The 35-year-old actress was thrilled to be cast as the former American First Lady – who was married to President John F. Kennedy until his assassination on 21 November 1963 – but because of the history surrounding her she was anxious about nailing an accurate portrayal of Jackie.
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Fox Searchlight has acquired US rights to Jackie, which sees Natalie Portman star as former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
The actress felt she had big shoes to fill…
Chile-born Larrain’s first film in English, and his first centering on a female protagonist, had its world premiere last week at Venice and then screened on Sunday night and Monday afternoon in Toronto, where it now is a hotly contested market title.
Noah Oppenheim, who wrote the original script, is said to have focused on the records of Theodore H. White’s interview with the deceased president’s wife at Hyannis Port.
The movie, directed by Pablo Larrain, came to Toronto from Venice, where it was instantly dubbed an awards season contender.
The film centres on the grief-stricken widow and the public scrutiny she faced in the days following President Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, and the actress praises her director Pablo Larrain for creating an environment which allowed her to portray Jackie in a way many Americans have not seen before.
“(We see) the toughness of who she was, dealing with what she had to go through while keeping herself together for the sake of the country and her family, and also the vulnerability and the intelligence of how she really crafted (JFK’s) legacy”.
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A release date of December 9 was quickly set, which puts Jackie in prime position for a major push at next year’s Academy Awards. Watch Portman discuss her role in the video above.
