The carnage doesn't end there. The film has already provoked litigation from investors claiming they were defrauded by "slick lawyers" in Hollywood who allegedly hid that the production was on the verge of defaulting on loans as well as their own financial participation in the film.
Now it's gotten even uglier, with investors suing each other, looking to recoup whatever they can from the film that took millions of dollars to make and may be on its way to bombing.
Last month, we reported that Gerald Fruchtman and Ian Fruchtman were suing Hesher Prods. and the law firm of Eisner Frank & Kahan after investing $750,000 in Hesher. The two claimed they were only told at the late stage about the existence of defaulted loans, including one note-holder who was threatening to foreclose on the film's revenue stream, which might be fairly meager anyway.
What's left might be whatever money the production got by pre-selling foreign distribution rights. According to court documents, Nu Image advanced $1 million for unsold territories. The full proceeds from foreign sales are not publicly known, and may be modest, but could be enough to at least repay one of the investors. The question is who.
On Tuesday, Dreamagine Entertainment stepped up to make a claim with a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against Hesher Prods, Cold Fusion Media, and the Fruchtmans.
Dreamagine says it financed $1.2 million of the budget, plus advanced a foreign sales agent $167,707. It claims it was entitled to first priority of the foreign sales under the so-called "first in/first out" provision, and got a substantial part of its investment back, but is still owed 375,000.
However, now that the Fruchtmans are claiming part of the meager pot, it endangers recoupment by Dreamagine.
"The Investors' lawsuits threaten to jeopardize Plaintiff's right to recoup ahead of the Investors," says Dreamagine in its new lawsuit. "Despite the fact that they have previously expressly acknowledged that their interests are subordinate to Plaintiff's, they now disclaim those acknowledgments and claim that no such priority exists."
Dreamagine alleges breach of contract, good faith and fair dealing, and wants a court declaration that it should receive all proceeds of foreign distribution sales. Who is getting the life preserver on the sinking ship?
Under Kenneth Branagh's direction, Thor has eye-popping special effects, strong performances and, perhaps most notably, 3-D technology put to good use. Though the plot has some holes, the dazzling look of the movie and the earth-rattling action sequences fill in those gaps.
Based on a Marvel superhero comic with Norse mythology origins, this god of thunder tosses off enough comic quips to make the whole enterprise enjoyable.
Not only is it great to look at — thanks to the fusion of superb CGI and the impeccable work of production designer Bo Welch — it's anchored by an appealing performance by Chris Hemsworth. Though he looks every inch a brawny Norse god, Hemsworth is not just a hunk. His charisma and charming grin go a long way toward making Thor engaging.
Jane (Natalie Portman), Erik (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy (Kat Dennings) make up a trio of contemporary scientists who happen upon a disoriented Thor, who crash-lands in the New Mexico desert.
Thor's wise father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), has banished his hot-tempered son from Asgard to teach him a lesson about arrogance. Meanwhile, Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has some tricks up his sleeve.
Portman and Hemsworth have good chemistry. They spend a night under the stars and talk magic and science. "Your ancestors called it magic, and you call it science," Thor tells her. "I come from a place where they're one and the same."
But his best lines are comic quips, variations on the fish-out-of-water scheme.
Thor's magic hammer also lands in the desert, which draws the spy/law enforcement men in suits, the S.H.I.E.L.D. In their midst is a cameo by Jeremy Renner, poised with bow and arrow. (His character, Hawkeye, will have more screen time in Joss Whedon's adaptation of The Avengers, which is due in theaters next year.)
The best scenes are the electrifying battles between the Norse gods and their nemeses, the imposing Frost Giants. Sharply honed icicles vs. Thor's mighty hammer create massive, crumbling mayhem.
This is where the 3-D comes into play stunningly, along with Thor rocketing to Earth amid what looks like the aurora borealis.
Thor's glimmering home in the gods' realm of Asgard has a gilded Vegas look — and the palace resembles a giant pipe organ — but somehow it works.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings will recognize some visual "borrowing." (Shall we call it an homage?)
Though it may not leave a lasting impression once the lights go up, Thor is lighthearted and thunderously good fun.
Thor * * * out of four
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Kat Dennings
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence
Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide.
Held to a more brisk running time than some superhero epics that swell to Elizabethan stage proportions, "Thor" nevertheless manages to cram in a lot of Shakespearean intrigue.
Director Kenneth Branagh, whose big-screen Shakespeare adaptations include "Hamlet" and "Henry V," pits father against son and brother against brother, with loads of palatial pride, envy, rivalry and resentment driving the action.
The human part of the equation often is where "Thor" comes up short, as in the puny humans of whom the god, played by statuesque Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, supposedly becomes so fond.
Fresh off her Academy Award win for "Black Swan," Natalie Portman as Thor's mortal love interest is a surprisingly insubstantial presence. We have to be told by a colleague that Portman's Jane Foster is a "master physicist," but there's little in the actress' demeanor to make you believe it.
Thor is the god who fell to Earth, but why he wants to stay among these little Earthlings never feels genuine, given the far cooler place he calls home.
That place is Asgard, the dwelling of superpowered beings who, in Marvel's reworking of mythology, became objects of worship among the ancient Norsemen.
Hemsworth's Thor is in line to inherit the throne from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), over his scheming brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). But after Thor defies his dad and leads a mission of revenge against old enemies on the ice planet Jotunheim, Odin strips his cocky son of his power and his mighty hammer, banishing him to Earth to learn some humility.
In the New Mexico desert, Thor falls in with scientist Jane, her mentor (Stellan Skarsgard) and their wisecracking assistant (Kat Dennings, who keeps the movie lively with her comic timing and delivery).
The Asgard sets are impressive, but while the celestial setting of this heavenly dominion gleams, it often looks fake, even cartoonish. "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings" have presented much better fantasy lands.
The action sequences also are muddled at times, though an armored guy smashing things with a giant hammer certainly is a fresh take on superhero violence.
The plot — credited to three screenwriters and two story developers, among them Marvel Comics scribe J. Michael Straczynski — is a bit unfocused, since it not only has to relate Thor's journey but also help set up next year's superhero ensemble tale "The Avengers."
That film will team Thor with Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk, Chris Evans' Captain America and other Marvel heroes.
The bridge in "Thor" is Clark Gregg, reprising his "Iron Man" role as Agent Coulson, an operative for SHIELD, the outfit that assembles the superhero dream team (stick through the "Thor" end-credits for a teaser featuring a prominent member of "The Avengers" cast).
While Jane, Coulson and the other humans gradually learn who Thor is and what he's capable of, battles rage on among the Asgardians (Ray Stevenson as one of Thor's raucous comrades and Idris Elba as the realm's vigilant gatekeeper are standouts) and the frost giants of Jotunheim (with Colm Feore as their coolly menacing leader).
It's a lot to pack into one movie, particularly when the battle expands to Earth, where an Asgard weapon is unleashed. The story flits fickly back and forth, but Hemsworth has true star power, a regal presence that helps keep the disparate elements stitched together.
He's also quite funny, tossing off imperious quips with charm and roguish slyness. And there are beefcake moments where his rippling musculature puts the bare-chested wolf pack of the "Twilight" flicks to shame.
Born to superhuman power, Thor can naturally do things that Downey's guy in a metal suit or Evans' soldier on super-steroids could only dream of. So it'll be interesting to see how Marvel overseers and "Avengers" director Joss Whedon handle the division of labor among the superhero squad.
Thor certainly does humble down to a more collegial attitude in his debut run, but "The Avengers" should make for some engaging alpha-male, or alpha-Marvel, dynamics.
"Thor," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. Running time: 113 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
In a new 20/20 interview airing tonight, Natalie Portman's dance double from Black Swan gives her first TV interview explaining why she thinks the filmmakers need to come clean about the amount of dancing the star actually did for the Oscar-winning role.
So what exactly does Sarah Lane, who has previously written about the controversy, say? Doesn't sound like she's scoring an invite to Portman's baby shower, let's put it that way:
"They're completely lying about the amount of dancing Natalie did in the movie," Lane tells Elizabeth Vargas on tonight's 20/20.
Oh no she diiiin't!
"I've been doing this for 22 years, and to say that someone trained for a year and a half and did what I did is degrading not only to me but to the entire ballet world," explains Lane. "They threaten the entire principle of ballet and I feel like I need to say something."
In response to the interview, Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky released a statement saying this:
"Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film—111 are Natalie Portman untouched. Twenty-eight are her dance double Sarah Lane. If you do the math, that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
But then 20/20 took it a step further and asked the film's editor to go back and verify Aronofsky's percentages.
Editor Andy Weisblum says, "There are about 35 shots that are full-body shots in the movie. Of those 35 shots, 12 are Natalie, and then the rest are Sarah. But over the overall film, Natalie did a lot more than that. I mean, she did most of the other shots. It was sometimes hard for me to tell the difference as the editor, it was so close."
Doesn't sound like this controversy is going to get resolved anytime soon, especially since Portman acknowledged the Black Swan camera crew in her Oscar acceptance speech—but not her dance double.
"I expected it because at that point I knew," explains Lane in the interview. "I did wish that she could have said something nice about ballet itself instead of saying that it was so horrible and she's so glad she's done with it."
So what's at the root of Lane calling out Portman and her sudden desire for public acknowledgment? Could it be that she is close with Portman's fiance's ex-girlfriend?
So far, Portman's only response has been: "I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film, and I don't want to give in to the gossip."
Sounds like a swan-fight. Let the feathers fly, ladies!
Full-fledged vegan Natalie Portman is reverting back to vegetarianism, giving into her pregnancy cravings for bakery treats and the dairy products traditionally used in their recipes.
"If you're not eating eggs, then you can't have cookies or cake from regular bakeries, which can become a problem when that's all you want to eat," Portman said on the Q100 Bert Show earlier today.
But the Academy Award-winning actress still believes pregnant women can stay healthy by sticking with a vegan diet:
"I know there are people who do stay vegan but I think you have to just be careful, watch your iron levels and your B12 levels and supplement those if there are things you might be low in in your diet," Portman explained.
The face of Dior, pregnant with fiancé Benjamin Millepied's baby, had written a piece for The Huffington Post in 2009 explaining that Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals influenced her to become a vegan and vegan activist after 20 years as a vegetarian.
"I'm often interrogated about being vegetarian (e.g. 'What if you find out that carrots feel pain, too? Then what'll you eat?'" she wrote. "But this book reminded me that some things are just wrong. Perhaps others disagree with me that animals have personalities, but the highly documented torture of animals in unacceptable, and the human cost Foer describes in his book, of which I was previously unaware, is universally compelling."
This isn't the first time the small-framed Portman has talked about her diet. While preparing to film Black Swan, the actress went on a "very extreme" restrictive-calorie diet, barely eating and working around 16 hours a day.
Neither as crude nor as hilarious as the advertisements might lead you to believe, Your Highness is a tale of sibling rivalry with fantasy action sequences and contemporary bad language. It's like a Krull comedy.
James Franco stars as Prince Fabious, a peerless knight and champion who is often away on quests -- when he isn't making a triumphant return to his father's court. Fabious is the golden boy of the palace; his brother Prince Thadeous (Danny McBride, who also co-wrote the film) is not quite as popular. Thadeous is cowardly, jealous and lazy, and he smokes too much wizard's weed.
Fabious' most recent adventure has won him the head of a cyclops and the heart of Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), a maiden he has rescued. On their wedding day, however, Belladonna is abducted by the evil wizard Leezar (the truly amazing Justin Theroux), and Fabious vows to rescue her again and get her back.
On this quest to rescue Belladonna, he insists that Thadeous come along to help. That makes Thadeous a very big fish out of water.
After a visit to the psychic (and twisted) great wise wizard, the men set out with their knights to find Belladonna and defeat Leezar. Sadly, the brothers are betrayed along the way. Now they travel light, accompanied only by Courtney (Rasmus Hardiker), who is Thadeous' sidekick. Eventually they encounter a very strange and ferocious woman, Isobel (Natalie Portman). She too wants to defeat Leezar to avenger her brothers' deaths. She works tirelessly and fearlessly; Thadeous has a big crush on her.
In between rounds of banter and sword-play there are hydra-like monsters and minotaurs to kill, magical swords to sleuth out, labyrinths to survive and all manner of magic and sorcery to contend with. (And more jokes about private parts that most will recall from their readings of Greek mythology.)
Your Highness is rude, crude and extremely silly. It's the sort of undertaking in which actors' English accents come and go from one scene to the next, and all involved seem to be enjoying themselves mightily. The hefty support cast includes Toby Jones, Damian Lewis and Charles Dance. Look, Ma, we're in a B-movie!
The film will find its audience among the teens and young adults for whom it was intended. They too will forget Your Highness the minute they leave the theatre.
Fun while it lasted, though.
"I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film, and I don't want to give in to the gossip," the very pregnant Portman tells E!.
(Lane says she provided 95% of the full-body shots in the film. And she would like more credit.)
That touchy topic made Portman sound happy to open up about a more personal topic - her pregnancy.
"I have to admit, it's really fun being able to take it easy and not worry about food. At the same time you have to be healthy because there is a person inside me," she tells E!, adding, "I do love ice cream and desserts though!"
In fact, as some suggest Natalie shouldn't have won the Oscar for her psychological role, Fox Searchlight, Benjamin Millepied and Mila Kunis have all taken to the star's defense.
The only person we haven't heard from? Portman, herself.
But even when you're pregnant, you can't stay tight-lipped forever...
So what's N.P.'s take on the dancing double?
"I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film and I don't want to give in to the gossip," dishes the very pregnant Portman.
What a wonderful response to completely avoid the controversy, Nat! But even still, it's not hard to infer how Portman feels—calling it "gossip" and leaving Sarah out the picture? Safe to say Natalie may be a bit put out over the negative press.
As for forgetting to thank Sarah in her Oscar speech? Well, Natalie is so beyond that controversy as well: "I don't remember my Oscar speech at all, and I'm actually too embarrassed to watch it."
Can't blame the gal for wanting to move on. After all, this has always been much more of a studio controversy, but we're still itching for Natalie's take on Sarah's role as an "extra."
So while N.P. talked about it by not really talking about it, she still could not contain her excitement about one topic: her baby on the way:
"I have to admit, it's really fun being able to take it easy and not worry about food. At the same time you have to be healthy because there is a person inside me. I do love ice cream and desserts though!"
Glad to hear it, Nat, especially after the 20-pound slimdown for Black Swan. You deserve a break from all your work and need some time to kick back!
As for the other half of this ballet battle? Sarah insists in her most recent essay that she "is not trying to instigate conflict," but she continues to defend ballet and her original stance—the unrealistic portrayal that someone can transform into a ballerina in only a year.
While Sarah still seems heated, Portman is so skirting this scandal and has put all her attention on her baby and the April 8 release of her new movie, Your Highness.
A fittingly royal move.
Reuniting key players from "Pineapple Express" — James Franco, Danny McBride, director David Gordon Green — "Your Highness" plays like a Middle Ages role-playing fantasy dreamed up by the giggly stoners of that earlier comedy.
Co-writer McBride and his collaborators apparently set out on a quest to ram as much coarse language and as many adolescent sexual gags into a movie as possible, maybe to cover the fact that the movie doesn't contain much else.
A healthy dose of modern frat-boy crudeness might have been refreshing in this story of two princes out to rescue a damsel from an evil wizard. Sort of "The Princess Bride" as retold in colorful sailor's vernacular.
Crassness overwhelms "Your Highness," though, the vulgar language losing all force by incessant repetition, deadening the lingo so that even the occasional witty wisecracks aren't funny.
This is McBride's show, explaining why he has top billing over Franco and co-stars Natalie Portman and Zooey Deschanel.
McBride, who shares screenplay credit with longtime writing partner Ben Best, plays slacker Prince Thadeous, defiler of dwarf queens, partaker of illicit apothecary herbs and all-around palace loser.
Older brother Fabious (Franco) is heir to the throne and the kingdom's golden boy, newly returned from a heroic quest with ravishing bride-to-be Belladonna (Deschanel) in tow.
After sorcerer Leezar (Justin Theroux) abducts Belladonna as part of his scheme to gain unstoppable powers, Thadeous must reluctantly accompany his brother to fetch her back.
On the road, they team with the mysterious Isabel (Portman), a lethal warrior with her own grudge against Leezar.
Despite the colorful costumes, mythological beasties and salty language, "Your Highness" is a tired tale whose scattered laughs fail to liven up the lumbering action.
Green shows no greater poise directing action here than he did with the repetitive gunplay in "Pineapple Express," only now he adds some humdrum special-effects pyrotechnics to the mix.
Much of the supporting cast, among them Damian Lewis, Toby Jones and Rasmus Hardiker, barely register, even though they're integral to the action.
With even a little pep, any one of them could have upstaged the lead players, who are monotonous throughout. McBride sticks to boorish-oaf mode, Portman plays the stoic hero with blandness reminiscent of her "Star Wars" days, and Franco shows about as much verve as he did as co-host of the Academy Awards.
If there was a show to steal, Theroux would make off with it, yet even his hammy villain, surrounded as he is by dull heroes, barely raises the pulse of "Your Highness."
There's a delightful sense of bawdiness in Chaucer and other medieval literature, but vulgarity seems the main intent of "Your Highness." The movie chokes on its own dreary discourtesies.
Here's one of the milder ones: "You smell like the underside of a sheep's scrotum."
Oh, you knaves and jesters.
"Your Highness," a Universal release, is rated R for strong crude and sexual content, pervasive language, nudity, violence and some drug use. Running time: 102 minutes. Two stars out of four.
Well, that has been the question on all of our minds after we first revealed the Black Swan controversy that has catapulted into a major Oscar scandal.
No doubt, it's easy to accuse Lane of wanting her 15 minutes of fame, but read everything she has to say, and the American Ballet Theatre beauty doesn't seem as greedy as she is being pegged.
Now, the studio has officially released a statement, standing by Natalie and her dancing, where director Darren Aronofsky counters almost everything Lane has previously said.
As has co-star Mila Kunis, who just recently joined the Portman defense bandwagon, vouching for Natalie's hard work.
"Natalie danced her a– off," Kunis told Entertainment Weekly. "I think it's unfortunate that this is coming out and taking attention away from [the praise] Natalie deserved and got."
Sweet-lips Kunis went on to say that there was not a hint of ballerina denial in Portman's acting or dancing:
"She'll tell you, no, she was not on pointe when she did a fouette [turn]," Kunis said. "No one's going to deny that. But she did do every ounce of every one of her dances. [Lane] wasn't used for everything. It was more like a safety net. If Nat wasn't able to do something, you'd have a safety net. The same thing that I had -- I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it."
But those who know "safety net" Lane personally? They are standing by her intentions.
Plus, check out the real making of Black Swan above and glimpse the Lane-Portman face swap for yourself.
We couldn't help but wonder if Lane has been bitten by the Hollywood bug, but those who have worked with Lane in the ballet world say that's just not possible and suggest quite the opposite.
One professional Lane source, who says the ballerina was "exploited" by Fox, insists Lane is "very modest" and "an absolutely beautiful ballerina, one of the best at ABT, but she does not clamor for attention at all."
She goes on to say that Lane is "a sweet, modest young woman who some in the field think so highly of."
Furthermore, people have criticized her for failing to specify she wanted recognition as Natalie's dancing double in the credits.
Lane even agreed that she was naive in the experience, saying, "It was all my fault really because I didn't have a manager."
Still, she trusted those on the set to make sure she was properly credited:
"I thought they would kind of take care of me because they were really encouraging and really sweet and always saying how amazing I was. There were kind of rooting me on when I would have to do shots that were really hard and almost impossible even for a professional ballet dancer."
It's still unclear who's right in this ballet battle, but you can watch the facial replacement above, and decide for yourself, who is the real Black Swan?
"Natalie danced her a-- off," Kunis tells Entertainment Weekly. "I think it's unfortunate that this is coming out and taking attention away from [the praise] Natalie deserved and got."
Last week, American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane told EW that Portman performed approximately 5 percent of the dance footage in the final cut of the film, while she did the rest. Lane added that the film's producer, Ari Handel, asked her not to discuss her work with the press because the producers wanted to play up Portman's dancing for her Oscar campaign.
Kunis, however, says Portman has always been upfront in interviews about having Lane as a double for the more difficult sequences.
"She'll tell you [that], no, she was not on pointe when she did a fouetté [turn]," Kunis says. "No one's going to deny that. But she did do every ounce of every one of her dances. [Lane] wasn't used for everything. It was more like a safety net. If Nat wasn't able to do something, you'd have a safety net. The same thing that I had — I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it."
Kunis' defense of Portman follows that of director Darren Aronofsky, who released a statement Monday saying he determined Portman did 80 percent of the dancing after going through all the dance shots in the film.
"Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots.There are 139 dance shots in the film. One hundred and eleven are Natalie Portman untouched; 28 are her dance double Sarah Lane," Aronofsky told Entertainment Weekly in a statement. "If you do the math that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
Last week Lane told EW that approximately 5 percent of the performance footage used in Black Swan's dance scenes was performed by Portman. She also added that the film's producer, Ari Handel, asked her not to discuss her work with the media because the producers wanted to play up Portman's dancing to help her Oscar bid.
"It is demeaning to the profession and not just to me," Lane said. "I've been doing this for 22 years .... Can you become a concert pianist in a year and a half, even if you're a movie star?"
Aronofsky said he released a statement to defend Portman and put the debate to rest.
"Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance," he said. "I don't want anyone to think that's not her they are watching. It is."
Here are five things you need to know about Portman's dancing double:
Big Things Come in Small Pirouettes: At a petite 5 feet 2 inches tall, Sarah is believed to be the smallest dancer New York City's prestigious American Ballet Theatre ever hired. Born in San Francisco, Sarah's family moved to Memphis, Tenn., where she was home-schooled as a child. After starting tap, jazz and ballet at age 4, she began her professional dance training at 16, receiving a full scholarship to the Boston Ballet Summer Program. Despite her small size, she won a succession of honors, including the Silver Medal at the 2002 Jackson International Ballet Competition, the highest medal in the Junior Division, and performed at the Kennedy Center as a Presidential Scholar.
Nina's Got Nothing on Sarah: Lane auditioned for three dance companies and was initially rejected by American Ballet Theatre, but a twist of fate changed everything. During a gala performance at the Youth America Grand Prix, the sound system crashed, forcing Sarah to either run offstage or keep going as if nothing happened. Luckily, she continued dancing and won a standing ovation. Her grace under pressure won her a Bronze Medal and a second look from ABT, which offered her a contract. She became a member of the company's corps de ballet in 2004 and a soloist in 2007. Despite her small size, the 27-year-old ballerina's skills, lithe body and perfectionism impressed her directors, leading to bigger and bigger parts within the company, among them Anne Boleyn in VIII, the Fairy of Joy in The Sleeping Beauty, a goat in Sylvia and a leading role in Theme and Variations.
Like Portman Is About to Do, She Married a Dancer: Sarah tied the knot with Madrid-born dancer Luis Ribagorda, also an ABT corps member, in December 2007. The couple met four years previously and dated for two years, though unlike her Hollywood doppelgänger she's yet to get pregnant. The pair reside in Union City, N.J., and Lane once told Interview magazine that her union with Ribagorda has balanced out her life because after 12 hours dedicated to classes, rehearsals, and performances, they "can unwind together." As far as hobbies, she also really likes baking, particularly cheesecakes.
On Being the Real Black Swan: Sarah was invited to double for Portman during the filming of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, an experience she enjoyed for the most part, though the filming wasn't easy. In a December Q&A with Dance magazine, Lane opined: "Watching Natalie and the other actors made me think about how different it is when you're seeing something up close. When you're onstage, the audience is so far away. But it did make me think about how I could use my face more." Of course, the ballerina told Entertainment Weekly last week that she did 95 percent of the work on Black Swan, including many of the thriller's complicated dance sequences, but Portman's face was digitally grafted onto her body and wound up being credited as "Hand Model," "Stunt Double," and "Lady in the Lane," the last of which was a brief walk-on role. Guess she got a lesson in old-school Hollywood Oscar campaigns too.
The Future Looks Bright: Lane has a chance to show her stuff this year to a global audience as the American Ballet Theatre heads overseas. After playing the United Kingdom in February, the company has three days' worth of performances in Moscow this week, and despite the massive disaster there, ABT is still scheduled to proceed with a planned tour of Japan in July.
The beautiful Natalie Portman recently took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her outstanding performance as Nina Sayers in Black Swan, and she's had a rough time since.
She got tons of flack from women's groups because she called motherhood "the most important role of my life" during her acceptance speech; plus, Mike Huckabee—among others—complained that Nat "glamorizes" out-of-wedlock pregnancy.
So what's the controversy now?
In her acceptance speech, Natalie graciously thanked her trainer, former New York City Ballet dancer, Mary Helen Bowers, her fiancé and costar, Benjamin Millepied, as well as a handful of other contributors.
Someone whom Portman forgot to mention? Her dancing double, Sarah Lane, whose name has only surfaced after the Oscar win.
In an interview with Dance Magazine, Lane claims that she had been asked by a Fox Searchlight producer to stop giving interviews until after the Oscars.
"They were trying to create this facade that she had become a ballerina in a year and a half. So I knew they didn't want to publicize anything about me."
Indeed, the cinematic genius showing just how Portman's body was fused with dancing powerhouse Lane is well documented in the upcoming Black Swan DVD, due out next week.
Another diss? Lane's name also appears in the credits as an extra, not a dancing double.
But why the need for a facade? If Natalie totally worked her butt off for the role (which everyone says she did), is it really necessary to make us believe that she mastered in a year what most ballerinas can't even master after 10? She completely transformed herself, broken rib and all.
For Sarah, this aspect was most disappointing, and she comments "how unfortunate it is that, as professional dancers, we work so hard, but people can actually believe that it's easy enough to do it in a year. That's the thing that bothered me the most."
Not so fast, says Natalie's fiancé.
In a not so surprising interview with the Los Angeles Times, Millepied defends his bride-to-be.
"There are articles now talking about her dance double [American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane] that are making it sound like [Lane] did a lot of the work, but really, she just did the footwork, and the fouettés, and one diagonal [phrase] in the studio. Honestly, 85 percent of that movie is Natalie."
He explains that aside from CGI and close-ups, the reason Nat was able to do it practically herself in a year was "by making things fluid and not too complicated."
So whom do you all believe?
Yes, it would have been nice for Sarah to be acknowledged, but come on, we also think it's a little nerve-racking when accepting an Oscar. We say let Natalie have her moment.
Huckabee on Friday accused "the Hollywood media" of distorting comments he made about Portman in a radio interview Monday. Huckabee said in that interview that it was "troubling" to see Portman or other celebrities having children while unmarried.
Portman is expecting her first child with her fiance.
Huckabee is considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination. He praised Portman as an actress Friday and says he's glad she plans to get married.
A publicist for Portman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She recently won the best actress Oscar for her role in "Black Swan."
The former Arkansas governor and possible GOP presidential candidate in 2012 instead rolled the celebrity dice and used Portman as an example of the "distorted image" Hollywood supposedly provides of single motherhood.
To be fair, conservative talk radio host Michael Medved brought up the "visibly pregnant" Black Swan star and the "problematic message" she's sending. But Huckabee, ever the politician, took the ball and ran with it...
"You know Michael," Huckabee replied, "one of the things that's troubling is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet who boasts of, 'Hey look, you know, we're having children, we're not married, but we're having these children,' and they're doing just fine.
"But there aren't really a lot of single moms out there who are making millions of dollars every year for being in a movie," he said.
"And I think it gives a distorted image that yes, not everybody hires nannies, and caretakers, and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. And that's the story that we're not seeing, and it's unfortunate that we glorify and glamorize the idea of [out-of-wedlock children]."
For the record, Portman and baby daddy Benjamin Millepied are engaged, and she's rocking the ring to prove it. (And most people's lives are going to lack Portman glamour regardless, whether they're married, single, childless or parents of 19 and counting.)
Couldn't he have just simply said he doesn't think out-of-wedlock pregnancy is a great idea?
"I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action. But at the same time I'm not going to condemn her," Huckabee said in December 2007 of Jamie Lynn Spears, who at the time was 16 and pregnant. (Which was apparently such a glamorous idea, MTV named a show after her.)
"There'll be plenty of people in line to [condemn her] and I always look for the shortest lines. I just hope that she will make another right decision, and that's to give that child all the love and kindness and care that she can."
We're willing to bet that Portman, with or without Millepied, is planning to tackle motherhood in exactly that fashion.
"I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video," Portman said in a statement Monday. "In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful."
Galliano, Dior's creative director, was fired Tuesday, four days after authorities opened an investigation into accusations that he made anti-Semitic remarks against a French couple in a Paris café last week. Shortly after the allegation, a video surfaced of a different incident that showed Galliano declaring "I love Hitler" and telling two people that they "should have been gassed."
Galliano was immediately suspended following the allegation. In a statement announcing Galliano's dismissal Tuesday, Sidney Toledano, Dior Couture's chief executive, condemned the designer's actions and words "in the strongest terms" and said they were "in total contradiction with the essential values that have always been defended by the Christian Dior house."
Portman endorses Dior's Miss Dior Cherie perfume. It is unclear how her contract will be affected.
The menu: Guests feasted on a menu specially crafted by Governor's Ball veteran Wolfgang Puck. Appetizers included a sushi and shellfish station, smoked salmon on Oscar flatbread with caviar and crème fraiche, and black truffle pizza with ricotta and thyme. Once seated, the stars dined on a trio of Wolfgang's signature salads, pan-roasted Dover sole, vegetable risotto "paella" and asparagus with Iberico ham and black truffle aioli.
The scene: As a live band played and Moet and Chandon Champagne was handed out, the stars streamed into the party, held adjacent to the Oscar ceremony. This year the ball was designed to resemble classic Hollywood nightclubs, featuring décor modeled after three musical styles: classic standards, swing and Latin.
Royal revelry: Rush was in a good mood after The King's Speech took home the night's biggest prize. Had he congratulated co-star Firth yet? "Not yet," said Rush, who hoped to see Firth's victory dance moves. "They're probably dangerously eccentric," said Rush. Bonham Carter said she was thrilled Oscar producers chose to use dialogue from The King's Speech to thread the best-picture nominees together in a montage before presenting the final award. "I thought it was amazing," she said. Reconsidering, she added, "Well, (it was) good for us." Bonham then approached her film's table and politely inquired why strangers were sitting there. (The embarrassed crashers promptly removed themselves.)
Stage fright: Hudson said she was nervous before heading out onto the Oscar stage. "That's an understatement," she said. "I was terrified. I hate public speaking."
Inception reception: Nolan said he was thrilled by the opening of the show, which saw Hathaway and James Franco amusingly inserting themselves into several scenes of Inception. (Nolan directed the film staring Leonardo DiCaprio.) "I thought it was awesome," he said. "The hosts are wonderful talents. I'm very excited to be working with Anne on my next project," Dark Knight Rises, he added.
Trophy talk: At the back of the party, best-actor winner Bale was getting his Oscar inscribed and polished with best-supporting actress winner Leo. His Oscar was going "straight to my daughter," he said. Leo said she's planning a special place for hers. "I'm having my house redone. I'm taking out a wood stove and I'm putting in a fireplace," she grinned, raising her statue. A few minutes later, Portman got her Oscar personalized while holding fiancé Benjamin Millepied's hand. The pregnant star was offered a tray of sweets, but declined. "I think I should go for some regular food," she said, heading back to her table for her entrée. Nearby, The Social Network's Sorkin was waiting to have his Oscar engraved. He said hearing his name called from the Oscar stage was like "being hit in the head with the world's greatest baseball bat."
Where's Oprah? Back in the ballroom, King worked some magic and found a waiter with mini Kobe cheeseburgers for pal Swank. "You are a rock star," Swank told her. "How'd you find it?"Where was King's pal Oprah Winfrey? "She was here and she was sick," said King, "which is strange because she never gets sick. This afternoon she took vitamin C and Echinacea."
Champagne and chocolates: As the band brought on the dance tunes, Steinfeld called her first Oscars "awesome." The best part? "Sitting in the second row!" she said. Minutes later, her True Grit co-star Bridges took her for a swing on the dance floor to It Don't Mean a Thing (if it Ain't Got that Swing). Near the dessert bar, which boasted a chocolate fountain and mini chocolate Oscars, Russell Brand was indulging a server, who was also a fan. "Now, give us a cuddle," he said, hugging her. As celebrities began to leave around the 10 p.m. hour (including Kidman and Urban), Hathaway was just making it into the party, a glass of Champagne in hand. "I'm tangled in my Versace!" she laughed, trying not to trip in her crimson gown.
The bash: Vanity Fair Oscar Party
The venue: Sunset Tower Hotel, West Hollywood
The stars:Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Timberlake, Sandra Bullock, Justin Bieber, Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, Elton John, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Tom Hooper, Robert Downey, Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Forest Whitaker, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Hudson, Jane Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, Quentin Tarantino, Larry David, Ron Howard, Diane von Furstenberg, Josh Brolin, Steve Martin, Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Serena Williams, Kate Beckinsale, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, Madonna, Sidney Poitier, Charlize Theron, Hugh Jackman, Jon Hamm, Rob Lowe and Zoe Saldana.
Scene and heard: Hanks graciously posed for a photo with Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich, who clutched his statue for best animated feature, then told him, "Way to go, man." … Fonda walking hand in hand with her music producer beau Richard Perry. … Hathaway, in a burgundy-colored gown, doing a little shimmy to the music. … Whitaker's wife Keisha typed on her mobile phone and said, "My kids are texting me." … An In-n-Out truck parked next to the hotel offered complimentary burgers to departing guests. After watching people munching on their burgers while waiting for their cars, songwriter T Bone Burnett finally decided to order one. But just as he prepared to order, his car arrived so he left burgerless. … A pesky man on the sidewalk repeatedly asked celebrities to take a photo with him and all turned him down. In rebuffing him, Hanks said, "I've got to get my lady in the car," referring to his wife. However, Hanks delighted a throng of fans standing on the opposite side of the street by waving to them as they cheered his name while he and Wilson climbed into their chauffeur-driven car.
• Portman gets about as many baby questions as she does Black Swan questions. So, for the record, she's not naming the kid Oscar ("I think that's probably definitely out of the question."), she's not giving us any gender scoop ("I do not know the sex of my child."), and her kid, surprise of surprises, dug the show—well, part of it: "The baby was definitely kicking during the song portion of the show."
• Why wasn't Portman, the "face of Dior," wearing a Dior gown tonight? We don't know the answer to that one (exactly) because the Oscar police shut down the question, letting the at-a-loss-for-words Portman off the hook.
• The Dior question was a two-parter, also seeking Portman's opinion on suspended Dior designer John Galliano. (And, yeah, the controversy is why Portman didn't wear Dior tonight. Or so we guess.)
The 29-year-old Israeli-American, considered the favorite after dominating other film awards shows leading up to the Oscars, was visibly overwhelmed as she dished out thanks in a trembling voice, and occasional stammer.
Portman trained five hours a day for six months to prepare for "Black Swan," a project she and director Darren Aronofsky first discussed about nine years ago. When they started shooting the film in 2009, it had yet to secure financing.
Her character, desperately insecure and possibly still a virgin, contends with professional jealousies and rivalries as she secures the dual lead roles in the ballet classic "Swan Lake". In the film, she grapples to separate truth from reality in a number of dream-like fantasy sequences.
A dazed Portman, whose roles have ranged from her breakout moment as an assassin-in-training orphan in "The Professional" to Queen Amidala in George Lucas' "Star Wars" prequels, drew some parallels with her onscreen persona.
"It feels very, very dream-like right now," said the pregnant Portman, clad in a flowing aubergine Rodarte that accommodated her growing bump. "I don't really remember anything that just happened just now. But the baby was definitely kicking a lot during the song portion of the show."
CRITICAL HIT
"Black Swan" was a commercial and critical hit, with worldwide ticket sales of more than $200 million. As a bonus, Portman last year announced she was pregnant and would marry the baby's father, a dancer she met on the "Black Swan" set.
Her film raised eyebrows, and drew considerable media hype for an explicit lesbian sex scene between Portman and co-star Mila Kunis.
"It's only possible to give yourself so, so freely when you absolutely 100-percent trust the person you are working with as your director," Portman said.
The actress faced down some formidable competition for the Academy Award: Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," Oscar-winner Kidman for "Rabbit Hole," newcomer Jennifer Lawrence for "Winter's Bone" and Michelle Williams for "Blue Valentine."
Portman previously received an Oscar nomination for her supporting role in the 2004 film "Closer."
Born in Jerusalem, she moved to the United States as a youngster and made her feature film debut in 1994 playing a 12-year-old girl who ends up in the care of the hired killer who assassinated her parents in "The Professional."
Portman next appears in studio tent-pole "Thor", about the mythological Norse God and super-hero, and also appears alongside Oscar co-host and nominee James Franco in period comedy "Your Highness".
But for now at least, having snagged the industry's highest honor, she longs for some peace and quiet.
"The next dream I have in terms of a very short-term future is staying in bed and not having to do my makeup or hair, and for my child just to be happy and healthy," she said.
No surprises here. Portman's helped up the stairs to the stage by her fiance Benjamin Millepied. There's a little surge of renewed applause and cheering for this win, which everyone expected and culminates the actress's triumphant march through the awards season. Portman wins for her riveting portrayal of disturbed ballet dancer Nina Sayers in Black Swan. It's the second Oscar nomination and first win for the actress who got her first role aged 11. "This is insane," she says. "I truly sincerely wish the prize tonight was to work with my fellow nominees - I am in awe of you." Breaking down, Portman thanks her parents and her fiance for giving her "the most important role of my life." It's a dignified and sweet acceptance.
1708 PST: And finally Natalie Portman is here. The best actress frontrunner looks gorgeous in a v-neck purple dress by local designers Rodarte (who also designed some of the dancers' costumes in Black Swan). Is she nervous? "I'm excited. I feel like it's going to be a fun show to watch this year with James and Anne hosting." The 29-year-old mum-to-be also reveals she's looking forward to the awards season being done with and how kicking back in "sweats with messy hair and no make-up is the biggest luxury of all."
The actress, nominated for Best Actress, was glowing in her off-the-shoulder gown with pleats falling down the middle of her growing belly. She wore matching Tiffany earrings and sported flushed cheeks as she worked the carpet.
But, she told ABC's Robin Roberts, all that glamour isn't her ultimate joy. "Staying at home with messy hair in sweats ... is the biggest luxury of all," she said.
Portman had a good omen going into Sunday's awards show – she'd just won an Indie Spirit award the previous night. She told Ryan Seacrest it wasn't all about winning, though.
"I'm excited," she said. "I feel like it's going to be a fun show to watch this year."
Portman announced in December she was pregnant, and engaged to choreographer Benjamin Millepied.
"I think if everything else she does in her life is an indication of what a great mom she'll make, she's going to be the best mom in the world," Gerwig told PEOPLE Saturday at the Film Independent's Spirit Awards of her No Strings Attached costar.
"She's a smart lady," adds the Greenberg actresses, who had the misfortune of being Portman's competition in the best lead actress category at the Spirit Awards. (Portman took home the prize.)
The two actresses have kept in touch since wrapping No Strings Attached and have spent time together in New York, where Gerwig lives and Portman has been residing with finacé Benjamin Millepied.
"She's a lovely girl to pal around with," says Gerwig. "It's been really great to know her, and she's so up for really fancy, cultural things. It's always museums and stuff."
Of working with Portman on No Strings Attached, Gerwig gushed, "It made me feel like I was really in the movies."
And while the independent film star likely knew her odds of coming out on top against Portman in the best actress category were slim, she was nonetheless "thrilled" with her nomination.
Oh wait, she did!
So at least we can then assume that the quick cut of a white swan gliding through the water was purely tongue-in-cheek, considering Natalie Portman is the belle du jour who gets roses, zips up her perfect little black Dior dress and goes to meet the man who is captivated by her charms.
Portman also wears her Dior shades into the tub, where she appears to have a far more peaceful experience than when she went for a soak in Black Swan. (Video)
LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING - The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE - The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN - Black Swan - Winner!
NOOMI RAPACE - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD - True Grit
An annual luncheon for Oscar contenders drew 151 of the nominees Monday, among them "The Social Network" star Eisenberg, "The Fighter" co-star Leo and "The Kids Are All Right" co-star Ruffalo.
Other acting nominees on hand included past winners Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges and Geoffrey Rush, veteran nominees such as Annette Bening, Colin Firth and Natalie Portman and newcomers such as Jennifer Lawrence and Hailee Steinfeld.
Best-actor nominee Eisenberg told reporters before the luncheon that the many Hollywood gatherings leading up to the Feb. 27 Oscars remind him of his early teens.
"I had to go to bar mitzvahs every weekend, and this is like the same feeling," Eisenberg said. "Putting on a suit every weekend to go meet with a lot of Jews."
Leo, considered the favorite to win the supporting-actress Oscar, said she tries to keep up her strength during the awards rush with "water, vitamins. And the excitement of it is pretty much of an energy drink right there."
First-time nominee Ruffalo said he was surprised he earned the Oscar honor given that his role probably was the least showy in the film, whose cast includes Bening and Julianne Moore.
"It's taken me a long time to get here, so I really have been, as a meditation, making myself enjoy the hell out of it every single day," Ruffalo said. "And I love free lunches, man. I came up as a starving, struggling actor, so I'm very grateful for a gift lunch."
Nominees shared a fine meal at the luncheon, whose menu featured appetizers of Indochina-spiced beef with avocado mousse, an entree of Alaskan black cod and a dessert selection that included mini lemon meringue tarts with blueberries and raspberry sorbet in cookie shells.
Talk inevitably touched on what nominees would wear to the Oscars, one of the world's biggest fashion showcases.
Fourteen-year-old Steinfeld, nominated as supporting actress for her debut performance in "True Grit," said that in past years, she watched the ceremony at home "mainly for the red carpet, just to see what everyone's wearing."
ichelle Williams, a best-actress nominee for "Blue Valentine," said she had settled on one pair of shoes that she's been wearing to every event this awards season.
Kidman, nominated as best actress for "Rabbit Hole," joked that her 2-year-old daughter has strong fashion opinions that will be taken into consideration.
"She chooses what she calls pretty dresses," Kidman said. "She has a very strong voice in terms of what I will be wearing on the night of the Oscars. Fingers crossed, guys. I could be wearing a tutu."
Portman, pregnant with her first child and showing a pronounced baby bump, said picking out an Oscar gown is more challenging with an expanding waistline.
"It's certainly all about leaving space for growth," said Portman, the best-actress front-runner for "Black Swan," who lamented that fashion has become such a fixation in awards season. "It is always surprising also that that's become the conversation instead of the movies now. What are you wearing?"
Last year's best-actor recipient for "Crazy Heart," Bridges is competing in the same category this time for "True Grit." Oscar night again pits him against Firth, who was nominated last year for "A Single Man" and now is in the running for best-picture favorite "The King's Speech."
Like most people in Hollywood, Bridges figures this is Firth's year.
"He'll probably take home the trophy this year," Bridges said. "He gives a wonderful performance."
Firth — starring as Queen Elizabeth II's stammering father, King George VI, who reluctantly took the throne in 1936 after his brother abdicated — joked that he sometimes gets royal treatment since the film came out.
"I do get the odd bow, which I put down to either confusion or facetiousness," Firth said.
