesday to use their inexperience to their advantage, saying she has learned that taking calculated risks can lead to life-changing rewards.

    The Academy Award-winning actress, speaking at Harvard College’s Class Day, cited her work in “Black Swan” as an example of a time she didn’t know her own limitations — and it paid off.

    Portman, who won an Oscar for best actress in the 2010 film, said she might not have taken the role if she had known how “woefully unprepared” she was to pull off the movie’s ballet moves.

    “The point is, if I had known my own limitations, I never would have taken the risk,” she said. “And the risk led to one of my greatest personal and professional achievements.”

    The 33-year-old actress also met her husband, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, on the set of the movie.

    Portman, who graduated from Harvard in 2003 and starred in the most recent “Star Wars” movies, also cited another personal example: her first experience writing, directing and acting in a movie. The film, “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

    “Make use of the fact that you don’t doubt yourself too much right now because, as we get older, we get more realistic,” she told the graduating seniors. “Accept your lack of knowledge and use it as your asset.”

    Portman’s address was a highlight of Wednesday’s events, which also included award presentations and student speeches. Harvard seniors receive their diplomas Thursday.

    Harvard’s tradition of inviting a guest speaker to address graduates the day before commencement began in 1968.

    The first invited guest was civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. His wife, Coretta Scott King, delivered the speech after his assassination.

    Last year, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg delivered the address.

    Women's movies aren't 'vanity' projects: Portman

    Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, unveiling her directing debut in Cannes, said Sunday films made by women were often still dismissed as "vanity projects" in a "completely imbalanced" industry.

    Portman is one of the busiest women on the Cannes red carpet this year with the premiere of her movie "A Tale of Love and Darkness", and the announcement of a starring role in an upcoming biopic about the late Jackie Kennedy.

    The 33-year-old US-Israeli actress told a small group of reporters that her first effort as a director, a family drama set against the birth of the state of Israel, had been a decade-long labour of love even as her Hollywood career skyrocketed.

    She said she was blissfully unaware how hard it would be until she got started but eventually enjoyed being in the driver's seat.

    "To take on a great challenge you have to have a great deal of ignorance and naivete," Portman said.

    She called it "astonishing and miraculous" as a filmmaker to assemble a team willing to help her realise her "vision" -- a privilege not accorded to actors.

    Based on an international bestseller by Amos Oz, a writer and advocate of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Portman's film depicts a joyous patriotism among the early settlers that gives way, for some, to crushing disillusionment.

    Portman, using her fluent Hebrew, plays Oz's mother Fania, a gifted storyteller who is haunted by the violence and loss she witnessed in her home country Ukraine, and stifled by the tedium of her new domestic life.

    - 'Prince Charming dream' -

    She said the movie industry was often dismissive of female filmmakers.

    "I remember as a kid when Barbra Streisand would make movies that she was in and people would say, 'oh it's vanity, it's a vanity thing'," Portman said.

    "I think there was a shyness about being a woman and putting myself in it (the film) that it would come off that way."

    Portman said she took inspiration from visual artists such as Cindy Sherman who appear in their own work, and particularly from TV's "Girls" creator Lena Dunham, 29.

    Dunham's first feature "'Tiny Furniture' was a revelation to me because -- just the credits -- I was crying because it said written by Lena Dunham, starring Lena Dunham, directed by Lena Dunham," she said.

    "I was overwhelmed because I was like, look at this young woman... who has no fear about people thinking she's vain. But it's totally about women -- no one has ever said about a man who puts himself in his films that it's vanity."

    She said she was hopeful about the "completely imbalanced" movie industry would eventually getting past the prejudice that kept women making only a fraction of the year's pictures.

    "Women have a problem with the word bossy," she said.

    "We're still supposed to be caring about everyone else around us and putting other people first. I think it's really changing for the younger generation."

    Portman, who picked up an Academy Award for "Black Swan" in 2011, said she has no plans to turn her back on acting, having already signed on to play former US first lady Kennedy in a film by Chile's Pablo Larrain covering the four days after JFK's assassination.

    She said she relished the prospect of digging her teeth into the iconic role.

    "I think that her poise under some of the most harrowing circumstances you could imagine really was part of the reason the country kept together after such a possibly catastrophic event," she said.

    Portman said the political message of her own film, which received mixed reviews in Cannes, involved confronting the defining "mythology" behind the Israeli state with the reality of its Palestinian neighbours.

    "If you believe in your mythology too much and don't let your mythology change, it's suicide, essentially. You need to adapt your mythology to reality and to see where it's like a Prince Charming dream... that can be deadly," she said.

    "I think it's time to adapt our dreams to reality. Let's deal with the situation on the ground now to make it possible for people to live."

    Natalie Portman Cheekily Shows Off Her Underwear in Daring Dress at Cannes

    (Pic) I see London, I see France …

    Natalie Portman gave a peek of her underwear on Sunday while attending a photo call at the Cannes International Film Festival. The Rodarte dress featured a sheer-striped back, which intentionally showed Portman’s black underwear.

    The Oscar-winner paired the dress with strappy, black open-toe heeled sandals.

    The actress, 33, was at the festival for the screening of her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness. Portman directed and stars in the Hebrew-language film, which is based on the memoir of Israeli writer and journalist Amos Oz.

    A Tale of Love and Darkness tells the story of Oz’s experience growing up in Jerusalem before Israeli statehood. The film is a personal project for Portman, who was born in Israel and lived there until she was 3.

    Natalie Portman On 'A Tale Of Love And Darkness', Directing For The First Time And The Need For Peace - Cannes Q&A

    (deadline.com) Natalie Portman may just be the busiest person in Cannes. This evening, she steps out onto red carpet for the world premiere of A Tale Of Love And Darkness, her feature directorial debut. Adapted from Israeli author Amos Oz’s bestselling memoir about his childhood growing up against the backdrop of the latter days of Mandate Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel, the project has been Portman’s labor of love for close to a decade. In addition to directing, she adapted the book, stars in the film and produced it with Ram Bergman and David Mandil. Voltage financed the film and is selling it at Cannes.

    Portman also arrives on the Croisette attached to a slew of new projects, all announced within days of each other: Mareille Heller’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On The Basis Of Sex; Pablo Larrain’s Jacqueline Kennedy biopic Jackie; Rebecca Zlotowski’s Planetarium and Alex Garland’s Annihilation.

    With Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (as producer), Jane Got A Gun (stars in and produces) and new Terence Malick Weightless also in the pipeline 2015 (and 2016) are shaping up as banner years in the impassioned and versatile actress-turned-filmmaker’s career. She spoke with Deadline about what so compelled her to make Oz’s book her directing debut as well as the role it might play in the debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, itself a lightning-rod issue for many in Hollywood and beyond.

    DEADLINE: This is very much your baby. You wrote it, directed, starred in it, produced. How did your experiences as an actress and now producer inform the decisions you made?

    PORTMAN: I’m very lucky to have the experience of an actress going into directing, because you get to watch great directors at work. So you get to see what’s helpful. The choices they make, how they talk to actors, what kinds of things they ask actors to do. The best directors I work with figure out their own mode of communication with each actor individually. Actors all need different things. Some actors need a lot of talking through everything and your ideas and for you to listen to their idea. Some are best left alone and completely to their own instincts. Some actors need positive energy. Some like a little bit more criticism. You have to feel what’s right for each person.

    DEADLINE: Mythology is a key notion in both Oz’s work and the dialectic behind the creation of the state of Israel in general in both the book and the film.

    PORTMAN: It’s absolutely the core theme. The idea of mythology through storytelling. Storytelling is the way we build our identity as human beings. Which memories do we choose to tell when we tell our life story? Which things do we choose as important, how we do connect them to make a meaningful arc? And we choose those. We choose to say whether the barbeque last week was an important event or a parent’s death is a turning point. What are the meaningful formative moments in your story? It happens for individuals and it happens for nations. And ethnicities choose the meaningful moments. That’s what our holidays are, the meaningful stories that we tell. And, of course, stories become mythology because they’re shaped by the storyteller. So while they’re absolutely crucial to giving identity, we also have to be careful which stories we choose to tell because they then shape our dreams, shape our expectations, shape way we view the world. In this story, the young author Amos, his mother, the stories she shapes to create her world lead her to disappointment with that world.

    DEADLINE: How do you maintain the balance between art and didacticism when tackling a subject like this?

    PORTMAN: One of the most beautiful things about film is that we spend two hours caring about another human being’s life. The more specific point of view we hear, the more people we can care about. Ultimately it’s very much a family story, and a boy’s story and his experiences and, of course, there’s a political, historical context to his life because there’s a political historical context to all of our lives. And it obviously comes from a specific point of view because everyone’s context has its own point of view. I think Oz’s great attribute, what I love about him, is that he looks at nations as humans. He wants us to understand different people as humans. When we start remembering its peoples’ experiences, then we can empathize with them. It makes it all a lot more personal.

    DEADLINE: There have been both love and darkness in your work. Which have you enjoyed exploring more?

    PORTMAN: They’re two sides of the same coin. The way that opposites tend to hold each other in their meaning. They do seem to be these two aspects of our worlds where one doesn’t exist without the other. They allow us to see the contrast between the two. Our biggest challenge is to find the love when we’re surrounded by darkness.

    DEADLINE: Do you think the film can play any role, even small, in the wider conflict?

    PORTMAN: I wouldn’t want to be presumptuous in thinking it would have an important role. On a small scale, when I get to watch a movie that takes place in Mali or Saudi Arabia, or that takes place in Canada, I’m exposed to people I don’t live with. The beauty of having and supporting and promoting diverse filmmakers making their pieces is you get a look into people’s lives and specific stories and other places. We then realise we can relate to any human being who’s going through anything. That empathy you feel when you care about a character in a book, in a movie, is connective tissue hopefully.

    DEADLINE: What do the words Israel and Palestine mean for you, as an idea, a symbol and a reality?

    PORTMAN: They’re so loaded with deep, strong feelings for so many people. I think it shows the very true desire of all of the people of the region to have their own sovereignty and their own dignity and freedom and peace. Ultimately it’s what we all hope for. I think it’s the only thing we can really put our energy into at his point. It’s our only step forward.

    DEADLINE: It feels like one can’t make a turn these days without hearing about a new Natalie Portman project.

    PORTMAN (laughing): I’m so sorry. I’m making up for lost time. It will be busy. We’ll see how all the schedule ends up. I’ve been very lucky to find several projects really exciting to me and filmmakers I am excited to work with.

    DEADLINE: Will your producing grow into something more commercial from a business point of view or is it really for your own projects?

    PORTMAN: It’s more about being able to create things for myself. It’s complicated when you’re just an actor, you’re subject to waiting for something good and for someone interesting to offer you something interesting. I’ve worked long enough to know there are certain waves and periods you don’t have the opportunities you’d like to so it really was born out of that. I am hoping to create things I’d be interested in, and makes me less passive in the process. I don’t believe my job as producer is to control. I have strong beliefs in the authority and leadership of the director. I really believe in the importance of that hierarchy.

    Natalie Portman's Feature Directorial Debut 'A Tale Of Love And Darkness' - Cannes Clip

    (Video) Natalie Portman’s feature directorial A Tale Of Love And Darkness based on Amos Oz’s international bestseller makes its world premiere on Saturday night at Cannes, and it’s a movie that’s very personal for the Oscar-winning actress, who was born in Israel. A Tale Of Love And Darkness follows Oz’s childhood with his troubled mother, who killed herself when the author was 12 years old. The pic is set during the end of the British Mandate for Palestine and the early years of the State of Israel. Portman optioned the rights eight years ago after meeting with Oz and took it upon herself to write the screenplay. The film was shot on location in Jerusalem over 40 days.

    In this stunning subtitled clip, in which Oz’s mother (played by Portman) tells her son the parable of two monks, it’s immediately evident that Portman has a cinematic tenor that is all her own, complete with lush desert and meadow landscapes from cinematographer Slawomir Idziak (Harry Potter And the Order Of The Phoenix) and a riveting score by Nicholas Britell. The composer is a close college friend of Portman’s and he wrote the music for her feature short in 2008’s New York, I Love You. Pic stars Gilad Kahana and Amir Tessler. Voltage Pictures and CAA are handling sales for A Tale Of Love And Darkness.

    Natalie Portman Confirmed To Play Jackie Kennedy In 'Jackie' - Cannes

    As Deadline revealed exclusively yesterday in its Cannes hot titles list, Natalie Portman has signed on to play Jackie Kennedy in Jackie, a new biopic from Chilean director Pablo Larrain (No). The film will follow the first four days in Jackie Kennedy’s life after the assassination of her husband, President John. F. Kennedy. Noah Oppenheim penned the script which was on the 2010 Black List.

