My baby kicked at Oscars

Natalie Portman has revealed that her baby was kicking enthusiastically while she was at the Oscars ceremony at Los Angeles' Kodak Theatre last night.

The actress, who won the coveted 'Best Actress' award for her performance as psychotic ballerina Nina Sayers in Black Swan, explained that her baby seemed to be enjoying the performances during the show.

When asked how her baby had reacted to her win after she had collected her statuette, she replied: "I couldn't tell you. I don't really remember anything that happened just now. But the baby was definitely kicking a lot during the song portion of the show. Little dancer."

However, despite her win, the 29-year-old insisted that she would not be calling her baby Oscar if it's a boy: "I think that's probably, definitely, out of the question."

Portman explained that she now plans to relax in bed before the arrival of her firstborn.

She added: "The next dream I have in terms of the very short-term future is staying in bed, not having to do my make-up or hair, and keeping my sweats on, relaxing. For my child, to be happy and healthy is what every parent could only wish for.

"One of the most exciting things about being pregnant is that I'm accepting the complete unknown. It's a complete mystery and miracle."

Natalie Portman expecting a baby boy

The 'Black Swan' actress -- whose first child is due this summer -- and fiance Benjamin Millepied are said to be "so excited" to be welcoming a baby son into the world.

A source close to the couple told Life & Style magazine: "They've only told a very small group of family members and friends that they're expecting a son. They are so excited. Benjamin cannot wait to be a father.
"Natalie had a big smile on her face. She looked amazing."

The 29-year-old star recently admitted the first three months of her pregnancy have been "really calm" and without problems.

She explained: "I feel great. I'm through my first trimester. It's been really calm and good."
Natalie also paid tribute to her parents Avner and Shelley Hershlag, saying she hoped to look after her child in the same way that she was brought up.

She added: "If I am a shadow as good a parent, an echo, then I will be the best in the world, so thank you."

Natalie Portman making films with Paris Hilton's ex

LOS ANGELES: Natalie Portman is joining forces with a former boyfriend of Paris Hilton to produce movies.

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.

Natalie Portman eyes box office crown

LOS ANGELES: Natalie Portman goes up against herself at the North American box office this weekend when her romantic romp "No Strings Attached" opens on Friday.

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.

Portman wins best actress Globe

BEVERLY HILLS: A pregnant Natalie Portman won the best actress award at the Golden Globes show on Sunday, for her role in the ballet-themed dance drama "Black Swan."

In her acceptance speech she thanked her co-stars and her fiance, French ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied, who she met on the movie's set and with whom she is expecting a baby.

In the film Millepied's character dismisses Portman's as someone he wouldn't want to sleep with. "It's not true. He's the best actor in the movie -- he totally wants to sleep with me," she said.

She also heaped praise on the film's director, Darren Aronofsky.

"Darren, I met you 10 years ago when we talked about this for the first time," she said. "And thank you for continuing to work on this movie and then to give me such a beautiful, beautiful gift with this role.

"Every time we finished our takes you would say, 'Now do this one for yourself.' And that gave me such beautiful inspiration as an actor to not just be a muse, that I could created on my own as well. I love you so much."

Portman had been up against Halle Berry ("Frankie and Alice"), Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole"), Jennifer Lawrence ("Winter's Bone") and Michelle Williams ("Blue Valentine") for the best actress award.

The Golden Globes, launching Hollywood's annual awards season, is traditionally seen as a pointer to success at the more prestigious Academy Awards on February 27.

Natalie Portman goes topless for new ad

Actress Natalie Portman has gone topless for her new Dior perfume ad.
Portman posed provocatively in the new Miss Dior Cherie campaign - in the picture she covers her breast with her arms and steams up the camera wearing nothing but a dark blue bow in her hair, reports dailystar.co.uk.

The actress had stunned fans and friends last month when she announced she was engaged to choreographer Benjamin Millepied and expecting his child.

US star Natalie Portman pregnant, engaged

LOS ANGELES: US actress Natalie Portman is engaged to marry French ballet dancer and choreographer Benjamin Millepied and is pregnant with his child, her publicist told People magazine Monday.

Portman, 29, met Millepied, the principal dancer of the New York Ballet, while filming "Black Swan," the dance drama that has made her a favorite for an Oscar next year.

The actress's representatives would only confirm that she was pregnant and engaged without disclosing the date of the wedding or where the baby will be born.

Millepied, born in 1977 in the French city of Bordeaux, is an internationally-known choreographer who trained Portman and Mila Kunis for their roles in Black Swan, and danced in it as well.

Portman's next film is a romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher directed by Ivan Reitman, father of Jason Reitman, the director of "Juno" and "Up in the Air."

`Black Swan' earns 12 Critics' Choice nominations

LOS ANGELES: Natalie Portman's ballet drama "Black Swan" leads the Critics' Choice Movie Awards with a record 12 nominations, among them best picture and actress.

Other best-picture nominees Monday were "127 Hours," "The Fighter," "Inception," "The King's Speech," "The Social Network," "The Town," "Toy Story 3," "True Grit" and "Winter's Bone."

