Natalie Portman has never been one to remain silent about gender inequality in Hollywood. She’s spoken out about receiving one-third of co-star Ashton Kutcher’s pay for “No Strings Attached,” lobbied for a female director to helm the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic she was then attached to, and has become one of the driving forces behind the Time’s Up initiative. Now, while doing press for her upcoming sci-fi flick “Annihilation,” Portman is using her platform to discuss why we shouldn’t be worrying about Woody Allen’s career prospects.
BuzzFeed broached the subject of Allen, as well as the accusations of molestation against him made by his daughter Dylan Farrow and the numerous actors who have expressed regret over working with the “Annie Hall” director. When asked if she thinks Allen is finished in Hollywood, Portman replied that the whole dialogue ought to be reframed.
“I don’t think that’s what the conversation should be about,” Portman remarked. “I think it should be about: Why didn’t Elaine May make a movie every year? Why didn’t Nora Ephron make a movie every year? Where’s the female version of Bill Cosby? Why don’t we see any Asian women in films?”
Instead of agonizing over whether men like Allen and Cosby will be able to make a comeback, Portman believes we should be using this moment of #MeToo and #TimesUp to amplify diverse voices. “There’s so much art that’s being lost by not giving opportunities to women and people of color. Let’s not talk about what man’s career is over,” the “Jackie” actress said. “Let’s talk about the vast art trove we’ve lost by not giving women, people of color, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community opportunities — let’s talk about that loss for all of us in art. Let’s talk about that huge hole in our culture. I don’t want talk about ‘Isn’t it sad that this person who’s made 500 movies can’t make movies anymore?’” she observed. “That’s not for me to decide. And it’s also not what I’m upset about.”
Portman also spoke about the whitewashing accusations that have been leveled against “Annihilation,” in which she, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and Tuva Novotny portray a team of explorers on a mysterious expedition. “There’s a very big problem of representation in Hollywood, and I have very strong feelings about it,” Portman said. “I feel very strongly about the issue, and there just needs to be more representation, and I would hate to be part of that problem. We based [‘Annihilation’] on the first book [of Jeff VanderMeer’s ‘Southern Reach’ trilogy], which does not mention race at all.”
The Oscar winner is, however, very proud of the female representation in “Annihilation” and loved working with so many women co-stars, especially since she’s often been “the only actress” on set. “Because we’ve taken it for granted, being the only woman at work — you forget that it isolates and endangers you,” Portman observed. “You lose all of those opportunities for hearing things that are going on, for warning each other about certain situations, for telling each other how to deal with an uncomfortable experience. It was really wonderful.”
“Annihilation” opens this Friday, February 23. The “Black Swan” actress’ other upcoming projects include “Vox Lux,” a portrait of a pop artist, and “The Death and Life of John F. Donovan,” which examines a young actor’s connection with a TV star.