    Deadline first broke the news she was circling the role in 2012. CAA is selling alongside Wild Bunch’s new sales unit The Insiders.

    Portman last week signed on to another biopic, that of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, in On The Basis Of Sex. Focus Features is in talks to finance that one, with Marielle Heller negotiating to direct. Portman also has her directorial debut A Tale Of Love And Darkness, which she adapted from Israeli author Amos Oz’s memoir, getting its world premiere here in Cannes.

    Upcoming onscreen turns for her include Weightless, another Terrence Malick collaboration after Knight Of Cups, and Jane Got A Gun, which she also produced.

    Female Thor's secret identity revealed, no stranger to Marvel fans

    Fans have been eagerly waiting for more information on the female Thor ever since she was added to the Marvel Comics world -- and as it turns out, it is actually a familiar face.

    The female Thor is Dr. Jane Foster, one of Thor's love interests. Dr. Foster, who is battling breast cancer in the comics, is portrayed by Natalie Portman in the "Thor" films.

    Female Thor's persona was revealed Wednesday (May 12) in issue No. 8 of the Thor series of comic books written by Jason Aaron. For the writer, Foster was always going to be the woman who would eventually hold the powerful hammer.

    "Jane's been a part of Thor's universe going back almost to the very beginning," Aaron tells Vulture. "She was the initial love interest for Donald Blake, who was Thor's alter-ego [in early Thor stories]. She was the nurse to his doctor."

    "She's grown and changed and evolved a lot over the years, become a doctor in her own right.," he adds. "So this to me is not just the next step for her character, but really the next evolution of the core promise that has always been at the heart of Thor's mythology."

    Whether or not Portman gets a chance to step into Thor's shoes in the films is yet to be determined.

    Natalie Portman To Play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg In 'On The Basis Of Sex'

    Natalie Portman is set to play Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On The Basis Of Sex, with Marielle Heller (The Diary Of A Teenage Girl) in negotiations to direct. Focus Features is in talks to come onboard to finance.

    The script, which follows the travails of Ginsburg as she faced numerous obstacles to her fight for equal rights throughout her career, was written by Daniel Stiepleman and made the 2014 Black List. Robert W. Cort is producing with Ram Bergman exec producing.

    Ginsberg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 by then-President Clinton, becoming only the second female justice (after Sandra Day O’Connor) and the first Jewish female justice. Prior to that, she developed a reputation as a keen advocate for the advancement of women’s rights. Time magazine this year labeled her an “Icon” in its Time 100.

    The classy project is coming together quickly with a hoped-for production start by the end of the year. That would put it ahead of Alex Garland’s sci-fi project Annihilation, for which Portman has been rumored.

    This is fast becoming a banner year for the Oscar-winning Portman, who has earned her own reputation for good taste and being meticulous and deliberate in her choice of projects. Her directorial debut A Tale Of Love And Darkness, which she also adapted from Israeli author Amos Oz’s classic memoir, receives its world premiere next week in Official Selection at Cannes. That follows her well-received performance in Terrence Malick’s Knight Of Cups, which world premiered at Berlin in February.

    Also in Portman’s pipelines are Weightless, another Malick collaboration, and Jane Got A Gun. She also produced the latter as well as the upcoming Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.

    This also is proving a breakout year for Heller. Her directorial debut Diary Of A Teenage Girl earned critical raves at Sundance, where Sony Pictures Classics picked up North American and select international rights. The film, which Heller also wrote, stars Kristin Wiig and Bel Powley. It follows a 15-year-old aspiring comic book artist who comes of age in 1970s San Francisco and is insatiably curious about the world around her.

    Heller is repped by UTA and attorney PJ Shapiro. Portman is repped by CAA. Stiepleman is repped by Gersh and Anonymous Content.

    Natalie Portman In Alex Garland's 'Annihilation?' A Definite Maybe

    Even though it is far from a sure thing, Paramount and Ex Machina director Alex Garland are hoping Natalie Portman will take part in Annihilation, the Scott Rudin-produced sci-fi novel by Jeff VanderMeer about a female expedition sent to a cordoned off forest, after previous attempts to explore ended with disastrous results. I asked Garland just yesterday–in a piece about Ex Machina expanding to 2000 screens–about the Portman rumors. It was so tenuous, I left it out. Insiders at Paramount have been equally circumspect. These days, a conversation between studio and talent is a trade story and you just can’t hold anything. She might do the film, is what I’ve been hearing the past few weeks, but it is not a certainty.

    Natalie Portman calls her 'Black Swan' Oscar a 'false idol'

    Natalie Portman is making her directorial debut later this month when she premieres "A Tale of Love and Darkness" at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival in France. As such, she sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to talk about her adaptation of Israeli author Amos Oz's memoir, among other projects she has worked on.

    When talk turns to "Black Swan," the 2010 ballet drama that won Portman a Best Actress Oscar, the 33-year-old says she isn't sure where her Academy Award is, because it isn't something she feels the need to display.

    "I think it's in the safe or something. I don't know. I haven't seen it in a while," Portman admits. "I mean, [director Darren Aronofsky] actually said to me something when we were in that whole thing that resonated so deeply. I was reading the story of Abraham to my child and talking about, like, not worshipping false idols. And this is literally like gold men. This is literally worshipping gold idols -- if you worship it. That's why it's not displayed on the wall. It's a false idol."

    The interview also touches on other Portman movies, her politics, her deep Jewish faith and the challenge of shooting a film done entirely in Hebrew.

    Cannes 2015: Charlize Theron, Emma Stone, Natalie Portman Headline Star-Studded Festival Slate

    This year's edition of the Cannes Film Festival brings forth another year of big films and big stars.

    The official lineup of the 68th Cannes International Film Festival was announced Thursday during the annual press conference held by festival president Pierre Lescure and director Thierry Frémaux in Paris.

    The festival, which unspools from May 13-24, kicks off with French actress-director Emmanuelle Bercot's drama La Tete Haute on opening night. The film follows the upbringing of a juvenile delinquent and stars Catherine Deneuve.

    Premiering the day after Bercot's comedy-drama is the highly anticipated action thriller Mad Max: Fury Road, starring actor Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.

    Organizers also announced screenings of the latest films from Emma Stone and Oscar winner Natalie Portman. Reteaming with her Magic in the Moonlight director Woody Allen, Stone will walk the red carpet with costar Joaquin Phoenix for Irrational Man, a mystery film that follows a philosophy professor that pursues a relationship with his student.

    Portman will bow her first feature effort as an actress-director with A Tale of Love and Darkness from Israeli novelist Amoz Oz.

    While the lineup is already slated with an impressive list of films, Frémaux said there are several additions to be made.

    "We still have two, three or four films to announce to bring the total to 20, which will compete for the festival's Palme d'Or [award]," he said during the announcement.

    Also vying for the highest prize at the event is Academy Award winner Matthew McConaughey, alongside British costar Naomi Watts with Sea of Trees from past festival winner Gus Van Sant. Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara will come in for Carol, a Patricia Highsmith-style romance from director Todd Haynes.

    Another treat at this year's festival is Aussie director Justin Kurzel's remake of the Shakespeare classic Macbeth, starring Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard and David Thewlis.

    House of Cards' Rachel Brosnahan and The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg will present Louder Than Bombs, along with Amy Ryan and Gabriel Byrne.

    Other major stars who will grace the red carpet are Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benecio Del Toro, who will be on hand for the drug thriller Sicario.

    The roster also boasts some special items. A highly anticipated documentary on late English singer Amy Winehouse will debut, along with two animated treats, the latest from Pixar, Inside Out, and a remake of the classic French fantasy The Little Prince.

    Film, the organizers explained, is "an international language." And numerous films from Italian and Greek directors with international casts prove their point.

    Salma Hayek and Black Swan star Vincent Cassel team with John C. Reilly for Tale of Tales, the first English-language film to come from Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone.

    Hollywood royalty swarm Vanity Fair Oscars party

    (Pic) Tough-talking prosecutor Preet Bharara, taking a break from chasing crooked New York politicians and shady Wall Streeters, lived it up at the prestigious Vanity Fair Oscar party on Sunday night.

    The “Enforcer of Wall Street” and his wife Dalya mingled with superstars and Hollywood royalty including Jane Fonda, Anjelica Huston and Steve Martin at the glamorous party hosted by Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter.

    Those joining Bharara — who spoke at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit last October and was featured in the magazine in January — at the high-powered dinner and viewing party included actors Natalie Portman and Patricia Clarkson, Don Rickles, Conan O’Brien, “Star Wars” director J.J. Abrams, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Steve Jobs’ widow Laurene Powell and legendary music producer Rick Rubin, designers Tom Ford and Francisco Costa, artist John Currin, plus Prince Pavlos of Greece and high society staples Betsy Bloomingdale and Denise Hale.

    Also making the much sought-after early guest list, before all the Oscar winners arrived with their trophies, were moguls and business titans including Apple’s Jonathan Ive, NBCUniversal’s Ron Meyer, CBS’ Les Moonves, Elon Musk, Barry Diller with Diane von Furstenberg, Irving Azoff and Leonard Lauder.

    The Vanity Fair party this year moved to a new location and was held in a custom-built space that occupied a whole city block in Beverly Hills, surrounded by a fortress-like ring of security.

    Natalie Portman Has a Serious Style Streak (and Slightly Darker Hair!) at the Berlin Film Festival

    (Pic) Apparently, Natalie Portman took that helicopter to some magical location full of gorgeous dresses and a terrific hairstylist, because her weekend at the Berlin Film Festival has featured one major style moment after another.

    Because we don’t believe in saving the best for last, let’s kick this off with one of the most showstopping moments of 2015 so far: the custom-made Lanvin gown she wore to the Knight of Cups premiere Sunday. Alber Elbaz created the look, which had a velvet bustier, artfully draped taffeta skirt and satin belt, plus the world’s prettiest clutch (also Lanvin). Sidney Garber jewels and an elegant chignon were the finishing touches.

    For the movie’s photocall earlier that day, Portman opted for another very ladylike black look — that showed off her newly-darkened brunette do. She wore a Dior coatdress (she is a face of the brand, after all) with simple studs and pumps but an unusual choker: a metallic collar with dangling hoops and gemstones.

    She was back to Dior for the Monday premiere of As We Were Dreaming, but this team she chose a sweetly feminine silk faille confection with an embellished bodice. She pulled her hair back simply and added gold sandals that went with the ’50s-dance feel of the dress.

    And finally, it was Lanvin again for the “Seventh Fire” premiere — this time a textured black dress with crystal-embellished bodice, which she wore with Charlotte Olympia heels and a fresh face.

    Which look is your favorite? Are you excited to see her making the red carpet rounds again?

    Natalie Portman Escapes Her Beautiful French Wedding in a Helicopter (in Gorgeous New Miss Dior Ad, That Is)

    Natalie Portman Escapes Her Beautiful French Wedding in a Helicopter (in Gorgeous New Miss Dior Ad, That Is): video.

    Stars' Real Names Revealed!

    Natalie Portman: The Oscar-winning actress used her given name, Natalie Hershlag, when she studied at Harvard in the early 2000s.

    Natalie Portman: 'Star Wars hurt my career'

    Natalie Portman is convinced her performance in the Star Wars prequel trilogy damaged her career.

    The Black Swan actress portrayed Padme Amidala, the love interest of Anakin Skywalker, in the prequel films from 1999 to 2005, but she struggled to find acting jobs afterwards as no director wanted to work with her.

    Late filmmaker Mike Nichols, who died in November, had worked with Portman on stage play The Seagull and tried to help her out by recommending her to his fellow directors, but they kept passing her off to colleagues.

    Portman tells NY Magazine, "Star Wars had come out around the time of Seagull, and everyone thought I was a horrible actress... I was in the biggest-grossing movie of the decade, and no director wanted to work with me.

    "Mike wrote a letter to Anthony Minghella and said, 'Put her in Cold Mountain, I vouch for her'. And then Anthony passed me on to Tom Tykwer, who passed me on to the Wachowskis."

    The Wachowski directing siblings cast her in 2006 thriller V for Vendetta.

    Portman was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for her role in Nichols' film Closer. She won the prize in 2011 for Black Swan.

    'Knight Of Cups' Trailer: Sex & Soul Searching In Terrence Malick's Latest

    'Knight Of Cups' Trailer: Sex & Soul Searching In Terrence Malick's Latest: video.

    Sony Studios Hack Reveals Celebs' Secret Aliases (Jessica Alba's Is Cash Money!)

    Ever wonder what secret aliases celebs like Tom Hanks, Jessica Alba and Natalie Portman go by when trying to fly under the radar at swanky hotels?!