"The King's Speech" and "True Grit" were second with 11 nominations each.

Among "The King's Speech" honors were a best-actor nomination for Colin Firth and supporting slots for Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. "True Grit" star Jeff Bridges also earned a best-actor nomination, while his newcomer co-star, 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld, had two nominations, as supporting actress and best young actress.

Natalie Portman is new face of Miss Dior Cherie perfume

Actress Natalie Portman has been named as the new face of Miss Dior Cherie fragrance.

Portman, 29, was announced by Christian Dior Parfums to have signed up for the deal back in June, but details of her role remained a secret until December 9, the Telegraph reported.

The actress, who has never lent her face to a cosmetics or fragrance campaign until now, emerged from a transparent screen of roses in front of gathered journalists to mark her 'poster girl' debut for Christian Dior.

WWD reported that Parfums Christian Dior chief Claude Martinez called Portman "charismatic and elegant".

She joins fellow Dior 'pin-ups' Charlize Theron, who appears bathed in gold for the 'J'adore' Dior perfume, and Sharon Stone, who fronts the skincare campaign.

Natalie Portman dislocated rib on 'Black Swan' set

Actress Natalie Portman has revealed that she dislocated a rib on the set of her new movie, 'Black Swan,' and that producers didn't have an on-site medic.

The 29-year-old actress, who plays a ballerina in the Darren Aronofsky film, spent up to eight hours a day in dance training to make her portrayal believable.

"I injured a rib, I like dislocated a rib, it sort of went under another one, when you get lifted it just sort of went under. When I got injured I called the producer, I was like 'could you get the medic? I need an ice pack or something right now,'' and he was like, 'Oh, we don't have a medic because it''s super low budget'," the Sun quoted her as telling David Letterman.

"I have been working for like twenty years, I don''t even think that''s legal. I was like before you take away a medic, take away my trailer and the next day I didn''t have a trailer, I swear to God!" she added.

Natalie also informed she lost a fair bit of weight for the role.

'The Darjeeling Limited' star said, "I think I lost like 20 pounds, I mean I''m 5ft 3in so it was pretty extreme."

"I mean I am back at my healthy weight now, I like eating so I waited until the very end to do the diet part," she concluded.

Venice Fest kicks off with Black Swan

The 67th Venice Film Festival opened here last evening with Darren Aronofsky’s deeply disturbing psychological thriller, Black Swan that takes us into the fascinating and intriguing world of ballet.

Academy Award nominee Natalie Portman plays ballet dancer Nina, who is consumed by a frightening sense of insecurity, jealousy and destructiveness. It is this unnerving psyche of the young ballerina that Aronofsky’s explores through his dramatisation of the classical legend of Swan Queen.

The New York artistic director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), looking for a fresh face for his new production, Swan Lake, zeroes in on Nina. He wants the same girl to essay both the White Swan and the Black Swan. While Nina is perfect as the white bird with its innocence and grace, she does not quite fit in as the Black Swan, which is an epitome of guile and sensuality. Nina’s competitor, Lily (Mila Kunis), seems aptly suited to be the black bird.


Gautaman Bhaskaran
The two ballerinas begin a twisted relationship that increasingly transforms Nina into a bundle of recklessness. The road can only lead to a bloody, tragic mess.
Black Swan is far from a typical thriller. It has nothing to do with crime or haunted mansions. Rather, the movie travels deep into the mind of a ballerina, whose passion for perfection becomes an obsession, and pushes her into a horrible crevice. Nina finds it difficult to emerge from it.

Aronofsky told a press conference soon after the screening of Black Swan that although he started thinking about this story 15 years ago, the film could actually be called a companion piece for his most recent work, The Wrestler. The two movies are tied together by themes of bodily extremes, souls in turmoil and by a filmmaking style that pulls the audience inside the characters’ fascinating inner worlds.

“Some people call wrestling the lowest of art forms, and some call ballet the highest of art forms, yet there is something elementally the same. Mickey Rourke as a wrestler was going through something very similar to Natalie Portman as a ballerina,” Aronofsky explained. “They are both artists who use their bodies to express themselves and they are both threatened by physical injury, because their bodies are the only tool they have for expression. What was interesting for me was to find these two connected stories in what might appear to be unconnected worlds.”

Portman, who was also at the conference, said she was curious when Aronofsky told her years ago when they had discussed the project that Black Swan required her to make love to herself.

Already the movie has acquired a certain seductive attraction with the promos showing a lesbian scene between Portman and Kunis. This could entice audiences not particularly keen on seeing a film about ballet.

But what is greatly gripping about the work is the trace of the macabre: Clint Mansell’s score, which expands on Tchaikovsky’s original Swan Lake, heightens this effect considerably. Complimenting this is the horror genre sound design.

Yet, Aronofsky is not a Brian De Palma with his erotic escapades. Aronofsky is closer to the early Roman Polanski and David Cronenberg. One is reminded of Rosemary’s Baby while one is watching Black Swan.