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Natalie Portman on why she buys vintage & why shes investing in womens soccer

Natalie Portman covers this week’s issue of the Hollywood Reporter, as some kind of Cannes Film Festival preview. Portman is going to Cannes this year to promote Todd Haynes’ May December with Julianne Moore. I love Haynes’ films, so I’m excited for this. Portman talks about that film plus a lot of other stuff, like her new production company, her feelings on Luc Besson, and her investment in Angel City (a women’s soccer team in LA). Some highlights:

What attracted her to ‘May December’: “It’s definitely interesting to see crimes that are generally committed by men committed by a woman. It’s the exceptions to the rule that are most interesting, and what would make a woman do that? Whereas, with a man, everyone’s kind of like, “Oh, all men are like that.” It definitely has more of a specific psychology that’s more interesting.

Co-founding Angel City: “It’s a very weird story, but my son is really passionate about football, and when he was 7, it was the Women’s World Cup and he was as passionate as he had been about the previous Men’s World Cup. He was as passionate about the women as the men, and I was just watching him and I was like, “This is a revolution if young kids grow up idolizing female athletes the way they idolize male athletes.” And it’s so evident we have the stars. These women are absolute stars, and so why, when they play on their home teams in the league, does no one even know it exists? You have the most popular sport in the world, the best players in the world in the U.S., and it’s completely invisible.

The parallels between women in pro sports & women in entertainment: “People will use the evidence of the box office or game attendance or viewership and be like, “This is why you get paid less.” You’re like, “Well, did you advertise the same? Did you invest in it the same? Did you promote it the same? Did you give it the same slots?” For soccer, “Did you broadcast it in the same time slot?” With movies, “Did you put it out in the same number of theaters? Did you spend the same on advertising?” When you do invest the same, then you can actually be like, “OK, put it next to each other.” You actually have to give it the same chance. So it feels like a very, very familiar world.

Seeing the film industry evolve to make room for family priorities: “That’s something that I see a lot in France, and I think it’s why the entire new generation of French filmmakers is female, because it’s really possible. Not that every woman has kids or wants kids, but it makes it possible to be a director and to have children and be a good parent. You have a strong social system that has child care, and the workday hours are normal. We shot Jackie in France, and I did a French film called Planetarium as well. I was home every day for dinner at 6 p.m. — just completely life-changing. When you make a film or a series in the U.S., you’re just gone. You’re just gone, and it’s really hard on all parents.

How she talks about climate change with her family: “We talk about it a lot in our household in terms of how we live, what we choose to do. My veganism is in large part an environmental choice, along with animal welfare. I haven’t bought or used any leather or fur or animal products in 20 years. I use a car-share app that is all electric cars. I buy vintage clothes, and only if absolutely necessary, and of course repair damaged items, most recently a handbag, rather than buy a new one. When we travel, we try to organize our trips to places we can go by train; or if we have to fly, to stay long enough to justify the travel. The library plays a big role in the family consciousness as well — a place where we can get joy and greater selection by sharing and not owning. It’s a process, and clearly imperfect, but the consciousness is there.

How Time’s Up disbanded: “It was really, really heartbreaking that Time’s Up dissipated the way it did. I think a lot of people made mistakes, but mistakes are deadly for activism. You have to be so perfect in order to demand the change that you want to see, and I don’t know, maybe acknowledging all our imperfection as humans and saying that people can do something wrong and also be good at something else, having a little bit more shades of gray might actually let us get to more progress.

The allegations of sexual abuse by Luc Besson: “It’s devastating. Yeah, of course [I was surprised]. I had never … Yeah. I really didn’t know. I was a kid working. I was a kid. But I don’t want to say anything that would invalidate anyone’s experience.”

Her feelings on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “It’s terrible. I’ve never supported him, and it’s definitely not what my grandparents hoped for.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

“Well, did you advertise the same? Did you invest in it the same? Did you promote it the same? Did you give it the same slots?” This, exactly this. I love the way she’s pushing back on the inequality that exists at every level of women’s professional sports. I also like what she says about environmentalism, about buying vintage and repairing what you have and traveling by train. More people should do all of that, especially in Hollywood.

Cover & IG courtesy of the Hollywood Reporter.

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