    The hacking of Sony Studios' private information has revealed the fake names used by some of Hollywood's biggest stars. According to Fusion, the recently leak Sony info contains a list of aliases A-listers use to protect their privacy.

    Hanks, for example, supposedly goes by the moniker Johnny Madrid (how worldly!), while Alba goes by Cash Money, a nod to her husband Cash Warren. Portman's alias is apparently Laura Brown while Tobey Maguire goes by Neil Deep (get the joke?).

    Other celebs listed in the leak include Ice Cube (Darius Stone and his actual given name, O'Shea Jackson), Debra Messing (Ava Harper), Daniel Craig (Olwen Williams), Juda Law (Mr. Perry), Taye Diggs (Scott Diggs, his real name), Clive Owen (Robert Fenton) and Rob Schneider (Nazzo Good, ha!).

    In addition to stars' aliases, the recent Sony hacking has also made lots of other confidential information public, including the Social Security numbers of actors, execs and other Sony employees.

    'Jane Got A Gun' Release Delayed Again - Now Set For September

    Hopefully the third time’s the charm. Relativity again has delayed the release for the Natalie Portman Western Jane Got A Gun. The troubled production now is slated to bow September 4, more than half a year later than its previous February 20 date. The pic, which has been through three bad guys, two directors and one lawsuit, initially had been scheduled to release this summer. As of now, it’s only up against Sony/Columbia comedy Kitchen Sink on the new slot.

    Oscar winner Portman plays Jane Hammond, who has built a new life with her husband Bill “Ham” Hammond (Noah Emmerich) after being tormented by ultraviolent outlaw gang the Bishop Boys. She finds herself in the gang’s cross-hairs once again when Ham stumbles home riddled with bullets after dueling with the Boys and their relentless mastermind Colin (Ewan McGregor, who replaced Bradley Cooper, who had replaced Jude Law). With the vengeful crew hot on Ham’s trail, Jane has nowhere to turn but to her former fiancé Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton) for help in defending her family against certain mayhem.

    Gavin O’Connor directs, having taken over after Lynne Ramsay exited the project on the first day of production.

    Natalie Portman In Talks To Join Steve Jobs Biopic

    Natalie Portman is in talks to join Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs biopic. Should be a deal be done, this would mark a further positive reversal of fortunes for the project. Deadline revealed last week that the project had been put in turnaround by Sony Pictures, to the shock of many in the industry. Universal Pictures picked it up Monday.

    The Aaron Sorkin-scripted film about the Apple genius, an adaptation of the bestselling Walter Isaacson biography, has Slumdog Millionaire‘s Danny Boyle set to direct, with Michael Fassbender recently courted to play Jobs.

    The film is produced by Scott Rudin, Christian Colson, Mark Gordon and Guymon Casady.

    Portman, who is repped Stateside by CAA, has been particularly busy of late. The actress-turned-filmmaker has her feature directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness, an adaptation of celebrated Israeli writer Amos Oz’s memoir, in post. She is currently filming Burr Steers’ Jane Austen zombie mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, on which she is also a producer.

    The versatile and talented Oscar-winning Portman also has Gavin O’Connor’s Jane Got A Gun and a brace of Terrence Malick pictures in the pipeline.

    Celebs pay their respects to Mike Nichols at funeral home

    Celebrities including Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg and Natalie Portman flocked to the Upper East Side on Saturday to pay their last respects to star director Mike Nichols.

    A small service at the Frank Campbell funeral home was followed by an intimate memorial at the nearby penthouse of Nichols’ widow, news anchor Diane Sawyer, the Daily Mail reported.

    Caroline Kennedy, Ellen Barkin, Emma Stone and Mary Louise Parker were also among the mourners.

    Natalie Portman Pays Tribute to Director Mike Nichols: "He Saved Me Again and Again"

    Mike Nichols left a rich legacy on the stage and screen—and the actors he collaborated with were left all the better after having worked with him.

    Natalie Portman, who was a teenager when Nichols directed her onstage in a revival of Chekhov's The Seagull and then reteamed with him in 2004 for the film Closer, was one of many to pay tribute today after hearing that he had died suddenly last night at the age of 83.

    "There's nothing good enough I can write that would do Mike justice," the actress said in a statement released to E! News.

    "He was the one who had the best words, the right hug for hard times, the funny comment to diffuse your pain," Portman continued. "He saved me again and again. He was the best way to be a person and an artist. And the most, most fun. I send my deepest love to Diane, Jenny, Max, Daisy and their children, who filled his days with light." (Nichols' widow, Diane Sawyer, was the filmmaker's fourth wife. They had been married since 1988.)

    She scored her first Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her role in Closer as an American stripper working in London who has all sorts of secrets.

    Clive Owen was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Nichols won the Golden Globe for Best Director for his big-screen adapation of the Patrick Marber play.

    In an interview at the time, Portman said that there was a lot of laughter on the Closer set, despite its disturbing and bleak look at relationships, "because Mike was there."

    The director famously opted not to include a nude scene with Portman's character that was a part of the original stage version of the story. They filmed it, but the scene didn't make the final cut.

    "Well, back to the trust issue: When you trust someone, you''re willing to do everything and make mistakes and really expose yourself inside-out," Portman said. "So we made sort of a pact that before...while we would shoot, we would just do everything. and then he cut it the way he cut, showed it to me [to] see if I agreed, and that's what happened. We both kept our parts of the deal."

    And that respect ran both ways.

    "It confuses people to think that someone so completely beautiful could be a first-rate actor, too," Nichols told The Guardian about Portman in 2007. 'It's hard to grasp, but it's happened. It's happened a few times before, with Garbo and Louise Brooks."

    After 21 Years, Natalie Portman And Aleen Keshishian Change Rep Relationship

    One of the longest running talent-rep relationships in Hollywood has come to a climax. As Natalie Portman transitions to a move to Paris, she and Brillstein Entertainment partner Aleen Keshishian will be parting ways, sort of. Portman is relocating to be with husband Benjamin Millepied. A dancer she met while making Black Swan, Millepied is taking the job as director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

    Portman, who just made her directorial debut on the Hebrew-language adaptation of the Amos Oz novel A Tale Of Love And Darkness, will still star in some films. But she intends to make the most of her time abroad by learning to speak French so she can make European films. She will also write and direct while being a wife and mother, all part of the next chapter in a remarkable life. To that end, she has hired French agent Laurent Gregoire, who’ll work with CAA on Portman’s film career. Keshishian will still be involved in the branding aspect of Portman’s career, which includes a lucrative Dior campaign, but she will no longer manage the movie career of her first client.

    The change here is more a transition than a break-up, and she and Keshishian are practically family. They’ve had a professional relationship for 21 years. Since Portman is only 33, that is the majority of her life. They first met when Portman was Natalie Hershlag from Syosset, Long Island, a young, bright-eyed 10-year old who auditioned for the role that went to Kirsten Dunst in Interview With The Vampire. Keshishian was an assistant to casting agent Juliet Taylor and she became friendly with the young girl who seemed much too smart for her age. A short time later, Keshishian got hired as a New York-based ICM agent by Sam Cohn when she next met the young woman, who needed an agent when it appeared she might get a lead in Luc Besson’s The Professional. She was carrying a copy of The Diary Of Anne Frank and told Keshishian her dream was to play Frank, and also to make a dance movie. She became Keshishian’s first client and one of the first things they did was have her use her mother’s maiden name, Portman. That change was made by the time the credits were locked on The Professional.

    Cohn became Keshishian’s mentor at ICM and he taught her the ropes as they guided a Broadway production of The Diary Of Anne Frank that quickly realized one of the bucket list goals Portman had at age 10. The dance movie took longer, realized when Portman won the Oscar for Black Swan, with Keshishian’s Harvard pal Darren Aronofsky. In between was all of the things that the young actress accomplished, from holding serve against vets like Tim Hutton, Matt Dillon and Noah Emmerich in Beautiful Girls, to shaving her head to star in the subversive V For Vendetta, to playing the vulnerable stripper in Mike Nichols’ Closer, to playing the lead in a trio of Star Wars films. More recently, producers Portman and Keshishian weathered the loss of a director on the first day of Jane Got A Gun and kept the project alive until Gavin O’Connor saved the day, and Portman making her filmmaking debut and still finding time to pursue a degree at Harvard and another one in Jerusalem.

    Portman’s move across the pond could be likened to the one Johnny Depp made when he headed to France, but it seems closer to the transition that Angelina Jolie has made, writing and directing In The Land Of Blood And Honey – also shot in a foreign language — and following with Unbroken, even as she reminded the town of her starpower in Maleficent. I always thought Portman was the most sophisticated and mature child star I’d ever seen, and that she had made a most graceful transition to adulthood this side of Jodie Foster, itself an achievement considering all the young actors who grew up in front of the camera and then veered off course. Good for Portman for seeking an adventure that will include but not be defined by a movie career. Keshishian has a slew of clients to keep her busy, from Jennifer Aniston to Josh Gad, Mark Ruffalo, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Orlando Bloom and Billy Crudup. In an age where insecure talent changes reps when things go wrong, the 21-year bond between Portman and Keshishian seems worth noting.

    Teen Choice 2014 Nominees

    Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
    Halle Berry, X-Men: Days of Future Past
    Scarlett Johansson, Captain America: The Winter Soldier
    Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and X-Men: Days of Future Past
    Natalie Portman, Thor: The Dark World
    Emma Stone, The Amazing Spider-Man 2

    Natalie Portman Continues Filming New Movie in Jerusalem Amid Religious Controversy

    (Photo) Natalie Portman isn't letting a little religious controversy halt production on her new movie.

    This week, the Oscar-winning actress-turned-director came under fire for filming scenes for her film adaptation of Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood of Nahlaot. According to the Times of Israel, locals sent the 32-year-old a letter of complaint.

    "The film shooting is set to take place on several sensitive streets close to synagogues and yeshivas, and the scenes being filmed should have been examined first to make sure they don't offend anybody's sensitivities," the letter read.

    Despite the reported backlash, Portman continued filming scenes for the movie today in Jerusalem. She was spotted wearing a blue dress while shooting scenes in front of the camera with a young male costar.

    On Tuesday, Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, was snapped directing crewmembers from behind the camera while working with audio and visual equipment.

    Meanwhile, an Orthodox rabbi debunked the reports that the Nahlaot neighborhood of Jerusalem is ultra-conservative, telling E! News, "Nahlaot is hippish, like a Berkley, definitely not like ultra-orthodox neighborhoods nearby."

    The rabbi added, "There is a huge divide between secular and religious communities in Israel: The secular communities want secular activities, they want to put Jerusalem on the map, but the ultra-orthodox are very sheltered. [They] are not used to seeing certain things and are aggravated when people come into their neighborhoods without asking their permission."

    Natalie Portman Courting Controversy by Filming in Ultra-Orthodox Area of Jerusalem

    (Photo) Natalie Portman had come under fire for filming in the ultra-Orthodox part of the Nahlaot neighborhood in Jerusalem.

    Locals in the area are incensed that the Oscar-winning actress is directing scenes for her film adaptation of Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness there, and subsequently sent a letter of complaint to the municipality, according to the Times of Israel.

    "The film shooting is set to take place on several sensitive streets close to synagogues and yeshivas, and the scenes being filmed should have been examined first to make sure they don't offend anybody's sensitivities," the letter read.

    But the municipality responded to the residents' concerns and assured them that all the actors involved will dress modestly while shooting takes place.

    Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, is not only helming the movie, but is also starring in it as Oz's troubled mother.

    The story revolves around the author's mother's mental illness and his father's attempts to help her during the 1940s.

    Natalie Portman's Husband Benjamin Millepied Reveals He's Converting to Judaism

    Mazel tov!

    Natalie Portman's husband, Benjamin Millepied, just revealed that he's in the midst of converting to Judaism.

    In an interview with Israeli newspaper Yediot Acharanot this week, the ballet choreographer explained that becoming Jewish is "very important" to him.

    Natalie, Benjamin and their son Aleph are all in Israel until March as she's working on casting her directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness.

    The drama is based on the memoir of Amos Oz, an Israeli author who advocated a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

    Portman was born in Jerusalem but moved to the United States when she was just three years old.

    Natalie and Benjamin, who met while shooting Black Swan, were married in a Jewish ceremony in Big Sur in August 2012.

    The family is planning on packing their bags and moving to Paris at the end of this year because Benjamin has just been named Director of Dance at the Paris Opera Ballet. Impressive!

    And despite loving the West Coast, the Oscar winner explained that she's excited at the opportunity to call the City of Light her new home.

    "I'm really lucky," she adds. "When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked. Everyone dreams of living in Paris."