Others at the lunch included Firth's co-stars, supporting-acting nominees Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, and supporting contenders Amy Adams ("The Fighter"), John Hawkes ("Winter's Bone"), Jeremy Renner ("The Town") and Jacki Weaver ("Animal Kingdom").
James Franco was doing double-duty at the lunch, a best-actor nominee for "127 Hours" and preparing for his gig as co-host of the Oscars with Anne Hathaway.
TV ratings for the Oscars have fallen from their peak decades ago, and the show's producers have been trying to spice up the ceremony in recent years to hook a new generation of fans. Franco mused over criticism that followed the announcement of him and Hathaway, a switch away from older veteran comics as hosts.
"A lot of the reaction was, oh, an obvious ploy by the academy to bring in younger viewers," Franco said. "Yeah! Duh! Is that a bad thing? I mean, how is that a criticism?"
"There were moments when I questioned it, when I was thinking, 'What is the purpose of this in our world? Is it as meaningful as being a doctor, being a teacher, or things that I think of as such noble professions?,'" said the daughter of a doctor and a teacher.
"But I think I've really reconciled myself with that, and I think art is not only important but critical to the soul of a human and the soul of a community. Not to be self-important about what I do, but I've found a lot of meaning in it."
There's plenty meaningful about Portman's performance in "Black Swan," for which she has earned her second Oscar nomination and some of the best reviews of her career. Portman plays a sheltered ballerina named Nina who finds her fragile mental state crumbling when she lands the dual roles of the innocent White Swan and the sensual Black Swan in her company's production of "Swan Lake."
Pushed by a demanding director (Vincent Cassel), a devious rival (Mila Kunis), and an overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey), Nina descends into paranoia and madness, vividly brought to life by Portman's performance and director Darren Aronofsky's stylized storytelling.
Though she may go through hell on screen, in real life things have never looked better for Portman. She recently announced her engagement to Benjamin Millepied, who appears as her dance partner in "Black Swan," and they're expecting their first child.
The drama "The Other Woman," which she produced and which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival two years ago, just opening in limited release. And after the intensity of "Black Swan," she lightened up with two comedies: the recent chart-topper "No Strings Attached," which she also produced, and the upcoming "Your Highness" opposite James Franco and Danny McBride.
Later this year she will be seen in Kenneth Branagh's screen adaptation of the comic book "Thor." These films have been a chance for Portman to show her range in a wide assortment of projects -- a variety she says she has always intended to maintain.
"I think it's good to stretch yourself and test out different genres and types of characters. It's what my heroes do. I look at Meryl Streep and how she goes from 'Doubt' to 'Mamma Mia!' to 'It's Complicated' and 'Julie & Julia.' You have to give yourself variety and joy," Portman notes.
EARLY 'PROFESSIONAL'
Portman was born in Jerusalem but moved to the United States when she was 3 years old, eventually settling in Long Island, New York. Though her family wasn't in the business -- her father is a doctor and her mother teaches at a nursery school -- Portman says they were always active in the arts.
"I grew up going to every museum and every theater production," she recalls. "We would stand in line for the half-price tickets in Times Square and see shows and concerts and dances. So I had an appreciation for the arts from a very young age."
From age 4, Portman was taking dance classes and attending theater camp; in elementary school she performed in "The Music Man" and played a munchkin in "The Wizard of Oz." Though she was mostly just being a kid, Portman admits that in the back of her mind she knew she wanted to be an actor when she grew up.
"I think a lot of kids think that, so who knows if I would have changed my mind as I got older," she notes. "But then I started going on auditions at age 10, and then when I was 11, I got 'The Professional.'"
Making one of the most impressive debuts in film history, Portman lit up the screen in director Luc Besson's elegant thriller about professional hit man Leon (Jean Reno), who becomes the caretaker of his 12-year-old neighbor after her family is brutally murdered. As Mathilda, Portman had to learn the tools of the hit-man trade -- loading guns and facing down the bad guys in a physically and emotionally demanding role.
Following "The Professional," Portman shared scenes with Al Pacino in "Heat" and Timothy Hutton in "Beautiful Girls." She also pursued stage work, starring in the 1997 Broadway revival of "The Diary of Anne Frank" and a 2001 production of "The Seagull" with Streep.
In 1999, she put her career on hold to begin studies at Harvard University, though she was committed to playing Queen Amidala, mother of Luke and Leia, in the "Star Wars" prequels.
LADY OF THE 'LAKE'
While at Harvard, Portman first met with Aronofsky and discussed the idea about a film set in the world of professional ballet. She resumed her career upon graduation, landing an Oscar nomination for her work in "Closer" and taking the lead in such projects as the action thriller "V for Vendetta" and the period piece "Goya's Ghosts."
But dancing was never far from her mind. Says Aronofsky, "Over the years, she would say, 'How's that project coming? I'm getting too old to play a dancer.'"
When Aronofsky presented her with the "Black Swan" script, Portman knew she would have to endure a grueling schedule. Much has been made of her physical regimen, which included extensive, eight-hour-a-day ballet training and a 20-pound weight loss. But even Portman was surprised by the psychological toll the film took on her.
"It took a lot to plan and maintain focus constantly," she says. "And I'm a pleasure seeker by nature, so it took a lot of self-punishment to work through pain and to not eat what I wanted to eat and not sleep as much as I normally do."
Though the film has garnered comparisons to Roman Polanski's "Repulsion," Portman says the only movie Aronofsky suggested she check out was Michael Haneke's "The Piano Teacher," for the mother-daughter relationship.
And when a film is over, Portman says, she doesn't allow herself to be too critical -- in fact, she avoids seeing herself on screen.
"I watch a film once, then never see it again," she says. "I think it's dangerous to watch yourself. I think you can get too used to seeing yourself outside of your body. and it's important to see the world through your own eyes, not looking at yourself."
The Black Swan star kickstarted her career as a child model, before working on Broadway and landing her first film role in controversial 1994 movie Leon when she was just 12 years old.
After working tirelessly for the last two decades, Portman has been lauded for her role as a deranged dancer in the ballet thriller, winning several honours and becoming favourite to walk away with the Best Actress Academy Award later this month (Feb11).
But Portman admits she's struggling to cope with all the sudden acclaim because she's been around for so long.
She tells the Los Angeles Times, "I made my first movie when I was 11. I'm an old hag. I guess it's pretty common with actors, to be doing this for 18 years, but it's extreme.
"I feel like I'm on another planet or something right now. It's not quite sinking in. I feel really lucky. It's something that's completely wonderful, and I have a very definite goal I'm working toward with that."
Sure, she did crazy beautifully in "Black Swan," earning an Oscar nomination for her performance as a ballerina pirouetting into madness. But playing a home wrecker and the stepmother to a young boy seems incongruent with her innately girlish likability.
Writer-director Don Roos doesn't do her any favors by jumping all over the place in tone; he goes from deadpan humor to melodrama to awkward attempts at reconciliation, with all the subtlety of a made-for-TV movie. And in adapting his script from the Ayelet Waldman novel "Love and Other Impossible Pursuits," Roos leaves holes in logic and emotional resonance.
For example, does Portman's character, Emilia, feel the slightest bit guilty about breaking up the marriage of an older, wealthy Manhattan lawyer named Jack (Scott Cohen)? Does Jack have any remorse about the way his affair has damaged the lives of his ex-wife, Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow), and his sensitive son, William (Charlie Tahan)? These are just some of the many questions begging to be answered.
But even more fundamentally: What does Emilia see in Jack? If he were sexy, funny and warm — or possessed even one of those traits — it might make some sense. Cohen plays him as standoffish and scolding. And suggesting that Emilia is drawn to him because she has daddy issues plays like facile pop psychology.
Emilia's motivations are so nebulous that it's awfully hard to root for her, but, ostensibly, that's what we're supposed to be doing in watching "The Other Woman."
When we first meet Emilia and Jack, they're getting over the loss of their baby after only three days of life. At the same time, Emilia is trying to forge her own bond with William, but it's tough. He's one of those precocious, neurotic kids you only see in the movies — the kind who are obsessive-compulsive about germs, insist on wearing a helmet while ice skating and only eat pudding made from soy.
Emilia's interactions with William represent the only moments that vaguely resemble real human relations. She teases him and tries to get him to have fun, he remains uptight, and their banter can be lively and charming. Still, despite her efforts, Jack strangely accuses Emilia of being cold to his son.
Flashbacks reveal how their affair began. Emilia was a new associate at Jack's law firm; the daughter of a judge, she was fresh out of Harvard Law School. Jack was more established at the firm and had a comfortable life with his status-hungry wife, one of the city's superstar pediatricians. (Later, Carolyn comes off as maniacally driven to get William into an elite private school; she freaks out when he's not accepted at her top choice.)
Arbitrarily, Emilia finds herself smitten by Jack. But when the two go off on a business trip together, and Jack follows Emilia down the hall to her hotel room after a night of flirting, the moment should be fraught with sexual tension. Instead, jaunty music jarringly depletes the scene of its drama. In no time, she's pregnant with their child and the two are married.
At other moments, though, the exchanges feel realistic because they're awkward, such as the conversation Emilia has with a good friend who has suffered a miscarriage. Roos does find elements of truth here and there; frustratingly, there are too few of them
"The Other Woman," an IFC Films release, is rated R for sexual content and language Running time: 102 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
Which is why it's so great that Natalie Portman has decided to lend a hand and help the organization Free the Children launch its new "Power of a Girl" initiative aimed at raising awareness and funds for the schooling of young women in developing nations.
"With women comprising 70 percent of the world's poor, investing in the education of girls is one of the best ways to end the cycle of poverty," the Black Swan star said in a statement.
In a video announcement, the Oscar favorite explains a new contest she's created that encourages people between the ages of 13 to 21 in North America and the U.K. to sign up at freethechildren.com/girls and raise money for Kisaruni, Free the Children's new all-girls' secondary school in rural Kenya.
Come May 1, the top five finalists will be chosen and asked why they think it's important to empower the world's girls through education.
The winner, to be announced June 1, will receive several cool items including a trip to Kenya, the Rodarte dress Portman wore to the AFI premiere of Black Swan and tickets to attend the premiere of her next film.
The Oscar-nominated actress' production company, handsomecharlie films, will develop projects with 1821 Pictures, a firm run by Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis.
The 18-month arrangement calls for 1821 to provide overhead funds to handsomecharlie with the opportunity for the two companies to co-produce projects that come out of the partnership.
Portman, a favorite to win the best actress Oscar on February 27 for her role as a ballerina in "Black Swan," has been slowly stepping into the producing realm. She made her debut as a producer on "Hesher," an indie drama that starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, produced and starred in the recent box office champ "No Strings Attached," and is an executive producer on the family drama "The Other Woman," which IFC Films releases Friday.
One of handsomecharlie's hot projects is the adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." That project is set up Lionsgate and in search of a director. Portman is partnered at handsomecharlie with producer Annette Savitch.
Latsis, who runs 1821 with Terry Douglas, was engaged to fellow socialite Hilton in 2005. Latsis and Douglas were executive producers on the Cameron Diaz thriller "The Box" and the Ricky Gervais comedy "The Invention of Lying," neither of which made much of an impact at the box office.
The Black Swan actress saw off competition from Megan Fox, British singer Cheryl Cole and Prince William's bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, to be crowned the Most Desirable Celebrity Wife in a poll by U.K. planning service My OK! Wedding.
The least popular fantasy husband was Sheen, who checked into rehab last week (ends30Jan11) following his hospitalization for a hernia, while scandal-plagued Mel Gibson was a close second.
Britain's Prince Harry was voted the most desirable husband, topping his engaged brother William and Hollywood heartthrob Robert Pattinson.
Rehab hitmaker Amy Winehouse was voted the Least Desirable Celebrity Wife, with reformed wild child Lindsay Lohan and singer Britney Spears trailing in second and third.
A spokesperson for My OK! Wedding says, "We were stunned by the results. The least attractive celeb brides and grooms were the party monsters... And amazingly, now that Harry has cleaned up his act and proven himself to the world with his work in Afghanistan, he has topped the poll beating all the expected candidates like Robert Pattinson and even his brother William."
Just because you play one bonkers ballerina in Black Swan, it doesn't make you any less fit to play a mother in real life.
Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky assures us that the Golden Globe-winning actress will make for one perfect parent...
"She'll be an amazing mom," Aronofsky told us at last night's Director's Guild Awards in Hollywood, "Because she's very organized. She's very considerate. She's feeling. She'll be amazing."
As for Portman's on-set romance with hubby-to-be Benjamin Millepied, Aronofsky says, "I don't know where their chemistry starts or ends. I'm just happy it worked out. And it's nice, [because] I introduced them. I didn't introduce them for that! But I introduced them to work together."
Sounds like the Oscar-nominated actress has a lot to thank her Black Swan director for!
"Exactly," he laughed. "I gotta start taking advantage of that!"
Executive Producer Jeff Margolis says Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Geoffrey Rush, Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg will introduce their nominated films at Sunday's ceremony.
They'll join previously announced presenters Alec Baldwin, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bridges, Rosario Dawson, Josh Duhamel, Jon Hamm, Angie Harmon, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria, Cory Monteith, Amy Poehler, Jeremy Renner, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara, Betty White and Robin Wright, among others.
The 17th annual SAG Awards will be presented Sunday at the Shrine Exhibition Center and broadcast live on TBS and TNT.
Up for grabs are a "Black Swan" jewelry box autographed by Natalie Portman, a "Rabbit Hole" comic book signed by Nicole Kidman, set visits to "E! News" and "Extra" (which includes a meet and greet with host Mario Lopez) and a massive bottle of Champagne Tattinger.
The items benefit the SAG Foundation for literacy, BookPALS (Performing Artists for Literacy in Schools) and Storyline Online. It also supports Foundation programs providing emergency relief to SAG members in economic distress, ideo and audio preservation of the creative legacy of SAG members, scholarships for performers and their children, emergency funds for members with catastrophic illnesses and The Actor's Center.
Well, her fellow 15-year-old performers at upstate New York's Center Stage theater camp, that's who!
E! News has obtained exclusive (and, if we may say, adorable) footage of a teenage—and triple-threat in the making—Portman playing the lead role of Sally Bowles in her theater camp's production of Cabaret. And while she may not appear to have aged a day (talent and genetics? No fair!), the footage dates all the way back to 1996—the same year, incidentally, she appeared on the big screen in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You.
All in all, that was a banner year for someone not yet allowed behind the wheel of a car. Now take a look at Natalie in action and judge her skills for yourself!
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman in "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine"
Achievement in Cinematography
"Black Swan"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
"True Grit"
Achievement in directing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
"True Grit"
Achievement in film editing
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The King's Speech"
"127 Hours""The Social Network"
The 83rd annual Academy Awards air live Sunday, Feb. 27 on ABC.
E! News caught up with the Oscar contender at the premiere of her new flick, "No Strings Attached," where she talked about the frenzy of attention surrounding her "Black Swan" performance, engagement and bun-in-the-oven.
"It's the most private thing you could ever go through in your life," she says. "So there's always an uneasy feeling of 'This is okay to share, and this is for me."
Okay yeah, we've been hearing plenty about Portman's whirlwind of success both on and off screen -- so what really got us was the girl crushes that co-stars Greta Gerwig and Mindy Kaling have on the A-list actress.
"I think every boy wants to marry her and I want to make her my sister," Gerwig shares. "I'm gonna really get cracking on that. I need her parents to adopt me, I should convert to Judaism. There's a lot of things I have to do."
That statement could have been said in jest, but somehow it comes off as really creepy and we actually kind of believe her. The mainstream newbie looks like an awkward teenager who so desperately wants to be popular. A sentiment Mindy Kaling echoed (but not in such a weird way).
"It's so funny," Kaling explains. "Natalie's so classy, like I just think of 'Black Swan' when I think of her... I don't think of her like 'Oh, and we'd be best friends.' I'd be like 'We would never be friends,' she's too cool... She's like the cool senior and I would be like the freshman who did her slave work."
Not to be left out, "Chelsea Lately's" Guy Branum also adds, "I have a girl crush on Natalie Portman, yes."
You can see the clip for yourself below, which also includes interviews with Ashton Kutcher, Ludacris and director Ivan Reitman.
Are we the only ones seeing Gerwig's discomfort on camera? We're a little bit torn between giggling and wanting to pat her on the back and tell her it's going to be alright.
Women (big surprise!). About 55 percent of the audience is female (17-34 is the sweet spot), and many are bringing their boyfriends and husbands along. Women are giving the film a B+ on CinemaScore; men are a bit less enthusiastic with a B, but that is considered great for a horror/thriller.
People in small cities. After opening in 18 theaters, "Swan" upped its theater count from about 1,550 to 2,328 and extended into smaller communities, turning in top performances in Butte, Mont., Guleph, Ont., Columbus, Ga., Houma, La., and Bangor, Maine. The $13 million-budgeted film is doing especially well in French Canada and heavily Hispanic San Antonio, even though Searchlight initially didn't spend much there.
And big-city types, too. The top-performing theater in the U.S. is the Regal Union Square in New York, where "Swan" will soon become its third-highest grosser of all time, behind only "Avatar" and "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" ($1.7 million each). Other top cities include Boston, Seattle and Chicago.
But not really. L.A.'s Arclight Hollywood is the No. 2 theater overall for "Swan," but Searchlight says the film hasn't overperformed in the broader Los Angeles market.
How high can Swan fly? After her best drama actress win at the Golden Globes, Natalie Portman is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, which should send the film past $100 million and possibly toward the ranks of "Juno" ($143.5 million) and "Slumdog Millionaire" ($141.3 million), Searchlight's highest-grossing films. Says Searchlight's Sheila DeLoach, "It has become the movie people have to see."
Let's not go that far. In fact, and to be entirely sincere, Portman single-handedly elevates the otherwise pedestrian No Strings Attached, a bedroom romp about two "friends with benefits" who keep tripping over their pants and hearts.
Had Jennifer Aniston or Katherine Heigl starred in this, it would have been indefensible. But Portman, far more dimensional than the genre norm, makes the film almost feel real and relatable. Again, I stress, almost.
(Trailer)
She stars as Emma, a Los Angeles doctor who enters into a "sex-but-no-emotions" arrangement with Adam (Kutcher), a needy TV production assistant who she's known since they were teenagers. Even back then emotionally guarded Emma wasn't interested in a relationship. And she's certainly not now, 15 years later. That suits Adam just fine, it turns out. He's recently discovered his ex-girlfriend is sleeping with his self-absorbed celebrity father (Kevin Kline) and he hooks up with workaholic Emma in full agreement that they won't develop feelings for each other.
Thus, we have a hipster twist on a time-tested formula: Boy and girl fall in love despite desperately trying not to. More than two decades ago, When Harry Met Sally asked if men and women can be friends without (a lack of) sex getting in the way. Now No Strings Attached asks whether they can be friends without (an abundance of) sex getting in the way.
The semi-unusual result of this is the gender role-reversal. Kutcher is essentially in the traditional female role. Adam's the first to recognize his feelings as well as to suggest they become more than just sex partners.
Emma, meanwhile, is the one forced to change and drop her defenses -- even if that inevitable transformation is more out-of-character than the one in Black Swan. Also suspect? Kutcher portraying a guy this guileless.
Veteran director Ivan Reitman has said he was inspired by the success his son Jason had with such comedies as Thank You for Smoking, Juno and Up in the Air.
But there's nothing in the elder Reitman's resume -- which consists mostly of mainstream special effects comedies -- to indicate he's suited to this material. His last film, after all, was My Super Ex-Girlfriend.
And clearly there are two perspectives at work here. Liz Meriwether's screenplay, for instance, is filled with dialogue that's filthy and funny and aimed at texting 20-something sensibilities. Yet the racy humour is married to a clichéd, predictable narrative that's as creaky as your average baby boomer.
At least, in addition to Portman, there are scene-stealing turns from Kline as Kutcher's developmentally arrested parent and Lake Bell as a high-strung TV producer.
So there you are. A few laughs, a little skin and the fetal-position realization you've been used by Hollywood again. But don't worry -- you'll barely remember it the next morning. Then again, you could just abstain.
Few would have guessed that Portman's awards contender "Black Swan" would still be going strong when "No Strings" -- also starring Ashton Kutcher -- hit theaters. Last weekend, when "Swan" ranked at No. 5 with cumulative sales of $73 million, Portman won a Golden Globe for "Swan."
The big question is whether reigning champ "The Green Hornet" can fend off "No Strings." Last weekend, "Hornet" debuted to $33.5 million, and the Sony comic-book adaptation will probably lose about half its audience in its second round.
"No Strings" distributor Paramount expects its film to open in the mid-to-high teen millions, in line with other R-rated romantic comedies. It was produced for a modest $25 million, so the studio doesn't need a huge opening weekend. Women are the primary audience for a storyline that explores whether casual sex can actually stay casual.
Other new releases include Peter Weir's survivor drama "The Way Back" in 650 theaters; and John Wells' corporate-downsizing drama "The Company Men" in 106 theaters, exactly one year after the film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Originally, the Weinstein Co. was going to open "Company Men" last year in time for awards consideration, but it pushed back the release.
Overall, it's going to be another down weekend at the box office. Once a movie graveyard, January turned in strong performances the past several years, and especially last year with Avatar. January 2011 is a return to less prosperous times.
But all the awards buzz and the recent announcement of her engagement and pregnancy have the media paying close, close attention to the star—a new phenomenon she's learning to deal with.
How's the mom-to-be handling all the new media attention?
"It's the most private thing you could ever go through in your life, so there's always an uneasy feeling of 'This is OK to share, and this is for me,'" Portman told our own Ben Lyons and the premiere for her latest flick, No Strings Attached.
But even with all the attention, she's enjoying her successes—both on and off the big screen. "I'm totally enjoying it," she said. "It's nice to feel that stability in my nonwork life."
And speaking of her work, Portman enjoyed being a part of No Strings Attached because it wasn't the typical romantic comedy—obviously. It's about best friends agreeing to just use each other and their hot bodies...and then falling in love! And best of all: It's the girl who initiates the fooling around!
"This so unusual to see a female character in this kind of role where she's sort of like a dude," the actress said. "She's like, ‘I don't really want a relationship. I just want to use you for your body!' It made me laugh to see a character like that on screen for the first time."
Publication editors have awarded Berry the Best Body accolade, describing the actress as "slim and shapely", while Desperate Housewives star Longoria lands the Best Revenge Body accolade for looking great, despite the heartbreak of her marriage split from sports star Tony Parker.
Also honoured for their red carpet looks: Anne Hathaway (Best Back), Claire Danes (Best Shoulders), Amy Adams (Best Toned Arms), Sofia Vergara (Best Hourglass Figure), Jennifer Lopez (Best Butt) and pregnant Natalie Portman (Best Baby Bump).
Mad Men star January Jones also impressed in her revealing red dress, claiming the Fitness editors' Best Dare-to-Bare-It Look, and 73-year-old Jane Fonda picked up the Best Comeback award.
What's more surprising is that while dramas strive for authenticity and a sense of credibility, romantic movie comedies rarely do.
Filmmakers may assume audiences prefer that their rom-coms follow a predictable path. Whatever the reason, it's the rare mainstream romantic comedy that is amusing, believable or even romantic.
No Strings Attached is by no means the worst of the lot, falling squarely in the middle. There are humorous moments, and it's a bit less bland than its contemporaries.
And there's chemistry between leads Natalie Portman, who plays Emma, a driven medical student, and Ashton Kutcher as Adam, a production assistant on a Glee-like TV show.
Emma professes to be too busy for a relationship and no good at them. So she calls upon longtime pal Adam to be her partner for sexual romps, insisting they check their emotions at the bedroom door.
They get along famously, have a great time in bed and are easy on the eyes. It doesn't take advanced calculus to figure out that at least one of the pair will fall for the other and want a more committed relationship.
This friends-with-benefits scenario has been explored in various permutations, from Knocked Up to He's Just Not That Into You and will be mined again this summer with Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis in the aptly if unimaginatively titled Friends With Benefits.
Portman just won a best-actress Golden Globe for her role in the psycho-drama Black Swan. And while drama is her forte, she holds her own in this lighter fare.
Comedy veteran Kutcher is like an eager puppy, with less personality. In fact, he's reminiscent of the likable pup Dug in Up, when he enthusiastically burbles "I like you!" to Portman at a party. He's not given anything too interesting to say, but he looks cute saying it. He's endearing as he hands her a bunch of carrots, instead of roses, on Valentine's Day and shows up at her apartment at a critical moment with cupcakes and an unusually creative mix tape.
Its genial supporting cast is a plus, particularly Lake Bell as Adam's overtalking producer boss and Kevin Kline as Adam's former TV star dad.
Veteran director Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters) seems to be moving away from high-concept comedies to more intimate fare. It would seem to be the right move after his last film, 2007's lamentable My Super Ex-Girlfriend. But his son Jason (Up in the Air, Juno) might have approached this story with more edgy wit.
The few genuinely comic moments and deviations from cutesy rom-com formula make you wish No Strings Attached had traveled a more distinctively offbeat path.
No Strings Attached
* * 1/2 out of four
Stars: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline, Lake Bell, Greta Gerwig, Cary Elwes
Director: Ivan Reitman
Distributor: Paramount ?Pictures
Rating: R for sexual content, language and some drug material
Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide
“It’s so lucky. I feel so lucky so it’s all good things,” the Golden Globe winner, who is expecting her first child with fiancé Benjamin Millepied, told PEOPLE on the red carpet Sunday night.
However, once the award season comes to a close, Portman, 29 — who’s drawing rave reviews for her role in Black Swan — plans to spend her pregnancy relaxing.
“I hope I’ll get to lie in bed and eat popcorn and watch TV for the rest of it,” she laughs. “Not always be out in public looking like a whale, but it’s all nice energy that everyone is showing.”
As for the mommy glow? She’s already got it, notes Portman. “I feel happy and I think when you’re happy you’re always glowing,” she explains.
The actress is getting big awards buzz for her turn as a ballerina gone mad in "Black Swan." She already won a Golden Globe, she's up for a Screen Actors Guild award and she's sure to hear her name when Oscar nominations are announced next week. Portman also has four other movies slated for release this year — including the first produced by her own company.
Oh, and she's pregnant with her first child and engaged to be married.
"I'm very, very excited," she says during an interview to promote her romantic comedy "No Strings Attached," which opens Friday. "I feel very, very lucky."
And maybe just a bit overwhelmed.
Ever poised in interviews, and always the picture of perfection at events, the Harvard grad and Oscar nominee (for 2004's "Closer") says having four movies in the pipeline at the same time she's starting a family is "a little insane."
Not that she's letting it get to her — or letting it show, except for maybe the family part. Though she has a spate of scheduled appearances coming up — awards shows, film festivals, premieres — she's not dashing around town juggling meetings and fittings. Instead, the star who recently relocated to Los Angeles from her hometown of New York says she's just relaxing with her mom and enjoying the West Coast weather.
"I think because so much is going on, it's just sort of going over my head," Portman says, her petite frame folded on a sofa, her hand intuitively resting on her bourgeoning belly. "I don't know that I'm taking it all in. I'm just like, 'Oh, the sun is shining. I'm with my mom. I'm with my dog. Life is good.'"
Indeed, things are good for the 29-year-old. She's engaged to Benjamin Millepied, a ballet dancer and choreographer who worked on "Black Swan," and they are expecting their first child together. He was her date at the Globes, and when she was named best actress in a drama, she thanked him for "helping me to continue this creation of creating more life."
Portman is also giving life to new movies through her production company, handsomecharlie films. The company's first feature, "Hesher," in which she stars with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premiered at Sundance and is set for release this year. Handsomecharlie is also developing "Best Buds," a road-trip tale of a bride-to-be who staves off a nervous breakdown by hanging with her friends and smoking marijuana. Portman is set to star.
"We like all sorts of movies: drama, thriller, sci-fi, comedy," she says of herself and producing partner Annette Savitch. "But I think something that definitely appeals to us, just because of the lack of it, is strong female comedies, and also female friendship movies — unlike 'Black Swan' where they're ripping each other's hair out — where girls are funny, supportive friends for each other."
Portman dabbles in on-screen female friendship in "No Strings Attached." She plays Emma Kurtzman, a doctor for whom love is like a nasty rash: irritating, painful and best avoided. Meanwhile, her colleagues (played by Greta Gerwig and Mindy Kaling) want boyfriends and lament the lack of good guys out there. They support Emma as she enters a sex-only relationship with Adam (Ashton Kutcher), zinging one-liners and cracking wise throughout.
It's the rare romantic comedy where women get laughs, Portman says.
"I had been looking for a funny female character for a long time," she says. "I feel like in romantic comedies often it's just the girl who gets to kind of wear cute clothes and wants to get married at the end, which is always fun to watch but it's not necessarily a challenge or exciting to do."
Director Ivan Reitman says Portman found the script on her own and asked for the part. He recalls being surprised at her interest, then met with her.
"I realized as I was talking to her: Oh, this is the girl," he says. "She is as smart as this character is, because she needs to be that intelligent, but more than that, she has the strength that this girl has, and she has the complexity to portray somebody that is a little bit messed up."
The role called for Portman to be saucy, sexy and even drunk in one scene. Her character is bold, confident and sexually self-assured — the complete opposite of her award-winning "Black Swan" character, who is repressed, girlish and afraid.
The back-to-back contrasting roles was "one of those sort of accidents," the actress says.
"I'd been with 'Black Swan' for 10 years before it got made, and I'd been with this movie for like three years before it got made, and it just happened to get financing in the same period," she says. "But it's always welcome to completely shed a character and do something very, very different."
She'll be seen in two more very different roles this year. She plays a warrior opposite Danny McBride and James Franco in the comedy-adventure "Your Highness," and a human friend of a Norse god in Marvel Studios' anticipated "Thor."
Portman might be promoting her movies through most of her pregnancy.
"The thing that's great is that I'm really proud of all the movies. I'm really excited about every single one," she says. "I don't think it's great that they're like all in this time period. I wish they were more spaced out, but I don't really have control over that. But at least people won't see my face for awhile afterwards."
For now, though, expect Portman aplenty in what's becoming Natalie's big year.
And as Natalie Portman, star of the upcoming No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher, points out, that's not the only thing that makes onscreen lovin' a job in itself...
"It's awkward! It's always awkward," she told our own Ben Lyons during a recent interview. "It's just weird to kiss someone that you wouldn't choose to kiss in your personal life."
But being the pro, and Golden Globe winner she is, she buckled down and made it happen. "You get over it," she said. "You laugh through it and act like an immature kindergartner, which is what I did much of the time."
Kutcher, on the other hand, had no problem: "When the script [for No Strings Attached] came along, she was already attached to it," he said. "I was like, 'Cool! Now I get to go toe-to-toe with Natalie Portman!' For me that was the challenge I wanted to take on."
Check out the video to hear more from the two stars, like what kind of movies Portman likes to see and what Ashton thinks is the key to a successful relationship.
What's intriguing about it is that the girl in the equation, a young doctor played by Natalie Portman, is the one who suggests this arrangement, and the guy, an aspiring TV writer played by Ashton Kutcher, is the one who breaks the rules and falls in love. It's a reversal of traditional gender roles, and an indication that we might be in for something fresh, daring and different.
Except, we're not.
This romantic comedy from Ivan Reitman — the first film he's directed since the less-than-super "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" from 2006 — falls into all the usual traps. Of course, you have to have obstacles in this kind of movie. Something has to keep the characters apart before they can enjoy their ultimate reconciliation.
But the fear of commitment that plagues Portman's character is enough of a contrivance without all the additional troubles that get piled on. Letting the tension evolve naturally from the insecurities of relatable, well-developed figures would have been preferable, but once Kutcher's character goes all soft and gooey, the movie does too.
For a while, though, the very modern relationship that writer Elizabeth Meriwether lays out for us has a snappy, spirited energy and an appealing, unexpected raunchy streak.
Portman's Emma and Kutcher's Adam first hooked up as awkward adolescents at summer camp, then ran into each other again 10 years later at a fraternity party, and then again a few more years later in Los Angeles as attractive adults who are both up-and-coming in their careers. Emma works 80 hours a week as a doctor in residence, then comes home to wisecracking roommates played by Greta Gerwig, Mindy Kaling and Guy Branum, among the well-cast supporting players. Adam works as an assistant on a peppy, "Glee"-type series, having grown up around television as the son of a legendary actor, played pompously by Kevin Kline. (Lake Bell is dead-on as a driven, high-strung producer on the show, who's secretly smitten by Adam but too much of a social moron to act on her feelings.)
But Kline, who starred as a regular guy who pretends to be the U.S. president in one of Reitman's smartest and most winning films, 1993's "Dave," doesn't get much to work with here. And that's one of the movie's greatest downfalls. His character is a cliche — an aging womanizer clinging to his youth — and pop culture references involving his interest in Burning Man and Lil' Wayne feel uncomfortable and forced.
Adam's dad also steals away his latest girlfriend, which initially is what sends Adam into a drunken tailspin and inspires him to say yes to Emma's no-hassle plan. Text messaging helps facilitate their trysts; as Adam's friends point out, "Where r u?" is so much more than just a question intended to determine someone's location.
Portman is intelligent and confident here as she calls all the shots, and while Kutcher is in his usual agreeable puppy-dog mode — and doesn't appear to have been challenged in the slightest by this material — the two make a sufficiently likable duo. Nothing spectacular, but acceptable.
The ads for "No Strings Attached" ask us to ponder whether friends can have sex and still remain just friends. The answer is never really in doubt, but "No Strings Attached" forces to slog through all the usual misunderstandings, missed opportunities and potential extracurricular mates before we get there.
"No Strings Attached," a Paramount Pictures release, is rated R for sexual content, language and some drug material. Running time: 102 minutes. Two stars out of four.
BEST FILM
BLACK SWAN - Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
INCEPTION - Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
THE KING'S SPEECH - Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
TRUE GRIT - Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
DIRECTOR
127 HOURS - Danny Boyle
BLACK SWAN - Darren Aronofsky
INCEPTION - Christopher Nolan
THE KING'S SPEECH - Tom Hooper
THE SOCIAL NETWORK - David Fincher
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BLACK SWAN - Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
THE FIGHTER - Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
INCEPTION - Christopher Nolan
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT - Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
THE KING'S SPEECH - David Seidler
LEADING ACTRESS
ANNETTE BENING - The Kids Are All Right
JULIANNE MOORE - The Kids Are All Right
NATALIE PORTMAN - Black Swan
NOOMI RAPACE - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
HAILEE STEINFELD - True Grit
CINEMATOGRAPHY
127 HOURS - Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
BLACK SWAN - Matthew Libatique
INCEPTION - Wally Pfister
THE KING'S SPEECH - Danny Cohen
TRUE GRIT - Roger Deakins
EDITING
127 HOURS - Jon Harris
BLACK SWAN - Andrew Weisblum
INCEPTION - Lee Smith
THE KING'S SPEECH - Tariq Anwar
THE SOCIAL NETWORK - Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
PRODUCTION DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Robert Stromberg, Karen O'Hara
BLACK SWAN - Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
INCEPTION Guy - Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
THE KING'S SPEECH - Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
TRUE GRIT - Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
COSTUME DESIGN
ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Colleen Atwood
BLACK SWAN - Amy Westcott
THE KING'S SPEECH - Jenny Beavan
MADE IN DAGENHAM - Louise Stjernsward
TRUE GRIT - Mary Zophres
SOUND
127 HOURS - Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
BLACK SWAN - Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
INCEPTION - Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
THE KING'S SPEECH - John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
TRUE GRIT - Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN - Dan Schrecker
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait'Hadi, Christian Manz
INCEPTION - Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
TOY STORY 3 - Nominees TBC
MAKE UP & HAIR
ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Nominees TBC
BLACK SWAN - Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 - Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
THE KING'S SPEECH - Frances Hannon
MADE IN DAGENHAM - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou
With a Golden Globe in hand for her performance in Black Swan, the petite star is about to do something more surprising than scoop up a major prize on the road to the Oscars.
She's going to tackle big-studio, R-rated comedy.
And hearing the raucous laugh that rips from Portman's mouth as she tries to fit in a photographer's frame with co-star Ashton Kutcher, it starts to make sense.
"You really chose to wear flats?" Kutcher teases, towering 10 inches over his 5-foot-3, pregnant co-star at the Four Seasons Hotel. "I know!" Portman says, gingerly stepping onto a wooden box and folding her hands over her growing belly.
A few minutes later, the two plop down on a nearby couch, and Portman, 29, shows off her shiny black ballet flats. "Comfort counts, for so much more than anything," she says.
Together, she and Kutcher, 32, banter easily — the joint interview just over a week ago is a chance to see the two private stars share big laughs while revealing a new side of themselves.
And for Portman, that may be the point.
In No Strings Attached (in theaters Friday), she plays Emma, a workaholic doctor eschewing relationships and pulling 80-hour workweeks. The kink in her plan: She challenges Kutcher's character, Adam, to the male dream — a round-the-clock, sex-only, no-strings-attached relationship.
"This is the kind of movie I like to go see more than anything," says Portman, who calls the romantic comedy a "palate cleanser" after her dark turn as a mentally unstable ballerina in Black Swan. (Sunday at the Globes, Portman called it a "great honor" to receive the award for best actress in a drama and thanked director Darren Aronofsky for the "beautiful gift" of the role.)
But choosing something different was key for Portman, known for heavier roles in V for Vendetta, Brothers, Closer and The Other Boleyn Girl. In fact, her schedule after Swan is all over the map: She shot a turn in Thor (out May 6)and fantastical comedy Your Highness (out April 8)back-to-back last year with Strings.
"I'm not interested in repeated experiences," she says. "This is the first time I read a script where the female character was as funny as the male character and as specific, and as much of a real person."
And she leaned on Kutcher, a comedy vet who has wooed the likes of Katherine Heigl, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Alba on the big screen in Killers, What Happens in Vegas and Valentine's Day. Kutcher, Portman says, and the brash script, sold him immediately.
"I see a lot of the Judd Apatow movies that I really like and they're like this honest, male perspective on relationships, rated R, funny," Kutcher says. "And I hadn't really seen a movie that approached it equally honest from the female side."
No Strings Attached delights in its R-rating. Dirty jokes fly from Portman's mouth at pirouette speed. Kutcher, playing the son of an aging TV star (Kevin Kline) trying to make his mark as a writer on a Glee-like television show, sends texts instead of flowers, booty calls instead of love letters. The two strip off their clothes more than 13 times, with Portman's Emma calling the shots.
"It's naughty in a kind of original way," says director Ivan Reitman, who describes Portman's guffaw as "the bawdiest laugh I've ever heard."
No Strings Attached, he says, is a fresh look at the new rules of dating, the kind of romantic comedy where a sparkly ring really isn't the point. And gone is the harpy woman of comedy. Emma's not bitter, "just busy," says Portman, who signed on three years ago to executive-produce and star in the film.
Baring all
Portman hopped into "funny, awkward" sex scenes with Kutcher dressed in modesty bras, body makeup and strategically placed sheets.
And Reitman says her strict Swan diet melted away. "One of the things I love about her is she likes her food," says the director, who joined in on cast dinners at Portman's Los Angeles home. "Her boyfriend — soon-to-be husband — is just a great cook. She was proud of that fact."
In kind with the role reversal, it's Kutcher's bare backside you see more than Portman's. A body double, surely?
"No, that's his fine butt," Portman says with a giggle.
"I probably should have (used one) but I didn't," Kutcher says. "You're wearing a towel (in those scenes). Also, I didn't get in shape for this movie so I was really paranoid. I didn't work out at all."
This, from the guy who is on the February cover of Men's Fitness? Portman raises an eyebrow. "Like your 'not in shape' is every other guy's dream."
"Photoshop," he says bashfully. "So I was just a little, like, not feeling good about myself on those days (on set)."
"Aww," Portman spouts girlishly, mock-concerned about his body image. "Ashton, we should talk about this more." He grins, covering his face with his hands.
Reitman says their on- and off-screen chemistry was instantaneous. "We would spend half our time just spit-balling ideas for the film," which once bore an unprintable title, Kutcher says as Portman chortles on the couch next to him.
"We were just throwing out stupid titles," he says. "We just had a blast."
Baby on board
Bed-hopping and ballet aside, the little belly popping out of Portman's Jason Wu frock is the scene-stealer today at the Four Seasons. Portman's pregnancy and impending marriage to Benjamin Millepied, her Black Swan choreographer, who Portman has said "partnered me in the movie and who now partners me in life," took celeb-watchers by surprise last month. She's now out of her first trimester, and the star's frequent appearances on endless awards season red carpets presents a conundrum.
"It's the most private of experiences, so I'd definitely rather be at home right now. But also, it's my job," says Portman, her hands naturally resting on her belly as she speaks.
But she's also picking up A-list advice, such as at a recent Hollywood meet-and-greet.
"The thing that was nice was hearing how like Amy Adams and Nicole Kidman were both talking about how they choose roles so differently (now)," Portman says. "You do have to really protect your emotional resources in a different way. But this I will find out, I'm sure."
Plus, she says, she has friends like Kutcher, calling him "a very good parent."
The stepdad of Demi Moore's three girls, Rumer, Scout and Tallulah, doesn't think he qualifies in the baby department. "Tallulah was like," he counts on his fingers, "8 when (Demi and I) first started dating. So I've got like the 8-to-20 thing on lock."
Portman nods. "Especially with girls, that's super-hard."
"Your best teachers are your parents anyway," Kutcher says. "You take the 'best of' from your parents and you try to eliminate the 'worst of' from your parents. It's completely a learn-on-the-job thing."
And don't go asking if he has baby fever. "I don't know what that is," he says with a shrug.
What he does have, Portman reveals, is a real connection to Judaism.
"Ashton has taught me more about Judaism than I think I have ever learned from anyone else," says Portman, who was born in Jerusalem. "Ashton's a very serious student of Kabbalah and Judaism. He knows a lot. When we had the funeral scene (in No Strings Attached), that was a Jewish funeral. He was able to read all the Hebrew. It's very impressive."
Ashton interjects: "I can make the noises. I don't know what they mean."
"No, you like — he reads the Torah every Saturday," she exclaims, and then realizes she may have revealed too much. "I hope this isn't too private to reveal, but it's very impressive."
Kutcher grows quieter. "I'm a spiritualist, so I study a lot of different spirituality and try to understand it, and understand where people are coming from."
Awards bonanza
Portman's upcoming schedule most likely includes a stop at the Academy Awards, although nominations won't be announced until Jan. 25.
"There is no chance on this planet that Natalie Portman, on Jan. 25th, will be depressed," says Deadline Hollywood's Pete Hammond. But he also says releasing No Strings Attached during awards season could possibly factor against an Oscar win.
"The release dates for those movies are out of her control," he says. But, "when you've got a super-serious shot at an Oscar nomination — and you've got another movie opening that's anything but that, with billboards all over Los Angeles with the ad line 'Can sex friends stay best friends?' — it's a little bit of a distraction from what I think the consultants and the people who are doing the campaign for Black Swan would like."
Not that any of this is keeping Portman up at night.
"I look at people I admire," Portman says. "You see Meryl Streep doing Doubt and you see her doing Mamma Mia! and you see her doing It's Complicated. The real actors I admire give themselves joy, give themselves pleasure.
"I just feel lucky to get to work, and as long as I can keep working, I'm not worried."
Gaining control
Out of the spotlight, both Portman and Kutcher run their own production companies. Her HandsomeCharlie Films is producing the upcoming Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, along with Important Artifacts, her next project, which Portman says will co-star Brad Pitt.
