In a recent press interview with Natalie Portman, the actress discussed her directorial debut in one of the biggest films in last year’s Cannes film festival, A Tale of Love and Darkness. When asked to compare her acting experiences to her directing experiences, she commented that she enjoys being a director a bit more because she doesn’t have to watch her performance on the big screen all the time. She reportedly admitted that the less she is displayed in a movie, the happier she is with her acting performance.
When asked how she gets through seeing herself act as the main character in a movie, she admitted that the only time she watched films where she starred as the lead role is during the film’s premiere and she usually never sees the film again.
When the actress rates her own performance, Portman says, she doesn’t give herself any positive feedback. Although if she had the choice to cast someone else to replace her in any of the last movie roles she acted in, she would always choose herself.
Natalie Portman also discussed her directorial style and how her work with Mike Nichols influenced her to direct. She says that he emphasized how the story was the most important aspect in a film. Portman also says that Terrence Malick was another big influence her in directorial style, who taught her not to rely on the classic “three act structure” and to tell the story the way she wants, even if it is unconventional.
Natalie Portman decided to transition into talking about how her directorial debut really opened her eyes to Hollywood’s problem with sexism. She says that when she was reading reviews about films directed by popular actresses like Meg Ryan or Angelina Jolie who were accused of making vanity projects instead of art. Portman realized that woman have a harder time taken seriously in Hollywood and to stop that cycle of thought, she believes more woman should be involved in the film industry.
Natalie Portman’s last comments were about how in Denmark, the government took a step to mandate the Danish film industry to have 50 percent of the film projects to contain woman directors. She commented that Hollywood will change its sexist ways once women are seen commonly on film sets.
A Tale of Love and Darkness was released in theaters this Friday and has been nominated for two film awards.