    Portman has since stated in numerous interviews that she's working on becoming fluent in French ahead of her arrival.

    Natalie Portman: Chris Hemsworth's Wife Elsa Pataky Grabbed a Wig and Stood in for Me in Thor: The Dark World Love Scene

    Chris Hemsworth didn't have to fake anything during the filming of Thor: The Dark World, especially while shooting its memorable love scene.

    His costar Natalie Portman revealed that when she couldn't make it back to the Marvel set for a pickup shoot, the Aussie hunk's real-life wife, Elsa Pataky, put on a wig and filled in for her as Dr. Jane Foster during their big kissing scene at the end of the credits.

    "It was for reshoots and he was working in Hong Kong and I couldn't get there because I was working on my own film," Portman told the New York Daily News. "And so they put his wife in my wig and costume. That's why it was so passionate."

    Pataky, 37, is no stunt double.

    The Spanish beauty has been acting since 1997 and had a plum role in 2011's Fast Five. So standing in for Portman was a piece of cake for the actress, which explains why the Thunder God's final smooch with Foster had so many sparks—because the chemistry was real.

    And moviegoers had not a clue thanks to the magic of moviemaking.

    "It was such a perfect solution, wasn't it?" added Portman.

    Pataky and Hemsworth began dating in early 2010 not long after Elsa ended a three-year relationship with Oscar winner Adrien Brody. The two tied the knot in December 2010 and later welcomed their first child, daughter India Rose, now 18 months. Just last week, Hemsworth's rep confirmed to E! News that the couple is expecting their second child.

    Natalie Portman's 'Jane Got A Gun' Set For August 29 Release

    Relativity has dated the resilient Natalie Portman-starrer for August 29. Gavin O’Connor was tapped to direct the indie Western following Lynne Ramsay’s controversial exit in March. Brian Duffield penned the screenplay. The film centers on Jane Hammond (Portman), who turns to her former lover Dan Frost (Joel Edgerton) for help in defending her home and husband from the outlaw Bishop Boys gang. Ewan McGregor plays the villainous leader of the gang, a role he took over after Bradley Cooper pulled out. Jane Got A Gun will face off against Universal’s thriller The Loft and Lionsgate’s horror pic Jessabelle.

    Box Office: Thor Continues to Dominate

    The Best Man Holiday wasn't good enough to overcome Thor: The Dark World at the box office this weekend. For the second week in a row, the Thor sequel reigned supreme, staying in first place with $38.4 million in receipts, Box Office Mojo reports.

    The Best Man Holiday exceeded expectations with a second-place opening, raking in $30.6 million. Last Vegas and Free Birds flip-flopped their third and fourth place finishes from last weekend, earning $8.9 million and $8.3 million, respectively.

    Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa fell three spots to No. 5 with $7.7 million.

    Holding tightly to the No. 6 spot was Gravity, which earned $6.3 million in its seventh week in theaters. It narrowly surpassed Ender's Game, which came in at No. 7 with $6.2 million.

    Rounding out the Top 10 were 12 Years a Slave (No. 8, $4.7 million), Captain Phillips (No. 9, $4.5 million) and About Time (No. 10, $3.5 million).

    Box Office: Thor: The Dark World Slays the Competition and Debuts at No.1, Earns $86.1 Million

    No surprise here. Thor: The Dark World was the top choice for moviegoers this weekend, by a mile.

    The action-thriller starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins, and the second follow-up to The Avengers, slayed the competition and earned $86.1 million in its opening weekend.

    The sequel to the 2011 blockbuster grossed an estimated $7.1 million in Thursday-night previews and Friday-midnight screenings, its studio reported on Friday. Thor: The Dark World debuted much stronger than Thor, which opened the first coveted weekend in May and made $65.7 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

    Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa took the very distant No.2 spot, earning 11.3 million.

    The animated kid-friendly flick, Free Birds, took home $11.2 million and landed at No.3.

    Last Vegas, starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline, nabbed the No.4 spot, making $11.1 million.

    The No.1 movie last weekend, the star-studded sci-fi ensemble Ender's Game, rounded out the top 5, taking home $10.25 million.

    Here's a complete look at the weekend's top movies, Friday-Sunday studio estimates and stats as compiled per Box Office Mojo:

    1.Thor: The Dark World: $86.1 million

    2. Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa: $11.3 million

    3. Free Birds: $11.2 million

    4. Last Vegas: $11.1 million

    5. Ender's Game: $10.25 million

    6. Gravity: $8.4 million

    7. 12 Years a Slave: $6.6 million

    8. Captain Phillips: $5.8 million

    9. About Time: $5.2 million

    10. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2: $2.8 million

    Natalie Portman Injured Her Leg While 'Being Awkward'

    The actress, 32, who appreciates her husband's clean shave and improvises games with her two-year-old son Aleph, chatted with PEOPLE this week about "one last thing" ...

    Last compliment I gave

    To my husband [choreographer Benjamin Millepied]. He shaved this morning and it looked really nice. I don't mind scruff but it was just a change and it merited a compliment.

    Last injury

    Two days ago I banged my leg into a table. I was talking to someone and I got uncomfortable and I moved awkwardly and hit my leg. I was just being awkward.

    Last game I played

    It wasn't really a game but [two-year-old son Aleph] and I were just playing with the pieces of Bananagrams, you know, playing with the letters. Well, throwing them around [laughs].

    Last time I cursed

    Oh, I don't know. I feel like I curse on and off but it depends on who I'm talking to. I haven't in a while. You just sort of naturally don't when you're around kids except by accident.

    'Dark World' is as leaden as Thor's hammer

    Watching an old Hammer rap video would be preferable to slogging through the mallet-centric mishmash of Thor: The Dark World.

    This sequel (** out of four; rated PG-13, opens Friday nationwide) to the 2011 flagship from Marvel Studios is leaden, non-involving and filled with mind-numbing computer-generated effects. The story gives a nod to Norse mythology, but it should have focused less on the brawny god Thor and more on his cunning brother Loki, the god of mischief.

    The perfunctory story picks up after the conclusion of 2012's The Avengers. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is faced with thunderous tasks: Keep the cosmos in working order and fend off an evil race known as the Dark Elves. They're led by the malevolent Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who seeks to plunge the inter-galactic universe into darkness and despair. This entails a killer substance that sounds like ether, but is actually spelled ''Aether.'' (We learn this through subtitles since the nasty elves speak their own brand of non-Tolkien Elvish). Unleashing the Aether will bring about annihilation across all realms. Portals are involved. But aren't they always in space fantasy adventures?

    As Odin, Thor's godly father and ruler of Asgard, Anthony Hopkins looks as though he'd rather be home watching Breaking Bad. Odin wants to declare battle against Malekith and his dark minions, who are actually quite pasty-faced. But Thor prefers his one-man army maneuvers, which involve big bangs from his trusty silver hammer.

    Almost as precious to him as his magical mallet is mortal scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). The feeling presumably is mutual, but you could never tell it by looking at Portman's face, which remains as stony as Thor's powerful weapon. Perhaps that's why Thor likes her so much. She reminds him of his beloved mallet.

    Her assistant Darcy (Kat Dennings) is livelier, but has far less screen time. Such is also the case for Tom Hiddleston as Loki, a charmingly campy villain. Loki, Darcy and Jane's would-be suitor Richard (Chris O'Dowd), have the lion's share of funny lines — which is not to imply that humor is at all abundant here.

    Loki spends most of his screen time caged up in a dungeon for his misdeeds. Sequestering him may be the proper retribution for his wrongdoings, but it's a tactical error in this story, lessening the fun. He still gets off some snarling quips, but they're not enough to save this vapid film.

    While some visual effects are flashy and the production design is gleaming and intricate (if unworthy of 3-D), the overall movie is a convoluted bore. It livens up somewhat when Thor descends to Earth — specifically London. He even boards the Tube, superhero cape and all.

    While the first Thor had a fish-out-of-water charm, this follow-up seems too influenced by The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Game of Thrones (episodes of which director Alan Taylor also has helmed).

    Speaking of blockbusters, the film has a few Easter egg surprises to satisfy fans of the Marvel universe.

    Mostly, however, this flavorless, formulaic, forgettable spectacle feels like a place-holder in the Avengers franchise.

    Sightings

    “Thor” star Natalie Portman dinning with friends at Maya

    Natalie Portman Says She's Become "Less Judgmental" Now That She's a Mom

    Ever since she and husband Benjamin Millepied welcomed their son Aleph in 2011, Natalie Portman has had a whole new perspective on things.

    "I love being a mom," she tells The Telegraph during a rare interview. "I'm less judgmental than before I had a kid. The biggest thing I've learned is that parenting is a totally different experience for every person."

    She adds, "Everything is cool, there are no rules—I mean, apart from not hurting your kid. Some people breastfeed until their babies are 5, and some don't breastfeed at all. There are no rules about what it means to be a feminist, or a good mother. For some, it's going to be right to go back to work. For others, it's going to be right to stop working completely."

    The Oscar winner credits her own mother and father with providing her with strong values.

    "My parents were wonderful. They were completely present, completely loving, they allowed me to do what I was passionate about and I understand now how much they protected me. I was lucky to act and have a regular household, lifestyle and friends," she says. "[They] maintained a calm and normal life for me that was far away from movie land."

    Speaking of movies, Portman will next be seen in the highly anticipated sequel Thor: The Dark World, due in theaters on Nov. 8.

    Natalie Portman: There Are No Rules About Being a Good Mom

    Parenting brings a new set of responsibilities. But, as Natalie Portman happily discovered, there actually aren’t that many rules.

    “I love being a mom,” the Oscar winner, 32, tells Britain’s The Telegraph of her time with Aleph, 2, her son with choreographer Benjamin Millepied.

    “I’m less judgmental than before I had a kid,” adds Portman, who stars in the upcoming Thor: The Dark World. “The biggest thing I’ve learned is that parenting is a totally different experience for every person.”

    And this means that whatever works for any particular mother is just fine.

    “Everything is cool, there are no rules — I mean, apart from not hurting your kid,” Portman says. “Some people breastfeed until their babies are 5, and some don’t breastfeed at all. There are no rules about what it means to be a feminist, or a good mother. For some, it’s going to be right to go back to work. For others, it’s going to be right to stop working completely.”

    An only child herself, Portman credits her parents with giving her strong values and, just as important, a relatively normal childhood — even though she started acting professionally at 11.

    “My parents were wonderful,” she says. “They were completely present, completely loving, they allowed me to do what I was passionate about, and I understand now how much they protected me. I was lucky to act and have a regular household, lifestyle and friends.”

    Her parents, Portman adds, “maintained a calm and normal life for me that was far away from movie land.”

    Twenty-one years and one Oscar (for Black Swan) into her career, not much can faze Portman these days — although she admits to having been starstruck acting next to Anthony Hopkins in Thor.

    “I was completely intimidated,” she says. “I kept messing up lines around him because I was so nervous, and he was so sweet about it. He made me feel at ease. He’d be like, ‘That’s a really hard line to say,’ and I’d be like, ‘No, I just can’t get it out.’ Your jaw drops on the floor watching him. He’s just … man, he’s a giant among actors.”

    Natalie Portman Debuts Haircut, Ombré Color-See Her New 'Do!

    (Photo) Remember when Natalie Portman shaved her head a few years back? That was the moment we all realized she could pretty much pull off any hairstyle and still look utterly stunning.

    Not that the actress has ever done anything quite as dramatic since then—that was for a role after all. She tends to stick to subtle hair changes, like lightening her natural brunette color and cropping off a few inches, which is exactly what she did this week.

    While promoting Thor: The Dark World in Paris on Wednesday, the actress showed off a new long bob (aka the lob) with blond ombré color. The mini makeover must have happened earlier that same day because the night before she still had her longer cut and darker color when she walked the red carpet in London.

    The new 'do perfectly complemented the Oscar winner's very ladylike floral Dior frock—but if we're being truthful, there aren't many ensemble the classic style wouldn't pair well with.

    What do you think of Natalie's new cut and color?

    Thor takes a hit for womankind

    Natalie Portman says hitting Chris Hemsworth was "one small slap for womankind."

    The actress, who reprises her role as Jane Foster in "Thor: The Dark World," gives the superhero a smack in the Marvel sequel.

    "Thor: The Dark World" has its world premiere in London Tuesday and is out in U.S. cinemas Nov. 8.

    In an interview on Saturday, Portman said that she channeled all her single girlfriends: "You hear all these stories about guys and it's just good to get a nice on-screen slap like 'you didn't call me back.'"

    The intention may have been payback but, according to Hemsworth, the result was less so.

    "It just got really funny and ridiculous you know. It's like in high school when you're not meant to laugh," he said.