But that's "a long time off," says the star, who will take a break after promoting Thor and Your Highness. "I have no idea what this is going to be like," she says with a nod to her belly, "so I'll feel it out."
Kutcher is shooting new romantic comedy New Year's Eve, and with his Katalyst Films production company might be planning a reboot of his signature celebrity pranking series, Punk'd.
And he's working on landing Justin Bieber as host.
"Whoa," interrupts Portman. "That's cool. The Biebs? You got the Biebs?
"Maybe," Kutcher says. "If I can get him off tour."
The interviewer resumes a line of questioning, but the co-stars are whispering on the couch.
"You're the first on the list, by the way," Kutcher whispers.
Portman stares him down.
"You know I'll never speak to you again if you punk me."
"I know," he says. "I'm prepared for that."
In the sort of blandly mainstream romantic comedy she has generally avoided, Natalie Portman works overtime to keep the leaky ship afloat, but Ashton Kutcher can't be budged out of puppy dog mode. Date and girls' night out appeal is sufficient for Paramount to anticipate decent mid-winter box-office returns for this rosy-cheeked (and occasionally exposed-cheeked) R-rated romp.
Returning from the longest hiatus of his career (his last feature was the unheroic "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," five years ago), director Ivan Reitman's technique looks a little rusty, especially in the early-going, as it's clunkily established that Emma (Portman) and Adam (Kutcher) have been potential bedbuds ever since he made an unseemly pubescent proposition 15 years earlier.
Grown-up now in Los Angeles, Emma is a doctor-in-training while Adam is a writer on a "Glee"-like TV show who, in a grossly overdone interlude, drinks himself senseless upon learning that his vapid girlfriend has taken up with his much-married dad, former TV star Alvin (Kevin Kline).
Awakening from his bender naked in the apartment Emma shares with three sitcom-ready roommates, Adam takes advantage of his natural state by finally getting it on with this no-nonsense young lady, who soon proposes they regularly meet for sex but nothing more.
No guy is going to turn down a deal like that, but the mild twist in Elizabeth Meriwether's screenplay is that it's Adam who craves getting serious, not Emma, who works 80 hours per week and claims she's no good at real relationship stuff. For their part, Reitman and Meriwether shy away from the passionate side of sex, preferring to go for laughs by serving up a smorgasbord of goofy locations and funny positions in which the easy-on-the-eyes pair take their pleasure.
The obligatory complications in this easy arrangement are minor by classic sex farce standards, among them Emma's misperception of a cheating three-way involving Adam and the latter's fraught relationship with Alvin, who would like to think of himself as the young man's friendly rival rather than as his father. But the real complication is love, Adam's for Emma, and her rejection of its viability. Sweet as he is, Adam tries in the nicest way to move things to a higher plane, but she'll have none of ituntil she does, of course.
Other than the story's obvious destination, the biggest problem is Adam's blandness and one-dimensionality. For this, the script and Kutcher's performance would seem to share equal blame. Meriwether gives the man absolutely nothing interesting to say and never for a moment does he seem like a writer who might have once struggled over the choice of a word, a plot or an idea. Kutcher's performance in "Spread" two years ago indicated he's able to suggest the arrogance and self-satisfaction of the successful stud who knows how to satisfy a woman. A hint of this trait would have been welcome here, as would have anything else that might have made the character seem like something more than rice pudding with a nice head of hair.
So it's left to Portman and a couple of the supporting actors to juice things up, which they do superficially but sufficiently to forestall total ennui. Portman supplies enough tensile strength to Emma that you really believe she doesn't want emotional involvement and isn't just pretending. While the actress (who's also an executive producer here) doesn't seem like a natural comedienne, her vibrant personality, not to mention her looks, insures that she'll pop out of a crowd, even one made up of wisecracking comics and diverse physical types.
As a hyper-talkative TV producer, Lake Bell nails a certain workaholic Hollywood type so accustomed to being in charge at work that she scarcely knows how to behave (or shut her mouth) in more relaxed, intimate moments. Kline, who starred for Reitman in Dave 18 years ago, is a perfect fit for his aging Lothario but could sorely have used some better lines.
"I think I just dropped my heart between Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. So if anyone sees that, please give it back to me." — Chris Colfer accepting his best supporting actor winner award for his role on the TV series "Glee."
On both fronts, the night delivered.
The mom-to-be won best performance in a motion picture drama for her turn as the disturbed ballet dancer Nina Sayers in Black Swan, and on stage she thanked her French dancer fiancé Benjamin Millepied, with whom she's expecting her first child.
"He's the best actor," she said on stage about Millepied, who choreographed the film and also costarred in it as a dancer who said he was not sexually attracted to her character. "It's not true," she said onstage. "He totally wants to sleep with me."
Before the ceremony, Portman, 29, showcased her baby bump and glowed in a Viktor & Rolf gown and Tiffany jewelry on the red carpet.
"I'm really bad at taking compliments [and] congratulations, that kind of thing," the actress told Ryan Seacrest before the show. "So, I'm going to squeeze it into one thing. Everyone can be like one big congratulation."
She also told Seacrest she's just starting to pick out baby names. "I've definitely been thinking about it," she said. "[I'm] open to suggestions."
As for motherhood, Portman is equally overjoyed.
"I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience," Portman, who recently won a Critics' Choice Movie Award, told Entertainment Weekly recently about her pregnancy.
“I’m very superstitious,” Portman, 29, said Tuesday at the Los Angeles premiere of her new movie No Strings Attached, in which she stars with Ashton Kutcher.
“I’m very Jewish that way. We don’t do that.”
Considering the actress has been busy promoting three movies in the past few months, she says she’s ready to take some time off after the birth.
“I’ll be out of the public eye after [the baby's born],” Portman said, adding that she will be laying low for a while and will just take any future career opportunity “as it comes.”
The actress is expecting a baby with her choreographer fiance Benjamin Millepied, who she met on the set of her critically-acclaimed new film Black Swan.
Portman has scored a number of high profile awards nominations for her role as a ballerina in the dark thriller, while she is also promoting new romantic comedy No Strings Attached.
But the 29 year old is planning to step out of the spotlight once her work is done, so she can concentrate on being a mother.
She tells People.com, "I'll be out of the public eye after (the baby is born). (I will just take any future career opportunity) as it comes."
Mila Kunis got a taste of it in Black Swan. And now Ashton Kutcher is getting in on the actorly action...
Portman and Kutcher go at it a lot in their new romantic comedy No Strings Attached.
"We've both done scenes like that before," Kutcher told us last night at the film's L.A. premiere about filming the more-intimate sequences. "The biggest thing is you sort of come in and everything you want to do is make sure they feel okay and they don't feel uncomfortable. And so I think we were both really concerned about each other and making sure that each other felt comfortable."
So what did Kutcher wear to cover his naughty bits during those nearly nude bedroom scenes?
"Very little," he smiled. (FYI: Strings costar Jake Johnson confirms that it is Mr. Demi Moore's own bare buttocks that he flashes in the movie.)
As for what drew him to the project, Kutcher explained, "I think it's an a-traditional romantic comedy...And I think people are going to appreciate that they finally made a movie with women and men where the women are just as raunchy as the men."
Portman was a little more demure when describing her "raunchy" role in the flick.
"Well, I hope it expands the ability of women to be portrayed in different ways on screen," she told reporters. "You know, it's not a traditional female in a romantic comedy role so it's nice to see women just doing different things on screen."
Well put Ms. Portman.
The sexy Black Swan star poses provocatively in the new Miss Dior Cherie campaign, covering her breasts with her arms as she steams up the camera, wearing nothing but a dark blue bow in her hair.
Portman was unveiled as the new face of Parfums Christian Dior last month. Screen ads for her campaign will be directed by Sofia Coppola.
The actress stunned fans and friends late last month when she announced she was engaged to choreographer Benjamin Millepied and expecting his child.
"I told [director] Darren [Aronofsky], I was like, 'First you got me skinny, and now you're getting my fat,' because he introduced me to my fiancé," the actress, 29, tells Extra. "It's the greatest gift he ever gave me."
Portman, who is expecting her first child with her choreographer fiancé Benjamin Millepied, is slowing down her schedule – but that's not easy, given that she's an Oscar front-runner heading into Hollywood's awards season.
"I'm just doing these events, and then I'm going to try to take it easy," she said at this weekend's Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Her red-carpet fashions will have to change, of course – but her home attire is already super casual. "I just want to be in things that are comfortable now – loose!" she says. "I wear sweatpants on a daily basis."
You've certainly come quite the distance since those Queen Amidala/Padme days back in a galaxy far, far away -- not that we didn't predict even then that you were destined for greatness. Hayden Christensen, on the other hand ...
But here's the thing that's worrying us: Nat (is it alright if we call you Nat?), we realize that at age 29, you're still just a comparative kid in this business, but, frankly, we're worried that before the year's out, your career is in danger of suffering from acute overexposure.
Black Swan and all the accompanying Oscar campaigning aside, between now and this summer you've got something like four high-profile movies opening.
First up is No Strings Attached, that nutty Ivan Reitman-directed rom-com with Ashton Kutcher that hits theatres next week.
Then next month there's the limited release of The Other Woman, the dramedy that played the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2009 (when it was known as the equally ill-fittingly titled Love and Other Impossible Pursuits) in which you play a grieving mother.
For the record, we thought it was one of your strongest pre-Black Swan performances.
April brings your third movie, Your Highness, a period adventure comedy from the director of Pineapple Express where you play a fearless warrior who joins James Franco and Danny McBride on a dangerous quest.
Several weeks after that, you're baaaaaack, in Thor, the big Marvel Comics movie in which you assume the role of Jane Foster, the mere mortal who befriends the mighty Norse god (played by Chris Hemsworth) after he's been banished to planet Earth.
Oh, actually, there's a fifth also due out between now and then -- the indie drama Hesher, in which you appear along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn Wilson.
We realize that you have no say over when these films are released, but while we admire your tireless work ethic, we're reminded of Michael Caine and Whoopi Goldberg, two other actors whose careers would suffer from their reluctance to turn down roles.
Of course, the hectic schedule will take care of itself, what with your recent disclosure that you're expecting your first child, due later this year.
Congrats to you and your fiancé, choreographer Benjamin Millepied, who, uh, put the moves on you on the set of Black Swan.
It's kinda cool for a choreographer to have a name that means "a thousand feet" in French, but we're sure you hear that a lot.
Anyway, Natalie, we wish you nothing but the best in everything this year has to offer, and you looked positively radiant at that awards gala in Palm Springs over the weekend.
And, here's hoping that, by this time next year, the arrival of a new Natalie Portman film will still be regarded with more goodwill than the second coming of Jar Jar Binks.
While she hasn't spoken directly about their relationship, she does reveal in a new interview what she wants in a mate.
"I look for all the same things I would in a friend," she says in the February issue of InStyle. "Obviously, you need the sexual attraction too, so it's like your best friend who you are also really attracted to."
Portman, 29, also confesses to an adventurous streak. Asked what she'd do if she could be anonymous for one day, she has a surprising answer: "I would make out in the park!"
"That's the thing I would most enjoy doing in New York, and it's something I'll never do," she adds. "I'd also have loud, public conversations with my friends about personal things. Even if no one is paying attention – and most of the time, no one cares – you never know who is at the next table."
She also cringes at the "super-awkward" solo sex scene she did for Black Swan, saying, "anyone who tells you otherwise is not being honest ... or they're a little off!"
As for what's on her to-do-list for the next 10 years, the actress – who also stars in the upcoming romantic comedy No Strings Attached, with Ashton Kutcher – says she wants to be "in a happy relationship, with children."
It seems that Portman, who is pregnant with her first child, is on her way to achieving that goal.
For more on Portman, visit InStyle.com.
It's one thing to be glowing with a surprise pregnancy and engagement, but to have an ex sing your praises at an award show?
Before awarding Portman, 29, the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Jake Gyllenhaal was unabashed in his praise for his one-time girlfriend, whom he dated briefly in 2006.
"Natalie is the Audrey Hepburn of our generation," the actor says, "She is elegant, graceful, has amazing eyebrows ... is talented, really short, funny, smart, dedicated, incredibly kind."
But despite her attempts to prove otherwise, no one is perfect, and with Portman's fiancé, Benjamin Millepied looking, – and laughing – along, Gyllenhaal eventually got around to the "flaws" of the this award season's it girl.
"She's a vegan, which makes it really frustrating when you're picking a place to eat," Gyllenhaal said with a laugh, before adding, "She's also recently announced that she's going to be a mom, and her child will probably need therapy after seeing Black Swan."
And Natalie Portman was sure to show off the giant sparkler that represented her very official engagement in Palm Springs on Saturday.
The Black Swan star posed for photogs at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala, where she was honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Actress Award.
And what did Natalie say of the man who presented her with such a beautiful ring? She of course thanked fiancé Benjamin Millepied during her speech "for partnering me in the film as the choreographer and now partners me in life."
The 29-year old actress announced her engagement and pregnancy to her Black Swan costar in late December of 2010. Now we can add the gorgeous ring adorning her finger to the phenomenal stretch of good fortune for the talented Portman!
The actress was rumoured to have landed a part in Zack Snyder’s upcoming film Superman: The Man of Steel, but Portman insists she’s not even been approached for the project.
She tells Entertainment Weekly, “What is that? No, I haven’t heard anything.”
And when Portman was questioned about a reported role in Christopher Nolan’s next Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises, she responded, “Oh, I don’t know anything about that.”
"Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie," the film's Golden Globe-nominated star Natalie Portman tells Entertainment Weekly. "I remember them being like, 'How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?' And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that."
In Darren Aronofsky's dark spin on the classic ballet Swan Lake – which is already garnering Oscar buzz – Portman, 29, shares a bed-rocking sex scene with a rival ballerina played by Mila Kunis, 27. The surprising hook-up was just one step in her on-screen transformation into the graceful but troubled Nina Sayers, a role she says quickly became life-consuming.
"There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die," Portman says. "It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down."
Our spy reports, "The staff congratulated them on the pregnancy. When they responded they were surprised that everyone knew. The cashier said, 'We saw it in the New York Post.' They laughed, said thank you and sat down to eat their lunch." The "Black Swan" star and choreographer Millepied announced on Monday they were expecting and were engaged.
The actress spent up to eight hours a day in dance rehearsals to make her portrayal of a ballerina believable - and even dislocated a rib during the shoot.
Petite Portman, who also shed 20 pounds for the role, admits she became so low while making the movie she felt near to death.
She tells Entertainment Weekly, "There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die.
"It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down."
But the movie did bring the actress double joy - she announced earlier this week she is engaged to and pregnant by choreographer fiance Benjamin Millepied, who she met while working on the film.
Portman beat Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry to the top of Fandango.com's men-only Sexiest Woman in 2011 Movies list, while Spaniard Cruz was the women's poll leader, ahead of Jolie, Berry and Jennifer Aniston.
The website's male respondents voted Johnny Depp and Ryan Reynolds the joint Sexiest Man in 2011 Movies, while the girls picked Depp ahead of Robert Downey, Jr.
The voters in the Christmas weekend online poll also chose Blake Lively as the Next Big American Movie Star. Men picked Seth Rogen & Cameron Diaz (The Green Hornet) as the Most Mismatched Movie Couple and women opted for Adam Sandler & Jennifer Aniston (Just Go With It).
Both sexes agreed Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 is 2011's Most Anticipated Blockbuster.
The Black Swan choreographer who tour jeté'd his way into Natalie Portman's heart made headlines yesterday when it was confirmed that the couple are both engaged and expecting a baby.
So, obviously, before he snatches up one of America's sweethearts for good, there are a few things you should know:
1. What's in a name: Millepied is as French as he sounds. The 33-year-old, whose last name fittingly means "a thousand feet," was born in Bordeaux.
2. He doesn't just talk the talk: 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 (aka a big friggin' star) 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.
3. Parallel paths: Just as his future fiancée 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. Portman was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 and is probably going to repeat the feat next month, so Millepied better get crackin' on whatever honor ballet has to offer him next. (Video)
4. "Pick me, pick me!": Millepied signed on to Black Swan as choreographer. Playing Portman and Mila Kunis' dance partner came after he volunteered himself for the role. "Whatever he did, he always made it so that I was still able to do it and not look like a jackass," Kunis told Details this summer. "He wasn't alien like a lot of people I found in the dance world," added director Darren Aronofsky. Millepied again exercises his acting bone in Time Doesn't Stand Still, a romantic short he created with director Asa Mader.
5. Not exactly a secret admirer: "I really, really got into it," Millepied said of his six-line role in Black Swan. "You're standing up next to those actors, like Natalie, and you're like, 'F-k.' I was blown away—especially by Natalie, who was amazing to watch."
In The Other Woman – based on Ayelet Waldman's 2006 novel Love and Other Impossible Pursuits – Portman's character has an affair with her boss, who eventually leaves his wife. Her character becomes pregnant and then loses her newborn child. The film, which will be available on demand Jan. 1 and out in limited release Feb. 4, follows the woman's struggle to cope with the tragedy while building a relationship with her new stepson.
Portman, who is nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in Black Swan, will also be seen in No Strings Attached, a romantic comedy out Jan. 21, costarring Ashton Kutcher.
Portman announced on Monday she is expecting her first child and also confirmed her engagement to choreographer Benjamin Millepied, who she met on the set of Black Swan.
The movie has already picked up a number of important awards nominations, including nods at the upcoming Golden Globes, and now it is now set to lead the Online Film Critics Society 2010 prize-giving.
Portman is nominated in the Best Actress category, while her co-star Mila Kunis is up for the Best Supporting Actress trophy and Darren Aronofsky is nominated for Best Director. The dark thriller is also leading the Best Film category, as well as scoring nods for best original screenplay, cinematography and editing.
The Social Network garnered six nominations and will compete with Black Swan - along with Inception, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter's Bone - for the Best Film prize.
The winners will be announced on Jan. 3.
"I have always kept my private life private but I will say that I am indescribably happy and feel very grateful to have this experience," the Black Swan actress told Entertainment Weekly in a statement Monday.
Portman, 29, revealed exclusively to PEOPLE earlier on Monday that she and choreographer Benjamin Millepied are engaged and expecting their first child in 2011.
But once they met on the set of their movie, they began quietly dating in 2009.
Not only did they attempt to keep things under wraps because Natalie's a private person, but there was also the whole pesky issue of his former live-in girlfriend...
Dec. 31, 2009: Portman and Millepied are spotted at a New Year's Eve party in TriBeCa, according to Page Six. This is also right around the time that his former girlfriend of three years moves out.
"She was a ballerina at the American Ballet Theater," Page Six reported, "She had been talking about marrying him and was blindsided by the split. She moved out right after New Year's Eve."
January 2010: The dancing duo are photographed during an outing to see the Gyor National Ballet perform in NYC.
June 2010: Millepied appears shirtless in Details magazine and in the accompanying spread, calls Natalie "my girlfriend" but adds "We just want to keep things to ourselves."
August 2010: The low-key twosome are clearly getting more serious, and photographed doing couple-esque things, like having lunch dates in LA and taking Natalie's dog to the vet.
September 2010: The couple hit the Venice Film Festival to promote Black Swan. Although they're photographed sitting together, there's no PDA or handholding in the press pics.
November 2010: They continue to play it cool at the Hollywood premiere of their film, walking the carpet solo and only taking photos with the entire cast.
Dec. 3, 2010: Their movie, Black Swan, opens in limited release to critical acclaim and box office success. Millepied was originally only supposed to choreograph behind the camera, but ended up asking to play the Swan Prince opposite his real-life leading lady. Portman doesn't confirm their couple status, but praises his "creativity, intelligence and flexibilty" during an interview.
Dec. 27, 2010: Natalie drops a baby bombshell! Her rep confirms to E! News that she and Benjamin are engaged and expecting a child in 2011.
Portman and the film's choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, are engaged and expecting their first child, People reports.
The 29-year-old actress and Millepied met while shooting the Darren Aronofsky-directed film, which is up for several Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards, including lead actress for Portman.
This will be the first child and first marriage for Portman.
Wanting to avoid the sort of controversy that can arise when people find fault with a theatrical trailer, Universal Pictures has digitally replaced a sexy thong with a fuller bikini bottom in the PG trailer for the medieval comedy Your Highness.
Bum-ba-bum-bum-bum.
EW.com first reported the CGI switcheroo, which is obvious if you pay close attention—and who wouldn't!— to the "let me wash off in this stream" scene in the green-band trailer and the far saltier, butt-baring red-band version.
And judging by the choice phrases coming out of costar Danny McBride's mouth, Portman's bare cheeks will be the chastest thing in the film.
"Your Highness" stars recent Golden Globe nominees, Franco and Portman, alongside "(500) Days of Summer's" Zooey Deschanel, and "Eastbound & Down's" Danny McBride. In the medieval comedy, Franco plays a prince whose bride is kidnapped by an evil wizard. He enlists his slacker brother (McBride) on a quest to save her. Along the way, they meet a hot warrior (Portman), who agrees to help.
Warning: Strong language: Trailer
"Your Highness" premieres in theatres on April 8, 2011.
The Star Wars beauty was rumoured to have fallen out with her conservative dad, Dr. Avner Hershlag, over the film's raunchy loves scenes, with sources claiming their relationship had become "frosty".
But Portman is adamant there are no problems between her and her dad, despite initially fearing how he would react.
She tells People magazine, "I was so nervous - there's a lot of sexuality in the film - but he said, 'This is my favourite thing you've been in.' That meant the world to me."
Her starring role has since earned her critical acclaim and she has landed nominations for the upcoming Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critic Choice Awards.
The nominations:
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"The Kids Are Alright"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Annette Benning, "The Kids Are Alright"
Nicole Kidman, "The Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Hilary Swank, "Conviction"
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Mila Kunis, "Black Swan"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
"Most prima ballerinas it takes 20 years and really good genetics for it to happen, and I gave Natalie a year to do it and Mila four months to do it... They both had to starve themselves and lose way too much weight and I'm glad it's paying off for them a bit." — "Black Swan" director Darren Aronofsky on the nominations for his two leads, Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.
Best Motion Picture (Drama):
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
Best Director for a Motion Picture:
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
David Fincher, "The Social Network"
Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
Christopher Nolan, "Inception"
David O'Russell, "The Fighter"
Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama):
Halle Berry, "Frankie and Alice"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
In the January 2011 issue of Vogue magazine, the Academy Award-nominated actress says she's started her own production company and is interested in making comedic films like "The Hangover" for women.
In the article, Portman says women are typically "not allowed" to be "beautiful and funny." She also believes it's frowned upon for females to be vulgar.
Her latest movie "Black Swan" is now in theaters.
The January issue of Vogue goes on sale nationwide December 21.
Academy Award nominations won't be announced until January 25, so the most immediate drama for the ballet-themed suspense thriller begins Friday, when Fox Searchlight adds more than 900 playdates for more than 1,000 total engagements.
"Swan" last weekend collected $3.3 million from just 90 domestic locations, good enough for No. 6 on the chart. Sales to date stand at $5.6 million.
Set in the competitive world of professional ballet, Swan was directed by Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler") with co-stars including Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey.
"We knew it was challenging subject matter, but we made a bet on Darren Aronofsky and Natalie Portman," Searchlight co-president Steve Gilula said Monday. "What's been a very pleasant surprise is that is seems to be resonating with a broader audience so early."
"Swan" has been playing to audiences skewing about 55% female. "We keep hearing anecdotally about women who have seen it two or three times already," Gilula said.
Meantime, the American Film Institute named "Swan" one of 2010's 10 best movies during the weekend. That should bolter its Oscar credentials ahead of the Academy's 10 best picture nominations, though AFI considers only American productions and thus relegated much-praised British drama "The King's Speech" to a special award.
Also during the weekend, members of the Broadcast Film Critics Assn. swooned for "Swan" with a record 12 Critics' Choice Movie Awards nominations in categories including best picture. The one-two kudos coup, combined with another big weekend of limited play, sets "Swan" up nicely to draught off of its critical praise at the box office and simultaneously bolster its awards prospects by displaying even clearer commercial traction.
Fox Searchlight has made a habit of combining mass appeal with critical praise. The Fox specialty unit secured an Oscar best picture win with 2008's "Slumdog Millionaire," a gritty but entertaining Indian drama that rang up $141.3 million domestically. Its 2007 dramatic comedy "Juno" similarly boasted a critical and commercial combo when it was included among the Academy's then five-film list of best-picture nominees.
"Juno" lost the best-picture statuette to Miramax's "No Country for Old Men," which had broad critical support but considerably less commercial success. Searchlight also drew best-picture nominations for 2006's "Little Miss Sunshine" and 2005's "Sideways."
"Swan's" first weekend in wide release should produce a three-day sum well into the low double-digit millions. Depending on its screen average, "Swan" could even compete for third on the frame behind big-budgeted wide openers "Tron: Legacy" from Disney and "Yogi Bear" from Warner Bros. -- whose productions costs each ran more than 10 times the estimated $13 million spent on "Swan."
"That's unusual for us," Gilula said. "We do alternative film, and sometimes we are fortunate when they cross over to mainstream audiences. But our main goal is to bring to market films that are different. Some times they do cross over."
The nominations:
Best Picture
"127 Hours"
"Black Swan"
"The Fighter"
"Inception"
"The King's Speech"
"The Social Network"
"The Town"
"Toy Story 3
"True Grit"
"Winter's Bone"
Best Actress
Annette Bening - "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman - "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman - "Black Swan"
Noomi Rapace - "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Michelle Williams - "Blue Valentine"
Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter - "The King's Speech"
Mila Kunis - "Black Swan"
Melissa Leo - "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld - "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver - "Animal Kingdom"
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky - "Black Swan"
Danny Boyle - "127 Hours"
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - "True Grit"
David Fincher - "The Social Network"
Tom Hooper - "The King's Speech"
Christopher Nolan - "Inception"
Best Original Screenplay
"Another Year" - Mike Leigh
"Black Swan" - Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin
"The Fighter" - Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson (Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson)
"Inception" - Christopher Nolan
"The Kids Are All Right" - Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg
"The King's Speech" - David Seidler
Best Cinematography
"127 Hours" - Anthony Dod Mantle
"Black Swan" - Matthew Libatique
"Inception" - Wally Pfister
"The King's Speech" - Danny Cohen
"True Grit" - Roger Deakins
Best Art Direction
"Alice in Wonderland" - Stefan Dechant
"Black Swan" - Therese DePrez and Tora Peterson
"Inception" - Guy Hendrix Dyas
"The King's Speech" - Netty Chapman
"True Grit" - Jess Gonchor and Nancy Haigh
Best Costume Design
"Alice in Wonderland" - Colleen Atwood
"Black Swan" - Amy Westcott
"The King's Speech" - Jenny Beavan
"True Grit" - Mary Zophres
Best Makeup
"Alice in Wonderland"
"Black Swan"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"
"True Grit"
Best Sound
"127 Hours"
"Black Swan"
"Inception"
"The Social Network"
"Toy Story 3"
Best Score
"Black Swan" - Clint Mansell
"Inception" - Hans Zimmer
"The King's Speech" - Alexandre Desplat
"The Social Network" - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
"True Grit" - Carter Burwell
An atmospheric suspense thriller about ballet dancers directed by Darren Aronofsky ("The Wrestler"), "Swan" dove into 18 theaters in eight markets and came up roses with $1.4 million for a Searchlight-record $77,459 per venue.
One of the holiday season's key platform pictures, "Swan" is set for an incremental expansion during the next few weeks and will reach at least 60 locations next weekend.
"We may increase that further, based on the weekend," Searchlight senior vice-president Sheila DeLoach said. "But this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. So we don't want to just blow it out, but we may do a few more theaters than we had planned next weekend."
Another well-reviewed prestige movie -- Roadside Attraction's "I Love You Phillip Morris," starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor -- wooed $113,200 from audiences in six opening venues. That represented $18,886 per engagement for an encouraging launch to the dramedy's platform campaign.
Roadside spokesman Howard Cohen said executives were particularly pleased with the big bow, as "Morris" boasted a relatively modest marketing budget.
Calling Morris an "underdog" in opening opposite the higher-profile "Swan," Cohen added, "We think we came through with shining colors."
In a curious coincidence, "Swan" and "Morris" both drew pre-release buzz for their same-sex stars' locking lips in the pics. Portman and co-star Mila Kunis do the honors in the former.
In a simultaneous debut in two theaters and video-on-demand, director Andrew Jarecki's mystery thriller "All Good Things," starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst, collected $40,000, or a better-than-good $20,000 per venue.
Elsewhere in the specialty market, the Weinstein Co. expanded period drama "The King's Speech" by just two theaters for a total six and grossed $325,874, or an enviable $54,312 per venue. "Speech" -- whose Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush have drawn broad kudos-season notices for their marquee performances -- totes $808.874 million in cumulative box office through two weekends.
Searchlight's mountain-climbing survival drama "127 Hours" added 154 locations for a total 433 and rang up $1.6 million. That represented an acceptable $3,695 per site as its total reached $6.6 million.
The 29-year-old actress obliterates her prim and proper on-screen image once and for all while spreading her wings as a driven ballerina who precariously pirouettes between art and madness in the delirious psychosexual thriller Black Swan.
Physically, emotionally and mentally, Portman's considerable faculties are stretched to their limit as her sheltered Nina nails Swan Lake's virtuous White Swan yet struggles to summon the earthy abandon necessary to pull off the deceptive Black Swan in the film, opening Friday, directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler).
You might have first taken notice of the dainty Israeli-born, Long Island-raised beauty in her film debut at age 13 as a precocious companion to a hit man in 1994's The Professional. Or enjoyed her as a waifish pathological liar who enchants a depressed Zach Braff in 2004's Garden State. Or been captivated by her baby-doll stripper's seduction of Clive Owen in Closer, also from 2004 and the source of her lone Oscar nomination.
But you have never seen her dominate a movie so authoritatively as this.
Portman sweats, vomits, hallucinates and nervously claws at her skin until it's raw and bleeding. She passionately kisses sultry rival Mila Kunis and viciously bites the lip of predatory artistic director Vincent Cassel. That's on top of doing at least 90% of her own dance moves after training for a year before shooting began.
As a result, the onetime child star — who has described herself in college as "a boring Goody Two-Shoes" — gives what many astonished critics have declared the bravura performance of her already-impressive career.
The last time Portman messed with the expectations of her fans was back in 2006, when she went hard-core gangsta with a foul-mouthed rap in a Saturday Night Live video. Recalling the reaction to that clip, she says: "It makes it almost worth it to have this sort of persona of being put-together and conservative. To be able to subvert it and have people be shocked by something they rarely see every day."
But on this day, the familiar Natalie materializes once more. The Harvard-educated actress is as perfectly calm and confident as ever in a flattering black-and-white frock by Dior, a label she just happens to represent. The color scheme even coordinates with her feathery film costumes. She smiles often and is exceedingly polite, but there is never a doubt of who is in charge of the interview — and it isn't the person asking the questions.
From the time Black Swan wowed festival crowds in early fall, her ascendency into the best-actress Academy Award race has been a given. But Portman sensibly tempers any excitement she might feel over the possibility of earning such a trophy.
"It's obviously a great feeling," she says about the glowing response. "But you have to maintain your own belief in your work regardless of the reaction to it. The truth is, the day I start working in order to get attention is the day I stop being an artist."
She waited 10 years for role
Portman also says she wasn't looking to deliberately alter the public's perception of her. After all, "you are always looking for something that pushes you."
Perhaps. But there had to be some reason why she kept clinging to the hope of doing Black Swan for almost 10 years after Aronofsky first spoke to her about the part, patiently waiting as the script took shape and funding was found.
"Well," she says, "it is true that this is probably the longest gestation period I've ever had. That is a sign of something substantive."
Though 29 is at the high end of believably portraying a prima ballerina, Portman is glad for the delay.
"Physically, it would have been easier to be a little bit younger. But it's definitely better in terms of the emotional side of it. It was helpful to have that time to allow my ideas and feelings about the project to simmer."
When talking to the press, both she and Kunis — a close pal in real life — revel in detailing how they underwent extensive weight loss (about 20 pounds each from their already-slim frames), ballet lessons and conditioning for their roles as a team of coaches and teachers put them through their paces.
Portman studied dance from age 4 until she was 12, and muscle memory came in handy. But, she says, "my training was not as serious as I thought it was at all. I had to start from scratch." She toiled mightily to perfect her arms, her stance and the way she held her head to emulate actual ballerinas, even going en pointe for brief periods.
She also suffered injuries, including a bruised rib, and an MRI was required when she hit her head during a fight scene. Softening any blows was Black Swan's French choreographer Benjamin Millepied, 33, a principal dancer at New York City Ballet who also partners in the film with Portman and struck up a relationship with her off the set. The mere mention of his name triggers an automatic response: "I never talk about my private life."
But Aronofsky will. "I asked them the other day if I get credit for that," he says. "They said, 'You get credit.' He is amazing. He is a serious guy who is doing very serious things with his life. I think it is a very good match."
The chatter on the Internet for the past year, however, after script details were leaked has zeroed in on the steamy sex scene she shares with Kunis, who has said of the attention: "It's two girls making out, and guys have a thing for that. It's silly, but I can see why people care. Natalie is like every guy's dream. She's a nerd's idea of heaven." All the more so ever since she was Queen Amidala in the three Star Wars prequels.
Portman says it helped that she and Kunis are close, but she also observes: "It's harder to kiss a friend than a stranger. But Darren kept us isolated. We were both training, and he made sure we were there at different times. We barely saw each other during the shoot. It was weird."
When asked if it's true that she and Kunis requested a bottle of tequila to share beforehand, as Aronofsky has suggested in an interview, Portman laughs. "Darren reveals too much. It's funny. We didn't even get drunk. We did it to keep the nerves away."
The director made her do it
She signed on to do Black Swan originally because of Aronofsky, the architect behind Mickey Rourke's comeback in 2008's The Wrestler. "I respect Darren's work so much," she says.
The director's blunt way of communicating proved to be beneficial.
"Darren doesn't really have a filter," she says. "He says what he means. It is pretty great. He always tells you how it is. We are similarly disciplined. He works his ass off, and so do I."
Aronofsky, who refers to his star as "a beautiful creature" in Black Swan, admires how Portman was put through the wringer yet had the maturity to not allow Nina's traumatic meltdown to seep into her own life.
"She worked really hard physically and mentally. But you know, she's a real professional. I saw it with Ellen Burstyn," the veteran actress who was Oscar-nominated for her crazed diet-pill addict in 2000's Requiem for a Dream. After an especially harrowing scene, "I'd say 'Cut,' and Ellen would say 'OK' and head over to the craft service area."
In Portman's case, "I've never seen a young actor with that same ability. So even though it was really hard and she was in every shot, Natalie still was able to meter herself."
As for her next feat, Portman undergoes a change of pace with a genre she has barely explored in the past — comedy. Next year will bring the racy romance No Strings Attached with Ashton Kutcher and the sword-and-sorcery spoof Your Highness.
She also will add to her geek cred as Jane Foster, an astrophysicist and the love interest of the title comic-book hero in next summer's Thor.
Her primary reason for joining the cast: Shakespearean whiz Kenneth Branagh directs. "It is magic," she assures.
Still, souvenirs of Black Swan linger, and not only the shapelier behind that Portman says she acquired from her workouts. "I have so many leotards, tights and shoes. So much ballet stuff I'll never use again." She wonders aloud about a charity auction, then reconsiders: "Not that they would want my smelly shoes."
Just call it the sweet smell of success.
While she has done movies that tilt towards the humorous, such as 2004's Garden State, she has yet to appear in a flat-out chucklefest.
That will change in a big way next year when she appears in two comedies — both ribald R-rated romps. First up is No Strings Attached, directed by Ivan Reitman and due Jan. 21. She and Ashton Kutcher are best friends who attempt to have a sex-only relationship.
Kutcher has been trying for years to persuade Portman to work with him. "Just to go toe to toe with her everyday was a pleasure," he says.
The petite Portman, whom he refers as a "hamster" in the trailer, also kept him on his toes. "She is really, really, really smart. If you aren't careful, she'll bust your chops. I'd hate to get in a fight with her, even if she is half my size. She'd figure out a way to whip my butt. And God forbid you get into a verbal sparring match with her."
Reitman felt privileged to have Portman as his female lead, so much so that he asked for her input on an early draft of the script and made her one of the film's producers.
"She is one of the great actresses of her generation and a great voice for people in their late 20s and early 30s," he says. "She is as brave in this as she is in Black Swan. It's just a different kind of bravery. She is comedically raw and funny without being silly."
Arriving April 8 is Your Highness, a jokey mash-up of such fantasy epics as Princess Bride, Krull and The Dark Crystal that was shot before Black Swan. Portman is a tough-chick warrior goes on a quest with royal siblings Danny McBride and James Franco to rescue Zooey Deschanel's princess from the clutches of an evil wizard. Stoner gags and bad words are inevitable.
"We had a blast working with her," says McBride, who co-wrote the script directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express). "She was so dedicated. We'd work a 12-hour day and afterward she would go into the ballet studio and work for two hours."
It was Green, who also has done more genteel fare such as All the Real Girls and George Washington, who went after Portman. "We are big fans of Natalie and having someone with gravity and weight was just great," McBride says. "We saw her rap sketch on Saturday Night Live and thought it would be fun to see what she could do as a hardened Red Sonja warrior."
One thing she did do was to wear a bikini top with a skimpy gold thong in an outdoor bathing scene. "She was up for anything," says McBride, whose slacker prince falls for her character.
After the tormented theatrics of Black Swan, which opens today, making merry comes as a relief for Portman. "These are the kind of movies I like to see most," she says. As for her choices in the future, "I am interested in doing things that are kind of scary."
In fact, she has been inspired enough to write her own randy comedy with a college chum, titled BYO— which translates into "bring your own." The screenplay, which is making the rounds at studios and has been dubbed a female Superbad, is about two girlfriends (possibly Portman and Anne Hathaway) who throw a party where every woman must bring an eligible male.
Like the most macabre nightmares, Black Swan plunges headlong into the dark side. Writer/director Darren Aronofsky fashions a terrifying tale that juxtaposes the grace of a dance film against a twisted horror backdrop. At the center of this dreamlike story is Natalie Portman's exquisite performance of a troubled ballerina who evolves from timid to seriously unhinged.
It's a psychological thriller that pays homage to a 1948 ballet classic, Michael Powell's The Red Shoes, but is also unnervingly modern, drenched in sexuality. Portman portrays the agonized ballerina Nina Sayers so convincingly that we forget we are watching someone act.
Her immersion in the role is the stuff Oscars are made of. She communicates Nina's emotional fragility with an aching vulnerability. Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique match her prowess, abetting Nina's teetering sanity with a camera that pirouettes, lurches and lunges, mirroring her torment.
Nina yearns to dance the Swan Queen in Swan Lake, with its duality of light and dark. Aronofsky uses lighting in ways that accentuate the dark corners in her shaky psyche. The ballet studio and backstage corridors are shadowy, while her bedroom is pink and white, appropriate for a little girl. Nina is infantilized by her mother (a superb Barbara Hershey) and drawn out of her solitary existence by fellow dancer Lily (a terrific Mila Kunis), whose motives are ambiguous.
Whether on her lonely subway rides or at daily dance sessions overseen by the ballet company's lecherous director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel), Nina is profoundly isolated. Despite the childhood haven she often retreats to, Nina is never safe. No one offers comfort, no one appears trustworthy.
Thematically, the film tackles artistic perfection. Nina is instructed to lose herself in the role. "The only person standing in your way is you," Thomas tells her. "Forget her." And she does, in a primal way.
Awash in tulle, toe shoes and repression, Black Swan would seem to be the mirror opposite of Aronofsky's The Wrestler, which starred Mickey Rourke. But each centers on a memorably self-destructive character. Black Swan's menacing visual flourishes also recall Aronofsky's Pi (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000).
Like a painter, he dabs the scenery with haunting, quasi-subliminal details. Eyes peer out of a childlike drawing and quickly shift left and right. Paintings bleed and laugh at Nina.
By the end, the audience will be left to wonder what was real and what was a figment of Nina's imagination.
Aronofsky ensures no one will regard Swan Lake the same way again.
Black Swan
* * * * (out of four)
Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Rating: R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use
Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Opens Friday in select cities
"It was just pasta and bread and pizza all the time," Portman told PEOPLE of her post-Swan diet at the film's Tuesday premiere at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre.
While filming the psychological thriller, though, a change of eating habits was key. "It wasn't really giving up [food]," Portman, 29, says. "It was just smaller portions … It was more quantity than a particular thing."
Another challenge: the grueling yearlong dance training it took to get into character.
"Working five to eight hours a day for a year … it's what real dancers live through," she says. "It was an amazing experience, but definitely a difficult one."
It didn't hurt that the actress, who has already nabbed a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for the role, trained with choreographer Benjamin Millepied, whom she subsequently started dating.
"He knows how to change when things aren't working well," Portman says of their working relationship. "Sometimes I just couldn't do something. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn't do it. He would fix it to make it something that I could do."
Praising her beau's "creativity and intelligence," the actress says, "He was really flexible. Working with film and working with actors rather than dancers, that flexibility was key."
Darren Aronofsky takes the same stripped-down fascination with, and appreciation for, the minutiae of preparation that he brought to his Oscar-nominated "The Wrestler" — the best film of 2008, according to yours truly — and applies it to the pursuit of a different kind of artistry: ballet. All the intimate, behind-the-scenes moments are there, the matter-of-fact glimpses of the tricks that go into the performance as well as the toll this demanding activity takes on the body.
But then the director mixes in a wildly hallucinatory flair as "Black Swan" enters darker psychological territory. Working with his frequent cinematographer, Matthew Libatique, and incorporating some dazzling visual effects, Aronofsky spins a nightmare scenario within a seemingly gentle, pristine world. The camera swoops and swoons, making us feel as off-kilter as the film's tormented heroine. The visions and dreams soar seriously over-the-top at times, but always knowingly so, and with great style; "Black Swan" wallows in its grandiosity, and if you're willing to go along with it, you'll find yourself wowed by one of the best films of the year.
Natalie Portman gives it her all, physically and mentally, in a brave and demanding performance as Nina, a driven New York City ballerina who has zero life outside of dance. Portman had studied ballet growing up, but "Black Swan" required a grueling regimen of training five hours a day, everyday, for 10 months before production even began.
Innocently enduring a sheltered existence with her smothering mother, Erica (a deeply creepy Barbara Hershey), a former ballet dancer herself now living vicariously through her daughter, Nina is stuck in a state of arrested development. She's immensely talented and dedicated but still a child inside, as evidenced by the fluffy stuffed bunnies that populate her girly-pink bedroom, and the way her mommy still tucks her in at night.
When it comes time to stage a bold, new production of "Swan Lake," the company's artistic director (a skeevy and manipulative Vincent Cassel) thinks Nina is perfect to play the White Swan. But he needs a dancer who also can portray the fierce sexuality of the Black Swan. Enter Lily (Mila Kunis), a savvy and confident newcomer who represents Nina's biggest threat to getting the lead role. So yes, the script from Mark Heyman and Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin does have its obvious influences — "The Red Shoes," "The Turning Point" and "All About Eve" among them — and yet "Black Swan" emerges as a fascinating entity all its own.
Nina snags the part, with Lily as her understudy. The two women don't exactly become friends but achieve a sort of competitive symbiosis; the deeper Nina gets into rehearsals, the more she sees Lily in her mind, both as a frightening force and as the kind of woman she'd like to be. The fact that Portman and Kunis resemble each other in features and stature greatly enhances this effect — and yes, the hotly anticipated love scene between the two is indeed hot.
