Natalie Portman apparently wants to bust out some skills beyond acting if word of her shopping a script around is true. If she is, then she’s in a great place to do so right now. She’s got acclaim, accolades, and industry heat for days due to her intense and something-nearing-brilliant turn in Aronofsky’s Black Swan (review here), and already has three very diverse follow ups in the can- a period stoner comedy, a romantic sex comedy, and a blockbuster action film. Once she’s coasting on her prestige season glory –whether it involves an Oscar win (possibly), an Oscar nod (definitely), or lots of smaller awards (shit-tons)– she’ll be staying present in cinemas with different roles to keep her image fresh. Along with a well-judged slate of projects, she’s got the kind of industry attention that has her rumored and on the short-list for every project in town with a worthwhile female part. Portman’s been a contender for years, but now she’s becoming shorthand for “strong young actress.”
Portman has wasted no time using that clout to take meetings with studios concerning her screenplay BYO, which is described as a “female-themed Superbad.” While it does revolves around two young women who throw a party with the intentions of bringing dates and changing their love-life bad luck, I have a feeling it’s nothing like a “female-themed Superbad.”
The LA Times has the story and they claim Anne Hathaway is interested in the role that Portman doesn’t fill. Words like “racy” and “ribald” are thrown around, though exactly how aggressively raunchy the script gets is anybody’s guess. Anne Hathaway has recently shown a willingness to be naked and be naked often in Love and Other Drugs, but it’s in service of a very adult approach to a genuinely emotional story. Portman herself has broken out of her young-woman mold too, with the darkly sexual content of Black Swan, but both of these ladies tend to keep it classy so I doubt we’re getting some shitty American Pie retread here.
No studio has yet bitten at the screenplay, and no mention is made of directorial prospects, so the overall picture of the project is pretty scant. We’ll see if it gets picked up or they go for the “make it our damn selves” followed by the festival circuit “buy me! buy me!” routine.
11 comments
Natalie Portman has actually never been a very good actress. Hopefully she actually is "good" good in BLACK SWAN, not just "she's so pretty" or "omg Aronofsky!" good.
#1 has a strong opinion and will argue about it. But he's wrong, and I'm right. Portman is just about the best actress in her age range. I wish she didn't feel compelled to waste her time on sex comedies when there's so much more awesome stuff she could be doing (GRAVITY, with a tear and a sigh).
Hotel Chevalier was the only thing I've seen her in where her energy felt different as a performer, and she more in the skin of her character. But that could be put down to the absurdly high boots she was teetering around in during the early scenes giving her an additional dimension of anxiety (or vertigo). After that she was naked, so who cares. Maybe knocking around on point will have the same effect in Black Swan, but that Kutcher movie looks like Atomic Ass.
Holy shit was portman terrible in Garden State. She was decent in V for vendetta and now apparently she's awesome in Black Swan and that makes her the greatest actress ever known to mankind.
She's fucking awesome in Black Swan. She's also the best actress working right now. You stupid fucks just couldn't tell good from bad acting anyway so stfu about talent. Everyone knows she's the best. Everyone with a brain anyway.
Crush much? "You shut up about about Natalie Portman! You're talking about the woman I LOVE!!!" Calling anything "The Best" is so childish a mindset it instantly undercuts your credibility. So, why don't you go away and start working on developing your child brain into an adult brain.
Portman has never made an interesting choice in a movie. I say that having not seen Black Swan yet. I will. I do hope she does well. Because acting ability with that face would be a deadly combo.
Portman not a good actress? WTF? Did you never see The Professional? Even at a young age she went toe to toe with Jean Reno and Gary Oldman at his scenery-chewing finest and at the very least held her own. Or is this opinion based purely on the Star Wars prequels, where there was no detectable acting from any of the participants? Besides, you guys are missing the bigger picture here: PORTMAN/HATHAWAY LESBIAN SEX SCENE. That's got to be something we can all get behind.
I don't want Hathaway and her creepy continually melting face (seriously, look this up) anywhere near Ms. Portman. @#7, yes because no one could conceivably think "Closer" would be an interesting choice for a role. Jesus.
Well, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt (especially because she's young and has plenty of time and opportunity to improve) but for God's sake if you bring up CLOSER to defend Portman's acting then you got some thinkin' to do. Jesus god was she ever very much not good in that, which was made way more clear by the fact that Clive Owen was so godlike. She was good in THE PROFESSIONAL, although that was like half her lifetime ago! I'd love to be blown away by BLACK SWAN and am receptive; fingers crossed. But I'm not very objective when it comes to Mila Kunis so my opinion on BLACK SWAN may be swayed.
Portman is already beautiful and super adorable. If she could bust out the acting chops in Black Swan, as has been reported from various reviews, she'd be an unstoppable female force of vengeance and pillage.
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