    And fun and laughs is what Portman wants audiences to have. Despite appearing in many more serious and highbrow roles, the Oscar winner will not have the Hollywood blockbuster devalued.

    She says "escapism" is the main reason people go to the movies and there is no room for snobbery.

    "All independent art films aren't good, all blockbusters aren't good, and all foreign films aren't good. There are a few of each that are really great, whether it is for pure entertainment, for something that is going to change your mind about how you see the world or taking you to a place that you haven't been before."

    Talking about the "Thor" franchise, she added: "This kind of movie — this grand spectacle and good old fashioned entertainment where for two hours you are having a great time — is really, really valuable."

    Next year Portman will be leaving Hollywood behind, as a home at least, when she relocates to Paris with her husband, French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, and their 2-year-old son, Aleph.

    Millepied will take up the role of director of the Paris Opera Ballet and Portman can't wait to explore.

    "It is such a fun thing that you can take an hour flight or train or something and end up in a completely different country," she said. "It is exciting."

    And with work in mind, Portman admits she would be "thrilled" to work in Europe more and appealed to European directors: "Hire me. I need jobs!"

    Natalie Portman Says Slapping Thor Costars Chris Hemsworth & Tom Hiddleston Was "Very Satisfying"

    Natalie Portman is doing it for the ladies.

    The actress gets physical (in a different way) with her costars Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in their upcoming sequel Thor: The Dark World, and the brunette beauty dished on what it was like to give the two hunky actors a full hand to the face.

    "I found it very satisfying," she told E! News, "I think it's behalf of all my girlfriends who had guys that didn't call them back or disappeared or just fell off the face of the earth."

    Amen, sister. But Portman admitted that she needed a little bit of help reaching Hemsworth's face (LOL!).

    "There were sort of like secret boxes or ramps or something that they would sneak in there so I could be closer to him, otherwise there would be no way I could hit his face if I tried. I'd be like jumping and trying to reach his cheek," she said.

    Of course, Hemsworth claimed that Portman's slap didn't sting too much—you know, since he's this big buff guy and all.

    He told us that Natalie's "got little hands, so it wasn't too painful. It actually become kinda hilarious because she had to do it over and over again as you do, and a couple times she sort of connect here or here or miss completely and we weren't meant to laugh but it ended up being high school. When you're not meant to laugh, you have to...It's just ridiculous, over and over being slapped by the same person."

    But Hiddleston gave Portman credit where credit was due, and praised the star both for her amazing personality and her strength, telling E! News that getting slapped by her was "enormous fun. She's very game. She's a real delight. She has a wicked sense of humor on set and you know, she's an athlete. She's got a neat right hook."

    Natalie Portman Gives Son Aleph a Piggyback Ride in Paris-Look How Big He Is!

    (Photo) Talk about a precious mother-son moment.

    Natalie Portman was spotted giving her 2-year-old son, Aleph, a piggyback ride in Paris, and we can't help but notice how much the little guy's grown!

    The Black Swan beauty was sporting a simple mom-on-the-go style as she strolled through the City of Light with her son—whose papa is Portman's hubby Benjamin Millepied—wearing jeans, oxford shoes and a quilted navy coat to keep warm in the fall weather.

    Her little man, who appears to have grown a great deal since we last saw him in mid-August, flashed a sweet smile while perched atop his famous mama's shoulders as his cute blond hair was swept back by the wind.

    The Israeli-born actress recently told Marie Claire magazine that she will be moving to Paris "at the end of next year" because her French choreographer hubby has been named director of the Paris Opera Ballet.

    "When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked," the 32-year-old stunner told the mag. "Everyone dreams of living in Paris."

    Still, the actress admitted that she will miss L.A.:

    "I just really, really love it here [Los Angeles]," said the Oscar-winning star, who was raised primarily on the East Coast. "It's one of the most exciting places to be in the world right now. It's really central in terms of the arts. It feels like things are happening in L.A., you know? New York is more where art is bought than where art is made."

    Portman will next be seen alongside Chris Hemsworth in Thor: The Dark World, a sequel to the 2011 superhero blockbuster, which hits theaters Nov. 8.

    And she's also reportedly set to direct her first feature film in Jersualem. The movie, which is based on Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, is tentatively scheduled to begin filming in January 2014.

    Natalie Portman Talks Moving to Paris, Dealing With Drunk Fans and Avoiding Confrontation

    (Cover, Photo) Natalie Portman shows some serious skin in the November issue of Marie Claire. Modeling a midriff-baring Dior Haute Couture dress, the 32-year-old Oscar winner strikes a seductive pose for the magazine's cover. In the accompanying interview, the actress dishes on everything from her new life in France to the lessons she's learned from her parents.

    The Israeli-born beauty says she will move the City of Light "at the end of next year." The reason? Her French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, has been named director of the Paris Opera Ballet. Portman says she's going to miss California. "I just really, really love it here," says the star, who was raised primarily on the East Coast. "It's one of the most exciting places to be in the world right now. It's really central in terms of the arts. It feels like things are happening in L.A., you know? New York is more where art is bought than where art is made."

    "I'm really lucky," she adds. "When Ben asked me if I wanted to go to Paris, I freaked. Everyone dreams of living in Paris."

    Portman next appears in Thor: The Dark World, a sequel to the 2011 superhero blockbuster that made Chris Hemsworth a household name. "Chris is, like, one of the greatest people in Hollywood," she gushes. "He's the kind of actor who's so charismatic, he must be tired when he goes home."

    The movie is quite unlike Black Swan, which earned Portman numerous awards in 2010 and 2011. While some critics are hard on the star for appearing in a popcorn flick, Portman says she appreciates all forms of entertainment. "I grew up around a lot of snobbism about what was important and what was serious, and I really reject that," the Harvard grad explains.

    Just don't expect Portman to make a big fuss about how she feels. "I don't like confrontation, but I'm probably less afraid of it now," she tells the mag. "I wouldn't say I'm confrontational. But I say my opinion. I realize how much non-confrontation was about trying to have everyone like me."

    As for her vices? "I bite my cuticles," she reveals. "Oh, and I can go into a Food Network hole."

    Portman also admits that she hates the paparazzi but doesn't mind being approached by fans—most of the time, anyway. "People are really cool, by and large," she says. "I try and stay away from drunk people—that's when they start getting rude and aggressive, like, 'Why did you suck in that movie?'"

    The Your Highness star—mom to son Aleph, 2—also takes the opportunity to thank her parents in the interview. "They made me feel that they would drop anything at any time to help me. I never felt like there was anything more important than me. Which I know can probably create an a--hole, too. It gives you a deep sense of security and safety to feel that your parents will love you no matter what."

    Natalie Portman Reveals She "Freaks Out" When She Sees Jennifer Grey at Synagogue

    Natalie Portman and Jennifer Grey have more in common than you think: they attend the same Jewish synagogue! But sometimes, Portman has a difficult time keeping her cool when she sees the Dirty Dancing actress.

    "We go to temple together," the Oscar winner said in an interview with Elle U.K., in its November issue. "And I freak out every time I see her. I'm such a nerd!"

    You are not a nerd, it's totally understandable. It's Baby!

    The Black Swan actress also revealed that Dirty Dancing is her favorite old-school indulgence.

    "To this day, it's the movie that I've seen most in my life," the 32-year-old brunette beauty told the mag about the 1987 romantic classic. "'I carried a watermelon'....I can't talk about it too much, or I'll start getting teary. There are other movies I love, but no other movie that I have watched over and over," she gushed.

    And even though she has seen the film more times than she can probably count, and has seen the former Dancing With the Stars contestant numerous times at temple, the Grey affect is always the same.

    "I wish I weren't as nervous as I am around her," Portman said. "I can't get over it."

    Natalie Portman Covers Elle U.K.: Moms Work Harder Than Anyone

    (Photo, Photo2, Photo3) One glance at the November cover of Elle U.K. featuring Natalie Portman, and it's quite clear that the gorgeous actress is still totally on top of her game.

    She smolders in subtly sexy designer ensembles from Chloe, Stella McCartney, Acne, Calvin Klein, Dior, Rodarte and Prada in the editorial spread paired perfectly with subdued makeup and fuss-free hair, that's effortlessly chic.

    In short, Portman looks pretty much perfect and radiates a cool downtown girl vibe that we can't help but gravitate towards.

    Thor costar Tom Hiddleston plays journalist and interviews the 32-year-old beauty about her life on and off screen for the glossy mag, revealing some pretty fascinating tidbits!

    To set the tone of the interview, the actor first describes their very first meeting, which actually turned out to be a pretty aggressive encounter. He writes, "Natalie has a neat right hook. I know this because the first time we shared screen time, she punched me in the face. She bursts out laughing when I remind her of this over dinner."

    Ha!

    He then moves on to cover other poignant topics including falling in love, motherhood and feminism, all of which resonate with Portman at this time in her life.

    "I love being a mum, but it's much more intensive work than being an actress—going to work feels like you've got a day off. Not that I want a day off from being a mum, it's just perhaps I had this impression before that mums don't work. But they work more than anyone."

    She also comments on how social media has changed her world. "I became more conscious of how I walked, talked and looked because I was constantly seeing myself."

    And when her work is done, she shares her favorite old-school indulgence to unwind: Dirty Dancing.

    "To this day, it's the movie that I've seen most in my life: 'I carried a watermelon'....I can't talk about it too much, or I'll start getting teary. There are other movies I love, but no other movie that I have watched over and over."

    Natalie, we couldn't agree more—it's totally our fave chick flick, too.

    The full interview appears in the November issue of Elle U..K, on sale Wednesday Oct. 2, 2013. Also available as a digital edition.

    'Thor: The Dark World': Thor has some explaining to do for Jane in first TV spot

    (Video) It doesn't matter if you're a god, you don't get to stand a woman up.

    In the first TV spot for "Thor: The Dark World," Natalie Portman's Jane is holding Thor to coals over returning to Earth and not calling. As the clip, which first aired during the Tuesday (Sept. 24) premiere of ABC's "Agents of SHIELD," begins, Chris Hemsworth's Thor intones: "I vowed to return."

    Jane's not having any of it though, reminding her otherworldly beau she saw him during the Battle for New York. "Jane, I fought to protect Earth," he reminds her.

    "Is that your excuse?" she replies. After he says yes, she crumbles: "It's not terrible."

    Ah, those Asgard gods. They'll get you every time.

    Be sure the check out the spot above. "Thor: The Dark World" hits theaters Nov. 8.

    Natalie Portman teases a female Marvel superhero movie coming soon

    According to Natalie Portman, there could be a new movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe starring a female superhero coming out soon.

    "There are definitely many strong women, but it will be exciting when there is a central female character which I think is coming - I have heard is coming - and, of course, also a central non-white character will also be exciting. Title characters," Portman tells SciFiNow.

    So who will the superhero she's been hearing talk of be? Will it be Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, who is already an established part of the MCU? Or maybe Scarlet Witch, who Joss Whedon is very excited to introduce in "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"? For her part, Portman is putting herself in the Black Widow camp.

    "Probably at one time, they'll make a movie of the Black Widow. I'm sure of it," she says. "But you see, the thing is, the women like these movies as much as the guys. So we don't have to knock ourselves out to find a female. But we will."

    Regardless, Portman seems proud of the fact that there are already quite a few strong female leads in Marvel's Cinematic Universe.

    "I think it's a testament to the people who run Marvel, their respect, their just normal human respect for women, the way they want to characterize them; you can tell when men talk to you, as just a person or as a 'woman,'" she says.

    Portman's next Marvel movie, "Thor: The Dark World," is due in theaters on Nov. 8.

    Natalie Portman Looks Radiant in Strapless, Color-Block Dior Dress at Ballet Gala

    (Photo) Natalie Portman knocked it out of the park on Thursday, Sept. 18. Joined by her husband Benjamin Millepied, the actress looked elegant as ever wearing a textured, tri-color Dior dress to the New York City Ballet's fall gala, held inside the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center. Portman, 32, wore minimal makeup—save for a sexy smoky eye—and accessorized with a Richard Mille watch.

    The Oscar winner the French choreographer weren't the only big stars who turned up for the soiree: Sarah Jessica Parker, 50 Cent, Martha Stewart, Drew Barrymore and Sean Avery posed for pictures on the red carpet as well.

    Though Portman has been keeping a low profile as of late, that will soon change when she begins promotional duties for Thor: The Dark World, which hits theaters Nov. 8.

    The sequel was originally meant to be the first superhero blockbuster directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins. However, the gig went to Game of Thrones' Alan Taylor instead.