But Nina also sees her body transforming, morphing grotesquely as she finds both the white and black swans within herself, with the romantic but rough ballet costumes from the fashion designers known as Rodarte almost becoming an extension of her body. Or does she? By blending realism with fantastical elements, Aronofsky continuously keeps us guessing as to what's actually happening and what's a figment of Nina's imagination.
One thing's for certain, though: "Black Swan" will leave you feeling stunned as you leave the theater. And humming Tchaikovsky.
"Black Swan," a Fox Searchlight release, is rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use. Running time: 110 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Best Feature
"127 Hours"
"Black Swan"
"Greenberg"
"The Kids Are All Right"
"Winter's Bone"
Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, "Black Swan"
Danny Boyle, "127 Hours"
Lisa Cholodenko, "The Kids Are All Right"
Debra Granik, "Winter's Bone"
John Cameron Mitchell, "Rabbit Hole"
Best Female Lead
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Greta Gerwig, "Greenberg"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Natatlie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"
Best Cinematography
Adam Kimmel, "Never Let Me Go"
Matthew Libatique, "Black Swan"
Jody Lee Lipes, "Tiny Furniture"
Michael McDonough, "Winter's Bone"
Harris Savides, "Greenberg"
The Pretty Woman star was among the Hollywood stars asked to write a commentary for industry publication Daily Variety on a selection of films tipped for success at next year's Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Roberts had nothing but good things to say about Portman in the Darren Aronofsky movie.
Roberts gushes, "Natalie Portman in the new film by Darren Aronofsky is a ballerina. I cannot think of anything more accurate and complimentary to say about her in this role: She is a ballerina! One is so lost in the aching beauty, the elegant moves and the quiet mania of her pursuits, she, Natalie, ceases to exist.
"It is an intense and at times brutal film to watch. There were times when I was watching through tiny cracks in my quaking fingers. But to see her in this role was worth the one night of tossing and turning...
"A performance like the one she delivers in Black Swan affirms that my professional admiration for her was well placed...
"I am simply beaming with pride for her and want only to have her over to our home to hug her, tell her all the wondrous things we think of her, rub her weary feet and make her the biggest, most delicious dinner she could ever eat!"
"Any time you do any intimate scene on film, it's going to be a little uncomfortable, whether it's the same sex or the opposite sex," Kunis said at a news conference to promote the film, a psychological thriller about competing ballerinas played by Kunis and Portman.
The former That '70s Show star said the Black Swan scene was made easier because she and Portman weren't complete strangers. "The great thing about this is that Natalie and I were actually lucky enough to be friends prior to production, which made it all a lot easier," Kunis said. "We didn't really discuss it very much. We just kind of did it. It made sense for the character. It wasn't put in for shock value. It wasn't something that we needed to justify in our heads, as to why we were doing it."
Kunis, who began acting at age 9, also recently revealed that she nearly gave up acting when That '70s Show ended. "I was like, 'All right, this has been a god run, but I'm done,'" Kunis told Nylon magazine. "I wanted to rethink my life for a minute because I didn't think acting could be a career. ... The whole thing is based so much on opinion and nobody is wrong. That person can think I'm great, that person can think I suck, and they're both right. I was like, 'Can I really do this for the rest of my life?'
"What a lot of people don't realize is that you make more money in TV than you will in film," Kunis said. "It's a very steady salary. An obscene amount of money gets given to you for, like... what? So I was 20, and I looked at my bank account and realized that I was secure for the rest of my life. I was like, 'I'm okay. I can go do other things now.'"
Black Swan — which is already creating Oscar buzz for director Darren Aronofsky, Portman and Kunis — hits theaters on Dec. 3.
This week, the spotlight's on the ladies who stand a good chance of taking that stroll up the red carpet.
With Bullock and Streep out of the running this year -- both took the year off after racking up the awards nominations with The Blindside/The Proposal and Julie & Julia/It's Complicated, respectively -- there's no shortage of worthy contender eyeing those vacant slots.
The two currently voted most likely to do so are Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, thanks to their sharp portrayal of a lesbian couple whose grown children bring their birth father into the fold in the hit dramedy, The Kids Are All Right.
While studios tend to divvy up two in-contention performances of the same gender into lead and supporting categories so as not to risk cancelling each other out, distributor Focus Features opted to campaign for both for best actress, rather than relegating one of them.
For the record, the last movie to yield a pair of duelling best actress nominations was 1991's Thelma & Louise, with that year's Oscar ultimately going to Jodie Foster for Silence of the Lambs.
Between them, Bening and Moore have received seven Oscar nominations, but neither has yet to take home the golden guy.
In addition to the above pair, Natalie Portman is expected to dance her way into the category courtesy of her complex turn as an ambitious ballerina in Black Swan.
The busy 29-year-old actress previously received a best supporting nod for 2004's Closer.
That would leave two remaining spots and a whole bunch of possible candidates looking to claim them.
Perhaps sensing a pronounced lack of diversity in the ethnic makeup of this year's contestants, Frankie and Alice has become a last-minute entry into the 2010 Oscar race.
The independent feature's secret weapon is Halle Berry, and having seen the multiple-personality drama, we're here to tell you it boasts Berry's best big-screen performance since Monster's Ball.
That coming-from-nowhere ploy certainly worked well last year around this time when the release of Crazy Heart was given an 11th hour bump up to awards season, resulting in Jeff Bridges' triumphant Oscar winner.
Speaking of going country, Gwyneth Paltrow's decision to pick up a guitar for Country Strong could also earn her an Oscar nod -- which would be her first since nabbing the big prize over a decade ago for Shakespeare in Love.
Also deserving is Michelle Williams' acclaimed performance as one-half of a splintering couple (the other half was shouldered by Ryan Gosling) in the anti-romantic Blue Valentine.
So are previous Oscar-winners Nicole Kidman and Hilary Swank, who do worthy work as a grieving mother and crusading sister in the upcoming Rabbit Hole and Conviction, respectively, although the latter has been going nowhere fast since opening in theatres Oct. 15.
Of course, each year ushers in some laudable new faces, and 20-year-old Jennifer Lawrence deserves recognition for her fierce portrayal of a teen who fights to hold her Ozark Mountain family together in the chilling drama, Winter's Bone.
Considering all the heated 2010 competition, maybe Meryl and Sandy were wise to sit this year out.
The Star Wars beauty was determined to pull off the tricky ballet steps herself to play Nina Sayers in the Darren Aronofsky film, and spent up to eight hours a day in training to achieve the physique needed to make her portrayal believable.
She tells Entertainment Weekly, "So many of the emotional scenes happen while she's dancing that there was no real way of getting around it.
"I do have a double for the complicated turning stuff. But anything I could do myself saved the budget hundreds of thousands of dollars in special effects."
And Portman managed to remain disciplined while shooting upcoming fantasy comedy Your Highness with James Franco and Danny McBride in Ireland.
She adds, "(They) were out having fun every night, and I was the little good girl; no drinking, waking up at five to do my workouts, and not eating. I was the really unfun one."
The Closer star spent months training for the role of a troubled ballerina in the upcoming drama and she slimmed right down as she attempted to gain a dancer's slender frame.
Aronofsky admits he was terrified when he saw Portman's drastic weight loss and spent the shoot encouraging her to eat.
He tells Access Hollywood, "Portman took the role very seriously". These dancers get really, really skinny.
"At a certain point I looked at her back and she was so skinny and so... I was like, 'Natalie, start eating.'
"I made sure she had a bunch of food in her trailer."
Portman reveals she was happy to ditch the diet as soon as filming wrapped, adding, "the day after the shoot ended I was like, pasta, pasta, pasta! No working out. It was pretty immediate. I was ready to leave the ballet life.
"I was like, 'Please don't let there be re-shoots for this because I don't think I could get back into the costumes!'"
The two may have trained boot-camp style for their roles as New York ballerinas, but...
"I tore a ligament," Kunis told us last night at the film's AFI Fest 2010 screening presented by Audi in L.A. "I hyperextended my shoulder. I had to go get an MRI. I have a couple of scars, a couple of bruises."
Portman was injured at the hands of costar Vincent Cassel. No, he didn't do it on purpose. "Natalie had a rib injury from being carried by Vincent, who had very little training on how to lift," said Benjamin Millepied, who not only plays a principal dancer in Black Swan but served as director Darren Aronofsky's choreographer. "We repeated a scene so many times, the next day he couldn't walk because his back was bad, and she couldn't breathe because her rib was bad from [being] squeezed. Her rib was just out of place.
"There's a moment in the film where she's with a therapist who inserts her fingers in her rib. It's actually real. She was actually really working on her."
Portman also ended up at the hospital for an X-ray and MRI because she fell and "hit her head pretty good," said producer Brian Oliver.
Now about that much-talked-about sex scene...
"It was awkward and we laughed," Portman said. "It was strange, but it's something you just sort of throw yourself into."
Kunis said, "It's as awkward as any sex scene. They're always going to be a little awkward."
And we're happy to report that rumors of Portman's dad not being too happy about the girl-on-girl action appear to be bogus. "My parents saw [the movie] and they loved it," Portman said. "I was so honored because they're the ones I care most about. I was completely nervous while they were watching it and they really loved it."
And we loved how Portman and Kunis looked last night. Portman wore a floral chiffon Rodarte dress (the fashion house designed the movie's ballet costumes) while Kunis was super chic in a black Oscar de la Renta number.
Director Christopher Nolan has also lined up a pair of blondes - Blake Lively and Naomi Watts - to meet with as he casts two leading ladies for The Dark Knight Rises, the upcoming third instalment of the superhero franchise.
According to Deadline.com, the super-secretive filmmaker is on the hunt for a female villain and a love interest for Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne.
Speculation has been rife about the forthcoming blockbuster's plot details, with recent reports suggesting Tom Hardy will play Batman's foe in the follow-up to 2008's The Dark Knight.
Or when Harry and Sally struggled to remain just friends?
How quaint.
In the Twitter age, would-be bedroom partners apparently don't have enough character count for the formalities required for an actual courtship. They simply engage in serial sexual encounters.
Or, as director Ivan Reitman's new comedy calls such a situation, No Strings Attached (due Jan. 21). Its trailer premieres in theaters Friday.
"I noticed from my own kids that with this generation in particular, young people find it easier to have a sexual relationship than an emotional one," says Reitman, 64, of Ghostbusters renown about his rare foray into R-rated edginess. "That is how the sexes deal with each other today."
The humorous premise of eschewing deep feelings for fulfilling physical needs appears to be a hot one. It also is featured in this month's Love & Other Drugs as well as next summer's Friends With Benefits.
But those films don't feature Natalie Portman, a likely Oscar nominee for Black Swan by the time No Strings Attached opens. Strings features her in an infrequent comedic role as a hospital resident who's too busy to date. Joining her is Ashton Kutcher as a TV show crewmember and Portman's oldest friend, who agrees to a liaisons-only arrangement but soon finds himself falling for his pal.
"I've done a lot of these kinds of movies, but this one is a little bit more grown-up," Kutcher says. "It looks at whether leaving feelings out of it actually works. For a new breed of woman, career comes first, and that has changed the nature of relationships. We should have just called the movie 'Clooney.' That's the kind of relationship George Clooney has had for the past 20 years. He seems happy."
As for Kutcher, who has been married to Demi Moore since 2005, he is just happy to be finally working with Portman. "I've been trying to get her to do a movie with me about six or seven times. Every time I have a new one, I ask, 'What if we do it with Natalie Portman?' "
He's also excited to be directed by one of his heroes. "I was basically raised by Ivan Reitman, me and hundreds of thousands of millions of young and easily influenced young boys. Everything I didn't learn in school I learned from him."
The Star Wars beauty plays troubled dancer Nina in the upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, which sees the actress engage in raunchy love scenes with co-star Mila Kunis.
But the same-sex romance has driven a wedge between Portman and her conservative father, Dr. Avner Hershlag, who disapproves of her latest career move, according to Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper.
A source tells the publication, "Natalie is a very private and dignified person and is often influenced by her father's approval.
"This, however, was one role she simply didn't want to turn down even though she knew it would upset her father. He still sees her as his baby and always will and thinks showing herself like this is degrading.
"Things are very frosty between them right now."
A bevy of beauties, from Eva Mendes to Katrina Bowden to Rosario Dawson, were on hand to prove otherwise at the Environmental Media Association's EMA Awards at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank.
While Young Hollywood definitely represented at the event—hosts Jason Ritter and Olivia Munn, Wilmer Valderrama, Michaela Conlin and Mark-Paul Gosselaar, just to name a few—it was H'wood royalty Jane Fonda who stole the show…
When presenting the EMA Lifetime Achievement Award to ex-husband Ted Turner, Fonda praised Turner for his foundation's work in stopping female genital mutilation, slyly noting, "He puts his money where his mouth is."
The night's other big honoree, EMA Corporate Responsibility Award winner Jeff Skoll (producer of the Oscar winning doc The Cove and the upcoming environmental warning tale/horror flick The Crazies), likewise embarrassed his award presenter Natalie Portman by featuring a clip of an 11-year-old Natalie literally singing the praises of recycling.
But funding fell through often during the filming of Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan.
Which meant one thing to star Natalie Portman: "If we pushed it back three weeks," Aronofsky says. "Natalie would be like 'Three weeks? I have to eat carrot sticks and almonds for another three weeks!' "
Portman laughed, but made no denials at a TIFF press conference Tuesday for the ballet-based thriller. However, it was apparent she has much more invested in the movie than an extreme diva diet.
The movie centers on a young dancer (Portman), the older diva she displaced (Winona Ryder), and a possible usurper in the wings (Mila Kunis) with whom Portman's character Nina has both an erotic attraction and an inchoate fear.
The whole stew takes place around a New York Ballet production of Swan Lake, in which Nina proves adept at the role of the White Swan, but must find her dark side for the evil twin Black Swan role.
But mordant psychology was one thing. Plugging into her plie was another.
"I did ballet until I was 12 and then stopped when I started acting seriously," says the actress, who has been onscreen since 1994's The Professional. "And then I started again with this film when I was 27. So I did have a decent base and a good 'turnout.' But my trainers (including The New York City Ballet's Mary Helen Bowers and Georgina Pazcoguin), they were all so instrumental in shaping all of that. I had the greatest people in the ballet world training me."
In the process, she says she may have learned more about acting than with any other role.
"It was an absolutely enormous lesson in acting because film is a very visual medium. And dance is a form of expression through physicality alone. And the detail! I had no idea. Watching the coaching, the detail on how the fingertips move, the eyes and the placement of the head. All the things you can express by different uses of those parts of your body you rarely think about."
As for the derangement going on in the head of the confused new diva Nina, Portman said she'd had so long to absorb her neuroses, that was among the least of her challenges.
"Darren and I started talking about the film eight years ago," Portman recalls. "It was 2002, I was still in college. And in that long period it took to take place, what he told me in that first meeting is what the movie ended up being. All the themes were there and plot points were there and the environment.
"So to have that sitting in the back of your mind for eight years ... you've been living it with for a long time."
The shattering loss of identity portrayed in Black Swan, in fact, rings familiar to Portman as analogous of Hollywood. "I think you have to start protecting yourself when you get used to seeing yourself through other people's eyes -- when you see yourself through a director's eye or an audience's eyes, you become a spectator of yourself. That's why it's very destructive to watch your own films, although I'm too curious to not watch them at all.
"The borders around your identity get fuzzy also, which is what this movie is about."
Which makes this an appropriate time to ask her about the Oscar buzz that is already starting to surround the film. She says it is not her greatest dream to win an Oscar. "I have very boring dreams personally, I'm always doing homework or walking the dog.
"I mean (Oscar talk) is very complimentary and flattering. But obviously what we do is about wanting to make things that people connect to. And that's the biggest prize."
As Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller rallied audiences at the Venice and Telluride film festivals last week, Portman has fielded an offer from Warner Bros. to play the coveted lead in the drama "Gravity," a role recently vacated by Angelina Jolie.
The $80 million 3D survival story centers on a woman stranded on a space station after satellite debris slams into it and wipes out the rest of the crew. Robert Downey Jr. already has committed to a supporting role, but much of the picture is devoted to the female character, who must survive a solitary ordeal much in the way Tom Hanks did in "Cast Away" or James Franco does in "127 Hours," another Telluride sneak screening.
Alfonso Cuaron, who will direct from a script he wrote with his son Jonas, got the green light from the studio to relay the offer to Portman without requiring a screen test. She is expected to read the latest version of the script this week and decide shortly.
Although Cuaron, Downey and the studio have juggled multiple potential stars, including Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively, none has come up all cherries. But the role now is Portman's if she feels up for it. As an added benefit to the studio, even with a nice raise, her salary would only come in at about half of Jolie's.
"Gravity" is slated to shoot at the end of January, before Downey goes off to other engagements.
Portman already has three projects on their way to theaters: the Paramount romantic comedy "No Strings" in January, the Universal comedy "Your Highness" in April and the Marvel/Paramount comic book actioner "Thor" in May.
But it is her turn as the ambitious but psychologically fragile ballet dancer in "Swan," a role she developed with Aronofsky for years, that has wowed studios and filmmakers scrambling to cast her.
Scuttlebutt at Telluride after its first screenings is that, based solely on "Swan" reviews during the previous few days, Terrence Malick wants Portman for a Jerry Lee Lewis-related project he's developing with Brad Pitt, and Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love") also apparently is writing something for her. This is in addition to widespread opinion that Portman will be fielding major awards attention at year's end. Fox Searchlight will release "Swan" on December 1.
Natalie Portman, a paragon of virtue in the Star Wars films and an actress often typecast as the girl next door, is the talk of the town at the Venice Film Festival this week with her racy, gritty role in the ballerina thriller Black Swan.
The film is earning early Oscar buzz for Portman, 29, who "hyper-trained" for six months for the extremely physical role, and who shares a steamy lesbian love scene in the movie with actress Mila Kunis.
The director, Darren Aronofsky, "talked to me about this [sex] scene in our first meeting eight years ago," Portman told reporters in Venice, according to Reuters.
"He described it as: 'You're going to have a sex scene with yourself.' And I thought that was very interesting, because this movie is in so many ways an exploration of an artist's ego and that narcissistic sort of attraction to yourself and also repulsion with yourself."
In the movie, Portman plays Nina, a ballerina whose fiery passion for performing causes her to become mentally unhinged. The mental and physical preparation for the role were both grueling for the actress.
"Six months ahead of the film, I went into sort of hyper-training, where five hours a day I was doing both ballet and cross-training, with swimming," Portman tells Britain's Press Association. "A few months before was when we started getting into the choreography. It was very extreme."
Reviews have been mostly positive for the film, and glowing for Portman. The Hollywood Reporter says the actress "bravely ventured out of her comfort zone to play a character slowly losing sight of herself. It's a bravura performance."
The movie combines horror-movie tropes with "The Red Shoes," "All About Eve" and every movie about show business that insists you don't have to be crazy to become a star but it doesn't hurt either. It's so damn out-there in every way that you can't help admiring Aronofsky for daring to be so very, very absurd. It made its world premiere as the opening film at the Venice International Film Festival on Wednesday.
"Swan" is an instant guilty pleasure, a gorgeously shot, visually complex film whose badness is what's so good about it. You might howl at the sheer audacity of mixing mental illness with the body-fatiguing, mind-numbing rigors of ballet, but its lurid imagery and a hellcat competition between two rival dancers is pretty irresistible. Certain to divide audiences, "Swan" won't lack for controversy, but will any of this build an audience? Don't bet against it.
"Swan" bears a resemblance to Aronofsky's most recent film, "The Wrestler." Its battered, lonely protagonist was a pro wrestler who drags his weary body into the ring night after night because that's what he is -- a wrestler. Same with Natalie Portman's Nina, a sinewy, thin slip of a ballerina whose body actually cracks loudly while getting out of bed. But she heads into the dance studio every day to pirouette on bloody toes and strain every muscle in her body. Because that's what she does.
Only Aronofsky suggests, right from an opening dream sequence, that Nina might be cracking up. He keeps the camera close to his heroine, not just so objects and people can suddenly loom next to her as in all horror flicks, but to suggest a certain amount of paranoia and claustrophobia.
Nina lives with an emotionally smothering mother, played by Barbara Hershey in as unflattering makeup, hairstyle and lighting as possible. Mom hovers obsessively over her daughter, watching everything from her diet to nervous habits, like scratching her skin until it bleeds. However, as with any of the lurid visions in this movie -- bloody nails, breaking bones, puncture wounds, nasty sutures -- you're never quite sure how real they are. They could be figments of Nina's fervid imagination.
A New York ballet company's artistic director, Thomas (Vincent Cassel, the only unambiguous character in the film), selects Nina for the double role of the White Swan and Black Swan in his provocative new take on that old war horse "Swan Lake." He knows Nina can nail the White Swan, but he's not so sure she can embody the dark side of the Swan Queen. So he imports from the West Coast another dancer, Lily (Mila Kunis), whose cunning, deviousness and rampant Id make her an ideal Black Swan. Lily becomes Nina's alternate for the Swan Queen -- and her rival.
Nina got the role in the first place when Thomas cavalierly tossed aside the company's previous prima ballerina, Beth (Winona Ryder). Beth slinks around the film's periphery, hissing obscenities and accusations until she winds up in a hospital after walking in front of a car. Like the mother character, Beth exists to up the ante of paranoia and tension as mental chaos relentlessly assails Nina.
Nina's drive for perfection runs roughshod over her health and friendships. Nothing else matters. Thomas eggs her on, using sexual abuse and intimidation to get her to "lose yourself" in darkness. If he only knew how truly lost Nina is in that darkness. What she really is losing is her sense of reality.
All this psycho drama builds to a fever pitch braced by the woozy lyricism of Tchaikovsky's music, sumptuous choreography by New York City Ballet star Benjamin Millepied and Matthew Libatique's darting, weaving camera. By "Swan Lake's" opening night, the film surrenders to the surreal when Nina's body grows feathers and horrific backstage mayhem vanishes on cue.
Aronofsky, working with an original script by Andres Heinz that later was rewritten by Mark Heyman and John McLaughlin, never succeeds in wedding genre elements to the world of ballet. The film takes its cues from "Swan Lake" itself as demons, doubles and death dance in Nina's head. She can only approach perfection by becoming the dual character she plays -- the innocent and the evil.
Portman, who has danced but is no ballerina, does a more than credible job in the big dance numbers and the tough rehearsals that are so essential to the film. In her acting, too, you sense she has bravely ventured out of her comfort zone to play a character slowly losing sight of herself. It's a bravura performance. Kunis makes a perfect alternate to Portman, equally as lithe and dark but a smirk of self-assurance in place of Portman's wide-eyed fearfulness. Indeed, White Swan/Black Swan dynamics almost work, but the horror-movie nonsense drags everything down the rabbit hole of preposterousness.
The arrival of a rival dancer, played by Mila Kunis, triggers both obsessive jealousy and sexual liberation in a plot echoing that of the ballet around which it revolves.
A steamy love scene between the actresses and elements of violence and horror make it a departure from clean-cut on-screen roles often associated with Portman.
"(Director) Darren (Aronofsky) talked to me about this (sex) scene in our first meeting eight years ago," Portman told reporters in Venice after a press screening.
"He described it as: 'You're going to have a sex scene with yourself,' and I thought that was very interesting because this movie is in so many ways an exploration of an artist's ego and that narcissistic sort of attraction to yourself and also repulsion with yourself."
Portman, her co-stars and the Venice jury led by director Quentin Tarantino walked the red carpet at the official world premiere, signing autographs and mingling with hundreds of fans.
"I just want to say 'amore cinema'," Tarantino told the opening ceremony.
Aronofsky won the top prize in Venice -- the Golden Lion for best picture -- two years ago with "The Wrestler," and he said he saw similarities between it and Black Swan.
"The more I looked into the world of ballet, I actually started to see all these similarities to the world of wrestling -- they both have these performers that use their bodies in extremely intense physical ways."
French actor Vincent Cassel, who plays the ballet director, wondered why anyone would want to go into the world of dance.
"I think if you want to be a dancer it has to be a vocation. It's like being a priest, really, because you work so hard, you work every day, it hurts like crazy and you make no money. So I guess it's just not something one should do."
"Black Swan" made its world premiere as the opening film at the Venice Film Festival's 67th edition on Wednesday, bringing the American director back on the Lido, where "The Wrestler" won the top Golden Lion prize two years ago.
"The more I looked into the world of ballet, I actually started to see all these similarities to the world of wrestling," the 41-year-old Aronofsky said at a news conference. "They both have these performers that use their bodies in sort of extremely, intense physical ways. Their entire performance is based on intense physicality."
The psychological melodrama is set in the world of New York City ballet and stars Natalie Portman as a perfection-seeking ballerina keen to win the role of prima-ballerina now that the long-reigning star is retiring. She is smothered by her overprotective mother, played by Barbara Hershey, a former dancer who, in one of many dichotomies in the film, may be acting out of concern for her daughter's well-being or jealousy over her success.
Old jealousies and new rivalries are central to the drama, and it's no surprise that much of the tension and duality is expressed in the figures of the White Swan, the perfectionist, and the Black Swan, the unrepressed inner-self.
Portman, who danced as a child, started to train a year before filming for the part.
"Six months ahead of the film, I went into sort of hyper-training, where five hours a day I was doing both ballet and cross-training, with swimming," Portman said. "A few months before was when we started getting into the choreography. It was very extreme."
Benjamin Millepied, a dancer who appeared in the film and who provided entree into the ballet world, said the training included a Russian dancer's focus on upper-body and head coordination — and many of Portman's dancing scenes focus tightly, sometimes dizzily, on her upper half.
As in "The Wrestler," Aronofsky does not spare viewers from the physical realities of the protagonist's world. Portman's "Nina" unwraps her feet after pushing herself through a series of pirouettes to find her big toe nail painfully split and bloodied. That is only part of her physical suffering, and the cause of which is mysterious.
The film is shot with a muted palate and in a grainy style that Aronofsky said was meant to merge the highly stylistic mood of his earlier work and the documentary style used in "The Wrestler."
Unlike other worlds that Aronofsky has been welcomed into when he proposed a film, the insular ballet universe had no interest in opening its doors, the director said.
"They just all shrugged and didn't return calls," Aronofsky said. "Slowly, through meeting Benjamin and a couple of other people, we got the stamp of approval that we were trying to do something cool. ... We tried to capture as much of that reality in a real documentary sense."
And if he failed? "We are terrified of the ballet backlash," Aronofsky jested. "These dancers are very dangerous."
While in the program notes Aronofsky said he hoped that theaters would double-bill "Black Swan" and "The Wrestler," the director told reporters that the reality in the era of new media and ever-changing delivery platforms is evolving to be otherwise.
"Who knows if any of us will be showing films in movie theaters when you've got your iPod and iPad all the time," Aronofsky said. "We made jokes the whole time about doing an iPad mix when we were mixing the film because probably most people on this planet will see it on some sort of device. They won't see it in a big theater."
At Venice, "Black Swan" was being premiered on the big screen at the Lido's glitzy Casino, the first billing in a rare opening night triple-header along with Andrew Lau's "Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen," and Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" — both playing out of competition.
"Machete," the story of a border vigilante starring Danny Trejo, along with Jessica Alba as an FBI agent tackling illegal immigration, started out as a faux trailer, and then was expanded into a feature-length film after audiences responded with enthusiasm.
Rodriguez said the appeal was in seeing a Hispanic character portrayed as a super hero, played by Trejo, a character actor who has appeared in 179 films.
"Danny should have been the lead all along. He just was never given the opportunity," Rodriguez said.
"Black Swan" is one of 23 films, one still unannounced, vying for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept. 11.
Fans screamed for autographs as a minor galaxy of Italian television starlets jockeyed for the limelight on the way into the Palazzo del Cinema on the Lido for the opener of the 67th edition of the Mostra.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was in attendance, but entered the venue separately.
Ballet dancer, actress and goodwill ambassador Carla Fracci, 74, was also on hand to view the psychological thriller, one of the first US films to open the Mostra in years.
Portman, who plays the prima ballerina in "Black Swan" beset by inner demons and the cruel pressures of New York's cutthroat ballet scene, said of the film as she went into the gala event: "It investigates the conflict of your ego."
She was accompanied by co-star Vincent Cassel of France, who plays the brilliant but manipulative director.
Cassel, who like Portman practised ballet as a child, told a news conference earlier: "For one to be a ballet dancer it has to be a vocation, like being a priest.",P>The opening day of the festival, which runs through September 11, was marred by the absence of prominent Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who was unable to travel to Venice for the screening of his short film "The Accordion".
Authorities have refused to return Panahi's passport, revoked nine months ago. He was jailed for three months after being arrested in March while shooting a film about the aftermath of Iran's disputed June 2009 polls.
"When a filmmaker is not allowed to make films, he is mentally imprisoned. He may not be confined to a small cell, but he is still wandering in a larger prison," Panahi said in a statement read out at the festival.
Panahi's "The Circle" criticising the treatment of women in Iran won the Golden Lion here in 2000.
A total of 24 films are competing for the top prize this year, with the late addition of "Essential Killing" by Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski.
A "surprise" candidate is to be announced on Sunday.
On Thursday, Vietnamese-born Tran Anh Hung will present "Norwegian Wood" alongside "The Black Sheep" by Italy's Ascanio Celestini.
This year Venice will screen 79 full-length world premieres from 34 countries including a work from the Dominican Republic for the first time, about its neighbour Haiti.
Tarantino's jury also includes fellow directors Arnaud Desplechin of France, Guillermo Arriaga of Mexico and Italy's Gabriele Salvatores.
They will choose winners for the Golden Lion for best film, Volpi Cups for best actor and actress, and a special jury prize, among other awards.
It is the 67th edition of the Mostra, which began in 1932 in the lagoon city.
And, whew boy, this baby doesn't disappoint.
In Darren Aronofsky's new thriller, Portman plays a prima ballerina primed to take the lead role in her NYC company's production of Swan Lake. But wait! In swans newbie Mila Kunis, who catches company director—and dancer romancer—Vincent Cassel's eye. As the two women become frenemies, Natalie discovers her own dark side.
It's like a ballet version of Showgirls! But actually cool and creepy, not just campy.
So what do you think? Has the trailer got your feathers ruffled, too—in a good way?
But the highly coveted role of Lisbeth Salander, the punky math genius and computer hacker in Stieg Larsson's best-selling mystery novel, won't be going to a familiar face in Hollywood.
Natalie Portman, Ellen Page and Carey Mulligan were rumored to be front-runners – and PEOPLE.com readers voted for casting Kristen Stewart in the role. But, according to an Entertainment Weekly report, four relatively unknown actresses are actually up for the role. They are:
Rooney Mara: Born and raised in New York, her showbiz career started with small roles on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and ER. Breaking away from the family business of sports – she's the great-granddaughter of Pittsburgh Steelers founder Art Rooney and Giants founder Tim Mara – she was recently seen in A Nightmare on Elm Street and will next appear alongside Justin Timberlake in The Social Network.
Léa Seydoux: The Paris-based actress hit the Cannes Film Festival this year with Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett to promote their film Robin Hood, and though her resume is mostly packed with French films she was also in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.
Sarah Snook and Sophie Lowe: Both from Australia, they haven't made their U.S. debut yet but Lowe has a few Aussie projects under her belt, while Snook only recently kicked off her career in 2009 with a small spot on a popular medical drama.
Of the four, who do you think should play Lisbeth?
The director took home a Golden Lion, the event's top prize, for The Wrestler in 2008. Now he has been given the honor of opening this year's 11-day event on Sept. 1 with Black Swan, a ballet-themed thriller due in late fall. "The cast and crew of Black Swan are both excited and humbled by the selection committee's invitation," Aronofsky said in a press announcement. "It is an honor to walk the great red carpet on the Lido, and we are excited to premiere our film to the wonderful audiences in Venice."
The dark tale with psychological twists stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a technically brilliant ballerina whose life takes some strange turns after being picked as the lead in a New York City production of Swan Lake. Pressures mount as her overbearing mother (Barbara Hershey) pushes her to succeed and her manipulative dance master (Vincent Cassel) commands her to be more seductive and loose in her performance.
Complicating matters is the arrival of Lily (Mila Kunis), a sultry dancer who exhibits all the innate ease and sexuality that Nina lacks. Nina begins to fixate on the newcomer as the two forge an unusual relationship.
"The worldwide attention given to the Venice film festival provides an exciting launch for Black Swan," says Nancy Utley, president of Fox Searchlight. "We are very proud of our collaboration with Darren."
After its premiere in Venice, The Wrestler went on to awards season glory, earning actor Mickey Rourke his first Oscar nomination and a chance at a career comeback. Fox Searchlight, which bought The Wrestler at the Toronto film festival after its Venice success, has similar hopes for Black Swan— and especially for Portman, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting part in 2004's Closer.
As the actress tells USA TODAY about her troubled Nina: "The character was very interesting to play, always challenging and surprising. The fact that I had spent so much time with the idea — Darren and I started discussing doing the film in 2000 — allowed it to marinate a little before we shot."
The film, by U.S. director Darren Aronofsky, also features Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder and centers on the rivalry between two dancers at a ballet company in New York.
Aronofsky won Venice's top prize, the Golden Lion, in 2008 with "The Wrestler."
The Venice festival runs from Sept 1-11. The full line-up will be unveiled later this month.
The first, well, if you don't already know, then congratulations on finally managing to get out from under that rock. The second, well, it's all about the pretty.
That's right, People has unwisely chosen today to unveil the aesthetically pleasing crop of superstars that make up this year's list of Most Beautiful People, with the much coveted cover shot going to Sandra Bullock Angelina Jolie Halle Berry Julia Roberts, her fourth such time as the Most Most Beautiful Person.
She's called a Pretty Woman for a reason, folks. And it's not just because it makes for a good pun. Of course, she's not alone in the genetic winners' circle, getting joined this year by everybody's favorite sparkle vamp Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart (they're kind of a set), Jennifers Aniston, Garner and Lopez, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Saldana, Scarlett Johansson, Bradley Cooper and the dreamiest, wittiest deodorant hawker out there, Isaiah Mustafa, to name a few. Now here's the rest:
First, the ladies. Joining the lookers in the list proper is Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, small-screen babe Sofia Vergara, newly engaged songbird Katy Perry, suddenly prolific starlet Amanda Seyfried, Good Wife's Julianna Margulies and Gossip Girl star Jessica Szohr.
As for the fellas, Ryan Reynolds, Johnny Depp, front-sweeper extraordinaire Justin Bieber and Grey's Anatomy hunks Patrick Dempsey and Kevin McKidd also made the cut.
Among those forced to bear the title of Hot: our own Kim Kardashian and Kendra Wilkinson made the cut. They're joined by Glee's Dianna Agron, Adam Lambert, Christina Hendricks, Gabourey Sidibe, Kelly Osbourne and Miley Cyrus.
The magazine's round-up of Beautiful at Every Age is where K. Stew makes the scene, and she's joined by...well, just about every hot young star you can think of (hey, every year has a publicist-appeasing catch-all category, and this is 2010's).
Joining the ranks are Vanessa Hudgens, Blake Lively, Megan Fox (no hot list is complete without her!), Freida Pinto, America Ferrera, Anne Hathaway, Beyoncé, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Kate Hudson, January Jones, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, Eva Mendes, Jenny McCarthy, Taraji P. Henson, Gwen Stefani, Lucy Liu, Kate Walsh, Cindy Crawford, Marisa Tomei, Mariska Hargitay (still with us? Hang in there!), Demi Moore, Sheryl Crow, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michelle Pfeiffer, Annette Bening, Christie Brinkley and Meryl Streep, among other decade-spanning beauties.
This year's crop of stars who we hate look good without makeup are Ashley Greene, Diane Kruger, Heidi Klum, Kerry Washington, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Robin Wright and Selena Gomez.
People also helpfully took the guesswork out of naming Hollywood's All-Time Screen Beauties (until next year, that is), dividing the stunning leading ladies into decade-size bites.
The Noughties are well represented by Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Angelina Jolie, Penélope Cruz, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Lopez. The '90s were apparently blinded by the beauty of Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, Michelle Yeoh, Winona Ryder, Nicole Kidman and Meg Ryan. The '80s belonged to Brooke Shields and Kim Basinger.
Oddly absent from the list—or at least from the online preview of the list—is Sandra Bullock, but we're guessing (hoping) that the magazine's editors didn't want to oversaturate the market. We're sure she'll make the cut when the issue hits newsstands this week...right, People?!
Winter and spring:
ALICE IN WONDERLAND: Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's take on the Lewis Carroll adventures of a girl who goes through the looking glass.
THE BACK-UP PLAN: A woman (Jennifer Lopez) meets the right guy — just after she gets pregnant through artificial insemination.
THE BOOK OF ELI: Denzel Washington whups some butt as a prophet protecting a critical text in post-apocalyptic America.
THE BOUNTY HUNTER: Jennifer Aniston is a bail-jumping reporter pursued by her bounty-hunter ex-hubby (Gerard Butler).
CLASH OF THE TITANS: Ancient Greek hero Perseus (Sam Worthington) takes on Hades, lord of the underworld. With Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes.
COP OUT: A stolen baseball card sets two detectives (Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan) on the path of a memorabilia-obsessed mobster.
CREATION: Charles Darwin (Paul Bettany) copes with grief over a lost daughter as he struggles with his theory of evolution. With Jennifer Connelly.
DATE NIGHT: A weekly night out turns into a wild ride for a suburban couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) whose romance has become routine.
DEAR JOHN: A soldier (Channing Tatum) and a woman (Amanda Seyfried) carry out a seven-year romance from a distance while he's on assignment.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL: Crazy things happen at a family patriarch's funeral. With Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover.
DISTRICT B13: ULTIMATUM: Martial-arts heroes return to try to quell unrest in a walled crime ghetto in this follow up to the French thriller.,P>EDGE OF DARKNESS: Mel Gibson is a homicide cop whose daughter's murder takes him into a dark world of corporate and government conspiracy.
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES: A father (Brendan Fraser) teams with a maverick doctor (Harrison Ford) to find a cure for his kids' fatal illness. With Keri Russell.
FROM PARIS WITH LOVE: A trigger-happy spy (John Travolta) and his inexperienced partner (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) try to crack a crime gang.
FURRY VENGEANCE: Animals fight back against the housing developer (Brendan Fraser) whose project threatens their habitat.
GREENBERG: A man (Ben Stiller) searching for meaning finds potential romance while house-sitting for his brother.
GREEN ZONE: Matt Damon goes searching for weapons of mass destruction in a thriller set in Iraq as the war there heats up in 2003.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: The world of the Vikings gets a makeover in this animated story of a misfit teen and his dragon.
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: A con man (Jim Carrey) finds his soul mate (Ewan McGregor) while doing prison time.
KICK-ASS: A youth with no superpowers dons a costume to fight crime as a superhero. With Nicolas Cage.
THE LAST SONG: Miley Cyrus is a teen whose estranged father (Greg Kinnear) tries to reconnect with her through music.
LEGION: The archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) and a group of strangers are humanity's last hope for salvation.
THE LOSERS: A Special Forces team seeks revenge after its members are betrayed and presumed dead on a mission. With Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
MACGRUBER: The "Saturday Night Live" bit about a hapless special-ops man (Will Forte) gets big-screen treatment. With Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig.
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET: Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley) is back to terrorize people in their dreams in an update of the 1980s slasher franchise.
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF: A teen demigod is caught up in a potential war among the gods of Olympus, alive and well in modern times.
REMEMBER ME: "Twilight" star Robert Pattinson and "Lost" co-star Emilie de Ravin cope with romance amid adversity. With Pierce Brosnan.
REPO MEN: In a future where mechanical organs are repossessed for lack of payment, a former repo man (Jude Law) becomes the prey of his old partner (Forest Whitaker).
SAINT JOHN OF LAS VEGAS: A compulsive gambler (Steve Buscemi) fights temptation while trying to change his life. With Sarah Silverman.
SEASON OF THE WITCH: A medieval knight (Nicolas Cage) is assigned to escort a peasant girl the church suspects of bringing on the Black Plague by witchcraft.
SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE: An average guy (Jay Baruchel) scores big when a super-babe inexplicably falls for him.
SHUTTER ISLAND: Leonardo DiCaprio reunites with director Martin Scorsese in a tale set at a hospital for the criminally insane.
THE SPY NEXT DOOR: Jackie Chan balances his day job as a spy with baby-sitting his girlfriend's three kids.
TOOTH FAIRY: A mean-spirited hockey star (Dwayne Johnson) is sentenced to do time as a tooth fairy, with magic wings and wand. With Ashley Judd, Julie Andrews.
TYLER PERRY'S WHY DID I GET MARRIED TOO?: Filmmaker Perry co-stars with Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba and other cast mates for this relationship sequel.
VALENTINE'S DAY: A superstar cast copes with the trials of love. With Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher.
WALL STREET 2: Oliver Stone and Michael Douglas bring corporate raider Gordon Gekko out of mothballs in a tale of today's financial fiasco. With Shia LaBeouf.
WHEN IN ROME: Passions are magically aroused when a tourist retrieves coins tossed in a fountain of love. With Kristen Bell, Josh Duhamel, Danny DeVito.
THE WOLFMAN: Benicio Del Toro is a man who finds the curse of the werewolf haunting his family when he returns to his ancestral home.___
Summer season:
THE A-TEAM: The TV action series goes big-screen as former Special Forces troops set out to clear their names. With Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper.
CATS & DOGS: REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE: Cats and dogs unite to take on a nutty feline bent on global domination. With Christina Applegate.
DESPICABLE ME: Steve Carell leads the voice cast in an animated tale of a villain whose plot to steal the moon is sidelined by three orphan girls.
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS: A young exec (Paul Rudd) finds the perfect buffoon (Steve Carell) for his boss' monthly "dinner for idiots."
EAT PRAY LOVE: Julia Roberts plays a divorced woman on a worldwide journey to find meaning in her life. With James Franco, Javier Bardem.
THE EXPENDABLES: Sylvester Stallone directs and stars in a thriller about mercenaries betrayed on a mission. With Jet Li, Jason Statham.
GET HIM TO THE GREEK: A record company intern (Jonah Hill) has to escort an unruly rock legend to the first concert of his comeback tour.
GROWN UPS: Childhood pals (Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade) reunite as adults. With Salma Hayek, Maria Bello.
INCEPTION: Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a science-fiction thriller from director Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight").
IRON MAN 2: Robert Downey Jr. slips back into his metal suit to face new foes. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Mickey Rourke.
JONAH HEX: A disfigured bounty hunter (Josh Brolin) battles a villain aiming to unleash hell on Earth. With Megan Fox, John Malkovich.
THE KARATE KID: Jackie Chan imparts kung fu wisdom to a Detroit youth (Jaden Smith) uprooted by his family's move to China in an update of the 1980s hit.
KILLERS: An ex-assassin (Ashton Kutcher) and his wife (Katherine Heigl) go on the run after he's targeted for a hit in this action comedy.
KNIGHT AND DAY: Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are a fugitive couple on a jet-setting adventure around the globe.
THE LAST AIRBENDER: M. Night Shyamalan adapts the animated TV show about a young savior with the power to end warfare among four nations with mystical powers.
LETTERS TO JULIET: An old letter to the doomed heroine of "Romeo and Juliet" sparks romance for two women (Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave).
