A Tale of Love and Darkness Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Some news bites for you:

• Almost a year ago, Natalie Portman whipped up her own shingle and started to look into making Amos Oz's A Tale of Love and Darkness. She was hoping to get Jake and Maggie's mom, Naomi Foner, to pen it. Things have changed a bit since then, as Variety reports. The project is still in the works, but now Portman is planning to film it in the novel's original language -- Hebrew.
  
• If no one is making a documentary about your family, make it yourself! Variety reports that Ozzy's son, Jack Osbourne, is whipping up a documentary on his famous dad, with the help of mom Sharon. He says: "MTV couldn't show the darkness and so they used all the goofy things, but that's not really who he was at the time." He continues: "I want people to see John Osbourne as the guy I grew up with, the tormented, complex musician whose personal demons manifest themselves in so many crazy, unique ways."
  
• Ehren Kruger, who was the pen behind Transformers, is now looking to God, but in a more bloody and bad guy-filled way. Variety reports that he will adapt Boston Teran's God is a Bullet, which focuses on "the journey of a California lawman forced to go undercover to rescue his daughter from the ruthless gang of criminals who've abducted her." Let's hope big machines with bad dialogue don't enter the mix.
  

Back in February, Natalie Portman's name started swimming around a project where the actress would make her move from acting to directing in a project based on her birthplace. A Tale of Love and Darkness, from Amos Oz's memoir, will follow the writer's early life in Jerusalem while the Jewish state was coming together. Now Variety reports that she's still looking to make that movie, and will do it under her new banner, Handsomecharlie Films. If you're wondering where on earth that name is coming from, I imagine it's a nod to her dog, who happens to be named Charlie.

The company has also signed a two-year production deal with Participant Films to produce meaty movies. Participant head Ricky Strauss says they're drawn to the actress' interest "in projects that entertain and empower," and Portman says: "We all have the same desire to make meaningful and artistically fulfilling films and are committed to the idea of stories leading to greater empathy and action for world issues." With such serious topics on the brain, I find it all too funny that she named her company after a compliment about her dog. So this company of hers is going to head up her directorial debut (without Participant), and she's looking to sign Naomi Foner to adapt Oz's memoir -- the writer of Running on Empty, and mom to Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal. As for what films she'll make with Participant, well, we'll have to wait and see.

I can't help but like Natalie Portman. Granted, she had a less-than-stellar stint in Star Wars, but those weren't really films where anyone was particularly wow-worthy. However, she's also the girl who did wow everyone in Léon, years ago. More recently, she was also the quirky Shins listener in Garden State and the troubled stripper who tormented Clive Owen in Closer. Along with four new films in the pipeline, Portman is now also looking at making the jump from actress to director. Reuters has reported that the 25-year-old actress is interested in directing a film version of A Tale of Love and Darkness, Israeli writer Amos Oz's acclaimed memoir.

Jerusalem Capital Studios is currently in talks with the actress to both direct and act in the feature -- as Oz's mother. She's the natural choice for the role. Not only was she born in Jerusalem, but she speaks Hebrew and, obviously, her name attached to the film would definitely help with international interest. If you're not familiar with Oz and his autobiography, Darkness follows his early life in Jerusalem while the Jewish state was being founded. It takes the reader through his young life, the effects of huge, controversial political change and personal struggles -- mainly from the suicide of his mother when Oz was twelve. I think she can pull it off. What say you?