    "I was very upset because Patty is a wonderful woman" Portman recently told SciFiNow. "I was excited to work with her but I understood why she chose to leave and Alan is really wonderful, so it was bittersweet."

    'Thor: The Dark World': Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander get their own posters

    (Posters: Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander) Two new posters for "Thor: The Dark World" bring leading ladies Natalie Portman and Jaimie Alexander to the forefront. While the most recent extended trailer added in more of Loki and Asgard, these shots remind fans that the new movie will have plenty of girl power.

    Portman's Jane Foster is by now no stranger to the magical world her love interest is a part of, but in "Thor: The Dark World" she will be a bit overwhelmed by her first trip to Thor's home realm of Asgard. "It wasn't hard because I was having those feelings myself," Portman told Zap2it at D23 Expo. "The sets were so magnificent, and all of the people were so beautiful, in their beautiful clothes. It was pretty natural to just have my jaw dropped the whole time."

    The poster of Portman shows Jane in the feminine Asgardian outfit she's been seen wearing in the many "Thor: The Dark World" trailers. Alexander's Sif, meanwhile, shows off her battle-hardened nature as the warrior-goddess of Asgard in her poster.

    "Thor: The Dark World" also stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston. It's due in theaters November 8.

    Jennifer Lawrence Is Not the Most Likable Woman in Hollywood-Find Out Who Is!

    Believe it or not, Jennifer Lawrence is not the most likable woman in Hollywood!

    In a new survey conducted by iHeartRadio (via Gossip Cop), the Oscar-winning Hunger Games actress came in second on their list favorite celeb ladies. Lawrence nabbed 17.7 percent of votes.

    So who was picked by fans as most likable? Ellen DeGeneres! The talk show host came out on top with 35.1 percent of votes.

    Spider-Man starlet Emma Stone came in third with 13.4 percent followed by Jennifer Hudson with 12.5 percent. Natalie Portman nabbed fifth (10.2 percent), Zooey Deschanel sixth (8.5 percent) and Anna Kendrick came in seventh (2.6 percent).

    The survey also asked fans to chose the song of the summer and Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" unsurprisingly came out on top with 30.4 percent of the votes.

    As for the fan-favorite actor or actress turned musician?

    First place went to Drake (25.3 percent) followed by close second Johnny Depp (21.8 percent) and Jack Black (19.4 percent).

    What do you think of Ellen beating J.Law?

    Natalie Portman Steps Out With Son Aleph-See the Adorable Pic!

    (Photo) Watch out, Natalie Portman, for the terrible twos!

    Or maybe not. How terrible could her adorable son, Aleph, be, right?

    The actress stepped out with her not-so-baby-anymore boy earlier today in jean shorts, a loose-fitting shirt, shades and hair in a side-braid. Aleph also looked ready for the day, happily skipping with a lollipop in his mouth while holding his mother's hand.

    The 32-year-old mother is balancing her duties quite well, with a big-screen adaptation of Macbeth in the works and maybe-hopefully a third Thor film?

    At the recent Disney D23 convention, the Oscar winner told E! News, "Yeah, well I think they are going to make a Thor 3."

    Sounds promising to us!

    Even with her busy agenda, Portman is finding the time to go behind the cameras.

    After receiving a grant from the Jerusalem Film Fund for an adaptation of Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, Portman decided to direct and star in the movie.

    Filming in Jerusalem is tentatively scheduled to begin early next year.

    Busy mama, just like we like it!

    Natalie Portman talks 'Thor: The Dark World,' Jane Foster in 'The Avengers' franchise

    Natalie Portman was on hand at the 2013 D23 Expo Saturday (Aug. 10) to help Disney promote its live action slate, which includes her forthcoming "Thor: The Dark World," Marvel's sequel to 2011's "Thor."

    Marvel president Kevin Feige gave "Thor 2" fans a sneak peek at footage that showcased Portman's character, Jane Foster, experiencing her first day in Thor's world of Asgard.

    Backstage, we wanted to know what the actress' reference was for portraying her character in such an awe-stricken situation.

    "It wasn't hard because I was having those feelings myself," Portman tells Zap2it. "The sets were so magnificent, and all of the people were so beautiful, in their beautiful clothes. It was pretty natural to just have my jaw dropped the whole time."

    And while her character is portrayed in the recently released "Thor 2" trailer as a but of a bruiser -- she lands a right hook on Loki (Tom Hiddleston), after all -- Portman plays down that aspect of the film. "She's a mere human in Asgard, where they're all superheroes," Portman says of Jane. "So, they sort of put her to the side while they do the butt-kicking."

    Since Thor was featured in 2012's "The Avengers," along with cast that spilled over from other Marvel Cinematic Universe franchises -- Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), among them -- we had to ask Portman whether Jane might eventually follow Thor to "The Avengers" franchise. "No," Portman says without hesitation. "No, no no." Well, she's missing out.

    "Thor: The Dark World" is in theaters Nov. 8. (Video)

    'Thor: The Dark World' trailer: Watch Natalie Portman punch Tom Hiddleston

    (Video) The Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase 2 movies were always going to be interesting because they will show how the world is reacting to the events of "The Avengers." Too frequently big blockbuster movies show a scene of massive destruction but never deal with the consequences. In "Iron Man 3" and the "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" pilot we've already seen both our heroes and the people of Earth coming to terms with the Battle of New York and revelations that aliens and gods exist, and that looks like it's a theme that will continue in "Thor: The Dark World."

    It's no secret that Tom Hiddleston's Loki has a major role in the upcoming "Thor" flick as Thor has to turn to him for help destroying the dark elf Malekith the Accursed. Loki comes front and center in this new trailer for "Thor: The Dark World," and he steals all of the many scenes he's in.

    The best one comes when Natalie Portman's Jane Foster comes face-to-face with Loki for the first time since the events of "The Avengers." In her own small way to avenge the Battle of New York, she decks him across the face. It's amazing, and so is Loki's response.

    It's interesting that this trailer largely downplays Malekith as an enemy (only those looking closely will notice specifics about him and his dark elf army) to instead focus on the threat he poses and the fact it brings Thor and Loki together once again. At least Alan Taylor's expertise as a director shines through, as settings of the film look beautiful -- and similar to those in "Game of Thrones."

    "Thor: The Dark World" also stars Idris Elba, Kat Dennings, Anthony Hopkins and Jaimie Alexander. The flick is due in theaters on Nov. 8.

    'Thor: The Dark World': New poster features full cast on Asgard

    (Poster) "Thor: The Dark World" has a new poster and this time the whole cast is getting their chance to shine. A teaser poster was released in April featuring just Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his mighty hammer.

    The new poster, care of Entertainment Weekly, also has Thor and his hammer, but they're joined by Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and just about everyone else involved in the war on Asgard, Thor's home world, including Christopher Eccleston's evil Malekith.

    "Thor: The Dark World" is in theaters November 8.

    Who Is Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actress?

    Angelina Jolie has topped Forbes' list of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. The magazine estimates that she earned $33 million between June 2012 and June 2013. Jolie has not appeared in a live-action film since 2010's The Tourist, but will return to the big screen as the title character in Disney's Sleeping Beauty adaptation Maleficent next summer.

    Jennifer Lawrence ranked No. 2 on the list, earning $24 million. Last year, Lawrence broke out with a starring turn in The Hunger Games, and also won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook.

    Last year's top earner, Kristen Stewart, dropped to third place with $22 million. In fourth place is Jennifer Aniston with $20 million, and Emma Stone came in at No. 5 with $16 million.

    Rounding out the Top 10 are Charlize Theron ($15 million), Sandra Bullock ($14 million), Natalie Portman ($14 million), Mila Kunis ($11 million) and Julia Roberts ($11 million).

    According to Forbes, Robert Downey Jr. was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, raking in $75 million in the past year.

    Natalie Portman to Direct First Feature Film in Jerusalem

    It looks like Natalie Portman will be working both in front and behind the camera for an upcoming movie.

    The Oscar winner has just received a grant from the Jersualem Film Fund to direct a film adaptation of Israeli writer Amos Oz's memoir, A Tale of Love and Darkness, the Jersusalem Post reports.

    What's more, Portman will not only star in the film as Oz's troubled mother, but the Israeli-born actress will also pen the screenplay.

    The story revolves around the author's mother's mental illness and his father's attempts to help her during the 1940s.

    Filming in Jerusalem is tentatively scheduled to begin in January 2014.

    And while the project marks her first time directing a feature film, Portman is certainly no stranger to shouting "action."

    She has helmed a couple of short films as well as a segment for 2009's New York, I Love You.

    Natalie Portman is terrified in 'Thor: The Dark World' image

    (Photo) Natalie Portman's Jane Foster does not look very happy in the latest still to be released from "Thor: The Dark World." In the image, Thor's mother Frigga (played by Rene Russo) wields a sword while Jane, dressed in full Asgard regalia, stands terrified in the background.

    But what are they staring at? It likely isn't Tom Hiddleston's Loki, who was soundly defeated in "The Avengers." It's more likely that it's Christopher Eccleston's dark elf leader Malekith the Accursed, who is the main villain in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

    The trailer for "Thor: The Dark World" already revealed that Portman comes to Asgard, and also teases that Malekith kidnaps her. It could be that this is the scene where Thor loses the woman he loves to his enemy.

    "Thor: The Dark World" is due in theaters on Nov. 8. It also stars Chris Hemsworth, Jaimie Alexander, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings and Zachary Levi.

    Natalie Portman Wows at First Hollywood Event Since the Oscars!

    (Photo) Welcome back, Natalie Portman!

    Last night the actress attended the Los Angeles Dance Project Benefit Gala in a vibrant orange Dior frock with husband Benjamin Millepied. The event (which fellow Oscar winner Reece Witherspoon was also on hand for) was the first Hollywood fete that the Black Swan star has gone to since the 2013 Academy Awards!

    So where's she been all this time?

    Understandably, the 32-year-old has been a busy mom since the birth of her son, Aleph, in June 2011. Not to mention, she no longer has a Los Angeles area code, having moved to Paris for her hubby's ballet choreography career at the start of the year.

    But not to worry, we should be seeing more of the brunette beauty on the red carpet very soon. She has mega-sequel Thor: The Dark World hitting theaters in November.

    Natalie Portman Helps Son Aleph Ride Merry-Go-Round in Paris-See the Precious Pic!

    (Photo) Here we go round the merry-go-round!

    Yes, that's Natalie Portman sharing in her son Aleph's excitement as he enjoys a carousel ride in Paris' Jardin des Plantes.

    The Oscar winner, 31, was all smiles as she kept a protective arm around her and Benjamin Millepied's son. Aleph, nearly 2, appeared curious about his surroundings as he sat atop a giraffe.

    Of course, Natalie doesn't just get in mother-son quality time when the fam is in France. She was spotted toting her little man around Los Feliz, Calif., and West Hollywood last week.

    A-plus actress, A-plus-plus mama!

    Natalie Portman Steps Out With Son Aleph in West Hollywood

    (Photo) Natalie Portman may still live in Hollywood, but her main role these days is caring for her growing baby boy.

    The new mommy was spotted toting her almost 2-year-old son Aleph through West Hollywood on Friday. Keeping it understated in a pair of sunnies and a simple green tee, the actress and her adorable little guy paid a visit to a family friend's home.

    Although Aleph looks to be getting a little big for his petite mom, we caught the cutie carrying her son with smiles and ease last week as well.

    In between her mommy duties, the 31-year-old actress is gearing up for her upcoming role in the movie version of Macbeth.

    Earlier this month, reports confirmed that she'll star opposite Michael Fassbender in the Shakespearian adaption. Production is slated to begin sometime this year.

    We're sure little Aleph will be cheering his mommy on every step of the way!

    Natalie Portman and Son Aleph Look Adorable in Los Feliz

    (Photo) Talk about a perfect pair!

    Natalie Portman was snapped in Los Feliz, Calif. on Monday taking her adorable son Aleph for an outing in the hip, L.A. neighborhood.

    Benjamin Millepied's other half was all smiles as she carried her nearly two-year-old son, looking relaxed and casual in a striped sweater, jeans and classic cat-eye shades.

    Little Aleph stole the spotlight as he clung to his famous mother, appearing as charming as ever with his bright blond hair and cute Nike kicks.

    Portman will soon team up with Michael Fassbender for the big-screen adaptation of MacBeth, according to published reports.

    And no doubt, both of her leading men will lend their support!