THE LOTTERY TICKET: A ghetto dweller (Bow Wow) fends off greedy neighbors after he wins $370 million in the lottery. With Ice Cube.
MARMADUKE: Owen Wilson provides the voice of the Great Dane in a family comedy based on the canine comic strip.
MEET THE PARENTS 3: Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro find new ways to test their in-law relationship in the "Meet the Fockers" follow up.
THE OTHER GUYS: A detective more interested in paperwork and a street-tough cop (Mark Wahlberg) are partnered up. With Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson.
PREDATORS: Hardcore human killers become prey for alien hunters in a new take on the sci-fi franchise. With Adrien Brody, Topher Grace.
PRIEST: A renegade priest (Paul Bettany) tracks a gang of vampires that have abducted his niece.
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME: The video-game adaptation stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a fugitive prince who finds a dagger of enormous power.
RAMONA AND BEEZUS: The pesky young heroine of Beverly Cleary's best sellers comes to life in an adaptation of the children's books.
ROBIN HOOD: Russell Crowe reunites with director Ridley Scott for a fresh take on the 13th-century soldier turned folk hero. With Cate Blanchett.
SALT: Angelina Jolie is a CIA operative on the lam after she's accused of spying for Russia. With Liev Schreiber.
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: To win his dream woman, a slacker musician (Michael Cera) must vanquish her seven evil ex-boyfriends.
SEX AND THE CITY 2: Sarah Jessica Parker and her Manhattan mates return for more fashionable urban romantic angst.
SHREK FOREVER AFTER: Mike Myers' ogre is hurled into an alternate reality where he and his true love never met. With Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas.
THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE: An ancient wizard (Nicolas Cage) recruits a protege (Jay Baruchel) to battle an evil foe (Alfred Molina).
STEP UP 3-D: Street dancers and a college freshman square off in a competition against world-class hip-hop dancers.
TAKERS: A detective (Matt Dillon) pursues a gang of bank robbers (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Tip "T.I." Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Michael Ealy).
TOY STORY 3: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and their plaything pals face abandonment after their kid grows up in this animated sequel.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE: Danger comes calling again for a teen (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire and werewolf suitors (Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner).
____
Fall and holiday season:
ALPHA AND OMEGA: Two wolves relocated halfway across the country try to return home. The animated tale features the voices of Justin Long, Hayden Panettiere.
THE AMERICAN: A hit man (George Clooney) finds romance and friendship in Italy while awaiting what he hopes will be his last assignment.
BURLESQUE: Christina Aguilera aims for stardom with a musical revue at an aging theater. With Cher, Stanley Tucci.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER: C.S. Lewis' young heroes land aboard an incredible ship as the fantasy series resumes.
DUE DATE: Robert Downey Jr. stars as a first-time dad who has to hitch a ride with an actor (Zach Galinianakis) to get home in time for his baby's birth.
FLIPPED: Rob Reiner directs a story of first love following a smitten girl and unwilling boy from grade school to junior high.
GOING THE DISTANCE: A couple (Drew Barrymore and Justin Long) struggle to make their bicoastal romance work.
THE GREEN HORNET: A rich party boy (Seth Rogen) turns to crime-fighting as the masked Hornet. With Cameron Diaz.
GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE: A young owl battles to save his kind from evil enemies in this animated family adventure.
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS: Jack Black does a modern take on the world-traveling hero who encounters a race of tiny people on his sojourn.
HEREAFTER: Paths cross for three people around the world who are touched by death. Clint Eastwood directs, Matt Damon stars.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS — PART 1: The young wizards (Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint) aim to destroy the crux of evil Voldemort's power.
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT: Mismatched godparents (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) must team up as guardians for their orphaned goddaughter.
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: Romance develops between a free spirit (Anne Hathaway) and a dauntless Viagra salesman (Jake Gyllenhaal).
MEGAMIND: A supervillain flirts with virtue after his superhero opponent turns to the dark side in an animated tale featuring the voices of Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell.
MORNING GLORY: A TV morning-show producer (Rachel McAdams) copes with a clash between her tough newsman (Harrison Ford) and his new co-host (Diane Keaton).
RAPUNZEL: Mandy Moore provides the voice of the long-haired fairy-tale princess locked away in a tower in this animated musical.
RED DAWN: A group of youths forms a guerrilla army to fight back against military forces that have invaded America.
SAW VII: The horror franchise returns for part seven in the diabolical games initiated by killer Jigsaw.
SECRETARIAT: A housewife (Diane Lane) and trainer (John Malkovich) team to raise the 1973 Triple Crown-winning racehorse.
THE TOWN: Ben Affleck directs and stars as a bank robber who falls into romance with his former hostage (Rebecca Hall).
TRON: LEGACY: Jeff Bridges reprises his 1982 character, whose son (Garrett Hedlund) is pulled into the digital world where his dad has disappeared.
UNSTOPPABLE: A railway engineer (Denzel Washington) and a conductor (Chris Pine) race to stop a runaway train carrying toxic cargo.
YOGI BEAR: The smarter-than-average bear of the TV cartoons comes to the big screen in a live-action and animation combo. With Dan Aykroyd.
YOU AGAIN: Rivalries are renewed after a woman (Kristen Bell) learns her brother's marrying her high school nemesis. With Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis.
YOUR HIGHNESS: A black sheep knight (Danny McBride), his perfect brother (James Franco) and a fierce warrior (Natalie Portman) embark on rescue mission.
ZOOKEEPER: A kindly zookeeper (Kevin James) gets romantic advice from the animals in his charge.
Portman, who's currently starring in "Brothers," will take the lead role in "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," based on the book by Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, who added the flesh-eating undead to Austen's tale of two sisters searching for love and happiness.
Portman will also be a producer of the movie, along with partner Annette Savitch. "Natalie and I are longtime passionate fans of Jane Austen's books and this is a fresh, fun and thought-provoking way to approach her work," Savitch tells Variety. "The idea of zombies running rampant in 19th century England may sound odd, but it lends a modern sense of urgency to a well-known love story."
"Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick and Ted Hamm will also serve as producers. There's no word yet on a director or screenwriter.
Drama fans will enjoy Brothers, a tragic story about an American family played out against a backdrop of war.
Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal play siblings in a blue-collar family, with Maguire leading life as the older, serious brother and Gyllenhaal playing the black sheep.
The story begins with Gyllenhaal getting out of jail just in time to bid his brother goodbye -- Maguire is going back to Afghanistan. He must leave his wife (Natalie Portman) and kids, yet again.
It's no secret that Maguire's character is soon reported missing and presumed dead. (That's all revealed in the ads and trailers for the movie. And too bad.) At any rate, in this time of grieving, Gyllenhaal tries to be responsible for his brother's family. He drinks less. He's more responsible. He turns up to play with the children, comfort the wife, help with a house renovation.
Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all.
After watching Maguire's soldier character behave as if he had a pickle up a prominent orifice, you can see how a person might prefer the company of the naughty younger brother.
While Portman and Gyllenhaal slowly get to know each other, the audience gets to see Maguire's character being held captive and tortured in Afghanistan. It's obvious that he is going through hell. Later, he brings that hell home with him. When our soldier returns to the United States, his obsession is his wife's relationship with his brother.
Will he regain his relationship with his family? Will he regain his sanity? Will he forgive himself for what happened while he was away?
You could say that Brothers is far more a family story than a war story, but neither element ever feels fully realized. There's something essential missing from this movie -- heart, you might say -- and more than a few of the performances ring false. In a cast that includes Sam Shepard, Carey Mulligan and a couple of precocious child actors, only Mare Winningham, as the brothers' stepmother, seems to fully inhabit her character. (Sam Shepard's turn as a hard-drinking, taciturn vet never quite manages to establish a war-is-hell-on-the-family continuum.)
You never forget that you're watching a movie. That's a bad sign. And those not emotionally invested in the whole Middle East debacle may find it difficult to empathize.
And that's our opinion. Other people will tell you that they think Maguire will get an Oscar nomination for his performance here, and that others in the cast may very well join him in the nominations lineup.
Is there a category for chewing the scenery?
But it's actually a remake of a 2004 Danish film, directed here by Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot) and written by David Benioff (The Kite Runner). The eponymous brothers of the title appear to be polar opposites. Sam, a Marine captain (Tobey Maguire), is an upstanding family man. Clearly the favorite son of his ex-Marine father, Hank (Sam Shepard), Sam also is the cherished husband of Grace (Natalie Portman) and the father of two girls. His son's military service is a point of pride with the hard-nosed Hank. But it becomes a bone of contention for Grace when Sam is called to serve his fourth tour of duty.
Just before Sam ships off, his hard-drinking, black-sheep brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), is released from prison. In the eyes of their unyielding father, Tommy is an unforgiveable screw-up. But the siblings have an evident affection for each other. Not really the extremes they are painted to be, both suffered through their father's turbulent bouts, though the family drama took them on divergent paths.
The film focuses on that drama and on repressed emotions that explode when Sam returns home after being captured and tortured by the Taliban and presumed dead. While his model brother was gone, Tommy had begun to overcome his ne'er-do-well reputation, stepping in to help Grace and his nieces.
Maguire reveals a coiled ferocity and a convincingly unhinged, haunted quality. It's a little tougher to buy Gyllenhaal's sweet-natured Tommy as an armed robber. His transformation into a responsible good guy happens swiftly. Still, the two actors bear a resemblance, and their chemistry is evident. Portman is subdued and reactive in a part that doesn't call for her to do much else.
Sheridan is a consistently agile storyteller, drawing strong performances from even the youngest actors. Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare are excellent as Sam and Grace's young daughters, derailed by their dad's scary bouts of anger and his newfound coldness. The youthful portrayals recall the indelible roles of the young daughters in Sheridan's wonderful 2003 film, In America.
Though there are several powerful and poignant scenes, the film also features moments of unnecessary contrivance. An eruption during a family dinner treads familiar cinematic territory. Sam's escalating rage leads predictably to its crescendoing conclusion.
But in exploring the complicated nature of family bonds, Brothers is thought-provoking. The wounds inflicted by the cruelty of a troubled parent can prove as painful as battle scars.
Brothers * * * out of four
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Bailee Madison, Mare Winningham
Director: Jim Sheridan
Distributor: Lionsgate
Rating: R for language and some disturbing violent content
Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Opens today in select cities
After 20 years as a vegetarian, she has become a vegan. She has moved cross-country, leaving her longtime home base of Manhattan for Los Angeles. And on screen, she's embracing her first full-fledged adult role, as a mother of two coming to terms with the presumed death of her Marine husband — and an increasing attraction to his troubled sibling — in the drama Brothers, in theaters Friday.
Portman, 28, is all grown up. Well, almost, she hedges with a husky chuckle.
"I'm trying to find roles that demand more adulthood from me because you can get stuck in a very awful cute cycle as a woman in film — especially being such a small person. I'm a really late bloomer. In my own life, it's only been the last couple of years where I'm like, I'm an adult. I'm not totally an adult but …" she trails off, smiling.
Portman seems to effortlessly balance the whimsy of youth with a focused, mature manner. And that's why director Jim Sheridan cast her as a young mom in his remake of the 2004 Danish drama.
"I could see (Natalie) transitioning from a child star into an adult. There's a mature quality to Natalie, even though she might have played the young girl way back when. It's a difficult job, but once she has two kids and you see her married, you're forced to accept her," Sheridan says. "There's something very mature about her outlook, isn't there? She was never Lindsay Lohan or anything. She was always wise beyond her years. She's tough as nails."
So is Portman's Grace, a seemingly delicate but inwardly steely military wife in Brothers who learns that her husband is dead, only to find out that he's not, and deals with the emotionally scarred man who returns home from battle. Sheridan cast Portman after being struck by the fortitude behind her dainty exterior. And he liked the idea of seeing Portman step into adult territory as a mother protecting her children.
Before shooting, Portman met with Army wives to understand how they managed their lives. Unlike the "masters of the house" she met, Portman says, she herself is "a mush. I'm not very tough at all. It takes a lot to be home with your kids and be strong for your husband."
Portman, who was born in Israel — where military service is compulsory for men and women — can relate to what Grace goes through as the spouse of a soldier. "Look, if I'd stayed in Israel, I would have probably ended up in the military myself. I'm very obedient, very disciplined. I probably could have done it in that way. But otherwise, I'm kind of scared of all of that world."
Motherhood, on the other hand, is second nature to Portman. She clicked with Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare, who play her daughters in the film. Having been a child while shooting The Professional in 1994, she knows how daunting a movie set can be for kids. So she had her movie daughters over for baking parties and hung out with them at work.
"I get very maternal very easily because my mom is so warm and cozy. Both of my parents are, but my mom is a stay-at-home mom and very nurturing," she says.
Four more films on the way
Someday, maybe soon, Portman would like to have her own kids.
"I'd like to really slow down when I have a family. I'm trying to get everything in because 'OK, it's time to settle down soon.' I could see myself just not working for a while as opposed to having another job," says Portman, who won't reveal with whom she might settle down.
For now, Portman is working non-stop. She has completed the James Franco fantasy comedy Your Highness and the family drama Hesher, and she is filming Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller Black Swan, in which she stars as one of two rival ballet dancers opposite Mila Kunis. Portman, who earned a supporting-actress Oscar nomination for playing a stripper in 2004's Closer, is unapologetically ambitious and has her own production company, Handsomecharlie Films. And Portman is nothing if not analytical, especially about her own career. In Hesher, Portman plays a supermarket employee who saves a young boy from a bully and becomes involved with his family. She also produced the film.
Her co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt says a more simplistic actor "could have made fun of that character and gone for the simplistic comedy. She approached this person who might typically be open to ridicule and showed her as a human being. She's super thoughtful about her work."
It's the very reason Don Roos cast Portman as a young stepmother grieving the loss of her own child in 2010's Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. "She's got a likable presence, and the character we had written has a lot of sharp edges. Really, this role was so difficult. She's in every single scene, and she plays a very aggressive character," he says. "But you'd never know it from talking to her. She's a very old-school actress who knows what she's doing and knows her job."
Intellectual with a sense of humor
Portman, once you break the ice with her, is warmly sweet in person, greeting people with hugs and remembering banal details from past encounters. She's casual in jeans, a T-shirt and a North Face parka. Portman doesn't wear leather, so her accessories include Converse sneakers or wellies and cloth bags. The Harvard graduate, who earned a psychology degree in 2003, has kept her wilder side firmly to herself — save one memorable rap performance with Andy Samberg on Saturday Night Live in 2006. But Portman isn't as serious and proper as one might think.
"Her humor comes out of her head. She's very smart and funny and can make you laugh, but she's not going to be the girl all the guys are drunk with," Sheridan says. "She's not the guffaw type. Her humor is more cerebral."
Perhaps the best words to describe her are "methodical" and "focused." And smart. She converses fluidly about views on abortion vs. adoption, the Eric Bogosian play Talk Radio, how consumer demand can affect produce selection at Walmart, and support for combat veterans in Israel. But there's also her lighter side, which Roos got to know. In particular, "her willingness to have a good time. She's a smart girl but loves to laugh at herself. Her sense of humor is urban and witty and earthy. She's a real appreciator of human foibles. She's very intellectual in her personal life."
Right now, that life is based in Los Angeles, where Portman relocated this year and bought a house in May. She made the move to have more privacy and live where she works. And though Portman is still renting a place in downtown Manhattan, for now, her heart belongs to California
"It's great. The sun. Nature. And more privacy. Here (in New York), there's no private outdoor space. Here, you walk into a coffee shop and someone tweets that you're there. There, at least you can be in your backyard or your friends' backyard."
And maybe soon, she'll find time to play there a little.
KISSERS, CUTICLES AND READING MATERIAL
Yes, she can be intense. But Natalie Portman isn't above showing her sillier side.
Which of her two Brothers leading men (Tobey Maguire as her husband and Jake Gyllenhaal as his brother) was the better kisser? "I'll be murdered if I say that. I'm probably the source of envy for getting to kiss both of those boys. It's hard to be me."
Her worst habit? Picking her cuticles, something she just can't quit. "I've been getting better, but not really. I try to put moisturizer in my bag at all times so when I have the impulse, I put moisturizer on."
Reading material? Because she's prepping to play a ballerina in Black Swan, "right now I'm reading a lot of ballet books. I've read 2666 it's this book by Roberto Bolao. It's like 1,000 pages, but once I start I can't stop reading something. I'm having a hard time with that one. Oh, A Gate at the Stairs my dad gave it to me. It's by Lorrie Moore. She's a fantastic writer. My dad and I read it at the same time. I really liked that."
So what exactly attracts an Oscar-nominated actress to comic-book fare? A love of Norse mythology? Beefy blond guys twirling hammers? A potential franchise? Not quite.
"I just thought it sounded like a really weird idea cause Kenneth Branagh's directing it," Portman said during the weekend junket for her much more highbrow flick, Brothers.
"And Ken Branagh doing Thor is super weird. I've got to do it."
She's in good company. Portman will star alongside Chris Hemsworth (as the hammer-wielding god of thunder), Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgard and Stuart Townsend. Filming starts in January for a 2011 release.
The decidedly less weird Brothers, with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, hits theaters Dec. 3.
The actress admits she struggled with the decision to appear nude at the start of her career, and even asked filmmakers to rewrite a scene in her 1999 movie Anywhere But Here because she felt uneasy about baring all.
She tells America's V magazine, "I was figuring out my own sexual identity, likes and dislikes and all that stuff, and it's weird to be doing stuff on film as you're figuring it out. Also being a sexual object when you're a kid is really uncomfortable. After The Professional, I was already getting creepy letters."
Portman insists she would sign up for more film roles that require her to shed her clothes - but she worries the footage will eventually hit the web.
She adds, "It's annoying because online bulls**t interferes with what I want to do artistically. I'm not opposed to sexuality or nudity in a film, but I'm very opposed to pornography sites and you're pretty much giving them material if you do any of that. It's always a big dilemma for me."
Wednesday's "Top Chef," which featured guest judge Natalie Portman, put a different spin on the phrase.
In a "that's what she said" moment, host Padma Lakshmi described part of contestant Bryan Voltaggio's dish as "like a little prick on my tongue." The comment induced the giggles in Portman, and from there the commentary on the dish went to an even racier place.
It's better seen than described, so take a look at the clip. The action starts about the 3:50 mark -- and remember, they're talking about garlic blossoms. (For the record, Bryan's dish was good enough for him to advance.)
Penning what amounts to a Harvard-caliber book report for the Huffington Post, the actress and animal rights activist holds forth on her devotion to veganism and her opinion that those who choose to feast on flesh without regard for the moral implications might as well change their name to Roman Polanski.
The 28-year-old—with whose glowing self veganism clearly agrees—starts off harmlessly enough, crediting Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals with her transition from 20 years of vegetarianism to eschewing all animal byproducts.
"I've always been shy about being critical of others' choices because I hate when people do that to me," she writes. "I'm often interrogated about being vegetarian (e.g., 'What if you find out that carrots feel pain, too? Then what'll you eat?').
"I've also been afraid to feel as if I know better than someone else—a historically dangerous stance (I'm often reminded that 'Hitler was a vegetarian, too, you know.') But this book reminded me that some things are just wrong."
That's where the criminalization of carnivores comes in.
Rejecting the simplistic thinking that "This is tasty, and that's why I do it," Portman backs Foer's argument that a little more thought at the dinner table wouldn't hurt anyone…least of all our four-legged friends.
"He posits that consideration…which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don't believe in rape, but if that's what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it)."
And if sensationalizing the act of meat-eating (and, incidentally, grossly discounting the severity of rape) is what it takes for her to get her point across, well, so be that, too.
Though, in fairness to Portman, her detailing of the "copious amounts of pig shit sprayed into the air" will likely make even the most ardent bacon-eater rethink their brunch menu.
That Harvard really teaches you how to turn a phrase.
The Don Roos vehicle that showcases the accomplished performance is somewhat less so, hampered by a structure that initially makes the proceedings tricky to follow. It ultimately finds its footing, but it's Portman's skillfully executed turn that deserves pursuit by a distributor who knows its way around an awards campaign.
Based on Ayelet Waldman's Manhattan-based novel, the tart dramedy wastes little time in setting up the strained relationship between Emilia Greenleaf (Portman) and her precocious stepson, William (Charlie Tahan), the product of his father Jack's (Scott Cohen) previous marriage to the caustic, fiercely overprotective Carolyn (Lisa Kudrow).
But if her being regarded in certain circles as a home-wrecker might be explanation enough for her glib view of the universe, there's a deeper reason for that emotionally aloof defense mechanism.
The death of the 3-day-old child she had with Jack has left an increasing void in her life that threatens to swallow up everyone else who cares about her. While this might sound like awfully heavy stuff, Roos has a proven gift for finding humor in some unlikely places, most notably (and still most successfully) in his 1998 directorial debut, "The Opposite of Sex."
Achieving that balance is not the problem with "Impossible Pursuits"; rather, it's an often-confusing series of subtle flashbacks early on that sometimes makes it challenging for the viewer to sort out the past from the present.
When Roos dispenses with the time shifts and takes a more linear approach, the film settles in to a more focused, more affecting groove.
But while he draws fine work from all concerned, including Debra Monk and playwright-actor Michael Cristofer as Emilia's parents, it's Portman who you simply cannot take your eyes away from, and not for the obvious reasons.
With her brittle, risk-taking performance, Portman officially has grown into her potential as an actress of commanding depth and versatility.
The comedic drama about the complicated personal life of a young, married New York woman -- who's grieving the loss of a baby while dealing with a difficult stepson -- would have been quite different with Lopez as the lead.
"That's always the way it is in Hollywood: The next move, if JLo can't do it, is to get NaPo," director-screenwriter Don Roos cracked yesterday, sitting beside Portman during roundtable interviews yesterday.
"We went to NaPo and we weren't sorry."
Added Portman, 28, with a giggle: "Anyway, it was kind of awesome 'cause all through filming Don would be like, 'JLo would have done that much, much better.' "
Turns out that Portman -- who flew into Toronto straight from Belfast, where she's shooting the medieval comedy Your Highness opposite Danny McBride and James Franco -- had way more in common with the lead character, Amelia.
"It was amended for Jennifer, really," Roos said of the script, which he based on Ayelet Waldman's bestseller of the same name.
"The book is written figuratively for Natalie Portman. The same age, the same background, a New York Jewish girl. It's just exactly what you would think of Natalie, but we bent it in a different way for Jennifer, and we just had to unbend it -- and it was just a delight to actually go back."
Portman, who doesn't have any children and isn't married, said she has known women who have lost children and has observed the impact the tragedy has had on them.
"I mean it's horrific, but it's an interesting thing to see how people deal with the difficult things life throws at them," she said. "I've definitely known people who don't want to have children, because that's just your fear from the moment you have a kid. I know it with my dog. I have nightmares every night. And I can only imagine it's a hundred times worse (with a child)."
She also liked Roos' take on the often unlikable character of Amelia, who has a sarcastic sense of humour that she uses as a defence.
"(Producer) Mark Platt was like, 'Listen, I promise you that Don will be uncompromising. He's not going to make her cute, he will definitely allow her to be as difficult as she reads on the page.' "
Portman, who made a striking film debut in 1994 as a child assassin-in-training in The Professional, said the role of Amelia also continues to show audiences that she's actually a grown-up, something she established with an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win for her work as a stripper in 2004's Closer.
"It's weird 'cause I feel like people don't necessarily think of me as a woman yet, but I'm almost 30 now. I'm like, 28 ... I'm closer to 30 than 20. And I'm like, 'Oh, my God!' And so you want to be reflecting things more that are expressions of womanhood, as opposed to little girlness."
When a reporter suggests that that's something that can wait until she's 40, Portman shrugs.
"You never know. By the time I'm 40 I think people will probably be sick of me. They'll be like, 'Thirty years of this s---! Enough!' "
Portman, who has dated some equally famous men while growing up in the public eye, also agreed that love continues to be an impossible pursuit for her.
"Yes!" she said, laughing.
"It's going to happen," Roos said. "She's a nice Jewish girl. There's a doctor and a dentist, a therapist, a lawyer out there for you ... You will find him."
Interview magazine found out when they asked Gyllenhaal, who co-stars with Portman in this fall's war drama Brothers, to ask about her favorite foods, music and frightening 80s cartoons.
Portman's favorite food? "Well, I don't think you can really improve upon Carvel ice cream cake," she says in magazine's September issue. Gyllenhaal shared that he is more of a Baskin-Robbins guy, partially because he had read that the Obamas shared their first kiss over 31 flavors.
Gyllenhaal then moved onto Portman's favorite music, asking her, "What song best describes your current state?"
"I've mostly been listening to dirty rap lately. That's sort of my scene," she says. "Really, really obscene hip-hop. I love it so much. It makes me laugh and then it makes me want to dance." (She then recited some X-rated lyrics from the Ying Yang Twins.)
The actor also found out what really scares Portman: Smurfs. "Because that bad guy, Gargamel, was so terrifying. I was scared of a lot of cartoons. I'm kind of wussy like that," Portman explains.
Another confession – if she weren't an actress, she would be qualified to be a bike messenger. "I can make chitchat, but not much else," she says. "I'd basically have trouble with any job that doesn't require me to wear silly clothes and talk in funny voices."
Garcia's drama also stars Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits and Shareeka Epps, and will unspool at the Roy Thomson Hall in a gala slot.
In "Pursuits," Portman, who replaced Jennifer Lopez in the lead, plays a woman trying to save her marriage with the help of her precocious stepson.
Also getting high-profile North American premieres at the Toronto fest, which runs September 10-19, are Grant Heslov's "The Men Who Stare at Goats," a thriller that stars George Clooney and Ewan McGregor; Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar's "Agora," which stars Rachel Weisz; and French director Jan Kounen's "Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky."
There's also a gala world premiere for Carlos Saura's "I, Don Giovanni," a period drama about the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and an international premiere for "Phantom Pain," from German director Matthias Emcke and starring Til Schweiger.
Festival programmers also added to the Special Presentations sidebar the world premiere of French director Christian Carion's Cold War thriller "L'Affaire Farewell" and U.S. director Derrick Borte's "The Joneses," a comedic drama starring Demi Moore and David Duchovny as a picture-perfect American couple found wanting by their neighbors.
Also Toronto-bound is Werner Herzog's "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done" and John Hillcoat's "The Road," a post-apocalyptic survival tale starring Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce.
There's also a world bow for Indian director Dev Benegal's "Road, Movie," and a North American bow for Tom Ford's "A Single Man," which features Colin Firth as a British professor in 1962 Los Angeles finding meaning in a friend's death. The picture also stars Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode.
Is "Thor" a comic-book movie or a Shakespeare adaptation?
Portman will join Branagh, Hiddleston and star Chris Hemsworth for Marvel Comics' version of the Norse god of thunder, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She'll play Jane Foster, in the comic books a nurse working for Dr. Donald Blake, who is secretly Thor.
No word yet on the plot or how it'll tie into Marvel's other big-screen properties, though when evil trickster-god Loki (played by Hiddleston) is around, reality tends to shudder.
Filming on "Thor" begins early next year. The movie is scheduled to hit theaters May 20, 2011.
"Swan" -- a supernatural thriller set in the world of New York City ballet -- was set up in early 2007 at Universal, but the studio eventually dropped the project. It has been making the rounds of studios and specialty divisions.
"Swan" centers on a veteran ballerina who finds herself locked in a competitive situation with a rival dancer, with the stakes and twists increasing as the dancers approach a big performance. But it's unclear whether the rival is a supernatural apparition or if the protagonist is deluded.
Those who have read the script say it's a spine-tingler with elements of "The Others."
Aronofsky, whose acclaimed Mickey Rourke-starring drama "The Wrestler" has put him in high demand, has been developing the "Robocop" reboot at MGM.
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Written by Ben Best and McBride, the Universal Pictures project centers on an arrogant, lazy prince (McBride) who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him on the quest is McBride's more heroic brother, played by Franco.
Portman will play McBride's love interest, a warrior princess.
Director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express," "All the Real Girls") is shooting the film this summer in Northern Ireland.
Portman is working on "Hesher," an indie drama that marks her inauguration as a producer. She next stars with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire in the drama "Brothers," a remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film.
The 27-year-old actress is firmly denying rumors that she and reigning Best Actor Sean Penn are an item.
"Sean Penn is a friend and colleague," the star of the upcoming New York, I Love You said in a statement to Extra Friday. "The reports that we are romantically involved are completely untrue. I normally do not respond to rumors about my private life, however, this repeatedly fabricated story has forced me to do so."
And the rumors have been out there—a tabloid report that the May-December duo were canoodling in a West Hollywood bar barely two weeks after Penn, 48, filed for a legal separation from his wife of 13 year, Robin Wright Penn, metamorphosed into full-fledged "they're together" stories.
We know that Penn and Portman served on the 2008 Cannes Film Festival jury together, but otherwise... only anonymous sources are claiming to know anything else.
Portman split up with folk-rock singer Devendra Banhart last fall.
Thursday, the actress, along with business partner Christine Aylward, launched a behind-the-scenes entertainment web portal called MakingOf, and spoke about the project at the Apple Store in New York City, as an element of the Tribeca Film Festival. During her address to fans, she all but promised a beauty campaign was not in her future (perhaps she's still a bit burned by the failure of her shoe line).
"I don't have a problem with making money, but I don't believe in doing something you don't believe in to make money, like a makeup campaign or something like that—the opportunities that young actors have all the time," she says. "[MakingOf] is an exciting model to do something you really believe in and create something positive out of that…It's possible to do something positive in the world that’s still entrepreneurial."
That positive thing is a website aimed at all brands of film junkies and filled with interviews with filmmakers showing all angles of the industry—composers, costume designers, editors and more.
"The goal is really to be a comprehensive, centralized place for people who want to learn about film if it's specific aspects like how they got that cool explosion in the Bond movie or the serious film student wondering what lens they used when they shot that midnight scene or whatever," she explains to E! News. "We want to have that range and also cover departments that aren't typically covered in entertainment news."
The idea, she says, came to her "off-the-cuff" during a dinner with Aylward, whom she met on a film set in Madrid (presumably Goya's Ghosts), and other friends. Months later, Aylward came back to it and they agreed to "really make this happen."
On the site already, Jason Bateman offers advice on auditions, Billy Bob Thornton shares his insecurities, West Wing writer Aaron Sorkin explains how he picks a project, Ron Howard recalls his start and, of course, Portman offers her experience being a first-time director (she recently shot two shorts). However, the former Star Wars queen promises the site won't be simply an ego booster for her.
"I'm not intending for it to be about me," she says. "Obviously, I'm featured in an interview, but the goal is really for people who are interested in filmmaking to have access to all these different components. I'm not gonna make you guys get sick of me by being featured in every section."
As for the technical aspects, the self-proclaimed "near-luddite" claims she's not too tech-savvy. She tells E! News exclusively, "I'm not on the internet that much but I have a BlackBerry, so I definitely email nonstop all day long. But not that much time on the actual computer.
"And I've never Twittered before."
Turns out the Toronto rapper, whose real name is Kevin Brereton, is a fan of both Portman and Star Wars, in which she appeared as Padme Amidala but the tune is more about her homeland than anything else.
"I think Natalie Portman is the best America has to offer, the ideal that America has to offer," said k-os, who sampled Phantom Planet's California on the song.
"I think it's my subversive thing on, 'Go south, Kevin.' I was afraid of America for a long time. When I toured, I opened for a band called Gym Class Heroes, and it was the first time I went to Alabama, Oklahoma, New Orleans. It blew my mind because I had considered myself a fairly well-read, intelligent person (but I ) had all these preconcieved notions about America based on press and I was meeting amazing people every time, every night, so that and Obama becoming president, totally made me cut ties with fear of America. So I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman over this California beat is kind of like I'm ready to sort of immerse myself in that. Maybe it's not really necessarily about being a superfan of a beautiful woman."
K-os said he didn't know if Portman knew about the song: "But I hope she finds out."
Pitt and Portman have signed on for the adaptation of Leanne Sharpton's (deep breath) "Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry," according to Variety. The transition from Sharpton's novel to the big screen should be interesting, to say the least: "Important Artifacts" reveals the characters not through narrative but via a mock auction catalog, leaving readers to explore the relationship based on the items for sale and their descriptions.
Instead, Variety says the film will be a romantic comedy with Pitt and Portman in the title roles.
Pitt, 45, will co-star this year in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds." Portman, 27, last starred opposite Scarlett Johansson in "The Other Boleyn Girl."
"[Portman] seemed really into him, and went right up to say hello once she spotted him," dished a close Pattinson chum at the exclusive do.
So what was the Twilight star and Oscar presenter all jittery about, then? Well...
Before his encounter, Rob told us how anxious he was about presenting. "I was so nervous [about the Oscars]" the cute Brit told us, sexy accent 'n' all.
So how did the guy take the edge off?
"Whiskey and Natalie Portman," dished the R.P. pal.
Robert, who flew solo, shy and rather lonely most of the glittering night, found a fan in the gorgeous Nat. Ms. P, who also had a little whatever with Ryan Gosling recently, was pretty and piranha-like in fuchsia.
The two totally flirted it up outside on the patio, and Rob started to feel right at home in his newly found Hollywood lifestyle.
N.P. was batting those beautiful eyelashes at Pattinson, and he seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. And there were a lot of minutes. I think Ms. P's used to getting what she wants, as she dominated R.P.'s attentions most of the evening.
But fear not, ladies (and gents, too), it looks like Robalie's just in the crush stage 'cause Mr. P was seen leaving sans Portman at the end of the night.
Damn, would they have hot kids or what?
At first we thought this was some kind of marketing ruse by Blackberry to regain the chic demographic from the ascendant iPhone: Buy a used 'berry and maybe you'll get the number for Halle Berry.
But it turns out to be just a simple blunder. According to U.K. tabloid, The Mirror, clerk Kent Devey recognized some famous names in his phone's address book: "I told my brother and he didn't believe it, so we decided to ring a couple of numbers.
"When I got Julie Walters' answer phone, I was speechless." Speaking of speechless. Really? Julie Walters? Love her, but given the option we're pretty sure we would have dialed Natalie Portman.
Proving that not even celebrities are immune to the country's economic crisis, the actress' vegan shoe line of less than a year, the Natalie Portman Collection for Té Casan, has closed up shop, making it even more of a limited-edition than expected.
The critter-free line of footwear, announced by the longtime vegetarian back in January, was launched in February of this year to the delight of animal-loving fashionistas but not so much to the credit-crunched masses—each pair retailed on average for $200.
However, Portman's line didn't fail on its own merits, instead was a casualty of the folding of its parent company, Té Casan, which closed up shop for good last month.
The company's website, too, has wasted no time in closing down. It's unclear whether Portman will seek to continue her vegan venture with another partnership.
Portman, 27, began dating Banhart, also 27, after starring in his "Carmensita" video, which was shot last March. A short time later, they took their romance public when they were spotting kissing on the streets of New York and over a sushi dinner at Jewel Bako.
A fan of Banhart's music, Portman had asked him to donate a track to the charity compilation she curated on iTunes, Big Change: Songs for FINCA. She returned the favor by forgoing her usual fee to appear in the video.
"They got together right after the video shoot," a source said at the time.
They also traveled together to Cannes and to Israel.
"Eve," screening out of competition in the Venice short film section, stars Hollywood veterans Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara as the witty grandmother and the widower who takes her out for dinner. Early reviews have been positive.
Portman, 27, said she had always had a fascination with the older generation, and drew inspiration for Bacall's character from her own grandmother.
"The film was definitely inspired by personal experience and also all my friends, female friends, starting to define themselves in relation, and in reaction to, their mothers and their grandmothers," the Oscar-nominated actress told a news conference.
Having started her acting career as a child, she said that she had long wanted to be on the other side of the camera and will present a second short work at the Toronto film festival which starts later this week.
"We have so much time off between films as actors that you tend to get restless and you want a creative outlet, and there is not always acting work that fulfils that need," she said.
"I have been working now in films for 16 years...it was exciting to know what a director goes through and also to create something completely on your own.
"When you are an actor of course you are creating something but you are serving someone else's vision and ultimately it's someone else's creation. To have authorship is ... and feels like a more adult job," she added.
Getting Bacall on board was like fulfilling her "wildest dream," Portman said.
"It's so exciting to see someone with that much experience and that much wisdom on screen. It's rare."
Portman, who shot to fame as a teenager befriending a professional killer in Luc Besson's 1990s hit "Leon," has featured as Padme in the second Star Wars trilogy and won an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in "Closer."
The Garden State and Star Wars beauty received the first-ever "Movie for Humanity Award" at the Venice Film Festival for her work with social and environmental programs.
Given to film artists who devote themselves to humanitarian causes, the Oscar-nominee donated her $50,000 prize to the Jane Goodall Institute in Tanzania, where Portman supports the Tacare Girl's Scholarship Program.
"The Jane Goodall foundation does incredible work in Tanzania, an area which is very environmentally affected. I really appreciate this award," Portman said.
The 27-year-old actress is presenting her directorial debut at the festival, a short film called Eve.
Portman's 17-minute "Eve," which Venice organizers called "a civilized comedy," stars Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara. It will screen in an out-of-competition slot.
The festival runs August 27-September 6.
Finance and sales company HanWay Films hopes to have a replacement for Portman in the role of Cathy "within days."
But the American actress' exit is no small matter for HanWay and the film's producers, especially because it arose just days before the Cannes film festival, during which the movie is to be sold to international distributors.
Local press reports here put the smart money on a British replacement for Portman. For his part, Maybury ("Love Is the Devil," "The Jacket") is of the opinion that the famous English role should go to someone from these shores.
Written by Olivia Hetreed, who also undertook the adaptation of "Girl With a Pearl Earring," the new adaptation plans to steer away from "the stuffy costume drama" format.
Emily Bronte's novel details the intense love story between the rich Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling brought from the slums of Liverpool.
According the the industry trades, John Maybury is directing from a script by Olivia Hetreed. Ecosse Films is producing.
Portman will play Catherine Earnshaw, the upper crust woman whose burning passion for her brooding foster brother Heathcliff leads to an awful lot of tortured romance and misery for everybody.
Bronte's book remains a staple on high school English curriculums more than 160 years after its publications. While recent adaptations include a 2003 MTV telefilm with Erika Christensen and Mike Vogel and a 1992 project starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, the 1939 feature with Laurence Olivier is still considered the definitive filmed production.
Portman most recently donned period duds for this spring's "The Other Boleyn Girl." If you live in a major city, you can currently see the "V for Vendetta" star in "My Blueberry Nights." Otherwise, you may need to wait for the release of "Brothers" later this year.
Non-partisan – and unaffiliated with the presidential election – Portman's spot focuses on the importance of participating in the democratic process. "To vote is to express yourself," she says.
Tethered to a new documentary Chicago 10, about protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Portman's message also directs viewers to Takepart, a forum that allows for the discussion of current political issues of concern. Watch the PSA here!
At times it strains to be a stately period drama about 16th-century political intrigue. Then it devolves into soap opera muck and emerges as a rather tame bodice ripper.
It's not that a good production can't be both a thrilling tale of historical intrigue and sensual adventures, but this film doesn't convince in either category.
Based on Philippa Gregory's 1992 novel, the visuals are artful, as is the production design. It's the lack of character development and the plodding story that keep the audience from becoming engaged.
The Boleyn sisters — Anne (Natalie Portman) and Mary (Scarlett Johansson) — vie for the attentions of the womanizing King Henry VIII (Eric Bana), initially spurred on by the ruthless machinations of their social-climbing father (Mark Rylance) and conniving uncle, the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey). Only the girls' mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) sees the folly that will come of using their daughters to gain royal status for the family.
Mary is pure of heart and falls in love with Henry, becoming his mistress. Anne, who had hoped to become his consort, is deeply jealous of her sister. Fueled by pettiness and vengeance over what she considers her sister's betrayal, she calculatingly dazzles Henry, persuading him to leave his wife, Catherine of Aragon, and defy the Catholic Church to marry her.
The story is more about the girls' sibling rivalry than it is about Henry VIII's dalliances or his historic split with the church. The ambitions and single-minded quest for power of the girls' father and uncle come off as clichéd, muting the sense of outrage we are surely supposed to be feeling. Morrissey and Rylance are stock villains, and Mary feels like a medieval Melanie from Gone With the Wind to Anne's Scarlett O'Hara. In Wind, we had a sense of what motivated those women. Here, they seem like cardboard cutouts.
Another flaw lies in the depiction of Henry. He must have been more complex than the simple skirt-chaser he is made out to be. He boasts of his ability to judge character and see through artifice and is drawn to Mary because of her guileless nature. Yet, seemingly overnight he falls under the sway of the relentless and seductive Anne with unconvincing gullibility. More must have been at play for Henry to be so easily controlled by this diva.
Anne is spurred not by love but by power. She yearns to be queen, but as anyone with a little knowledge of history knows, her determination leads to her demise.
The story of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn has been told before. The 1969 drama Anne of the Thousand Days, starring Richard Burton and Genevieve Bujold, was a far more compelling piece of historical fiction than this oversimplified, overheated mediocre melodrama.
ABOUT THE MOVIE: The Other Boleyn Girl
* * (out of four)
Stars: Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Eric Bana, Kristin Scott Thomas
Director: Justin Chadwick
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content and some violent images
Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Opens Friday nationwide
Add hunky Eric Bana to the mix as Henry VIII, jumping back and forth between these two contrasting beauties in his fiery youth, and the possibilities seemed even more intriguing.
Instead, "The Other Boleyn Girl" too often comes off as an unintentionally campy, highbrow soap opera — albeit one with elaborate production design and richly textured costumes (the work of Sandy Powell, an Oscar winner for "Shakespeare in Love" and "The Aviator").
Director Justin Chadwick's film, based on the best-selling novel by Philippa Gregory, looks great, the high-definition heightening both the grit and glamour of 16th-century England. But surprisingly, the script from Peter Morgan, who had a terrific year in 2006 between "The Queen" and "The Last King of Scotland," vacillates awkwardly between sexy romp and serious — and seriously violent — period piece.
The American actresses, putting on British accents, seem ill at ease at first, but Johansson settles nicely into her role as the Boleyn sister with more complex, conflicting emotions of love and loyalty. It's another example of the range that exists within this young actress, who's lately been in need of a hit. (This ain't it.)
Portman's Anne Boleyn is all ruthless flirting and conniving, but she can't quite pull it off; rather, it feels as if we're watching the petite starlet playing dress-up for a high school production. (Her transformation into the Queen of England is a bit more palatable, though, than her reign as Queen Amidala of Naboo in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.")
When we first meet the Boleyn girls as children, they're frolicking with their brother, George (played as an adult by Jim Sturgess from "Across the Universe") in a meadow at their country estate. Eventually word comes that the King of England is frustrated by the inability of Queen Katherine of Aragon (Spanish actress Ana Torrent) to produce a male heir.
So the girls' father, Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance), and his brother-in-law, the Duke of Norfolk (the brashly villainous David Morrissey), hatch a scheme to invite the king for a hunting trip and trot the saucy Anne before him. They hope that if he finds her pleasing, he'll take her as his mistress, she'll get knocked up, pop out a boy, and voila! The whole family will benefit financially. This would be known as "pimping out" — and the girls' mother, played by a steely Kristin Scott Thomas, understandably is not amused.
But what ends up happening is, Henry finds himself attracted to the innocent, fair-haired Mary instead, and doesn't care that she's just gotten married to the equally innocent, fair-haired William Carey (Benedict Cumberbatch). The king invites the whole family to court, including Mary's namby-pamby husband, and proceeds to seduce her.
Thus begins a series of pregnancies and miscarriages, crosses and double-crosses, interspersed with long stomps down stone corridors and the clomping of horse hooves. Anne is shipped off to France for potentially embarrassing the family but returns educated, sharp-tongued and more ambitious than ever (in a dazzler of an emerald-green gown). Now the king finds himself drawn to her, which seems illogical the way it's quickly and superficially depicted here; Henry brags of his ability to see through people's intentions, hence his attraction to the guileless Mary, yet it's the exact opposite behavior in Anne that ultimately turns his head.
Through it all, the sisters' loyalty is tested. Anne is all too happy to turn her back on Mary in pursuit of the throne — and even revels in getting a few digs in, asking the pregnant Mary, "Do you feel as awful as you look?" But except for a hissy fit here and there, and of course a breakdown at her climactic, final moment, it's a one-note performance of pure, unabashed social climbing.
Your eyes will probably roll before anyone's head does.
"The Other Boleyn Girl," a Columbia Pictures release, is rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content and some violent images. Running time: 114 minutes. Two stars out of four.
The show said it pulled the story "out of respect for Heath Ledger's family." But don't discount the effect of a lightning-fast campaign launched by a public relations firm that represents many of the stars "Entertainment Tonight" depends upon for stories.
Even some celebrities themselves — Natalie Portman and Sarah Jessica Parker, to name a couple — called to urge "ET" to pull the plug.
Ledger, 28, died in his Manhattan apartment Jan. 22. Authorities suspect a possible drug overdose, but the cause of his death is still pending the outcome of toxicology tests. Police said several prescription drugs — but nothing illegal — were found in the Manhattan apartment where the "Brokeback Mountain" actor's body was found.
"Entertainment Tonight" is hardly the lone news organization to broach the topic of potential drug abuse by the star. But the video it acquired, reportedly taken two years ago at a party at the Chateau Marmont Hotel, drew the fiercest attention.
The syndicated magazine's sister show, "The Insider," aired a "preview" of the story that it had planned to run Thursday that actually showed several segments of the video. Following the protest, "The Insider" yanked the segment from the West Coast version of its telecast.
Ledger is seen standing in the doorway of a room where the party was taking place, swigging from a beer bottle. The actor is heard saying that he was "going to get serious (word bleeped) from my girlfriend" for being at the party.
The show made clear that there was nothing on the video showing Ledger taking any drug. At one point, however, the then-26-year-old said he "used to smoke five joints a day."
But a person who has seen the entire video, who asked not to be identified because of its sensitive nature, said Ledger then points to his tattoo of "M" (for his daughter, Matilda Rose) and says, "this is to remind me never to smoke weed again." That part of the quote was not used in Wednesday's preview.
Later, with Ledger in the background, an unidentified man, his face blurred, seems to snort cocaine from a table.
After seeing a promotion for the show Wednesday, a publicist at ID, Ledger's public relations firm, called "Entertainment Tonight" and asked that the segment be pulled. The request was refused.
ID then composed a three-paragraph protest letter that it distributed to some 30 other public relations firms around Hollywood, asking them to tell their clients about what was about to happen. The circle included powerhouse publicists like PMK-HBH, 42 West and BWR.
The letter said "ET" had paid a large sum of money for the video to stir up an exploitive story about Ledger.
"For the sake of his grieving family and friends, his child and common decency, we hope to pressure `Entertainment Tonight' and `The Insider' to do the right thing and pull the spot," the letter said. "This is not journalism, it is sensationalism. It is a shameful exploitation of the lowest kind, to a talented and gentle soul, undeserving of such treatment."
Stars, studio executives and PR firms all called "ET" to register protests, said Kelly Bush, CEO of ID. The star-studded roster of Bush's firm alone includes Robin Williams, Sean Penn, Tobey Maguire, Mike Myers, Jennifer Hudson, Katie Holmes, Ellen DeGeneres, and Ledger's "Brokeback" co-star Jake Gyllenhaal.
Bush said the response was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
"I hope it represents a turning point," she said. "I think we have all heard from members of the media and members of the public that it's too much. Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are the top news stories when Darfur should be."
No boycott was threatened, she said. But when a television show that needs celebrities like living things need oxygen hears from so many powerful sources, a threat probably wasn't necessary.
Not a spoken one, anyway.
"We need them as much as they need us," Bush said. She wouldn't speculate on what made "Entertainment Tonight" change its mind, but said "they've probably never gotten this much heat before over anything."
Executives at "Entertainment Tonight" refused to talk publicly about the retreat. There was some bewilderment and anger at the company about why its show was singled out when many other publications and TV outlets were talking about the same thing. The party video is likely to be seen soon in England, and is already available over the Internet.
But "ET" can't complain about getting nothing for its money. Even though it was called a "preview," "The Insider" already aired a significant story with salient portions of the video, while maintaining the appearance of having taken the high road in the end.
Drew Pinsky, star of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew," backed "Entertainment Tonight." He saw the video and was quoted by the show, calling it "heartbreaking."
"When a 28-year-old seemingly healthy man, whom we love and respect, dies suddenly, there is a reason," Pinsky said. "His death plays upon our deepest fears. We owe it to the public to try to answer the question why. I am convinced that if this heart-wrenching video had aired, it would have gotten through and had a positive effect on young people in America. Perhaps it could have even saved some lives."
Also unanswered are questions about how much the Hollywood friends who jumped to Ledger's defense this week knew about any drug use while he was alive, and what they had done to help him. Few of the people close to Ledger have come forth with statements since his death, and those who have chose not to broach the topic of any possible drug use.
One notable exception was Lee Daniels, who produced "Monster's Ball," in which Ledger starred.
"The definition of substance abuse is really up to one's perspective," Daniels told The Associated Press last week. "I didn't see him as a drug addict. I saw him as someone who enjoyed life. I know drug addicts; he was not a drug addict."
The Golden Globe-winning actress, and longtime vegetarian, has teamed with the New York label Té Casan to design her own line of vegan-friendly footwear, a collaboration that has aptly, if not predictably, been dubbed the Natalie Portman Collection.
Designs for the shoe line have yet to be revealed, save for one pair of red patent high-heeled Mary-Janes, which the 25-year-old sports on the chic label's Website.
As well as being made without animal ingredients—no fur, no leather, no feathers—5 percent of the range's profits will be donated to charity, which could quickly add up to a hefty sum.
While the kicks are decidedly critter friendly, they may be less kind to consumers' wallets, with each pair expected to retail for around $200. The Natalie Portmans won't officially be made available until February, though impatient or trend-savvy shoppers can preorder through the Té Casan site as early as Jan. 15.
While Portman herself is a vegetarian of 17 years, though not a vegan, she has long refused to wear animal products in either her personal life or on the red carpet and has previously touted the footwear made by fellow vegan-happy designers Stella McCartney and, because even A-listers like a good deal, Target.
In November of last year, she told London's Guardian that while she refused to wear leather, she did dabble in wool, "although I don't think I have a lot of wool clothes. And I sort of made a no-buying-anything-new rule. I just have a lot of stuff."
"I figured, Look, if I need something, if my running shoes have holes in them and I don't have running shoes any more, then I'll get new ones."
Perhaps from her own line.
Unfortunately, curious shoppers will have to wait slightly longer to see if Portman got sporty with her collection, as the only pair currently on show is the decidedly dressy Mary-Jane.
Shoes aren't the only way the young actress is engaging in ethical and animal-friendly living. Last year, Portman traveled to Rwanda with animal expert Jack Hanna to shoot the documentary Gorillas on the Brink, as one of Animal Planet's Saving a Species-branded specials.
The year's films made skinematic history as Mr. Skin, as featured in "Knocked Up," was presented with such a wealth of nakedness on the silver screen, he had to compile his Top 20 list of films in which talented actresses took it off.
"2007 was a surprisingly strong year for big-screen nudity," noted Mr. Skin from his Chicago headquarters. "In fact, you could say it ranks among this decade's very breast!"
Topping the list was Tomei in Sidney Lumet's crime drama "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." In the film, she's seen opening the movie with some nudity topside and later similarly displays herself to advantage after an illicit tryst. Oh yeah, and Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman also star in the heist movie.
Not one to be labeled an anglophobic philistine, Mr. Skin traveled across the pond to celebrate British beauty Keeley Hazell in the art house flick "Cashback." The former Page 3 girl gets her assets unveiled in the film when a supermarket clerk takes advantage of his newfound ability to freeze time.
The remainder of the Top 20 are as follows:
3. Natalie Portman in "Hotel Chevalier" - The acclaimed actress gets cheeky when she drops her drawers for this short film that's a companion piece to "The Darjeeling Limited."
4. Christina Ricci in "Black Snake Moan" - Her skimpy top can't contain her talent in this Southern gothic potboiler, even if she is chained to a radiator.
5. Sienna Miller in "Factory Girl" - Twenty-one minutes into the film about Andy Warhol's muse, Miller soaks naked in a tub.
6. Roselyn Sanchez in "Yellow" -The actress' character just wants to be a Broadway dancer, but of course, must strip in order to get there.
7. Malin Ackerman in "The Heartbreak Kid" - An acrobatic sex act opposite Ben Stiller allows this actress to show off more than just her flexibility.
8. Eva Mendes in "We Own the Night" - Very early into the film, the starlet shows one reason why she deserves to be on this list. Yep, just one, but it's a compelling one.
9. Lena Headey in "300" - Sure, the men got to show off their abs, but Headey shows she's no slouch in the skin department during a poetic love scene.
10. Stormy Daniels and Nautica Thorne in "Knocked Up" -Lapdancers in Vegas give the main character and his pal an eyeful up close and personal.
11. Alexa Davalos in "Feast of Love" - Selma Blair and Radha Mitchell also get naked, but it's Davalos' full frontal that makes her stand out.
12. Chelan Simmons in "Good Luck Chuck" - Seven different women take off their tops for the camera, including the "Kyle XY" cutie.
13. Wei Tang in "Lust, Caution" - This Ang Lee follow-up to "Brokeback Mountain" takes a while to build up, and then watch out. The Chinese starlet engages in lots and lots of sex to take down a political figure, and her dedication is on display fully from the front and back.
14. Ashley Judd in "Bug" - Mental illness, gasoline and frontal and dorsal nudity.
15. Olivia Wilde in "Alpha Dog" - Three other actresses show skin, including Amanda Seyfried ("Mean Girls") for a skinny-dipping adventure, but Wilde got the mention for her motel tryst.
16. Ana Claudia Talancon in "Alone With Her" - A peeping Tom's use of high-tech spying gadgetry pays off many, many times, including once with a steamy shower.
17. Danielle Harris in "Halloween" - More skin than the original.
18. Heather Matarazzo in "Hostel: Part II" -If you like your nudity disturbing, bloody and hung upside down, this is the movie for you.
19. Amber Valetta in "The Last Time" -This supermodel isn't wearing haute couture or doing runway.
20. Lucy Liu in "Blood Hunter" -Nudity in a vampire flick? Bloody likely! Cameron Richardson and Samaire Armstrong take it off, but it's Liu's topless turn in a lesbian tussle with Carla Gugino.
Mr. Skin and his team of "skinvestigators" view all non-adult titles for their nudity content and rates them on their "skintensity."
Most of the action takes place in the vividly hued shop with eye-catching and fanciful toys and one-of-a-kind gadgets. While there are moments of sweetness in the story, the film's dazzling production design is the highlight.
Dustin Hoffman plays the title character as a mysterious quasi-mythical being. But the fantasy never fully takes hold to carry us away. Perhaps children will be more transported than adults, but with the focus on shy Molly (Natalie Portman) and the lovably eccentric Magorium, the magical toys aren't given enough opportunity to captivate. Molly faces a big decision when Magorium bequeaths her his store.
Writer/director Zach Helm, who wrote Stranger Than Fiction, achieves bursts of charm and whimsy, but not quite enough magic to elicit a consistent sense of wonderment. (Rated G. Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes.)
"I'm not convinced about marriage," the actress, 26, tells In Style in its December issue. "Divorce is so easy, and that fact that gay people are not allowed to marry takes much of the meaning out of it. ... Committing yourself to one person is sacred."
Not that she's opposed to the commitments and challenges of a relationship outside of marriage. The star of Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, who has been linked this year with fashion entrepreneur Nathan Bogle, declines to discuss her romantic life in detail, but she says in general that her ideal partner is "someone who pulls me up to high standards, and who is aware of what's going on in themselves and in the world."
That awareness of the world, in particular, is a major theme for Portman, whose extensive travels, she says, have taught her to respect the Earth and its environment. "If we can find ways to love life and be joyful without being wasteful or destructive – that's what's important," she says.
One part of that, for Portman, involves being a vegetarian – from head to toe. "Every time I dress I know I'm not wearing leather, and that's a great feeling," she says.
For help in achieving her goals, personal and professional, she says she relies on mentors. "Yes, absolutely," she says. "My parents, of course, but there's guidance that can't come from them. Parents are protective. Other mentors say, 'Go do it, show 'em and see how you feel.' "
In the director's chair for the first time, Zach Helm juggles some of the same themes he brought to his script for "Stranger Than Fiction" -- the process of storytelling, fear of death and the need to live life to the fullest. As in that movie, there's less here than meets the eye, but without the former's Charlie Kaufman Lite layers of metafiction, the emptiness is often glaringly evident. Helm's slender tale doesn't quite know what to do with its four characters; what might have been pleasing simplicity instead feels thinly conceived. As family-friendly fare starring Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, the fantasy drama should conjure up decent, if not magical, box office.
Divided into storybook chapters, the film begins at "the beginning of the end" for Mr. Magorium, who, at age 243, is preparing to depart this earthly plane because -- well, enough is enough, and he's out of shoes. For the past 113 years he has run the titular establishment, a sort of enchanted indie FAO Schwarz. Hoffman plays the toy impresario in teased 'do and unruly eyebrows and with a wispy, silly voice. The performance isn't a flat-out miscalculation like Johnny Depp's Willy Wonka, but as oddities go, it's more distracting than compelling.
Magorium plans to bequeath his shop, a storefront/house sandwiched between skyscrapers, to its manager, Molly Mahoney (a convincingly tentative Portman). At 23, she's a onetime musical prodigy who feels stuck, unable to complete the concerto she's been trying to compose. She has a fondness for Emporium regular Eric (Zach Mills), a sweetly geeky 9-year-old who has a knack for invention and troublemaking friends. He tries out his nascent social skills on Henry Weston (Jason Bateman), the accountant Magorium has hired to put his finances in order. Being an accountant, Henry is necessarily an impassive skeptic who can't accept that magic exists. He will, of course, be convinced.
For her part, Molly can't accept that her beloved boss is leaving. Neither can the store, whose red walls begin turning gray -- decor body language for a sulk. The books and stuffed animals start acting out, too, until full-fledged magic mayhem forces Magorium to close shop temporarily.
Within the Crayola-hued profusion created by production designer Therese DePrez and costumer designer Christopher Hargadon, there are lovely fillips, and visual effects designer Kevin Tod Haug brings high-spirited contributions to the low-fi fantasy. There's not a PlayStation 3 in sight but plenty of such delightful diversions as a squeak-toy gavel, a nervous Slinky, a room full of bouncing balls and a particularly expressive sock monkey.
Until the final sequence, though, the phantasmagoria is mildly charming rather than wondrous. That wouldn't be a problem if the characters had more substance. Chanting a pop-psych carpe diem mantra, the film can't find its own pulse. Helping to set a pace is the lush score by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman, but its ooh-ahh insistence isn't enough to truly entrance.
Cast:
Mr. Edward Magorium, Avid Shoe-Wearer: Dustin Hoffman
Molly Mahoney, the Composer: Natalie Portman
Henry Weston, the Mutant: Jason Bateman
Eric Applebaum, the Hat Collector: Zach Mills
Bellini, the Bookbuilder: Ted Ludzik
Mrs. Goodman, Who Wants the Store: Kiele Sanchez
Screenwriter-director: Zach Helm; producers: Richard N. Gladstein, Jim Garavente; executive producers: Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane; director of photography: Roman Osin; production designer: Therese DePrez; music: Alexandre Desplat, Aaron Zigman; co-producer: Barbara A. Hall; costume designer: Christopher Hargadon; visual effects designer: Kevin Tod Haug; editors: Sabrina Plisco, Steven Weisberg.
With wild hair and an annoying accent, Dustin Hoffman looks completely uncomfortable as the titular impresario, a childlike eccentric who doesn't just sell toys but whose store is a living being with feelings.
Now, at age 243, he decides it's time to leave (read: die, inexplicably) and hand the keys over to store manager Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman in full-on pixie mode), a former piano prodigy who's stuck creatively. (Ah, the irony — she works at a place that encourages creativity!) Only Mahoney doesn't feel ready for the challenge, and the store throws a temper tantrum to keep Magorium from going.
The whole endeavor feels like the love child of Willy Wonka and Pee-Wee Herman, the kind of movie Tim Burton would have executed with greater richness and dexterity. It's totally one-note in its incessant whimsy, except for those few moments when it treads awkwardly toward the topic of death. Magorium and Mahoney face the prospect of the great beyond by jumping up and down on mattresses at a mattress store and setting all the cuckoo clocks at a clock store to chime at the exact same moment.
Wake me when the wackiness is over.
The most curious part is that this tongue-twister of a movie comes from Zach Helm, who previously wrote the clever, charming "Stranger Than Fiction" starring Will Ferrell (and costarring Hoffman, much more effectively). Here, Helm directs for the first time from a script he wrote when he was 23, inspired by his own experiences working at a toy store.
Helm may know this place intimately, but he feels the need to tell us repeatedly how magical the store is, and to have the characters tell each other. This becomes especially true with the arrival of Jason Bateman as Henry Weston, an uptight accountant who's come to assess the store's worth. (He essentially functions in the same sort of role as Kevin Spacey's efficiency expert in "Fred Claus" — except, you know, without being evil — and his comic skills go almost entirely to waste.)
Henry must be convinced of the emporium's powers; 9-year-old social misfit Eric Applebaum is just the guy for the job. Eric, who has a hat fetish and who visits the store daily because he has no friends, is played by Zach Mills, who appeared as Adrien Brody's son in "Hollywoodland" and shows some precocious likability here.
But his character, like all the others in the film, feels more like a collection of quirks than a real person. While Eric likes hats, for example, Magorium has a thing for shoes. Mahoney dresses in vintage T-shirts and mismatched skirts like some Brooklyn hipster who's trying hard to make it look as if she isn't trying so hard. The only one who ever evolves is Henry, the straight man, and we could see that transformation coming from the minute he hit the door.
"Mr. Magorium" is shot and lighted beautifully, however, the work of cinematographer Roman Osin ("Pride & Prejudice"). That'll be the one thing the wee ones and adults in the audience can agree upon.
"Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," a 20th Century Fox release, is rated G. Running time: 94 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.
TV Guide: So how did you get involved with hiking around the jungle?
Natalie Portman: They asked me to go to Rwanda with Jack Hanna to interact with mountain gorillas.... [We spent] five days in Rwanda, then I continued on to Kenya for an eco-safari, and to Uganda for a charity called FINCA I work with that gives loans to poor women.
TV Guide: Do you consider yourself an animal activist?
Portman: I'm an animal lover. I've been a vegetarian for 17 years. I won't wear leather.
TV Guide: How do movie wardrobe people react when you tell them you won't wear animal products?
Portman: They have to make me clothes from fake leather or vintage stuff. That's OK. I'll use recycled material.
TV Guide: How endangered are the mountain gorillas?
Portman: Very endangered. There are fewer than 1,000 left. And they're still being poached. They kill adults and sell babies on the black market.
TV Guide: How close did you get?
Portman: Five feet! But we couldn't touch them because they catch cold so easily. On our first day out, we happened upon a lone young silverback male... sitting right in our path!
TV Guide: What was the most affecting moment in Rwanda?
Portman: I got to name a baby gorilla at a big ceremony, which was an honor. I named mine Gukina, which means "to play".... All the babies were so playful.
TV Guide: What's your next movie?
Portman: Mr. Magorian's Wonder Emporium, a kids movie with Dustin Hoffman, who was really fun.... I play an assistant toy-store manager.
TV Guide: You're also in The Other Boleyn Girl. Was it intimidating to play Anne Boleyn?
Portman: Absolutely. I worked very hard to master the accent and to make everything as accurate as can be. She's an iconic figure in England.
The magazine put out a release Thursday with some of Portman's quotes to tease Sunday's issue – but one of the quotes was incorrect, Parade said later. The magazine quickly sent out a new statement clarifying exactly which nude scene the actress was displeased with having done:
"In the release, we say that Portman regrets doing a nude scene in the movie Hotel Chevalier. This is wrong. When Portman writes about this in Parade, she does not mention a specific movie title," according to the statement. "However, she tells us she was referring to a torture scene with a body double in Goya's Ghosts, which was taken out of context and leaked onto the internet. Portman is very happy with Hotel Chevalier and proud of her work in the film. PARADE apologizes for the error."
Aside from providing a distraction from publicity over "Darjeeling" star Owen Wilson's late-August suicide attempt, the big-screen "Chevalier" bow also capitalizes on Portman's decision to do nude scenes after years spent resisting it.
The actress asked Mike Nichols to remove the nudity from her Oscar-nominated portrayal of a stripper in 2004's "Closer," and used a body double in Milos Forman's 2006 release "Goya's Ghosts."
When asked why she agreed to do the brief scenes, Portman said, "I don't know why, exactly. Sometimes you make rules for yourself and sometimes those rules are made to be broken. You have to test things out and see what works for you, and this felt right."
"I begged Wes to work with me and show me a script" since they met more than three years ago," she told the Hollywood Reporter. "I really loved it. He has the finest taste possible."
Clearly money wasn't part of Portman's motivation. Unlike the $12.5 million Demi Moore received for her topless role in the 1996 bomb "Striptease," she and Schwartzman weren't paid anything for the low-budget, two-day shoot filmed with two cameras donated by Panavision. There's nothing prurient about the two nude shots -- aside from the rear, another shows her like a statue from the side in a pose that wouldn't be out of place in an Annie Leibovitz photo shoot.
Anderson shot "Chevalier" on his own dime a year before the feature and incorporated it as the backstory for "Darjeeling" star/co-screenwriter Jason Schwartzman's character. He debated adding the tale of two estranged lovers into the feature, showing it with the film (as it screened during its New York Film Festival premiere) or keeping the two separate. He decided to release it for free on Apple iTunes Store three days before the September 29 "Darjeeling" limited release and slot it as a DVD extra.
"Darjeeling" has taken in nearly $4 million in its limited release. But while critical reaction has been mixed for Anderson's reunion with his "Rushmore" star Schwartzman, the short has received more widespread acclaim.
Portman's brief, wordless appearance near the end of "Darjeeling" has been as mystifying to many moviegoers as the promotional intro before showings to date, which suggests they download the short to get some background on a film they're just about to watch.
At the Apple Store Soho premiere of "Chevalier" in New York, Anderson voiced several concerns on how to present it, ideally mirroring the jump in time between Schwartzman's character's Parisian romantic interlude and his train trip across India. "Ideally I wanted someone to watch the short, take a break, think about it for a week and then watch the feature," he said.
Like Susanne Bier's 2004 Dutch film, the new brothers will focus on a man (Maguire) who goes off to war and asks his black sheep brother (Gyllenhaal) to watch over his wife (Portman) and child. As one might expect, complications ensue.
Tall, blonde, Danish star Connie Nielsen played the wife role in the original film, but producers seem to have decided to go a different way.
According to Variety, the David Benioff-scripted remake will begin shooting in early November for Relativity Media.
Portman can currently be seen in the frantically downloaded short film "Hotel Chevalier," a companion piece of Wes Anderson's "Darjeeling Limited" (in which Portman also has a fleeting cameo). The "Closer" Oscar nominee will next be seen in "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "My Blueberry Nights."
Its central figure is the great Spanish painter and printmaker Francisco de Goya, in many ways the world's first modern artist. Yet the film displays only passing interest in his art. Its focus instead is on Spain during the horrific period of the Inquisition and Napoleon's conquest, a subject that has its modern-day parallels, but the film never chooses to draw them. Indeed, the story these talented filmmakers tell is a sad, even pathetic tale about tawdry events and cowardly individuals.
The film opened in Europe in November to poor results. Foreign box office stands at $5.9 million, with $2.2 million coming from Spain. "Ghosts" makes its domestic debut Friday in select markets before an expansion August 3. While lavishly produced with exquisite period details and battle scenes, the film seems destined to attract a mostly art house crowd.
Goya (1746-1828) is viewed here -- no doubt with some justification -- as being apolitical, a man interested in his art but not caring who he paints, be it a haughty royal or a Grand Inquisitor. Yet the journalistic and subversive side to his art, especially in his "Caprichos" etchings or painting about Napoleon's invasion of a conservative, priest-ridden Spain, make one wonder if he wasn't a very good actor to maintain such cordial relations with royals and invaders alike while depicting the true horrors of his society.
Goya (Stellan Skarsgard) provides the film's viewpoint, moving easily between the Royal Palace and the streets and taverns of Madrid. The story he bears witness to concerns a young and beautiful daughter (Natalie Portman) of a wealthy Christian merchant, who also is his model. When she is unjustly fingered by the Inquisition for hiding "Jewish practices," she is tortured into a confession that causes the Church to lock her up in a filthy prison to rot.
Her father (Jose Luis Gomez) appeals to Goya to intervene with Brother Lorenzo (Javier Bardem), a fanatical priest behind the revival of the odious Inquisition. Goya arranges a dinner and the father a sizable bribe, but all the priest manages to do is impregnate the daughter. To demonstrate how easily one can produce "confessions," the father subjects Lorenzo to the same torture as his daughter endured, forcing him to admit to being a monkey. It's difficult to believe, though, that the family would suffer no repercussions for such an outrageous act.
Humiliated and ostracized from the Church, Lorenzo flees Spain only to return 15 years later with Napoleon's army and a portfolio for revenge against the Grand Inquisitor (Michael Lonsdale). He does manage to free his now deranged lover but thoughtlessly consigns her to an asylum. When he finally locates his daughter (Portman in an uncomfortable dual role), he discovers that she has turned to prostitution. His reaction is to arrest and send her to America, where she can't bother him. But the British invade Spain and the tables turn again.
There is truly no one to like in this film. The ex-priest is a human rights abuser of the first order. Goya is too wishy-washy to stand for anything. One young girl goes insane, while her daughter becomes an unrepentant whore. Royals are out of touch with a world in which priests and soldiers inflict rape, barbarity and death on a terrified populace. The only bright spot is Randy Quaid in a humorous turn as a playful King Carlos.
Scenes might suggest some of Goya's more horrific images, but for the most part his art is ignored. His personal life is stripped from him so he may wander through Madrid as our eyes and ears (at least until he becomes deaf). He always manages to be in the room when great historical news arrives -- the execution of the French king or the landing of British forces in Spain.
The script contains one jarring leap in time, an awkward shift in the narration and much telescoping of events, like the British invasion that seemingly takes place a few weeks after Napoleon's arrival when in fact the French stayed for six years.
In general, the filmmakers failed to make several basic decisions before shooting: What are they trying to say, and to whom are they saying it? The good vs. evil is painted too black-and-white to reveal much about the human character. Indeed, a modern sensibility afflicts much of the screenplay, with characters expressing thoughts and opinions for our ears rather than acting as people of that era.
Below-the-line credits are terrific, which only increases an overwhelming sense of disappointment with the film's failed ambitions.
Cast:
Brother Lorenzo: Javier Bardem
Ines/Alicia: Natalie Portman
Goya: Stellan Skarsgard
King Carlos: Randy Quaid
Grand Inquisitor: Michael Lonsdale
Bilbatua: Jose Luis Gomez
Mabel Isabel Bilbatua: Mabel Rivera
Director: Milos Forman; Screenwriters: Milos Forman, Jean-Claude Carriere; Producer: Saul Zaentz; Executive producer: Paul Zaentz; Director of photography: Javier Aguirresarobe; Production designer: Patrizia Von Brandenstein; Music: Varhan Bauer; Co-producers: Mark Albela, Denise O'Dell; Costume designer: Yvonne Blake; Editor: Adam Boome.
Of about 700 of the gorillas left in the world, just over half live around the lush Virunga volcanoes that straddle Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Decimated by conflict and poaching in the volatile region, numbers have begun creeping up again in recent years thanks to Rwandan conservation efforts.
The gorillas are a big-money tourist attraction in Uganda and Rwanda, but remain at risk from warring militias in DRC.
The celebrities got to tour the park and see the primates, but the babies live in the wild and were left alone, with children in costume standing in for them at the naming ceremony.
One baby gorilla was named "Ingufu" -- strength in the local Kinyarwanda dialect -- in honor of "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, a hugely popular wildlife documentary-maker killed by a stingray off his native Australia last year.
"We had been planning to come here for some years. We were going to come and do the mountain gorillas. But unfortunately that wasn't to be with the tragedy last year," Irwin's former manager John Stainton said at the ceremony in the foothills of the sanctuary.
"But having this honor to come and name a gorilla in honor of Steve Irwin takes away a sad memory. Steve would have been absolutely thrilled."
Portman named her baby gorilla "Ahazaza" (future), while conservationist Jack Hanna chose "Ibanga" (secret) for his.
GORILLA TREKS
The celebrities were invited to the ceremony to help raise awareness of efforts to ease the animals' plight and paid $500 to come to the park, the standard fee for foreign tourists.
"This is one of the biggest conservation efforts in the world," Hanna told Reuters at the naming ceremony, the third such annual event Rwanda has staged.
Conservation workers and researchers traditionally name primates they track after identifying them based on the patterns formed by wrinkles on their face.
Rwanda, which is still recovering from the 1994 genocide when 800,000 people were hacked to death, is focusing on tourism as a means to generate foreign revenues.
The country earned over $36 million from the tourism sector in 2006, but targets close to $100 million by 2010.
"We have every good reason to celebrate the birth of these gorillas because the benefits they have brought to our country and people speak volumes," Rosette Rugamba, director general of the Rwanda tourism office, said at the ceremony.
Mountain gorillas were made famous by the movie "Gorillas in the Mist" about Dian Fossey, who studied them in Rwanda in the 1960s and documented her work in a book by the same name.
Natalie Portman appears as a dancing ghost in the video for McCartney's single "Dance Tonight," which had its worldwide premiere Wednesday on YouTube.
McCartney connected with Portman through his fashion-designer daughter, Stella, who makes the non-leather shoes Portman buys.
"I rang her up and said 'Hey, I'm Stella's dad!' " McCartney said in a press release for the video. "She had a bit of time off as she was between films so it was great."
In the video, Portman, 25, plays a "futurist electronic ghost," according to the release, who dances to the sound of McCartney's mandolin.
The video also stars actor Mackenzie Crook, who played Gareth in the British version of The Office and is in the last two Pirates of the Caribbean movies. It was directed by Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind helmer Michel Gondry.
"Dance Tonight" is the opening track on McCartney's latest CD, his 21st solo album, Memory Almost Full, which will be released in the U.S. on June 5.
A free showing of all six "Star Wars" movies began Wednesday morning at the Los Angeles Convention Center and was expected to end at 2 a.m. Thursday.
The event kicked off a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of the original film.
Several thousand people showed up for the screening, which included brief intermissions.
"Because the saga spans 30 years, it spans multiple generations of fans as well," event spokesman Jonathan Zaleski said. "There are people in costume, families. It's an interesting mix."
"You get the usual assortment of Storm Troopers running around," he added. "I imagine it's pretty uncomfortable to sit for 17 hours encased in plastic."
Lucasfilm Ltd. supplied the digital prints for the movies and is involved in "Star Wars Celebration IV" at the Convention Center. That event, open to fan club members Thursday and to the paying public Friday through Monday, was to include costume contests, exhibitions of movie props, autograph opportunities from "Star Wars" celebrities and even a Storm Trooper "Olympics."
The actress said in an interview for ABC's "This Week" that aired Sunday that she has met mothers younger than she is who had to work in poor conditions for low pay because that was the only job available to them.
"And then they're able to get a loan and start their own business out of their own house and be with their children," Portman said. "It changes the whole system."
Portman, who starred in the last three "Star Wars" films, has been working with FINCA International, an organization that provides small loans to people in developing countries.
"If a woman can't tell her child, 'I can feed you tomorrow, I can pay for your school,' then where do they go? What do they do? What do they choose? It's really trying to reach the poorest of the poor and offering banking services to them," she said.
The couple will present their film A Mighty Heart out of competition when the fest kicks off on May 16. In the movie, which Pitt's company, Plan B, produced, Jolie plays Mariane Pearl, the widow of slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
("The story unfolds like a mystery," Jolie tells Entertainment Weekly. "You've got people collecting clues and trying to solve what happened. But it's also very real and personal. We didn't want it to be too melodramatic or too polished. We didn't want it to be a typical movie.")
Other celebs expected at the 11-day, 60th annual festival range from Jude Law and Leonardo DiCaprio to Jane Fonda, Quentin Tarantino and Bono, festival organizers in Paris said Thursday.
Some highlights:
• Law, Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz and singer Norah Jones will set the red-carpet standard on opening night when they appear for director Wong Kar Wai's romance My Blueberry Nights.
• Pitt himself stars in Ocean's 13, and will be joined in Cannes by George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and the rest of the cast for that film's world premiere.
• DiCaprio is due to promote a special screening of the environmental documentary The Eleventh Hour, which he produced and co-wrote with filmmakers Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners.
• Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg will be seen alongside Eva Mendes in director James Gray's gritty crime story, We Own The Night, which already has award buzz.
• Past Palme d'Or winner Michael Moore will present the world premiere of his latest documentary, Sicko, a critique of the U.S. health care system.
• Already generating demand for tickets: the weekend midnight screening of U2 3D, a 3-D film made during the band's most recent Latin American tour. Officials say the film will be shown in a theater specially equipped for the event and the band members will be on hand to greet fans.
• Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Woody Harrelson, Josh Brolin and a posse of other actors are riding in for No Country For Old Men, a sprawling Western adventure from perennial festival invitees Joel and Ethan Coen.
• Taylor Momsen and Gabe Nevins will skate in with director Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park, about a skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard.
• After the film's lukewarm reception from American audiences, Quentin Tarantino will debut a special, longer version of his Grindhouse episode "Death Proof" alongside stars Rosario Dawson and Kurt Russell.
Unveiling a poster featuring festival veterans Bruce Willis, Penelope Cruz, Samuel L. Jackson and Juliette Binoche, organizers also announced that this year's nine-person jury, headed by The Queen director Stephen Frears, will include actresses Toni Collette, Maria De Medeiros, Maggie Cheung and Sarah Polley.
The film marks director Milos Forman's first since the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon," starring Jim Carrey.
"Goya" stars Javier Bardem as a member of the clergy during the Spanish Inquisition who becomes obsessed with one of its targets, Goya's muse (Natalie Portman). The story follows their personal trials from the late 18th century through the tortured girl's release from prison after Napoleon's invasion of Spain.
"'Ghosts' is a love story and a violent political story and a wonderful woman's story about a fascinating period in history and the effect of the Inquisition's lives as seen through the eyes of Goya," said Samuel Goldwyn Films CEO Samuel Goldwyn Jr. "I wish every film we had was as good as this."
"Ghosts" marks the third collaboration between Forman and "Goya" producer Saul Zaentz, following two best picture Oscar winners: 1975's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and 1984's "Amadeus." Forman reteamed with "Valmont" partner Jean-Claude Carriere to write the "Ghosts" screenplay.
Portman, 25, who is best known for her starring roles in the recent Star Wars trilogy, may also act in "A Tale of Love and Darkness" if it is brought to the big screen, Jerusalem Capital Studios spokesman Danny Levy told Reuters.
"JCS has met with Portman to discuss the possibility of her participating in and directing a film version of the book," he said.
"A Tale of Love and Darkness" describes Oz's upbringing in Jerusalem amid the fighting during which the Jewish state was founded. Israeli media said Portman was interested in playing Oz's mother, who committed suicide when the author was a youth.
Portman was born in Jerusalem and speaks Hebrew. In 2005 she appeared in "Free Zone," a road movie by Israeli director Amos Gitai that explored the tensions between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land.
The US rockers were a moderately successful cult band with two albums released when Portman's character uttered the line, "The Shins... you gotta hear this song. It'll change your life."
And Mercer admits things changed overnight for The Shins.
He says, "Probably nobody's life was changed by that as much as mine. It really helped the band. I look at licensing songs as a way to get some visibility... and to get paid for it. We'd toured (album) 'Chutes Too Narrow' for 18 months. Then the plan was to take some time to do a new record but Garden State hit and it was time to go on tour again. As the movie became popular, our sales increased and we began getting invitations to play bigger shows."
But instead, what Forman describes as "merciless" history takes center stage.
The latest offering from the 74-year-old Czech director, opening this week in Madrid, is a $50 million drama filmed lavishly on location around Spain, with a mostly Spanish cast and hearthrobs Javier Bardem and Natalie Portman in starring roles.
Forman is famous for biopics such as his 1984 extravaganza, "Amadeus," which won a clutch of Oscars, and before that for the 1975 Oscar-winner, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."
"Goya's Ghosts" tells the story of a sinister yet charismatic monk, Lorenzo (Bardem), who becomes infatuated with a young girl, Ines (Portman) and both are the fictional subjects of portraits by Spanish court painter Goya, considered by some art historians to be the first of the moderns.
The film is primarily the story of Ines, who is questioned under the Inquisition -- a tribunal of the Catholic Church which used torture and imprisonment -- with tragic consequences.
"Really the seeds of this story started about 50 years ago when I read a book about the Spanish Inquisition and I realized how history mercilessly repeats itself," Forman told a news conference in Madrid.
"I found the echoes of the same thing in my life living under the Nazis and under the Communists ... and now in the Middle East."
LESSONS FROM HISTORY
The director was born in what is now the Czech Republic in 1932, and his parents died in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
"Everyone screams 'Never again, we learned the lesson' (of history) ... but of course we didn't. Still, this is good for drama," Forman said.
"Emotionally, the film is about Ines. In this chase for fanaticism the innocent always get crushed."
Forman said he chose Portman at first because he thought she looked like a Goya portrait, The Milkmaid of Bordeaux.
But then he saw the film "Closer" and decided the actress, had enough of a range to play what are effectively three different characters in the film.
Goya himself, played convincingly by a low keyStellan Skarsgard (Breaking the Waves, Good Will Hunting), lived to be 82. He had gone deaf by the age of 46.
He witnessed and painted a gruesome period of European history -- the Inquisition, the French invasion of Spain and the restoration of the monarchy in Madrid by the British.
Goya's paintings depict different social strata over that tumultuous period and it is that role as a faithful observer of history that Forman focuses on, with all the grotesque and brilliant detail for which the painter became famous.
"Of course, because I'm Spanish, I assumed I'd be playing the role of Goya. It seemed the natural thing," award-winning Spanish actor Bardem said in the production notes of the film.
"It's an even greater challenge playing Lorenzo. He's a man of hard and strong beliefs. I would call him a fanatic."
Bardem is currently in Colombia, making a film version of Gabriel Garcia Marques' novel "Love in a Time of Cholera" with Mike Newell, and was unable to attend the Forman premiere.
The performances by Portman and Bardem, as well as a strong line-up from Spanish theater, all speaking in English, are one of the film's strong points.
Goya's Ghosts is beautifully shot and the sets are sumptuous, but the pace is a little uneven and some of the incidents perhaps melodramatic. Still, the director does not appear to take criticism too seriously.
"If you like it, it's your film. If you don't like it, it's my film," Forman joked to reporters.
A smiling Portman — often called the modern-day Hepburn — channels the spritely Holly Golightly by showing off the back of the dress, which was designed by Givenchy. Pearls are draped around her neck. Her hair, set with a black headband, is swept into a stylish updo in an update of Golightly's signature beehive.
"I did feel very elegant suddenly," Portman tells the magazine. "I mean, you can't possibly measure up to Audrey Hepburn; there's no comparison. But the elegance that she exuded was transmitted to the dress, you know, the feeling, the emotion of it."
The dress, one of three versions made for the 1961 movie, will be sold to the highest bidder on Dec. 5 at Christie's auction house in London. It's expected to fetch as much as $130,000.
Proceeds from the dress will go to the City of Joy Aid charity, which provides aid to India's poor.
Portman, whose screen credits include "Closer," "V for Vendetta" and the "Star Wars" movies, was anxious about wearing it.
"I was so nervous that I wasn't going to fit," Portman says. "Everyone kept telling me how small it was, and I'm not the type who can starve myself. I'm small, but it's not like I'm see-through."
The actors worked with such top directors as Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, Alexander Payne and the Coen brothers.
"Paris" had its North American premiere Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival after opening at the Cannes Film Festival in May. It's slated for theatrical release in early 2007.
A wide assortment of filmmakers crafted the story of different romantic encounters in each one of Paris' arrondissements. Themes of joy, separation, unexpected encounters and love are explored by the international collection of directors and actors.
Fanny Ardant, Bob Hoskins, Emily Mortimer, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Rufus Sewell, Barbet Schroeder, Ludivine Sagnier, Gena Rowlands, Miranda Richardson and Steve Buscemi round out the cast.
The directors, most of whom are not Parisian, made an effort to portray aspects of the city rarely seen on the big screen. They include Gerard Depardieu (who directed his segment with Frederic Auburtin), Christopher Doyle, Alfonso Cuaron, Isabel Coixet, Richard LaGravenese, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Gurinder Chadha, Sylvain Chomet, Vincenzo Natali, Bruno Podalydes, Oliver Schmitz, Nobuhiro Suwa, Tom Tykwer and Olivier Assayas.
In other Toronto deal news, buyers were buzzing about the Tuesday premiere of the salsa bipoic "El Cantante," starring Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, generally believed to be the most sought-after film of the festival. Talk also centered on "Black Sheep," a New Zealand comic horror film provoking strong reactions, as well as talk that it might go to an indie theatrical or DVD distributor.
Other films in play include the Alzheimer's drama "Away From Her," the romantic fable "Penelope" and the romantic comedy "The Pleasure of Your Company."
The Natalie Portman film handily outsold its nearest competitor, the Tim Allen remake of "The Shaggy Dog," by a margin of more than 2-to-1, according to VideoScan's First Alert DVD sales chart for the week ending August 6.
In theaters, "V for Vendetta" grossed $70.5 million, while "The Shaggy Dog" finished with $61.1 million.
On trade publication Home Media Retailing's video rental chart for the week, "V for Vendetta" earned $9.4 million, about $200,000 ahead of the previous week's champ, "The Benchwarmers."
"The Shaggy Dog" bowed at No. 4, with rental earnings of $7.7 million, right behind "Final Destination 3," which after two weeks in stores has generated $17.1 million in rental stores, nearly one-third of its theatrical gross.
The only other new release besides "V for Vendetta" and "The Shaggy Dog" to crack the sales chart was HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Fifth Season," which debuted at No. 20.
Several older releases began creeping back up the DVD sales chart, including "Spider-Man 2" (No. 5) and "Spider-Man" (No. 14). Trailers for the third "Spider-Man" movie, set for release next summer, have just begun playing in theaters.
Television director Justin Chadwick has signed on to make his feature debut at the helm of the picture, which is based on a novel by Philippa Gregory and is set to begin shooting in late September in Europe.
The story revolves around the ferociously ambitious Boleyn sisters, Mary and Anne (Portman), who are rivals for the bed and heart of 16th-century English King Henry VIII (Bana).