    Michael Fassbender, Natalie Portman Set For 'Macbeth'

    Film4's film adaptation of the Shakespeare classic has Snowtown helmer Justin Kurzel attached to direct. Project is glued together by a number of prior relationships. Michael Fassbender is attached to play the iconic title antihero, with Natalie Portman attached to play his scheming Lady Macbeth. The pair recently filmed Terrence Malick’s untitled Austin-set pic together. Script is by Todd Luiso and Jacob Koskoff, who previously teamed up on 2009's The Marc Pease Experience. Fassbender’s Shame producers Iaian Canning and Emile Sherman, whose UK-Australia See-Saw banner also produced The King’s Speech, are producing with Film4. Sherman had a hand in financing Kurzel’s feature debut Snowtown (AKA The Snowtown Murders). Kurzel, Fassbender, and Portman are repped by CAA.

    Director Lynne Ramsay quits Natalie Portman's 'Jane Got A Gun' on first day

    This doesn't sound like something that happens everyday. Lynne Ramsay, who was supposed to direct an independent film starring Natalie Portman, didn't show up for work. According to Deadline, Ramsay abruptly dropped out of the film, with the cast and crew learning when they arrived on set Monday that she was gone. The film's producer, Scott Steindorff, says they are looking for a new director.

    Lawyer Marty Singer has been retained for the production, according to Steindorff, and he is keeping his options open. "My focus is on making this movie, but I will protect all my rights," he says, calling Ramsay's departure an "irresponsible act." "I'm shocked and so disappointed someone would do this to 150 crew members who devoted so much time, energy, commitment and loyalty to a project."

    Ramsay, who is best known for the 2011 film "We Need To Talk About Kevin," has yet to comment on her departure, but Steindorff believes a replacement director is imminent. "We are keeping the show going on, directors are flying in," he says.

    Natalie Portman Moving to Paris With Family

    Natalie Portman is preparing to pack up for Paris.

    That's because the Oscar winner's husband, Benjamin Millepied, has been named the new director of the Paris Opera Ballet. He will take over in September 2014.

    "I certainly knew about the position, but I also knew that there were candidates from within the company. I was surprised, but I felt very quickly that the artistic dialogue between us was an exciting one," Millepied told The New York Times while recalling the connection between him and Stéphane Lissner, who will become the Opera's artistic director in 2015. "After a while I did feel there was a really good chance I might get the position. Which made my head spin."

    Millepied noted that he will indeed be moving to Paris with Portman and the couple's son, Aleph, when his new gig starts.

    Portman and the French dancer-choreographer, who met on the set of Black Swan, welcomed their bundle of joy in June 2011.

    They later tied the knot in August 2012 in a Jewish ceremony in front of family and friends in the coastal California region of Big Sur.

    Kristen Stewart, Natalie Portman and Shia LaBeouf Top Forbes' Most Bankable Stars

    Surely you already knew that Kristen Stewart, Natalie Portman and Shia LaBeouf all make bank , but did you know these three stars are actually the most bankable?

    Forbes' released their annual list of Hollywood's Best Actors For The Buck, ranking the most bankable actors in the biz based on the financial return the studio receives for the actors' films.

    Coming in at No. 1? Academy Award winner Natalie Portman, who provides about $42.70 for every dollar she's paid thanks to the success of films like Black Swan, which reportedly earned a whopping $329 million at the box office.

    Not far behind is Kristen Stewart, who brings in $40.60 for every dollar she earns due to the wildly successful Twilight franchise.

    Costars Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner also made the cut, with Edward barely beating out Jacob Black in fourth and sixth place, respectively.

    Slightly more surprising is Shia LaBeouf's No. 3 spot, the actor returning $35.80 for every dollar he's paid.

    Forbes analyzed data from the last three films each actor starred in over the last three years to calculate the studio's return on investment.

    Head over to Forbes for the complete list of Hollywood's most bankable bros and babes!

    Natalie Portman Gets Dirty on Thor: The Dark World Set

    (Photo) Natalie Portman isn't afraid to get down and dirty for work.

    Filming for Thor: The Dark World in London Wednesday, the Oscar winner had what appeared to be soot smudged on her face. The dressed-down star wore jeans, a crumpled flannel shirt and a dirty jacket as she reprised her role as Jane Foster for the Thor sequel.

    Portman's Thor costar, Chris Hemsworth, was spotted in London earlier this week working on the film. Thor: The Dark World is due in theaters Nov. 8, 2013.

    Natalie Portman's Mascara Ad Banned in U.K. for "Misleadingly Exaggerating the Effects of the Product"

    (Photo) If only we could look just like Natalie Portman by using the products she endorses!

    Sadly, most of us realize, this is not the case. But Portman's new Dior's Diorshow New Look lash-multiplying mascara has reportedly been banned in the U.K. by the Advertising Standards Authority.

    The reason? Per New York Magazine, the ad was nixed for allegedly "misleadingly exaggerating the effects of the product." The actress's individual lashes were reportedly retouched "for a more stylized, uniform and tidy effect."

    The ASA reportedly found no fault with the image in itself, but said that placed alongside the ad's verbal claims, the retouching could possibly have led to unrealistic expectations for potential customers. The ad cannot be published in the U.K. again until clarifications are made.

    Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender Get Steamy on Set

    (Photo) Of course this is for a movie, people. Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender are taken! Plus, there are camera men right there, it would be awkward, otherwise.

    Anyway, the Oscar winner was seen literally wrapped in the actor's arms as they shared an intimate embrace while shooting for Terrence Malick's latest untitled film in Texas yesterday.

    A teary-eyed Portman cradles Fassbender's face while he holds her close around his body (and kinda leans into her—maybe so she can feel his impressive Fass-member?) as they stand nose-to-nose.

    This is the second snapshot from the Malick project after some also-affectionate shots of Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara smooching surfaced just a couple weeks ago.

    Most of the details on this flick have been kept under wraps, but what we do know (thanks to IMDb) is that the film is based around two intersecting love triangles, obsession and betrayal.

    Sounds good to us!

    Natalie Portman mulling several film roles

    So what isn't Natalie Portman being courted for these days? There are several roles on offer to the "Black Swan" actress, include "Code Name Sasha," which is being described as a female "Training Day" meets "La Femme Nikita" and "Last Witness," among others.

    "Code Name Sasha" revolves around a single mother who has been engaged in criminal activity since she was a teenager. She is given a chance to get out when the FBI asks her to go under cover to bring down the world's largest gun-running organization. Alexandra Milchan is producing for Paramount.

    At Fox, Portman is also being eyed for the film "Last Witness" for producers Davis Entertainment. She would play a psychologist working with the sole survivor of a bombing in a café in Boston who is suffering from amnesia. Portman is also being courted for the Jackie Kennedy drama "Jackie" at Fox Searchlight, some media outlets have reported.

    A representative for the actress said that Portman has yet to make a decision about these films. Portman has already been announced for the "Untitled Terrence Malick Project," "Thor: The Dark World" and "Jane Got a Gun."

    Portman will also serve as a producer on "Jane Got a Gun."

    Natalie Portman Is Now Blonde

    (Photo) Natalie Portman is having a blonde moment!

    Attending a dinner for choreographer husband Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project, the Oscar winner debuted her lighter locks (which managed to outshine her white Dior gown) at the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

    She rarely makes drastic hair changes, but she’s not the only one who’s recently ditched her brunette roots: Perhaps she’s taking a style cue from, say, Miley Cyrus?

    Portman actually had L.A. colorist Tracey Cunningham switch up her ‘do for a role.

    “My mom says I’m like a different person,” the Black Swan star, mom to 1-year-old Aleph, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I did it just a couple of days ago.”

    “Natalie makes a beautiful blonde!” Cunningham says of the switch-up, which she achieved with Redken’s Blonde Dimensions. “She needed to make the change for an upcoming movie role, so we we achieved a gorgeous, multi-dimensional golden honey blonde.”

    Bikini Shot of the Day: Natalie Portman Is Picture-Perfect During Family Caribbean Getaway

    (Photo) Let's face it: If they handed out Academy Awards for bikini bods, then Oscar winner Natalie Portman would most certainly be on her way to winning another one.

    While vacationing with her family in Turks and Caicos last week, the actress showed off her fabulous figure by way of a sexy black two-piece.

    Of course, she was ever-so-slightly overshadowed during her seaside romp.

    No, not by the amazing blue surf in the background.

    Rather, we're referring to Portman's adorable 14-month-old son, Aleph, who easily managed to kill us with cuteness as he hung out with Mommy.

    Aww!

    DNC Preview: Scarlett Johansson, Foo Fighters and Natalie Portman Expected to Attend Tonight

    The final night of the Democratic National Convention is quickly turning into a star-studded affair.

    And we're not even referring to President Barack Obama, who will be taking center stage this evening to make his case for why he should keep his gig.

    Rather, it's all the other famous faces who are expected to be on hand in support of the commander in chief.

    For starters, there's a bevy of actresses who will be making their way into the convention.

    Eva Longoria will be showing off her oratory skills as she delivers what the actress calls "the most important speech I've ever made in my life" prior to Obama's appearance tonight.

    Other stars said to also be gracing us with their gorgeousness include Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington and Natalie Portman, according to CNN.

    On the musical side of things, Marc Anthony is reportedly singing the national anthem, while Foo Fighters are scheduled to perform.

    Meanwhile, Kim Kardashian is planning on being at the big post-convention shindig.

    "So excited for tomorrow! Fashion's Night Out and then the Official DNC after party at Club Hush in Charlotte, NC! Gonna be a fun night!" she tweeted on Wednesday.

    The big question mark, however, is whether or not big-time Obama supporter Oprah Winfrey will make a grand entrance tonight at the DNC.

    Well, we'll definitely have the answer in a few short hours!

    Natalie Portman Goes Naked in Latest Dior Ad

    (Photo) It’s nothing we haven’t seen before — but it’s certainly something we haven’t seen in a while.

    Natalie Portman bares quite a bit in her latest ad for Dior beauty, this appropriately for the new Rouge Dior Nude Lipcolor. The collection includes eight new shades, including a special hue, Grège #169, proceeds from which benefit Portman’s charity of choice, the Free the Children Association. The organization uses leadership training to empower and inspire the world’s youth.

    “I chose the color Grège because it’s the one I’d pick to wear myself,” the newlywed actress says in a release. “The number [169] contains different dates that are important to me and my family.” Grège was also the color used to represent Christian Dior’s “New Look” back in 1947.

    This is the first Dior ad we’ve seen from Portman since John Galliano’s fall from grace last year; the then-designer went on a very public anti-Semitic rant in Paris and was eventually fired after facing criticism from Portman and the public. In April, it was announced that former Jil Sander creative director Raf Simons was taking over at Dior, marking a new era for the brand.

    Newlywed Natalie Portman Flashes Wedding Ring

    (Photo) Looks like someone's enjoying the honeymoon phase!

    Natalie Portman was spotted in L.A. Tuesday in jeans, a T-shirt, and the best accessory of all: her dazzling new wedding ring!

    The 31-year-old actress and Benjamin Millepied, 35, said "I do" Aug. 4 in Big Sur, Calif. The Black Swan costars were joined by family, friends and, of course, their 14-month-old son Aleph on their special day.

    A source told E! News the nuptials were "amazing" and noted "the beauty of the weekend was that it was kept a secret, and everyone was relaxed and had a great time because of it."

    Congratulations again to Mr. and Mrs. Millepied!

    Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied Take Son Out for a Concert Night

    While many couples opt for lavish, tropical honeymoons, Natalie Portman and new hubby Benjamin Millepied have decided to keep things low-key.

    The two were spotted enjoying an LA Philharmonic concert with 1-year-old son Aleph on Tuesday night.

    "[Natalie] looked pretty chilled-out," says one source. "She was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, her hair was down. ... She looked more concerned about keeping [Aleph] quiet and not disturbing anyone, than anything."

    Portman and Millepied had stepped away from their seats in the Hollywood Bowl to calm Aleph, who had been fussing – but that didn't stop them from enjoying the concert.

    "[Benjamin] was really into the music," says the source of Portman's choreographer beau. He was swaying back and forth while walking with Aleph, and keeping time with the music."

    Portman and Millepied, who met on the set of Black Swan in 2009, were married Saturday. The Oscar-winner had been engaged to Millepied since December 2010, and gave birth to son Aleph in June 2011.

    FIRST LOOK: Natalie Portman's Ethereal White Wedding Dress

    (Photo) When Natalie Portman needed a wedding dress appropriate for a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony in California’s chilly Big Sur, the actress called on her friends. Her fashion friends, that is.

    A source tells PEOPLE that Portman tied the knot in a dress by Rodarte, the label run by Portman’s longtime pals, sisters Laura and Kate Mulleavy. The frothy white A-line frock, left, was tea length, and featured a sheer overlay that covered the star’s chest and arms. She accessorized the simple gown with nude shoes, a veil and what appeared to be a floral crown.