Peter Morgan ("The Last King of Scotland") adapted the screenplay.
BBC Films, which originally acquired book rights and made a 2003 TV movie starring Natascha McElhone, also is a producer on the feature project. Scott Rudin, who set the film up with Columbia, will executive produce. Focus Features has the option to acquire international rights.
Portman, who earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in "Closer," recently starred in "V for Vendetta." Her credits also include "Free Zone," "Garden State" and "Cold Mountain."
Bana, who most recently played an Israeli assassin assigned to hunt down Palestinians suspected of carrying out the bloody 1972 raid on the Summer Olympics in "Munich," next appears in Curtis Hanson's "Lucky You."
Chadwick's helming credits include last year's "Bleak House," the BAFTA-winning TV series based on a Charles Dickens' novel.
TELEVISION
Choice TV Show: Drama/Action Adventure
"The O.C."
"Grey's Anatomy"
"One Tree Hill"
"House"
"Lost"
"Smallville"
Choice TV Show: Comedy/Musical
"Desperate Housewives"
"Everybody Hates Chris"
"Gilmore Girls"
"My Name Is Earl"
"High School Musical"
"The War at Home"
Choice TV Show: Animated
"American Dad"
"Family Guy"
"King of the Hill"
"South Park"
"The Boondocks"
"The Simpsons"
Choice TV Show: Reality
"America's Next Top Model"
"American Idol"
"Beauty and the Geek"
"Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County"
"Survivor: Guatemala"
"Yo Momma"
Choice TV Actor: Drama/Action Adventure
Adam Brody, "The O.C."
Chad Michael Murray, "One Tree Hill"
Kiefer Sutherland, "24"
Matthew Fox, "Lost"
Patrick Dempsey, "Grey's Anatomy"
Tom Welling, "Smallville"
Choice TV Actress: Drama/Action Adventure
Evangeline Lilly, "Lost"
Katherine Heigl, "Grey's Anatomy"
Kristen Bell, "Veronica Mars"
Mischa Barton, "The O.C."
Kristin Kreuk, "Smallville"
Sophia Bush, "One Tree Hill"
Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Michael Rapaport, "The War at Home"
Jason Lee, "My Name Is Earl"
Zach Braff, "Scrubs"
Steve Carell, "The Office"
Tyler James Williams, "Everybody Hates Chris"
Wilmer Valderrama, "That '70s Show"
Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Alexis Bledel, "Gilmore Girls"
Eva Longoria, "Desperate Housewives"
Jaime Pressly, "My Name Is Earl"
Mila Kunis, "That '70s Show"
Raven Symone, "That's So Raven"
Tichina Arnold, "Everybody Hates Chris"
Choice TV Sidekick
Allison Mack, "Smallville"
Amaury Nolasco, "Prison Break"
Vincent Martella, "Everybody Hates Chris"
Donald Faison, "Scrubs"
Jorge Garcia, "Lost"
Percy Daggs III, "Veronica Mars"
Choice TV Personality
Ashton Kutcher, "Punk'd"
Nick Cannon, "Nick Cannon Presents Wild 'N Out"
Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"
Simon Cowell, "American Idol"
Maria Menounos, "Access Hollywood," "Today"
Vanessa Minnillo, "TRL," "Entertainment Tonight"
MOVIES
Choice Movie: Action Adventure
"King Kong"
"Mission: Impossible III"
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
"Superman Returns"
"V for Vendetta"
"X-Men: The Last Stand"
Choice Movie: Drama
"Flight Plan"
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"
"Pride & Prejudice"
"Take the Lead"
"Goal!"
"Walk the Line"
Choice Movie: Chick Flick
"Failure to Launch"
"Just Like Heaven"
"Just My Luck"
"Last Holiday"
"Aquamarine"
"The Lake House"
Choice Movie: Comedy
"Click"
"Nacho Libre"
"Scary Movie 4"
"She's the Man"
"The Benchwarmers"
"The Break-Up"
Choice Movie: Thriller
"American Haunting"
"Hostel"
"Red Eye"
"Saw II"
"Silent Hill"
"The Omen"
Choice Movie Actor: Drama/Action Adventure
Hugh Jackman, "X-Men: The Last Stand"
Johnny Depp, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, "Crash," "Hustle & Flow"
Orlando Bloom, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Terrence Howard, "Crash," "Hustle & Flow"
Tom Cruise, "Mission: Impossible III"
Choice Movie Actress: Drama/Action Adventure
Halle Berry, "X-Men: The Last Stand"
Jessica Alba, "Fantastic Four"
Keri Russell, "Mission: Impossible III"
Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest"
Natalie Portman, "V for Vendetta"
Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"
Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Vince Vaughn, "The Break-Up"
Jim Carrey, "Fun with Dick and Jane"
Johnny Depp, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
Jon Heder, "The Benchwarmers," "Just Like Heaven"
Jack Black, "Nacho Libre"
Adam Sandler, "Click"
Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Lindsay Lohan, "Just My Luck"
Jennifer Aniston, "The Break-Up"
Hilary Duff, "The Perfect Man," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2"
Queen Latifah, "Last Holiday"
Rachel McAdams, "Wedding Crashers," "The Family Stone"
Sarah Jessica Parker, "Failure to Launch"
Choice Hottie - Male
Chad Michael Murray
Chris Brown
Justin Timberlake
Nick Lachey
Orlando Bloom
Wentworth Miller
Choice Hottie - Female
Eva Longoria
Jessica Alba
Jessica Simpson
Scarlett Johansson
Rachel Bilson
Rihanna
Choice Comedian
Adam Sandler
Chris Rock
Dane Cook
Jack Black
Jim Carrey
Rachel Dratch
Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Rachel Weisz are joining the already cast Norah Jones in "My Blueberry Nights," report news sources.
The project stars Jones as a young woman who travels across America, meeting up with a series of characters in bars and on the road in her quest to find the true meaning of love. Some have also described the film as an exploration of "the sensual link between love and food," which would probably explain the "blueberry" in the title.
Production is scheduled to begin in the summer.
Jones is sitar maestro Ravi Shankar's daughter and a multiple Grammy winner for her debut album "Come Away with Me."
The film will be a reunion of sorts for Portman and Law, who last co-starred together in "Closer." She was last seen in "V for Vendetta" and "Star Wars: Episode III," and has a trio of films coming up, including "Free Zone," "Goya's Ghosts" and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium."
Law last made an appearance in "The Aviator" and narrated "Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events." His films "All the King's Men" and "Breaking and Entering" are scheduled to be released this fall.
Weisz won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as an activist in "The Constant Gardener." She next stars opposite Hugh Jackman in Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain," out this fall.
Wong's most recent films include "In the Mood for Love" and its sort of sequel, "2046." He's also on board to direct the remake of Orson Welles' "The Lady of Shanghai," this time starring Nicole Kidman.
Prince, 47, shares the honor with Kristen Bell, the 25-year-old star of "Veronica Mars," which is being carried over from UPN to the new CW Network this fall.
A strict vegan, Prince recently wrote in the liner notes of his latest album, "3121," about the ills behind wool production. He closed the disc with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi: "2 my mind, the life of a lamb is no less precious than that of a human being."
Bell, in a statement, said of her vegetarianism: "I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with — dogs and cats, for example — from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my brussels sprouts!"
Runners-up in the poll, which PETA said received over 40,000 votes, include Natalie Portman, Nicollette Sheridan and Joaquin Phoenix.
Last year, Coldplay singer Chris Martin and "American Idol" Carrie Underwood were picked as the two "sexiest vegetarians." Other previous winners include Andre 3000, Tobey Maguire, Josh Hartnett, Alicia Silverstone, Lauren Bush and Shania Twain.
This is a Paris where Oscar Wilde can reappear beside his grave at Pere Lachaise to give squabbling lovers a sense of humor. A vampire may pounce on an unsuspecting backpacker in the Madeleine. A cowboy on horseback can bring a grieving mother back to her family. A paramedic may fall in love with her bleeding patient.
Love in all its weird and wonderful forms is the subject of 18 short films made by an assortment of international directors who bring individual vision to a collective love letter to the French capital. Most of the directors have written their own pieces, and they range from whimsical to romantic, to dramatic and tragic.
With many familiar faces including Juliette Binoche, Fanny Ardant, Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Bob Hoskins and Gena Rowlands, the film is necessarily uneven but has an overall winning charm and can expect a warm reception in art houses around the world.
Buscemi and Coen brothers completists will not want to miss their hilarious tale of an American tourist on the Metro stop at the Tuileries learning firsthand how accurate his guidebook is. Forget "The Da Vinci Code" -- anyone who sees this film will never look at Mona Lisa's smile again without thinking of the matchless Buscemi.
An offbeat sense of humor is established from the opening story, subtitled "Montmartre," in which a frustrated young man (writer-director Bruno Podalydes) struggles to find a parking spot only to spend the time parked complaining aloud about why he can't find a girlfriend.
Then a lovely young woman (Florence Muller) faints beside his car. It's Paris.
Writer-director Gurinder Chadha spends a few minutes showing how a young man (Cyril Descours) can learn more from a modest hijab-wearing young woman (Leila Bekhti) than from his leering buddies.
Isabel Coixet manages to find great humor in a story of a failed love affair given new life after one of the lovers (Miranda Richardson) is diagnosed with terminal leukemia, while Oliver Schmitz's new paramedic (Aissa Maiga) learns how fleeting love can be while treating a stab victim (Seydou Boro).
Several sequences begin with misdirection so that Nolte's May-December romance turns out to be not that at all, while Hoskins and Ardant's strip club encounter involves more than a little planned artifice. Tom Tykwer's tale of an actress (Portman) trying to break off her affair with a blind linguist (Melchior Besion) also holds a surprise. Sylvain Chomet's item involving mimes is pleasingly self-mocking, and Alexander Payne's narrative of a Denver matron (Margo Martindale) visiting the city to improve her halting French begins in sarcasm and ends in sympathy.
Binoche grieves for her dead son in Nobuhiro Suwa's parable about a cowboy (Willem Dafoe) who rides the midnight streets of Paris to ease her pain. Director Barbet Schroeder has fun along with Li Xin in a wacky musical fantasy by Christopher Doyle. Wes Craven naturally gravitates to a graveyard for his oddball contribution involving Wilde.
The cinematography is varied and wonderful. Pierre Adenot's music fits the bill, and there's a great waltz at the end with English adaptation by Oscar-winning lyricist Will Jennings.
Directors: Bruno Podalydes, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne.
Producers: Claudie Ossard & Emmanuel Benbihy
Co-producer: Burkhard Von Schenk
Executive producers: Chris Bolzli, Gilles Caussade, Sam Englebardt, Ara Katz, Chad Troutwine, Frank Moss, Rafi Chaudry
Original idea: Tristan Carne
Concept: Emmanuel Benbihy
Production designer: Bettina von den Steinen
Editing supervisors: Simon Jacquet, Frederic Auburtin
Original music: Pierre Adenot
In short episodes -- each set in a different Parisian neighborhood -- the film "Paris je t'aime" tells the funny, sad and sometimes utterly surreal love stories of couples living in the pretty and ugly parts of the French capital.
Featuring actors such as Nick Nolte, Natalie Portman and Steve Buscemi, the homage to the city of lights received much applause at the Cannes film festival this week, where it is presented in the sideline "Un Certain Regard" show.
But the film also came at a welcome time for Paris, where suburban riots and sometimes violent street protests have stolen the media limelight from the city's acclaimed architectural beauties in past months and caused ministers to caution that the image of Paris could suffer.
Elijah Wood, known for his lead role in the "Lord of the Rings" films, told Reuters the movie might help promote a more positive image of Paris.
"I think it's a great love postcard to the city, so I think in a way it could help the morale," said Wood, who plays a backpacker meeting a vampire in the movie.
NOLTE FINDS PARISIAN WOMEN PICKY
Nick Nolte, who stars in an episode by director Alfonso Cuaron, said Paris was the city of romance, but this did not guarantee immediate success with its females.
"Parisian women are very, very picky and have very high standards," he said.
"Paris je t'aime," made by directors including Joel and Ethan Coen, mixes views of Paris's historic center with more blunt pictures of the capital's poorer districts.
The uniting message is that love can hit anyone, anywhere -- such as the car driver who meets his flame while struggling to find a parking spot on the hilly streets of Montmartre, or the American actress - played by Natalie Portman - who attracts her neighbor's attention as she rehearses a scene of violence.
In the Coen brothers' episode, a stunned American tourist (Steve Buscemi) learns through a violent encounter that the Mona Lisa's smile can seem like an ironic grin if you are unlucky.
Other stories are set in bleak neighborhoods on the edge of Paris -- a maze of high rise buildings similar to those areas where youths angry about unemployment and discrimination set thousands of cars ablaze in riots last November.
French actress Juliette Binoche, who has a mysterious meeting with a cowboy on a horse in Paris's center, said she was seduced by the variety of views the film offered.
"I always loved diversity and I loved traveling, so when you have travelers coming to the place where you were born I think it's very beautiful," Binoche told Reuters. "I think the more we exchange, the better it is."
The stories vary from banal settings to dream-like tales, with the dialogue often taking on a surreal flavor as well.
"Can I massage your feet?" an unemployed man asks the female paramedic tending to his wound after he was stabbed. "Why would I let you do that?" she asks. "Because they hurt. You've been running around in my dreams all night," he says.
Over the frame, "Vendetta," based on the comic by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, took in an estimated $26.14 million. Those figures were easily enough to best the competition and they were in line with the low side of estimates for the drama, which stars Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving and was produced by Joel Silver and "The Matrix" brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski.
Fueled by largely positive reviews -- negative notices tended to harp on that whole "sympathetic terrorist" angle of the plot -- "Vendetta" averaged $7,767 per screen, the best of any film in the Top 12, playing in 3365 locations.
"Vendetta" stuck a knife in the box office reign of "Failure to Launch," which dropped a spot in its second weekend. The critically panned comedy, which stars Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker (as well as Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates as an unlikely married couple), fell a reasonable 35 percent to $15.8 million. With a $5,074 per-screen-average, "Launch" is holding up nicely with a cumulative take of nearly $48.5 million.
A well as "Launch" is holding, it doesn't compare to the Tim Allen update of "The Shaggy Dog." With nothing new in theaters for families, the man-dog comedy fell only 16 percent to $11 million, with nearly $35.9 million and counting for its total. "Dog" was able to fight off the weekend's other new release, Amanda Bynes' "Twelfth Night" update "She's the Man." In its first weekend, the comedy did a respectable $11 million, playing on 2623 screens for a $4,198 average.
Even with the solid "Vendetta" opening, the Top 12 films at the box office did $93.8 million for the weekend, down nearly 11 percent from the comparable frame last year, when the $35 million opening for "The Ring 2" propelled the Top 12 to $105.3 million.
Beyond the four films that passed the $10 million mark, overall receipts were fairly lackluster. In its second weekend, "The Hills Have Eyes" was off 49 percent to take fifth place with $8.05 million and $28.8 million total for the horror remake. After "Hills," there was a large drop to sixth place "16 Blocks" ($4.74 million) and "Eight Below( $4.19 million) in seventh.
Also making the Top 12 were "Madea's Family Reunion" ($3 million), "The Pink Panther" ($2.5 million), "Aquamarine" ($2.025 million), "Ultraviolet" ($1.4 million) and "Date Movie" ($1.325 million).
Playing in only 439 theaters, the Vin Diesel vehicle "Find Me Guilty" made nary a ripple, as the legal dramedy averaged only $1,431 per screen for a total of $628,000.
Playing in limited release, Jason Reitman's comedy "Thank You For Smoking" did a whopping $52,000-plus per screen, playing in only five locations. The festival favorite got its platform release off to a good start with $260,066. Also delivering decent returns in the limited market was Wim Wenders' "Don't Come Knocking," which averaged $5,921 per screen in six locations.
Next weekend, "Vendetta" will be challenged by "The Inside Man" and "Stay Alive."
All estimates come courtesy of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks daily box office receipts.
Opening Friday, "V for Vendetta" casts Portman as a Londoner living under the heel of a repressive government in the near future, when xenophobic reactionaries have seized control of Britain and turned it into a police state.
Her character, Evey, is drawn into the world of the title character V (Hugo Weaving), a masked crusader orchestrating massive bombings to rally popular support to bring down the regime.
Portman said that along with its explosive action, the film is meant to stir uneasy debate in a post-Sept. 11 world about who is a terrorist and who is a freedom fighter.
"There's sort of World War II imagery, Holocaust imagery, also some language you hear from today's modern Western democracy leaders as well as elements of sort of terrorist groups today," Portman said in an interview Thursday at ShoWest, a theater-owners convention where she received an award as female star of the year.
"I think all these different elements together create interesting questions about when, if ever, we can justify violence."
The 24-year-old Portman, who sported some of Hollywood's most elaborate hairstyles as Padme Amidala in the three latest "Star Wars" flicks, got the Sinead O'Connor treatment in "V for Vendetta." Imprisoned, Evey has her long locks shorn in a scene disturbingly reminiscent of images from the Holocaust.
Director James McTeigue — a protege of "V for Vendetta" screenwriters Andy and Larry Wachowski, creators of "The Matrix" movies — had only one chance to get Portman's haircut scene right.
Evey's tearful reactions were shot as Portman had her hair clipped to the skull.
"It was something I had always thought about doing," Portman said. To throw away "conventions of beauty and male expectations to how we're supposed to aesthetically please them or whatever is definitely a nice thing to do."
One foresees news talk shows in which red-faced pundits denounce the filmmakers and call for boycotts. Given a film as entertaining and solidly crafted as this one, such attention could turn into strong box office.
Of course, plenty of films -- particularly those set in dystopian futures like this one -- identify with revolutionaries. But most put heavy sci-fi clothing on their brave new worlds, while "V" takes pains to tie its reality to our own. Although based on a comic book, it isn't as heavily stylized as a superhero movie. Its score and production design, both rich and inviting, are heightened without suggesting that this near-future London is an outright fantasy, though the new government, a restrictive state led by John Hurt's Sutler, is draped in some awfully Nazi-ish iconography.
If the film's look and feel refuse to flee from the real world, its dialogue takes every chance to connect to it. We are told about the recent past, that "America's war grew worse and worse, and eventually came to London." Hot-button terms like "rendition" are sprinkled about; dissidents are handled as in a third-world dictatorship; and our hero (who calls himself V) lectures citizens who have surrendered their liberties to a government that promised to protect them from terrorism.
As V, Hugo Weaving has the unenviable task of playing the entire film behind an immobile mask. He rises to the challenge, bringing the character to life with body language and his sonorously nimble voice.
V has a flair for the theatrical. He introduces himself to London on Guy Fawkes Day with fireworks and a symbolic bombing, then hijacks a television broadcast to announce that he will return a year later to destroy the Houses of Parliament. He suggests that citizens who feel oppressed by their rulers should join him there. And then he's gone, leaving some very anxious politicians in his wake.
The viewer's proxy here is Evey (Natalie Portman), who accidentally becomes a part of V's plans. With her, we work through many of the expected reactions to V's approach -- and if she eventually comes around to his way of thinking, the film certainly doesn't present the choice as an uncomplicated one. The filmmakers (Andy and Larry Wachowski adapting the screenplay, James McTeigue at the helm) are clearly on the vigilante's side, but they give viewers room to question his motives and methods: Has he psychologically programmed Evey? Is the city of London about to become a war zone simply because V has a personal grudge? The serious tone "Vendetta" takes encourages such moral nitpicking.
Although some marketing materials aim to position this as an action film, viewers expecting a thrill ride might be disappointed. V engages in a couple of satisfying crime-fighting set pieces, but the story is more occupied with mystery and intrigue. Happily, it almost is entirely free of the hollow pomposity that marred the Wachowskis' last two "Matrix" films. Here, Alan Moore's graphic novel and the history of real-world oppressive governments is more than enough, leaving no need for the screenwriters to invent hokey mythologies and plenty of room to fantasize about revolution.
CAST:
Evey Hammond: Natalie Portman
V: Hugo Weaving
Finch: Stephen Rea
Sutler: John Hurt
Prothero: Roger Allam
Gordon Deitrich: Stephen Fry
Creedy: Tim Pigott-Smith
Director: James McTeigue; Screenwriters: Andy Wachowski & Larry Wachowski; Based on the graphic novel by: Alan Moore and David Lloyd; producers: Grant Hill, Joel Silver, Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski; Executive producer: Benjamin Waisbren; Director of photography: Adrian Biddle; Production designer: Owen Paterson; Music: Dario Marianelli; Co-producers: Roberto Malerba, Henning Molfenter, Charlie Woebcken; Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon; Editor: Martin Walsh.
"I have someone who does it up for me on these occasions," she says with a giggle.
Portman had her locks shaved on screen in a single take. She tried not to lose her head along with her hair. "It was a one-shot deal, and that was the most stressful thing about the experience," she says, smiling.
Vendetta director James McTeigue recalls the pivotal shearing as just another day at work for the unflappable Portman, 24.
"The first time I saw her about the role, I had her put her hair behind her head because I wanted to see what she looked like bald. That was the only conversation we had about it," he says. "She knew the day was coming. I put three cameras on her, made sure the clippers weren't stuck, and then we shaved her head. She loved it and kept rubbing her head."
That businesslike attitude is on display over an evening chat at the Mandarin Oriental hotel overlooking Central Park. Portman is a pixie in a short-sleeved, dark blue frilly blouse, skintight jeans and silver ballerina flats, her eyes heavily made up for a day of press. But V for Vendetta, which opens Friday, is the first glimpse of a flintier, feistier Portman. The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name, co-written by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, published 15 years ago.
The movie, which rests largely on Portman's diminutive shoulders, is her first starring role in a potential blockbuster. She's the biggest name in the film and has been working overtime to promote it, particularly because its producers, the Matrix trilogy's Wachowski brothers, do not speak to the press. But Portman, who made her movie debut at 13 in The Professional, is more than up to the challenge. She has a psychology degree from Harvard and a roster of prestigious films under her narrow belt.
Anthony Minghella, who directed Portman in 2003's Cold Mountain, praises her curiosity and calls the actress "disarmingly intelligent. She reminds me a little of Jodie Foster, because I can see her, as time goes on, wanting to spread her wings beyond acting. Her big brain wants to be fed."
She recently completed Milos Forman's historic drama Goya's Ghosts and earned an Oscar nomination for playing a temptress in Mike Nichols' 2004 relationship chiller Closer. And now, as Evey, Portman battles a regime that doesn't value human rights and freedom of expression. Evey goes from timid to tenacious with the help of the mysterious, masked V (Hugo Weaving), who opposes the government and happens to have a major chip on his shoulder.
Weaving replaced James Purefoy three weeks into the shoot, but Portman handled the switch with aplomb, even though she shares most of her scenes with the faceless fighter. The two new co-stars broke the ice over "a very nice Thai meal in Berlin," Weaving says.
He describes his co-star as "extremely smart and sweet and very small" and "very relaxed."
Portman says she opted to take the role of Evey because she was "excited by the prospect of making a big, entertaining movie that also had substance," she says.
Vendetta, set in London, was filmed in Berlin last spring at historic Babelsberg Studios. V's home, the palatial underground Shadow Gallery, was shot on the same soundstage where Fritz Lang filmed his thriller Metropolis in 1927. For the Israeli-born Portman, spending nearly three months in Germany was eye-opening.
"As a Jew growing up, I'd never been to Germany before," she says. "I fell in love with Berlin. The movie is about a totalitarian regime, and seeing a city that's been through a series of totalitarian regimes sort of created a depth in our environment. And it's also a great city. It's like New York once was, full of artists and young people before it became prohibitively expensive."
To speak like a Londoner, Portman spent a month working with a dialect coach. Portman acknowledges that she got carried away. "I stayed in the accent all the time. They told me that's the best way to get the tune and rhythm," she says. "But then my mom said, 'Really, Natalie, enough already. This is crazy.' I'd call her on the phone and be like, 'Hellooo, Mum.' "
And that's about as personal as Portman gets. She's polite, chirpy even, yet from her darting glances and crisp answers, you get the feeling she doesn't relish talking about herself. That's not to say she can't let loose. After admiring a Wonder Woman T-shirt, she laughs at how illogical it is that the superhero's plane has no engine. And she breaks into full-body laughs when recounting one tabloid story that had her dating David Schwimmer, whom she had "never even met!"
But don't expect Portman to air her dirty laundry in public. The less you know about the enigmatic actress, the happier she is.
"I'm a really open person," she insists. "Everyone I'm close to knows everything about me. But I have friends to tell my problems to, and I have no desire to tell them to strangers. Public confessional is not something I'm tempted to do."
Portman isn't chased by paparazzi. She doesn't get into drunken brawls outside bars. And while you won't generally find her dancing up a storm with starlet tabloid princesses at various velvet-rope destinations, Portman does like to have a good time. She even spoofed her good-girl image in a gangsta rap she performed while hosting Saturday Night Live on March 4. The concept, she said, came to her when she and the writers "were throwing ideas around. What would be the most surprising thing coming from little conservative me? It seemed pretty funny."
In fact, Portman says she's anything but boring.
"People are always like, 'You don't party! Do you have any fun in your life?' And I'm like, 'I do party.' But I party with my friends. I'm not hanging out with tabloid targets. I hang out in my friends' apartments, and we go to non-Hollywoody clubs."
Besides, "I'm 24! I have fun. I'm not, like, doing drugs or being nuts. I like laughing more than anything."
She also loves to get as much shut-eye as possible and admits to picking her cuticles, a habit she can't kick: "I'm prone to it."
The actress gets most animated when discussing her favorite college courses (American literature, poetry and two classes taught by law professor Alan Dershowitz) and some books she has read, including Luis Buñuel's autobiography and Gabriel García Márquez's Love in the Time of Cholera.
She gasps excitedly when told about an upcoming biographical book of doomed British queen Anne Boleyn. And she'll happily discuss dreams and what they might mean (not much, according to one of her Harvard classes).
The recent Vogue cover girl is dismissive of style-related chitchat because "it's more interesting to talk about real stuff rather than frivolous fashion stuff."
Still, Portman wears Lanvin, Chanel and young designers like Zac Posen, whom she met four years ago through a mutual friend at Harvard when Posen was making clothes in his parents' apartment. She has been donning his dresses ever since.
Posen says Portman is "the kind of woman that doesn't define herself by image or fashion. She's a big activist for animals, doesn't wear fur or leather and tries not to wear leather shoes. She's not caught up in the industry (politics) at all. She has her little house and her little dog."
Portman's personality, Minghella says, is "infectious and gregarious. You feel like she's got great parents who have nurtured her and have set a high bar for her."
The actress has two homes, one near her parents on Long Island and one in Manhattan. She drives an eco-friendly Toyota Prius and says navigating Manhattan's traffic is "fun." And she has an incognito security guy in tow to keep the pesky Star Wars fans at bay.
The biggest perk of being Queen Amidala?
"You get so much access. I've gotten to travel to Tunisia and Japan and Australia and Romania. I've gotten to talk to Bill Clinton and Ehud Olmert. For a 24-year-old, that's so lucky and rare," she says.
Her voice swells with passion as she talks about the "feminization of poverty" and how reading about Jordan's Queen Rania got her involved in the Foundation for International Community Assistance, a non-profit that helps the poor with banking services and offers mothers help in caring for their children.
Says Portman: "I was in Uganda with the program, and I saw a woman who'd been in the program for 10 years. She started out on less than $1 a day and had 10 kids, and her husband was beating her. Now she runs a restaurant, and one of her daughters is in university. You can turn it around."
Sounds just like something Evey would say.
But off-screen, Natalie Portman calls an Illinois senator a hero.
"In this country, Senator (Barack) Obama has been brave," she said at the film's premiere Monday night at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Dressed in Lanvin, Portman hugged Susan Sarandon, her co-star in 1999's Anywhere But Here, on the red carpet and gamely answered questions about the locks she shaved off to play Evey in Vendetta, which opens Friday. In the film, her character joins forces with terrorist V and goes about toppling a corrupt totalitarian British regime.
Her shorn tresses may be in a bag, the actress says, but she's not sure.
"I have it somewhere, but I actually don't know where it is," she adds, laughing. "I should find it. It's dangerous."
Director James McTeigue threatened to find the hair and sell it on eBay: "I want that bag," he announced.
And what would compel Portman to take action against oppression?
"I think if someone was threatening my family I could maybe be brought to violence," she said.
Hugo Weaving, who plays the titular fighter V, sported a beard instead of the mask he wears in the film. In reality, the actor said, he has always been "reasonably law-abiding, but I have a rebellious streak in me as well."
His real-life heroes are "a couple of friends of mine who are pretty sick at the moment, and I've always marveled at how brave they are, dealing with illness," he said.
Film producer Joel Silver, meanwhile, was marveling at a skill set of a different sort.
"Who knew she had the ability to be a gangsta rapper?" he said, referring to Portman's performance hosting Saturday Night Live on March 4.
"Can you believe it?" Silver asked. "It's a complete package. She's beautiful with or without hair. She's spectacular!"
The movie, which has been in production for several years, is told in five-minute segments each focusing on one of Paris' 20 administrative districts, or "arrondissements," then joined by transition elements.
Directors involved include Alfonso Cuaron, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Isabelle Coixet, Joel and Ethan Coen, Nobuhiro Suwa, Alexander Payne, Tom Tykwer, Walter Salles and Wes Craven. French participation includes Olivier Assayas, Gerard Depardieu and the live-action debut of animator Sylvain Chomet ("Les Triplettes de Belleville").
The cast includes Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Emily Mortimer, Gena Rowlands, Juliette Binoche, Leonor Watling, Ludivine Sagnier, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi and Willem Dafoe.
The 59th annual Cannes Film Festival begins May 17 with director Ron Howard's "The Da Vinci Code."
"I was really excited to get to shave my head - it's something I'd wanted to do for a while and now I had a good excuse," Portman told reporters at the Berlin International Film Festival. "It was nice to shed that level of vanity for a girl."
However, "I wasn't used to being looked at so much," the 24-year-old actress said. "Walking down the street, I can usually blend in, and people really stare at you when you're a girl with a shaved head."
The film, directed by James McTeigue, screened outside the competition Monday. Written by Andy and Larry Wachowski, V for Vendetta is set in a future Britain run by a fascist dictatorship.
Portman's character, Evey, is saved from an attack by a masked anarchist known only as V, played by Hugo Weaving, and becomes a comrade in his struggle against the regime.
Weaving, who played Agent Smith in the Matrix films, faced the challenge of playing V from behind a mask.
"It was hot and I felt there was a barrier between myself and other actors," he said.
"When you don't see an actor's face, it forces you to listen to what he has to say," Weaving, 45, added. "What was important to me was that the ideas came through."
Portman received an Oscar nomination for her role in 2004's Closer.
The masked crusader makes homemade bombs, which he plants on London's subway system, and condones violence in pursuit of justice. The Orwellian authorities rule chiefly by fear.
With "V for Vendetta," the scriptwriters who brought us "The Matrix" may be asking for trouble.
Starring a shaven-headed Natalie Portman as the foil to the mystery man known only as V, the film is based on a 1980s graphic novel warning readers about the danger of lurching to the political right under then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The anti-hero, played by Hugo Weaving, seeks to emulate the 17th Century Catholic rebel Guy Fawkes, who narrowly failed to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London on November 5, 1605, and was hanged for his troubles.
But despite its references to the past, the narrative is set sometime in the near future and alludes to a period when wars have come back to haunt the United States, which has descended into chaos.
One character says "blowing up a building can change the world," while another is arrested for having a Koran hidden at home. The film's tagline is: "People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."
"There are hot button issues that are dealt with in the story and that's good, that's fresh," producer Joel Silver told Reuters at the Berlin Film Festival, where the film gets its world premiere late on Monday.
"It seems to be as relevant as it could be right now. I think that it's going to be very current and very topical and I think people will be intrigued by the material. I think it's the right time and the right place."
"MOVIES AS CULTURAL SABOTAGE"
Vanity Fair magazine, which said the picture's release was delayed from November 5 last year due to the July suicide bombings in London, gushed about the film, calling it "spectacular and exhilarating" and a return to "movies as cultural sabotage."
"You have a world teetering on the brink -- apocalypse being the animating anxiety of the superhero genre," the left-leaning magazine wrote. "Apocalypse is, too, less than coincidentally, the fortifying principle of the Bush administration."
There was no sign of the reclusive Andy and Larry Wachowski in Berlin, and it was not clear if they would agree with such a rigid interpretation of their film. But a copy of the article was included in press packs handed out to reporters in Berlin.
The topic of terror and its justification is not the only feature of "Vendetta" that may spark debate.
John Hurt, who plays the evil leader Sutler, is made to look and sound like Adolf Hitler, and images of biological experiments on human beings are designed to resemble the concentration camps of World War Two.
Despite references to the past and present, both Silver and first-time director James McTeigue were keen to put distance between the events in the film and those in the real world.
"It is a work of fiction. It is a piece of entertainment," McTeigue told Reuters.
Portman will be presented with the award at the closing-night ceremony March 16 at Bally's and Paris Las Vegas.
"Natalie Portman has delivered an impressive array of performances throughout her terrific career, which began in 1994 when she burst onto the scene in the highly regarded 'The Professional' opposite Jean Reno," said Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing director of the event. "She has the unique ability to draw deep emotion from audiences as evidenced in such films as 'Heat,' 'Beautiful Girls,' 'Where the Heart Is,' 'Cold Mountain' and 'Closer."'
Portman next stars in Warner Bros. Pictures' futuristic thriller "V for Vendetta," which opens March 17. In the film, set in a totalitarian Britain, she plays a woman rescued by a mysterious masked revolutionary.
She also will star in Milos Forman's upcoming "Goya's Ghosts." Most recently, she appeared in George Lucas' second "Star Wars" trilogy, culminating with "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith."
ShoWest is managed by the VNU Expositions Film Group, a division of VNU Business Media, which also includes The Hollywood Reporter.
The 24-year-old actress tops the website's list ranking female celebrities on their "long-term relationship material." Alba is followed by Alfie star Sienna Miller and the ubiquitous Angelina Jolie.
The list will be posted Tuesday.
James Bassil, editor-in-chief of AskMen.com, told The Associated Press the list was determined by the rankings of 2.5 million readers and by the site's staff.
Readers of the online magazine were asked to vote according to the woman they would most want a relationship with, would consider marrying or thought best-suited to be the mother of their children.
Of course, few have ever accused Alba, Miller or Jolie of being short on movie star glamour.
"We encouraged readers not to go on looks alone," Bassil said. "I don't believe it's an entirely accurate reflection of what a reader strives for in their long-term relationships, but at the same time, it's not a sheerly surface appreciation."
The rest of the top 10, in order, is Brazilian model Adriana Lima (No. 1 last year), Access Hollywood correspondent Maria Menounos, Charlize Theron, Jessica Biel, singer Amerie, Natalie Portman and Eva Longoria.
Britney Spears - a mainstay of such lists in previous years - failed to chart.
Huffman and Bello wore ethereal white, which will be a top spring fashion trend. Bello complemented her white beaded Elie Saab gown with white gardenias in her upswept hair.
Keira Knightley also wore a stunning strapless white dress by Valentino with a rope-style belt, and Sandra Oh wore a white gown with a sophisticated scarf-style back.
"White was the big winner," Suze Yalof-Schwartz of Glamour magazine said from the red carpet.
Kate Beckinsale's white dress from the Christian Dior archives was dainty and elegant. She showed a bit of a funky streak with her oversized green earrings.
Reese Witherspoon's short vintage Chanel haute couture was a champagne color with metallic trim on the bust.
Cross' dress, meanwhile, was coral, providing a sharp and stunning contrast to her red hair.
"Marcia looked very goddesslike," said Collier Strong, consulting makeup artist for L'Oreal, who helped Cross get ready. "I knew her makeup had to be lighter and more feminine because the fabric was so billowy. ... It's easy to work with her because she has the most perfect skin you've ever seen."
Red also had a strong presence on the carpet: Scarlett Johansson wore a red scoop neck Valentino dress with soft ruffles on the straps and down the back; Geena Davis wore a strapless Escada with a jeweled bustier top; and Laura Linney had an asymmetrical version.
"Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria complemented her red Grecian wrap gown by Bob Mackie with gold platform shoes to boost her 5-foot-2-inch frame. Longoria told E!'s Isaac Mizrahi that she was sewn into the dress because it wasn't finished until she was walking out the door.
Equally bright was Ziyi Zhang's Giorgio Armani lime green silk tulle gown with a sweetheart neckline and floor-sweeping train.
But some of fashion's favorite faces stuck with classic black — and proved that it is eternally chic.
Sarah Jessica Parker was in a strapless dress with tiny rows of tulle by Rochas, and Christian Dior's John Galliano designed a custom cocktail dress for Charlize Theron that featured black lace over nude tulle. Swank's black dress by Jean Yu had a sexy back with several straps, and Mary-Louise Parker had a plunging V-front.
Natalie Portman looked Audrey Hepburnesque in a vintage Chanel black lace bustier dress with a ribbon belt and a black-and-white diamond camellia jewel around her waist. Renee Zellweger remained loyal to designer Carolina Herrera, wearing an asymmetrical black silk chiffon dress with rouched detail and a leg-length slit up the left thigh. Zellweger wore a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels brooch pinned to the back of her waist.
Candice Bergen's Michael Kors black turtleneck and ballskirt was a picture of casual elegance.
Nicolette Sheridan and Queen Latifah both choose blue dresses. Sheridan's was an Armani sapphire-blue silk chiffon gown with a deep V-neck and pleated bodice, Latifah's a periwinkle goddess number that she accessorized with 23-carat, round-shaped drop diamond earrings with a fancy yellow pear-shaped diamond drop pendant on a diamond chain by Chopard.
Teri Hatcher wore a body-hugging V-neck bronze halter gown with art deco-style beading, loose hair and a small bronze clutch that held her California driver's license. Hatcher told Mizrahi she was told to bring identification to get in at the door. (She also told him that it was her 8-year-old daughter that warned her about her panty lines, so Hatcher showed up to the Globes without underwear.)
"The Globes set the fashion tone for the rest of the season," designer Randolph Duke told the Associated Press. "It's a very chic show. Some (actresses) wear more cocktail dresses. The Globes are an opportunity to do something other than that classic, glamorous Oscar gown."
Gwyneth Paltrow's overall look was very soft. Her white Balenciaga tiered gown embraced her pregnant belly instead of hiding it and her hair was up with soft waves.
The messy bun worn by so many stars was "crucial," according to Glamour's Yalof-Schwartz, and so was heavy eye makeup, pale lips and big, teardrop earrings.
"I had to find a dress that would glow with me — that was the main challenge," said Rachel Weisz, who is five months pregnant and looked quite voluptuous in her strapless gold gown by Donna Karan.
"You still see a lot of strapless," observed designer Duke. "There's something very easy about the strapless neckline. It solves a lot of problems. The garment has a foundation — usually a bustier or corset — that makes a girl feel more confident."
George Clooney embodied the classic male movie star in his Armani two-button tuxedo with satin lapels and a classic white spread-collar evening shirt and black necktie.
Ludacris, of course, had his own twist on the penguin suit: He wore a black velvet Ralph Lauren jacket with tweed pants. And Johnny Depp — always a fashion rebel — had a red shirt under his baggy suit.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith took in a total of $848.5 million US in worldwide sales.
The science fiction epic was the final Star Wars prequel, following Anakin Skywalker's transformation into the evil Darth Vader.
Fantasy and science fiction dominated the top 10 films, with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire coming in second, and War of the Worlds third.
While the top two blockbusters took in more than $1.5 billion US combined last year, 2005 was not a banner year for movies.
According to movie industry magazine Variety, total sales in 2005 hit about $10.1 billion US compared to $10.7 billion US in 2004.
Last year turned out pretty well for actor Christopher Lee, 83, who had roles in Revenge of the Sith, Corpse Bride and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - leading all actors in box-office take last year, with his films raking in more than $1.5 billion US in total.
The Top 10 Films of 2005 worldwide are:
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- War of the Worlds
- Madagascar
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Batman Begins
- Hitch
- Fantastic Four
- Wedding Crashers
Sure, Silver is meeting with the press now to promote "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," Shane Black's hard-boiled satire of pulp fiction and Hollywood, but it's hard to talk to him without bringing up the myriad films he's got coming up.
Silver was actually supposed to be drumming up support for two films right now, but "V for Vendetta," an adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving was bumped from November to next March. "Vendetta" is based on a script the Wachowski Brothers wrote for Silver before they started the "Matrix" films and was directed by their regular second unit helmer James McTeigue.
"The movie is remarkable," Silver swears. "They [the Wachowskis] produced it with me. James directed it, he got great performances, but it's their vision. They designed the movie. It's a really incredible movie. People are really gonna be blown away by it. It's big."
It was too big, apparently, to be ready for the dream release strategized by the filmmakers.
"We finished the movie in August and the boys wanted to have the movie come out to coincide with Guy Fawkes Day, which a holiday in the U.K., which is a one-territory holiday and it was unbelievably oppressive to give the movie done in time for that day," Silver explains. "It just was impossible."
Also on tap for 2006 is "The Visiting," an alien-themed drama that was originally positioned as yet another remake of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The film, which stars Nicole Kidman and Bond-to-be Daniel Craig, underwent come creative changes under the watch of writer Dave Kajganich and the now-original project will be released next summer.
"It has the essence of a kind of insidious alien invasion, but it doesn't have anything to do with pods or anything like that," Silver says. "It's much more of an original idea, but it does take some notion from that original book, the Jack Finney book. He's making a dark, eerie picture."
Looking forward, Silver holds out hopes for his remake of "Logan's Run," a sci-fi epic Bryan Singer was supposed to direct before he was lured away by the Siren call of "Superman." Singer is still involved and the team is still waiting on script drafts from Oscar winner Christopher McQuarrie.
"Bryan, who is a very, very smart guy, a very talented guy, had been passionate about 'Logan's Run' for years, going back to the original book," Silver says. "He really sees it as something that's very right on the money for today and he's got a great vision for the movie and if all goes well, we'll be shooting that movie in about a year."
Silver hopes to have "Logan's Run" shooting next summer for a 2007 or 2008 release, though Singer's commitment to figure "Superman" installments could be an issue.
And how are things going with the "Wonder Woman" franchise?
"Joss Whedon's writing the script and he's really into it," he notes. He's had his hands full with 'Serenity' and now it's out. He's into it. He thinks he can do something really great and when he has a script that we all like, we'll try to make the movie."
Of casting the famous Amazon, he adds, "She's young in the movie. I don't know if it's gonna be somebody that we've heard of, but it might be."
And how about "The Brave One," a drama linked to Jodie Foster?
"It's kind of an urban thriller kind of thing, an interesting movie, a revenge-type movie," says the producer. "I'm just hoping we can do it. I love her. She's the greatest. We're working on the script. She's expressed interest in doing it, it's not happening yet. That was announced in the media, but it's not there."
While anticipating future Silver endeavors, "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is now in limited release and will expand in the weeks to come.
"Goya's Ghosts" tells the story of the last years of the Spanish Inquisition, when the Church tortured and executed suspected Jews, as told by the painter, played by Stellan Skarsgard.
Portman plays Goya's muse Ines, falsely accused of heresy, while Bardem plays a sinister monk, Brother Lorenzo, the film production company said on Wednesday.
Goya (1746-1828), considered one of the fathers of modern art, was a bold and prolific court painter who continued working until he was 82.