    The actress has been a fan of the young line for several years, wearing Rodarte creations on press tours for The Other Boleyn Girl, Black Swan and for the 2011 Oscars, where she nabbed the best actress statuette.

    Portman and dancer Benjamin Millepied wed Saturday night in a moonlit ceremony attended by family (including their 14-month-old son, Aleph) and friends, such as Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner and Macaulay Culkin.

    The pair met when Portman was filming Black Swan in the fall of 2009 (coincidentally, Rodarte designed her iconic tutu for that film) and announced their engagement and pregnancy in December 2010.

    Natalie Portman: Inside Her Strictly Vegan Wedding

    The wedding between Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied reflected not just the bride's Jewish faith and the groom's French nationality, but also the couple's outlook on the world.

    Instead of having flowers flown in, the ceremony featured wildflowers indigenous to the Big Sur coast where the ceremony took place, and instead of "fish or steak" the menu was strictly vegan in keeping with the bride's diet.

    Portman, 31, chose a traditional white gown from Rodarte, the same house that made the purple dress that Portman wore to the 2010 Oscars, and wore a crown of white wildflowers in her hair. The groom, 35, wore a midnight blue tux.

    The 45-minute ceremony, said to be designed and coordinated by LA-based wedding planners Yifat Oren and Stefanie Cove, took place on a bluff overlooking the ocean and under a rustic Jewish chuppah made of twigs. They were surrounded by family – including 14-month-old son Aleph – and friends, including Ivanka Trump and Macaulay Culkin.

    During the ceremony, the couple were wrapped in a tallits, a Jewish prayer shawl, and in keeping with custom, things ended with Millepied smashing a glass to shouts of "Mazel Tov!"

    The reception was held under a tent at a private residence, and featured a Klezmer band. The newly married couple kicked the dancing off with a 20-minute hora dance before being lifted up in chairs by guests.

    Eschewing the traditional wedding cake, the couple opted for French macarons.

    When things wrapped up around 2 a.m., the approximately 100 guests took home packets of wildflower seeds as party favors. The packets were inscribed with a single word: "Merci."

    See Natalie Portman's Wedding Dress in New Photo From Ceremony

    (Photo) It comes as no surprise that Natalie Portman made one beautiful bride.

    The 31-year-old Oscar winner married Benjamin Millepied Saturday in a Jewish ceremony in Big Sur, Calif. E! News has the picture of the stunning brunette on her wedding day. Wearing a long-sleeved white gown, Portman wore her hair down and a floral wreath around her head for the special day.

    A source told E! News the nuptials were "amazing" and noted "the beauty of the weekend was that it was kept a secret, and everyone was relaxed and had a great time because of it."

    Natalie and Millepeid, who met on the set of Black Swan, are parents to 1-year-old son, Aleph. In December 2010, they announced that they were engaged and expecting a child.

    We hope they all live happily ever after. From the looks of things, they're sure off to a good start!

    Five Things to Know About Natalie Portman's New Husband, Benjamin Millepied

    Ah, l'amour.

    There was plenty of that in the air last night when Natalie Portman married dancer Benjamin Millepied, whom she met when he choreographed her every graceful, albeit self-destructive, move in Black Swan.

    Aside from the fact that it didn't take long for the pair to become more than dance partners and that they are parents to 13-month-old son Aleph, here are five things to know about the Frenchman whose grand jetés proved irresistible to the Oscar-winning actress:

    1. What's in a name: Millepied is as French as he sounds. The 35-year-old, whose last name fittingly means "a thousand feet," was born in Bordeaux.

    2. Parallel paths: Just as his future wife was winning raves for her knockout debut in The Professional (opposite Frenchman Jean Reno, incidentally) in 1994, Millepied was winning the Prix de Lausanne (an international competition for dancers ages 15-18). He won the School of American Ballet's Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise the following year.

    3. He's more than a pretty face and powerful legs: Just because the blue-eyed hunk teaches, it doesn't mean he can't do. Born to a dancing mum, Millepied started studying ballet at the age of 8, then headed for the Conservatoire National in Lyon when he was 13. Famed choreographer Jerome Robbins took him under his wing while he trained at the School of American Ballet and he originated roles in Robbins' Brandenburg and Les Noces. Other major players he's worked with include Helgi Tomasson, Christopher d'Amboise and Christopher Wheeldon. He joined the New York City Ballet's corps de ballet in 1995, was promoted to soloist in 1998 and became a principal dancer in 2002. He has choreographed pieces for NYCB and has appeared on PBS both as a dancer and in New York City Ballet's Diamond Project: Ten Years of New Choreography, part of the Live From Lincoln Center series. This year he choreographed the musical Hands on a Hardbody—based on a documentary about a contest where the last person to take his hand off a truck wins the vehicle—which premiered at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse in April and could end up on Broadway.

    4. He does more than dance: Millepied signed on to Black Swan as choreographer. Playing Portman and Mila Kunis' dance partner came after he volunteered himself for the role, in which he convinced audiences that he didn't want to sleep with his costar (as Portman gleefully pointed out in her Golden Globes speech). "He wasn't alien like a lot of people I found in the dance world," director Darren Aronofsky told Details of Millepied. The Frenchman again flexed his acting muscles in Time Doesn't Stand Still, a romantic short he created with director Asa Mader. In addition to acting, dance and choreography, he paints and considers himself an amateur photographer. "I do urban photography, pictures of people with some element of choreography," he told the Los Angeles Times last month. "That's one reason I'm so crazy about L.A.—the visual richness I find here: the Deco buildings, the architecture, the light, all those clichés." Speaking of which...

    5. He's gone Hollywood: Millepied stopped dancing with the NYCB in January 2011 and officially announced his retirement last October, thanking the company for letting him "run two careers simultaneously over the last six years." And he's not kidding—we knew he probably didn't sleep much last year as the father of a new baby, but apparently he never planned on sleeping anyway. Since relocating, he has founded the L.A. Dance Project, which has been awarded a permanent residency at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, to begin in 2013. Framework, created by and costarring Milliepied, premiered at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown L.A. on July 19 and he has a new work debuting at Walt Disney Concert Hall on Sept. 22. "I've danced for a major ballet company for so long—dancing other people's work while I was making my own, that this year and a half was really a cleansing for me and my body," he told theTimes. "I needed to start with a clean slate."

    Natalie Portman Marries Benjamin Millepied

    Natalie Portman has married her dashing dancer.

    Though she's been wearing a very suspect ring for months now, the Oscar winner formally swapped vows with Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied in a Jewish ceremony Saturday evening in front of family and friends in the coastal California region of Big Sur, according to Us Weekly.

    We imagine that their first dance as husband and wife was a doozy.

    Portman and Millepied are parents to 1-year-old son Aleph, who while still in utero was his mom's constant companion as she accepted award after award for Black Swan, the whole time never failing to mention the "beautiful love" she found working on the film.

    Upon accepting her Oscar in February 2011, the quite pregnant Portman credited Millepied for giving her "the most important role of [her] life."

    And then there was her more jocular Golden Globes speech the month before.

    "Benjamin choreographed the film, and also you might remember him in the movie as the guy when they ask, 'Would you sleep with that girl?' And he's like, 'Pfft, no,'" the Best Actress winner recalled of his character's reaction to her guarded, superserious (and delusional!) Nina. "He's the best actor. It's not true—he totally wants to sleep with me!"

    Sure enough, Portman, 31, pulled a double-whammy when she revealed in December 2010 that she was both engaged to and expecting a child with the now 35-year-old French dancer. That June, Millepied had referred to her as his "girlfriend" in an interview with Details, adding, "We just want to keep things to ourselves."

    But try doing that with a baby bump!

    The couple and their little boy have been splitting their time between New York and Los Angeles, with the occasional jaunt around the world, ever since.

    Portman, who since Black Swan has appeared in more light-hearted fare like No Strings Attached and Your Highness, shared an intimate family dinner with her parents and Aleph at the Long Island restaurant Prime on July 27—and witnesses told E! News they appeared to be in celebration mode.

    The happy foursome enjoyed a vegetarian—what else?—feast created specially for the bride to be.

    Natalie Portman Marries Benjamin Millepied

    Here comes the bride!

    Natalie Portman said "I do" on Saturday night to her fiancé of two years, French dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, on the scenic central California coast of Big Sur, a source confirms to PEOPLE.

    Surrounded by family and friends, including Ivanka Trump, the pair exchanged vows after dark in a Jewish ceremony at a private home.

    The Oscar winner, 31, first met Millepied, 35, on the set of Black Swan in the fall of 2009. He worked as a choreographer on the film and the two started to date during the shoot. By December 2010, the couple announced they were engaged and expecting their first child. Their son Aleph is 14-months old.

    "Nothing is more important than my personal life," Portman recently told France's Madame Figaro magazine. "It's something which comes first, always makes sense, and compared to the happiness of a successful family life, everything else is practically superficial."

    Now that Portman has made her love official, the newlywed may consider becoming a French citizen like her husband.

    "I now have the possibility of taking on French nationality. It would accomplish the Francophile dreams of my father and myself," she told the magazine. "I lived in Paris when I was 12 and my father gave me the name Natalie as an homage to Gilbert Bécaud's song. Everything in my life has drawn me towards a French family."

    Star's family feast

    Natalie Portman celebrated her upcoming wedding to Benjamin Millepied with a family dinner at Huntington Harbor’s Prime on Friday. Witnesses at the Long Island waterfront restaurant said the grandparents “took turns walking their grandson around the dining room and outside patio” while Portman dined on a healthy vegetarian meal. Oscar-winner Portman will reportedly wed Millepied, with whom she has son Aleph, in Big Sur, Calif., on Aug. 5.

    Natalie Portman Snaps Back at Paparazzi

    (Video) Actress Natalie Portman had a not-so-nice encounter with a paparazzo at LAX when a shutterbug bumped Benjamin Millepied—wait for it—while holding baby Aleph.

    As the family of three tried to leave the airport yesterday, they were swarmed by a slew of paparazzi. "Be safe," Portman cautioned as the brood walked to their car.

    Millepied, looked understandably frustrated as the paps got too close for comfort to the adorable 1-year-old. "Back off," the 35-year-old dancer said as Aleph appeared upset by the commotion.

    Clearly, the 31-year-old actress is not the first star to have an altercation with the paparazzi, just take a look at these other celebs who got down with the shutterbugs.

    Portman Takes Out Baby Aleph in His Cute Pajamas

    (Photo) His mom's an Oscar-winning actress, his dad's an acclaimed ballet dancer, but Aleph Millepied? He might just be an up-and-coming rock star.

    The adorable 13-month-old tot got a lift from Natalie Portman Wednesday in L.A. Both mom and baby looked super serious, but it was Aleph's precious pajamas that stole the show.

    The red-headed little boy, whose dad is Benjamin Millepied, donned black-and-white PJs covered in guitars. He paired the edgy jammies with some bright red socks.

    And while this ensemble is super-cute for errands and bedtime, Aleph will probably get a little more dolled up when his mom and dad eventually say "I do." His parents, who met while filming Black Swan, announced their engagement in December 2010, the same time they confirmed they were expecting their first child.

    Think they could use a rock 'n' roll ring bearer, perhaps?!

    Natalie Portman Takes Son Aleph on a Playground Playdate

    (Photo) A is for ... adorable!

    Natalie Portman was happy to lend a helping hand – or two – to her son Aleph during a recent playground visit in Los Angeles.

    First-time mom Portman, 30, steadied her barefoot son at the top of a slide and held his hand as they walked through the sand earlier this week.

    But it seems Aleph, who will turn 1 next month, won't need help from his proud mom much longer.

    The baby seemed on the verge of walking on his own and was more than happy to play on the slide and mingle with other children during the mother-son playdate.

    'The Simpsons': Anne Hathaway to join Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel in helping Bart understand love

    For a boy who barely likes girls, things are about to get pretty complicated for Bart Simpson and his love life.

    EW is reporting that five of Bart's former girlfriends will reprise their roles in an episode of "The Simpsons" slated to air next season. The show will feature Zooey Deschanel, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sarah Silverman.

    When asked why so many of Bart's former lady loves were coming back at once, consulting producer Tim Long tells the publication, "It was a way to acknowledge that for a 10-year-old boy, Bart has gotten a lot of action. We thought it might be fun to borrow/pay homage to/steal an idea from 'High Fidelity' and have him go on a romantic pilgrimage and visit the girls that he dated and try to figure out how the hell he screwed things up with each of them...He realizes that maybe there's something wrong with him after all."

    The premise of the episode is that Cletus' daughter Mary (Deschanel) moves to New York. And Bart, thinking that she's "the one," decides to go find her.

    The episode is titled "Moonshine River."

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