His uncompromising attitude in depicting his time, which included Napoleon's invasion of Spain, has long made him a subject of fascination. There have been several films about his life, including one by renowned Spanish director Carlos Saura.
The film is Forman's first directing project since 1999's "Man on the Moon" and filming is due to start in September.
It is also Bardem's first major venture since starring in Alejandro Amenebar's 2005 Oscar-winning film "The Sea Inside."
The film earned the Spaniard the best actor prize at the Venice film festival for his role as a paraplegic fighting for his right to die.
Forman's Goya film is also backed by a clutch of renowned cinema veterans. It will be produced by Saul Zaentz, who worked on the Oscar-sweeping Amadeus directed by Forman 20 years ago, and also produced "The English Patient," another Oscar-winner.
The script is a collaboration between the Czech director and Jean Claude Carriere, who worked frequently with Spanish film maestro Luis Bunuel, most notably on "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "Belle de Jour."
The 27-year-old Kutcher has starred in the films "Guess Who" and "The Butterfly Effect," and produced MTV's "Punk'd" and WB's "Beauty and the Geek."
Lohan follows Kutcher, on the strength of reports the 19-year-old actress is now pulling down over $7 million per movie.
Readers picked Orlando Bloom for third place. Bloom, 28, has starred in the "Lord of the Rings" films, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Kingdom of Heaven."
Hilary Duff charts fourth on the magazine's Young Hollywood ladder. Duff, 17, spans music, movies, TV and fashion — including an accessories line called Stuff by Hilary Duff. She's followed by Reese Witherspoon, whose production company is aptly named Type A.
The list is rounded out by Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson and Nick Cannon.
MOVIES
Choice Actress: Drama
Alexis Bledel, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
Amber Tamblyn, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants"
Brittany Murphy, "Little Black Book"
Kate Winslet, "Finding Neverland"
Kerry Washington, "Ray"
Natalie Portman, "Garden State," "Closer"
Rachel McAdams, "The Notebook"
Scarlett Johansson, "In Good Company"
Choice Actress: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Angelina Jolie, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith"
Jennifer Garner, "Elektra"
Jessica Alba, "Sin City"
Keira Knightley, "King Arthur"
Elisha Cuthbert, "House of Wax"
Natalie Portman, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith"
Penelope Cruz, "Sahara"
Sarah Michelle Gellar, "The Grudge"
"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" held onto the top spot at the box office over the long Memorial Day weekend, hauling in an additional $70.75 million over the four-day stretch, a per-screen average of $19,315, according to estimates from box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "Sith's" Friday-to-Sunday total was $55.1 million, a dropoff of 49 percent from its $108.5 million take last weekend.
"Episode III" now ranks seventh all-time in receipts over the Memorial Day weekend, just ahead of its predecessors, "Episode I" and "Episode II." However, it falls well short of the top spot, held by last year's "Shrek 2" ($95.6 million).
DreamWorks' newest animated comedy, "Madagascar," won a tight battle for second place by raking in $61 million to beat Paramount's remake of "The Longest Yard" ($60 million) which stars Sandler as the quarterback/convict. "The Longest Yard" actually did better from Friday to Sunday, earning $49.1 million to "Madagascar's" $47.1 million, but Exhibitor Relations is perhaps figuring on more family viewing for the holiday to push the 'toon into second.
Sandler and Co. also had a better per-screen average, earning $16,511 at 3,634 sites compared to $14,766 on each of 4,131 screens for "Madagascar."
After the top three there was a steep drop, with "Monster-in-Law" clocking in at just over $11 million to finish fourth. The rest of the top 12, none of which made more than $6.6 million, are "Kicking & Screaming," "Crash," "The Interpreter," "Unleashed," "Kingdom of Heaven," "House of Wax," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Ladies in Lavender."
The top 12 movies grossed a cumulative total of $225.5 million for the weekend, making it the second-best Memorial Day weekend ever. Nonetheless, that's still off about 5.5 percent from last year, when "Shrek 2" and "The Day After Tomorrow" led a record $238.7 million haul.
Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith continues its attack on the box office, hitting the $200 million mark in North America on Thursday night.
In doing so on its eighth day in release, the prequel ties last year's Spider-Man 2 as the fastest to reach that milestone. And its earning potential only looks up from there as Sith heads into the lucrative three-day Memorial Day weekend.
For box-office analysts, smashing the $200 million mark doesn't come as much of a surprise for a film that grossed a Jabba-sized $50 million in its first day in theaters on May 19.
"This is a phenomenal box-office achievement," Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking film Exhibitor Relations, tells E! Online. "The $50 million-dollar day was sort of a foregone conclusion it would be a sprinter to $200 million. And it's already the top-grossing film released this year."
After a record $158.4 million haul last weekend, Sith rang up $182.7 million by Tuesday to surpass yet another benchmark--Spider-Man 2's record for the biggest six-day gross. Wednesday's engagements added another $8.5 million, and with $9.1 million on Thursday, Sith has grossed $200.4 million going into the weekend, per BoxOfficeMojo.com. The prequel, which reportedly cost more than $110 million to produce, has also grossed nearly $160 million in foreign territories.
But the real question is whether Revenge of the Sith will be powerful enough to pull Hollywood out of its recent doldrums. So far, the answer appears to be yes.
"This is a movie that the industry needs right now and for it to make this much money this fast tells us there is an audience out there that wants to go to the movies," says Degarabedian. "But again, a Star Wars like this doesn't come along every day. And given it's the last Star Wars movie, it's not a surprise at all that it has reached this milestone so quickly."
Sith is on track to surpass Spider-Man 2's total domestic gross of $373 million and possibly hit the rarefied $400 million mark, a record achieved by only six other films, including the original 1977 Star Wars, aka Episode IV: A New Hope ($461 million), and 1999's Episode I--The Phantom Menace ($431 million). (Titanic's all-time record of $601 million is in its own solar system, far, far away.)
Those stats are all the more impressive considering it's not officially summer yet.
"Spidey 2 came out in July when all the kids were out of school, which helps the midweek grosses, and it also had the July 4 holiday to give it a boost, whereas Sith had just a regular May day," says Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com. "Also Spidey 2 had a normal second weekend that was not a holiday, whereas [Sith] has the Memorial Day weekend, which will help boost it even more."
Pandya adds that Sith's record-setting pace has been sparked by the film's mostly rave reviews, especially in light of its two near-universally panned predecessors.
"It's a matter of strong word of mouth and repeat business, which keeps the movie afloat."
Following an unprecedented worldwide roll-out that saw "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" launch in 105 countries on 10,300 screens, the film's international haul reached an estimated $144.7 million through Sunday (May 22).
The "Sith" launch was so massive that it makes any kind of apples-to-apples comparison impossible. In terms of pure monetary haul, the George Lucas epic smacked around the previous record, which was set when "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" made some $125.9 million in its first five days, though that film was only in 28 territories at the time, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "The Matrix Revolutions" made $119 in its first weekend, but that film was only showing in 94 countries.
"Sith" premiered far ahead of the $69.1 million pocketed by "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which launched in 67 countries in its first weekend.
Around the world, "Sith" delivered strong, but less-than-record-breaking figures. In the United Kingdom, the feature made $26.8 million on 485 screens, the territory's fourth largest premiere ever. In France, the $22.3 million haul was second all-time. Germany's $17.9 million take ranked behind only one other opening and Australia's $10.4 million gross was the best non-holiday opening.
The film's distributor 20th Century Fox notes that the $9.9 million Spanish box office was a local record.
Subsequent "Sith" releases are still scheduled for South Korea this week and for Japan in July.
The cumulative $158.5 mil easily beats "Matrix: Reloaded's" 134.3 million for the best four-day opening. In all, "Sith" boasts nearly 70 percent of the Top 12 ticket sales for the weekend, averaging $29,637 for each of its 3,661 screens. Despite this triumph, the film starring Hayden Christensen as the emergent Darth Vader may just be shy of the best three-day opening title after "Spider-Man's" $114.8 million in 2002, if estimates hold. This doesn't count "Sith's" Thursday's box-office take, only the Friday through Sunday earnings.
Audience members out of the loop this weekend found their way to the Jane Fonda-Jennifer Lopez "Monster-in-Law," making it the second-place film with $14.4 mil, while Will Ferrell's "Kicking & Screaming" only kicked up a little fuss with $10.5 million for third.
The ensemble drama "Crash" held its own at No. 4 with $5.5 mil, while the Jet Li martial arts flick "Unleashed" dropped two places with $3.8 million. The remaining films rounding out the Top 12 include the horrifying "House of Wax," Nicole Kidman's "The Interpreter," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "Mindhunters," "XXX: State of the Union" and the whistle-blowing documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."
Opening in limited release was the other "Exorcist" prequel, "Dominion," which only took in an average of $1,082 for each of its 110 screens, while the only two theaters showing the humorous "Sex, Politics & Cocktails" made off with an impressive $3,079 apiece.
Interestingly, "Sith's" domination still didn't completely revive the box office, making this the 13th "down" weekend in a row compared to 2004 numbers. The film monopolized audiences too well, with viewers only half-heartedly checking out the other films -- as compared to last year when "Troy" and "Van Helsing" still drew interest despite "Shrek 2's" supremacy. Overall, the Top 12 films this year earned $156.1 million, down 4.5 percent from the $163.4 million the same weekend last year.
These are estimates by Exhibitor Relations, which tracks box-office receipts daily.
George Lucas' "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" broke two records: besting "Shrek 2," which previously had the highest one-day earnings with $44.8 million, and then surpassing "Spider-Man 2's" best opening-day gross of $40.4 million.
"Fifty million is a good opening weekend, let alone a single day," Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, tells the AP. "This is the box-office equivalent of a 100-year flood."
"Sith" also made an impressive showing for its midnight debut screenings, which earned $16.5 million. Overall, the grand finale of the space opera averaged a hefty $13,661 for each of its 3,661 screens.
It's assumed that "Sith" will continue to break records and easily pass the $100 million mark in its debut weekend.
It seems George Lucas has listened to fans' complaints and entreaties, particularly in regard to the last two films released. The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were disappointing and dull. It almost seemed that Lucas was driving the franchise into the ground. But he wisely eliminated the cutesy touches and minimized characters such as Jar Jar Binks (a major character in Phantom Menace but only an extra in this one) and the plodding exposition and concentrated on the epic tale of a good guy gone bad.
We learn how the powerful but impetuous Jedi Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) becomes Darth Vader. And most important, we learn why. In Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth in the series and the original film released in 1977, Vader was creepy, but mostly just an archetypal villain with a bad case of mouth-breathing.
Revenge of the Sith chronicles Skywalker's transformation from a principled, love-struck young knight to the epitome of evil. It offers some terrific lightsaber battles, particularly between Anakin and his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) with a terrifyingly fiery backdrop.
There are major improvements in quality over the previous two films, notably the writing and the acting. Christensen and Natalie Portman as Senator (formerly Queen) Padmé Amidala, in particular, seem more comfortable and less stilted. McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi has grown more assured as well.
In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin grows impatient with Obi-Wan, and falls more deeply in love with Amidala. His love for her is also his undoing, sharpened by memories of his mother's brutal death and his inability to save her.
The screenplay is tighter, the dialogue sharper and the pacing right on the mark. When you watch the first three films released more than two decades ago -A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi- they feel slower and plodding compared with Sith, which achieves just the right balance of emotional drama, suspense and action. Also, beloved characters from Episodes IV-VI are featured more prominently (Yoda) or introduced (Chewbacca). It's also the first time we hear James Earl Jones' voice as Darth Vader, one of the most memorable vocal performances in film.
Perhaps Revenge of the Sith is all the more powerful because so many lingering questions are answered, in particular, the true identity of the Sith lord who lures Anakin to the dark side. And seeing the handsome Anakin's physical transformation to the malevolent, black-helmeted Darth Vader is riveting.
There's also a poignancy to this film because it is Lucas' final installment to one of the most groundbreaking cinematic endeavors ever made.
But there are some jarring disconnects when watching the series as a whole, from the rapid aging of Obi-Wan to the disparity in special effects from the first three films to the last.
A cautionary note: This is the only one of the six movies rated PG-13, and there is some disturbing violence. The very young ones should be left at home. But for adults who may have avoided the series, this is the one to see. Even for non-fans, Revenge of the Sith is engrossing, and fans of the series will likely be over the moon - and into another galaxy - with this film.
The Force is strong with "Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," the sixth and final piece in George Lucas' galactic saga, which represents a welcome return to the ideas and the spirit that made his original "Star Wars" a pop-culture juggernaut 28 years ago.
The circle is now complete, as Lucas' characters are fond of saying, and much of the film's joy comes from watching these familiar names and events fall into place.
It is enormously satisfying to see young Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) teeter along the edge that separates good and evil, and to see what finally pushes the would-be Chosen One over to the dark side of the Force.
It's a wonderful, small discovery when Anakin receives the name Darth Vader once he finally swears his allegiance to Chancellor Palpatine, who reveals himself here as Darth Sidious, a Sith master and the eventual evil Emperor. (And all the other words that ooze from Ian McDiarmid's mouth leave you feeling so slimy, you'll want to take a shower afterward.)
But the moment we've all been waiting for is one that simply must be experienced in a packed theater: when the mask goes on and the helmet comes down and Anakin takes his first raspy breath as Darth Vader in all his dark, gleaming glory. (You won't hear anyone else breathing, it's such an absorbing sight.)
The iconography is powerful to behold, especially when compared to the horrendously disappointing Episodes I and II. In retrospect, the first two "Star Wars" prequels seem even more useless, with their stilted dialogue and their numbing, CGI-infused clone battles.
Lucas wisely has placed the emphasis this time on elaborate lightsaber duels — between Anakin and mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) against the Sith lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), and ultimately between Anakin and Obi-Wan themselves. Some of the biggest thrills come from tiny Yoda, the Jedi master who's at the height of his powers here. He does as much damage with a well-chosen, structurally inverted phrase or the subtlest wrinkle of his round, green face as he does with a swing of his lightsaber. (And Yoda has mad skills.)
Lucas' writing still clangs, though, especially during the exchanges between Anakin and his secret bride, Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), who announces in Episode III that she's pregnant (with twins we've come to know as Luke and Leia in Episode IV, the original "Star Wars").
"You are so beautiful," Anakin dreamily tells Padme as she brushes her dark, flowing locks on a balcony in the moonlight.
"Only because I'm so in love," Padme coos back to him.
Thankfully, Lucas also didn't saddle her with the heavy headgear and distracting dresses she wore in Episodes I and II, or else she would barely be able to get up and move about the galaxy.
That love for Padme, though, is partly the inspiration for Anakin's conversion. Not to give too much away, but he becomes convinced that Padme is in danger, and the only way to save her is through the powers that come with dark-side membership.
He's actually just being manipulated by Palpatine/Darth Sidious, who wants to turn the Galactic Republic into his own Empire and sees him as a malleable apprentice, especially at a time when Anakin isn't getting the respect and authority he craves from the Jedi Council.
"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose," Yoda warns Anakin, but it's too late — and we know it's too late, and that built-in expectation is much of what makes "Revenge of the Sith" so riveting.
It's also a visually wondrous film, though. Lucas uses the digital technology to far greater advantage than he did in the first two prequels, which too often had the glossy, detached look of a video game. Crisp daylight streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Padme's apartment, and the cityscapes consist of silvery skyscrapers and golden sunsets. Even Chewbacca and his Wookiee buddies look lifelike as they scamper in battle across the beaches and jungles of the planet Kashyyyk.
Clearly, this is Lucas' war protest movie — Obi-Wan shoots a character down with a gun once his lightsaber is knocked away from him, and afterward sniffs, "So uncivilized." But it's also, at its core, a soap opera. It always has been. Think of Darth Vader telling Luke Skywalker, "I am your father," during the heat of battle in "The Empire Strikes Back." Episode III features fast-paced parallel editing between two staples of daytime TV: a childbirth and a complicated operation.
But despite its drama and darkness, Lucas gives us some light moments, too. He slips in a glimpse of the much-maligned Jar Jar Binks at the very end, and although the big, goofy Gungan doesn't say anything, his presence alone feels like Lucas' last little dig at the naysayers — and a reminder with this final farewell that, nearly 30 years later, he's still doing it his way.
"Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," a Twentieth Century Fox release, is rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images. Running time: 142 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
Given the high ticket costs at the premieres Thursday in San Francisco and nine other cities — the proceeds go to charity — crowds will likely include well-heeled moviegoers as well as those who pawned vintage action figures to score a ticket. The film opens to the public at midnight showings May 19.
"Revenge of the Sith"_ the last installment the "Star Wars" series — chronicles Anakin Skywalker's transformation from hero to villain Darth Vader. The film may be the darkest chapter in the "Star Wars" story, featuring more violence and a story line showing how a democratic government turns into a despotic regime.
"I'd say they (premiere ticket holders) are in for the best movie since the first," said Terry McGovern of San Anselmo, Calif., who voiced a stormtrooper in the original "Star Wars."
McGovern saw the film in a private screening for George Lucas' friends and family.
Lucas was expected at the San Francisco premiere. Jake Lloyd, who played the young Anakin Skywalker in "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace," also was supposed to attend.
Guests were set to watch a digital version of the film and attend an after-party where they could swat a pinata shaped like the Death Star and munch on "Wookie cookies."
Samuel Jackson, who plays Jedi Master Mace Windu, was slated to attend a Los Angeles red-carpet premiere along with Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams, who starred in the original trilogy.
Carrie Fisher — Princess Leia in the original trilogy — was set to go to the Washington, D.C., premiere. And in Miami, premiere organizers planned to re-create the cantina scene from the original "Star Wars."
Lucas has used previous premieres to raise money for charitable causes. Money raised at the San Francisco event will go to the Koret Family House, a group providing housing for seriously ill children seeking treatment away from home.
This year, the red-hot Desperate Housewives actress has catapulted to the top spot in the special issue, which hits stands May 19.
She follows an impressive list of previous No. 1's, including Jessica Simpson (this year's No. 9), Jessica Alba (this year's No. 5), Christina Aguilera (this year's No. 16) and Jennifer Garner (this year's No. 3).
"It's kind of exciting and shocking all at the same time, because I was No. 91 last year," says the Mexican-American beauty, 30. Longoria called in from her L.A. home shortly before taking off for Canada to begin work on the feature film The Sentinel.
"Considering all the women in the world, No. 91 isn't all that bad. But (last year) I didn't go to the (annual Hot 100 celebration) party, because I don't think anyone wants the 90s at the party."
Longoria, who appeared on the January 2005 cover of Maxim, is the only one of the Housewives on the list, but her co-stars aren't surprised. Co-star Felicity Huffman says, "What's hot about Eva is her smile, her laugh, her joie de vivre ... and following all of that, her (behind)."
"What doesn't make her a hottie?" asks Jesse Metcalfe, the lucky young buck who gets to share a bed and sometimes a bath with Longoria on ABC's hit prime-time soap. "She's pretty much flawless. She's not a diva in any way. Normally, when they're that hot, they're not that cool."
Longoria, who says she has a steady beau (but won't say who), credits her TV character with helping to elevate her Maxim ranking. "Maxim and Gabrielle go hand in hand," she says of the mag aimed at young men. "Gabrielle's sexy, confident and sensual, and I think Maxim shows those beautiful qualities in their women. When you look at the Top 10, it's singers or working actors who are doing really good things in the entertainment business."
This year, Longoria outranks such popular leading ladies as Tom Cruise's new love, Katie Holmes (No. 22); Catwoman Halle Berry (No. 41); and Star Wars queen Natalie Portman (No. 42).
Though thrilled to be No. 1, Longoria would place No. 7 Angelina Jolie - Brad Pitt's "pal" and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' goodwill ambassador - atop her own personal hot list.
"Angelina is the definition of sexy," Longoria says. "Everything about her is sexy - her empowerment, confidence, strength, beauty, character, her morals and what she stands for."
Other stars making the eighth annual installment of the list: Jessica Alba, Britney Spears, Jake Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Lindsay Lohan, Natalie Portman, Destiny's Child, rapper T.I. and the cast of Fox's "The O.C." — minus Benjamin McKenzie, who is 26.
The list is featured in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands Friday.
Timberlake, 24, has been on the list five times since 2000. What's keeping him hot? "Helping make Snoop Dogg's `Signs' a hit and his role in the film `Edison,'" the magazine said.
As for Lohan, star of the upcoming movie "Herbie: Fully Loaded," Teen People said: "She's bounced back from controversy to remain one of the hottest stars around."
Lohan -- last year's breakthrough-performance winner -- was nominated for best female performance for "Mean Girls," while McAdams was nominated in the same category for "The Notebook," MTV said on its Web site.
"Mean Girls" also picked up a nod for best on-screen team -- including both actresses -- while McAdams was nominated for best villain and best female breakthrough performance in the film about feuding high school cliques.
"Anchorman," starring Will Ferrell, also grabbed four nominations -- for best comedic performance for Ferrell, best on-screen team, best fight and best musical performance.
MTV's movie awards, to be presented in June in Los Angeles, come in the middle of Hollywood's summer film season and feature stars of the hottest upcoming titles.
Unlike more traditional showbiz honors such as the Oscars, MTV offers fans a ceremony filled with irreverent sketches, stars cutting loose and buckets of golden popcorn for winners of such categories as best fight, best villain and best kiss.
McAdams is among the contenders for best kiss for her smooch with Ryan Gosling in "The Notebook," but faces tough competition from the likes of Natalie Portman in "Garden State" and Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow."
Elisha Cuthbert and Emile Hirsch also are nominated for their clinch in "The Girl Next Door," as are Jennifer Garner and Natassia Malthe for their same-sex kiss in "Elektra."
Last year's best fight winner Uma Thurman was nominated again for her clash with Daryl Hannah in "Kill Bill: Vol. 2."
Announcing the nominations on its Web site, MTV invited readers to vote for their favorites on a list that included a number of films shunned by the more mainstream awards such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes.
The legendary epic "Troy" may not have made the grade for the Oscars, but the film's star, Brad Pitt, may be consoled by his nomination for best fight alongside Eric Bana.
The full list of nominations can be see at www.mtv.com
With 19 days to go before the film's first public showing, the around-the-clock line debuted to the beat of Star War tunes from a boombox swung by Bobafett, a bounty-hunter character in an outfit sprayed with silvery chrome.
"We all know what it's like to go through this insanity even though its temporary," said Steve Lorenzo, 39, a technical writer for a software company. "It's like a class or family reunion even though it's not."
Yet the pack's eager anticipation over "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" was tinged with sadness that the new film would be the last silver screen glimpse into a parallel universe of space-fought intrigue played out over six films.
"It's kind of bittersweet; it's the last one which makes it more emotional," said Chris Bergoch, one of the 300 people signed for the line. "You want to look forward to the movie, but then again you almost don't want since there won't be another one again."
The event follows another nonstop street-side countdown kicked off by fervid Star War fans on April 2 across the country in Hollywood.
Opening on May 19, "Episode III" completes a trilogy which is a prequel to the original three films. The series has generated nearly $3.4 billion in global box office and an estimated $9 billion in retail sales since the first film appeared in 1977.
Registering for the stand-a-thon outside the Ziegfeld, New York's largest stand-alone movie theater, were fans drawn from 22 U.S. states and nine foreign countries, mainly West European but also including Japan, Peru and Brazil.
An idealistic sheen to the waiting game is that time spent on the line is money that goes to a charity for severely ill children, Starlight Starbright. Benefactors contribute a sum to the charity for every hour that each participant stands on line.
About $33,000 was raised in similar lines formed in New York before "Star War" movie premieres in 1999 and 2002. Those events produced friendships, including a few which blossomed into marriages.
SPOILERS VS. NON-SPOILERS
Victor Lundberg, 27, from Gothenburg, Sweden, said he met his wife Emily Schildt, of Seward, Nebraska, in the first "stand-a-thon" formed before the 1999 premiere of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
"I told him not to propose to me in the second line" which formed in 2002 for "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," recalled Schildt, smiling at the remembrance.
Openly admitting to a conflict, the two say they are in opposite Star War camps: the Spoilers vs. the non-Spoilers.
The first wants to know as much as possible about the movie, characters and plot, the second doesn't want to know anything or as little as can be possible amid the marketing blitz preceding the movie, which includes the launch of dozens of toys based on movie characters.
In Los Angeles, the spoilers' group dynamic is more complex, with three color coded levels for fans gathered a few feet away from Grauman's Chinese Theatre amid the hustle and bustle of Hollywood's tourist trade.
Red is for would-be know-nothings. Blue indicates they will look at official information and movie trailers, but don't want to hear about plot and story issues. A green spoiler wants to know everything.
What makes it easy to recognize each person's spoiler level is their official laminated badges, which happen to glow in the dark.
The Hollywood group is also linked online to the Starlight Starbright charity.
According to British media reports, it took only five minutes for fans to scoop up all available tickets for the orgy of screenings that will begin at 7 a.m. and will feature all six "Star Wars" films showing back-to-back for the very first time, culminating in the first public screening of "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." The sixth film in the blockbuster space opera franchise will premiere the day before, out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Tickets for the marathon went on sale on Monday (April 25), but with a legion of fans queuing all weekend for the ducats, which ran a mere 50 quid, there was little hope for casual filmgoers to get a piece of the action.
"From the minute this special screening was announced we've been inundated with calls and emails from people across the globe," says Katy Harris, a spokesperson for the UCI Empire, one of the Leicester Square theaters taking part in the festivities. We've had enquiries from as far afield as Australia and USA with fans planning to jet in for this once in a lifetime experience. This is the fastest-selling screening we've ever had at the Empire."
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas is expected to attend the celebration, as will Hayden Christensen, whose Anakin Skywalker finally transforms into Darth Vader during "Revenge of the Sith." An army of storm troopers will also be on hand, just in case the fans become too rowdy.
Mandate Pictures is fully financing the film as well as handling worldwide sales.
The film will mark the directorial debut of Zach Helm, who will direct from his own script. Helm wrote the comedy "Stranger Than Fiction" for Mandate, which goes into production Monday, with Marc Forster directing a cast that includes Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Queen Latifah. Sony Pictures recently acquired Helm's "Stranger Than Fiction" from Mandate and will release it next year.
Portman most recently was seen in Mike Nichols' "Closer," for which she received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress after winning a Golden Globe in the same category. She also appeared last year in Zach Braff's "Garden State." Portman has starred as the female lead, Queen Amidala, in George Lucas' blockbuster "Star Wars" prequels and next can be seen reprising her role in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith."
Portman currently is shooting the sci-fi thriller "V for Vendetta."
Helm also is writing a script called "The Disassociate" and is the author of the plays "Last Chance for a Slow Dance" and "Good Canary."
The "Star Wars" marathon will take place one day after the final installment, "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," marks its world premiere in an out-of-competition screening at this year's Festival de Cannes.
London's entertainment center plays host to large state-of-the-art theaters owned by the biggest players in the U.K. exhibition industry and is regarded by the industry and public alike as the No. 1 location to host high-profile movie events.
During the unique daylong Leicester Square extravaganza, London's premier theaters -- UCI Empire, the Odeon Leicester Square and Vue -- will unspool screenings of the previous five movies before the day culminates in the U.K. premiere of the sixth installment at the Odeon Leicester Square, the largest theater in the United Kingdom. Fans who have bought special passes for all six movies will be able to view "Sith" in the UCI Empire after the five previous movies.
Writer-director George Lucas and the stars of the movie, including Hayden Christensen and Ian McDiarmid, are expected to jet in from the French Riviera to attend the May 16 premiere, organizers said.
Fans also will be able to attend special free performances of "Star Wars" music presented by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, while a host of stormtroopers will populate the square.
The sixth and final installment goes into general release in the United Kingdom, as well as the U.S., on May 19.
As well as featuring some of the world's great directors, there will also be an out-of-competition premiere for the eagerly awaited final installment of George Lucas's "Star Wars" series, organizers said Tuesday.
Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," a searing attack on President Bush and his reaction to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, won the coveted Palme d'Or in 2004, fighting off competition from, among others, animation flick "Shrek 2."
This year things will be different, with no documentaries or animation among the 20 competition entries.
Cannes organizers described the more conservative line-up this time around as a reflection of the kind of films being made.
"Last year we wanted to present the importance of documentary cinema and animation," said Thierry Fremaux, who heads selection at the world's top cinema showcase.
"This year, there is a return to a certain classicism, the great authors, many of whom have already been in the competition," he told a news briefing in Paris.
Treading the red carpets in the French Riviera resort will be legendary directors such as Canadian-born David Cronenberg, American Gus Van Sant and Germany's Wim Wenders.
Cronenberg's "A History of Violence" stars Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris, while Wenders's "Don't Come Knockin"' features Jessica Lange and Tim Roth.
Denmark's Lars von Trier, whose "Manderlay" is in competition, has also attracted an impressive cast including Willem Dafoe, Danny Glover and Lauren Bacall.
Von Trier, Van Sant and Wenders have all previously won the Palme d'Or.
ASIANS ASCENDANT
Against such established figures are several Asian film-makers; Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai with "Shanghai Dreams," Taiwan-based Hou Hsiao-Hsien with "The Best of Our Times," and Japan's Masahiro Kobayashi with "Bashing."
Hollywood actor Tommy Lee Jones, famous for his roles in the "Men in Black" comedy series, makes his directorial debut with "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada," in which he also stars.
Lucas will be hoping to win over the critics with the final installment of the hugely successful "Star Wars" franchise after a disappointing reception for his last two offerings.
He has described "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" as a "'Titanic' in space" and a "real tearjerker." The "Star Wars" films, which began in 1977, have sold nearly $3.4 billion worth of tickets worldwide.
Organizers noted that there were less European films in the main competition than normal, and they broke with tradition by not announcing the full jury line-up at the same time as revealing the selection.
The jury will be headed by Bosnian director Emir Kusturica.
Horror film fans can look forward to a random 20-minute collage of scenes from George Romero's works to be shown, naturally, Friday, May 13.
Fans will have to battle it out -- lightsabers optional -- at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, April 2 when 316 Toys "R" Us stores across the country open their doors to reveal the special feature shops boasting merchandise inspired by "Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," the final film in George Lucas' epic space opera series.
In addition to the nationwide release of the toys, a celebration will take place in New York's Times Square where fans are encouraged to dress as characters from the films. Devotees will be treated to prizes for answering trivia and special appearances from "Star Wars"-inspired M&M characters such as M-Vader and Mobi-Wan Kenobi. If only we were making this up ...
"Fans of the 'Star Wars' saga have been eagerly anticipating the final installment of the film franchise and the availability of its related merchandise," says Toys "R" US President John Barbour. "The Toys 'R' Us team and our vendor partners have worked hard to deliver an exciting selection of new and unique products for our 'Star Wars' collector customers and fans of all ages."
Besides the requisite action figures, electronic lightsabers and toy vehicles, the stores will carry Darth Vader voice changers, lego "Episode III" scenes and the Trivial Pursuit DVD and Stratego "Star Wars" Saga Edition games.
Additional "Episode III" toys -- including and Anakin Skywalker Jedi starfighter and a holographic Yoda figure -- will roll out later, before the worldwide release of the film on Thursday, May 19.
The highly anticipated "Episode III" is set two years into the Clone Wars, when Chancellor Palpatine, with the help of his clone army and Sith Warriors, prepares to rid the galaxy of the Jedis in order to declare himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Anakin Skywalker will also make his final descent into evil, becoming the heavy-breathing, helmeted Darth Vader.
"It's not like the first one. It's more emotional," said the director of space adventure, "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," which arrives in theaters May 19.
"I describe it as a 'Titanic' in space. It's a real tearjerker, and it will be received in a way that none of us can expect," he told theater owners at the ShoWest convention.
ShoWest is a major gathering of movie theater owners in the United States and a launch pad for Hollywood's summer movies.
Film studio Twentieth Century Fox teased a packed house here with the first six minutes of "Revenge of the Sith," marking the first time the scenes had been shown to audiences.
Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and master Obi-Wan Kenobe (Ewan McGregor) wage a furious fight against their adversaries in a battle of deadly spaceships. In this episode, Skywalker becomes the notorious Darth Vader.
Lucas and the promotional clip did not divulge much about the "tearjerker" love story. But Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), who married Skywalker in a secret ceremony witnessed in the last movie, plays a key role.
If Lucas's comparison to "Titanic" is to be believed, there must be heartbreak in "Revenge of the Sith" because 1997's tale of the doomed ocean liner, "Titanic," stirred audiences with its tale of an ill-fated affair between characters played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
Love can work wonders with movie audiences. "Titanic" is the highest grossing movie of all time with more than $1.8 billion in worldwide ticket sales, surpassing No. 2 "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" with $1.1 billion.
The "Star Wars" films are no box office losers, either, but there hasn't been much romance in them -- not yet, anyway.
The adventures began with 1977's "Star Wars" and have sold nearly $3.4 billion worth of tickets at global box offices.
As promised, the final installment of the space opera is darker and more intense, as evidenced by the numerous clashes in the preview, which played at the end of the "O.C.'s" Thursday, March 10 episode.
The highly anticipated "Episode III" is set two years into the Clone Wars, when Chancellor Palpatine, with the help of his clone army and Sith Warriors, prepares to rid the galaxy of the Jedis in order to declare himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. The film sets up the mysterious circumstances in which 1977's "Episode IV" begins, namely: Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) capitulation to the dark side to become Darth Vader and the birth -- and subsequent separation -- of twins Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker.
The trailer features battle after battle, most notably the conflict between Anakin and Obi-Wan -- which has earned the moniker "The Duel." The two are shown swiping at each other while swinging on ropes over a lake of fire and employing The Force.
But wait. There's more. Other combative encounters include: Obi-Wan engaging in fisticuffs with General Grievous, Palpatine threatening Mace Windu and a gang of Jedi, Yoda and Darth Sidious (Palpatine again) wielding lightsabers in the Senate chambers, and Anakin battling Count Dooku and a host of other foolish mortals who cross his path.
Topping off these chaotic images is Master Yoda's observation (in his signature inverse grammar): "Twisted by the Dark Side young Skywalker becomes."
With this much carnage, even George Lucas is cautious about the film's suitability for younger audiences.
"I don't think I would take a 5- or a 6-year-old to this. It's way too strong," Lucas says on the Sunday, March 13 edition of CBS' "60 Minutes." "My feeling is that it will probably be a PG-13, so it will be the first 'Star Wars' that's a PG-13."
Anyone frustrated by the trailer's sluggish speed online can check out the real thing attached to prints of the CG-animated "Robots," currently in theaters. "Revenge of the Sith" aims for world domination beginning Thursday, May 19.
The full-length "Revenge of the Sith" trailer will get its theatrical premiere the next day, attached to prints of the 20th Century Fox animated film "Robots." The completed George Lucas epic, the final part in a trilogy of prequels leading up to the trilogy that shaped a generation in the late '70s and '80s, will spread around the world on Thursday, May 19.
Naturally, FOX is offering no hints as to when the trailer -- featuring the film's stars Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman and Ewan McGregor -- will actually air.
The March 10 episode, titled "The Mallpisode" also boasts guest stars Billy Campbell ("Once and Again") and Johnny Messner ("Anacondas") and a soundtrack highlighting five songs -- four world premieres -- from Beck's new album "Guero," in stores on Tuesday, March 29.
"I really don't want to offend anyone's beliefs or impose anything on anyone and it was mistaken to do it," Portman told "Access Hollywood" in an interview broadcast Monday.
The 23-year-old Israeli-born actress and her crew were confronted by ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers last week while filming the scene with Israeli actor Aki Avni. The incident underlined the sensitivity of the site, a remnant of the biblical Jewish temples, the holiest place where Jews can pray.
The site is controlled by strictly observant Jews. Male and female worshippers are separated by a barrier perpendicular to the wall, following Orthodox Jewish rules forbidding casual contact between the sexes.
"As soon as it offended people, we moved," Portman said. "We had a very hectic work schedule, so we weren't thinking. We shouldn't have done it."
"Access Hollywood" also aired an interview with Antonio Banderas, who explained why his wife, Melanie Griffith, arrived at the Academy Awards show Sunday with a broken foot.
Banderas said Griffith "was a little upset with her performance and she kicked in the door" while playing Roxie Hart in the musical "Chicago."
Said Griffith: "I was singing and I am not a singer."
On a break from blockbusters, the "Closer" star traveled to a Dead Sea oasis -- a record 1,300 feet below sea level -- while making an independent film about inter-racial cooperation amid the Israeli-Arab conflict. "It was an amazing experience to work here, and really to get to see places that I have never seen," Portman, 23, told Reuters Television on the set of "Free Zone."
"It was camel-birthing season and there were just tons of baby camels..." she said. "I think it's always good to try something new and try to adjust to different ways of working. You know, it's good to throw yourself off as an actor."
Portman was born in Jerusalem to an Israeli father and American mother, so "Free Zone" was also a chance to explore her own mixed heritage.
In the film directed by the award-winning Amos Gitai, she plays Rebecca, an American who falls in love with an Israeli and becomes embroiled in a scheme to sell cars in a free-trade zone founded as part of the peace accord with neighboring Jordan.
The ensuing desert road trip brings Rebecca into contact with Arabs, Jews, and the challenges of cultural identity. "It definitely is informed by the fact I was born in Israel and raised in the States. There's sort of a split between where you belong and not quite knowing where you belong," she said.
Best known as the heroine of the recent "Star Wars" trilogy, Portman sought out Gitai after seeing his films "Kadosh," an examination of the lives of ultra-Orthodox Jews, and "Kippur," about the director's experiences in the 1973 Middle East war.
She was no stranger to Jewish-oriented themes, having played Anne Frank, the doomed Dutch teen-ager whose World War II diary became a memento of the Holocaust, on Broadway in 1997.
"In a way it ('Free Zone') is a kind of voyage into a place, but it is also a voyage into her own interior, to find something of herself," Gitai said.
PEACE AND THE PRIZE
Portman is up for an Academy Award for her supporting role in "Closer," a film version of the acclaimed 1997 play by Patrick Marber about two men and two women who meet, fall in love, betray one other and ultimately destroy themselves.
"'Closer' was an amazing experience to work on -- the director, and the scriptwriter, and the actors and the crew, it was really, really a fulfilling work experience," she said.
Director Mike Nichols described the film as an ode to "the importance of lying." By contrast, "Free Zone" is free of artifice, with Gitai letting the performances guide the script. "With Amos suddenly things can change really from one day to another, and we have completely something else," said Portman's co-star Hiyam Abbas. "You don't really have the limit between your own person and the character you're playing."
The improvisation was a new challenge for Harvard-educated Portman, as she also had to draw on her native Hebrew, and Arabic learned during studies in Jerusalem last year.
"It's completely unconventional, so there is no way to prepare for this, just to come open-minded and ready to commit to his (Gitai's) vision," she said. "I'm sure I have some memories that are stuck in Hebrew in my mind."
Renewed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians after four years of fighting, Portman noted, lent a special resonance to "Free Zone"'s co-existence motif.
"I think we are all praying that all the political progress that is being made right now will continue and bring some sanity to the region, because it is just -- the people are missing out, because it's young people who are suffering the most," she said.
Portman's next project is "V for Vendetta," an action thriller by the creators of the $1.6 billion-grossing "Matrix" films. Though the Oscar nomination has boosted her Hollywood pull, she plans to keep her professional repertoire diverse.
"The work is always the prize, and I have never had any experience with prizes or anything, so I never really thought about them much. So (the nomination) was a nice surprise."
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers in Israel objected to the starlet's embracing and kissing scene with her "Free Zone" co-star near Jerusalem's Western Wall on Tuesday, Feb. 22, reports the AP.
The project centers on two women (Portman and Carmen Maura) who embark on a road trip after they are brought together by circumstance.
The holy site separates male and female worshippers with a barrier since Orthodox Jewish rules forbid casual contact between the sexes. When worshippers witnessed the amorous display by Portman and the Israeli Aki Avni, they stormed the couple and shouted "Immoral, immoral." Police had to step in and ask the actors to leave.
State law prohibits romantic interaction or acting near the wall. "That code was not followed," says rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch.
The Jerusalem-born Portman can speak fluent Hebrew and has been studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in the past few months.
Portman is Oscar-nominated for her supporting role in "Closer." Her other film credits include "The Professionals," "Beautiful Girls," "Mars Attacks!," "Anywhere But Here," "Where the Heart Is," "Cold Mountain," "Garden State" and the "Star Wars" prequels, with the final one opening nationwide in May.
The 23-year-old star will make her first appearance as a presenter at the upcoming 77th Academy Awards.
Portman is currently nominated for her supporting role as the woman-child Alice in the big-screen adaptation of Patrick Marber's play "Closer." Co-star Clive Owen is also nominated in the supporting actor category.
Her previous films include "The Professionals," "Beautiful Girls," "Mars Attacks!," "Anywhere But Here," "Where the Heart Is," "Cold Mountain," "Garden State" and the "Star Wars" prequels, with the final one opening nationwide in May.
She is currently on location filming "Free Zone" and will begin production on "V for Vendetta" later this year.
The Academy Awards ceremony will be televised live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday, Feb. 27.
The film version of Patrick Marber's acclaimed stage play, at the top of the box office charts for the second week running, won Golden Globe awards for Clive Owen and Natalie Portman.
The film, which also stars Jude Law and Julia Roberts, earned over four million pounds in its first two weeks.
Spoof puppet thriller "Team America: World Police", made by "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, remained in second spot.
The satire on U.S. President George W. Bush's war on terror features Thunderbirds-style heroes battling to save the world from a power-hungry dictator.
Spooky thriller "White Noise" and Martin Scorsese's award-winning "The Aviator" remained in third and fourth place respectively.
"Million Dollar Baby," Clint Eastwood's well-received drama about a woman determined to become a boxer, stayed in fifth.
Assassin thriller "Elektra" entered the charts in sixth place while "Ray", about the life of soul singer Ray Charles, made its debut at seven.
"Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events" dropped two places to eighth while Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta's "Ladder 49" about firefighters entered in ninth.
Animated film "The Incredibles" rounded out the top 10.
The winners of 77th Academy Awards will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 27, and will be telecast live by ABC from the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.
"In barely there bombs, she's a taste-free pain. Let's crown her the Tacky Temptress of Wisteria Lane," he wrote in a statement released Tuesday.
Lindsay Lohan was the next target of the acid-tongued critic, who called the starlet "over-hyped and under-dressed."
Blackwell gave kudos, however, to "fabulous fashion independents" Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman, Barbara Walters, Kate Winslet, Annette Bening , Oprah Winfrey, Scarlett Johansson, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Garner and Sheridan's on-screen nemesis Teri Hatcher.
This is the 45th year that Blackwell, a former fashion designer, has offered his best- and worst-dressed list.
Last year's worst-dressed star, hotel heiress Paris Hilton of "The Simple Life," dropped to No. 5. "This is one Hilton that should be closed for renovation!" according to Blackwell.
Other fashion losers include Anna Nicole Smith, Meryl Streep, Paula Abdul, Britney Spears, Courtney Love and Serena Williams — who Blackwell described as "courting disaster."
Sisters Jessica and Ashlee Simpson tied for third place. "These two prove that bad taste is positively genetic!" Blackwell said.
Blackwell said he couldn't wait to bid farewell to 2004, the year of many "wardrobe malfunctions."
He added: Here's hoping 2005 takes the ultra-feminine look to new heights. Elegance, classicism and restraint are never out of style. Neither is a good 3-way mirror."
