# Natalie Portman doesn't like Star Wars!? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 10, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323 "2002-05-10T17:58:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/1 "2002-05-10T17:58:27Z")
Not only does she not like it but she doesn’t think girls in general like Star Wars. [From an article in USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/movies/2002/2002-05-10-star-wars.htm) > [@](#): > > Natalie Portman, who plays Padmé Amidala — love interest of Anakin and future mother of Luke and Leia — says the romantic angle should help draw new fans to the franchise, not drive old ones away. She admits she wasn’t much interested in Wookies and droids before signing on for Menace. > > “I hadn’t even seen a Star Wars movie until I got the part,” Portman says. “I mean, come on. I’m a girl. But in this one, you’ve a hunky guy in Hayden. Even when he’s not being lovey-dovey, the girls can focus on his muscles when he’s fighting. There’s always something for the girls to keep their eyes on.” So ‘girls’ the only thing that will really interest you in STATOC is Annie’s muscles? ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/2 "2002-05-10T18:04:15Z")
Tee hee! Math is hard! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/3 "2002-05-10T18:06:29Z")
Um, not to nitpick too finely, **Zebra** , but you’ve got a tense problem in your argument. You say she _doesn’t_ like Star Wars, but the article says she _wasn’t much interested_. I see nothing to indicate that she doesn’t care for it _now_. Besides which, it’s a job, not a religion. Unless your the UK Census Bureau. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/4 "2002-05-10T18:17:54Z")
I assumed when I read the title that she didn’t like the movies now. I wouldn’t have been surprised. By all reports, spending several months working Lucas does that to people… ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/5 "2002-05-10T18:21:52Z")
Er, working “with” Lucas, not working him. That would just be a little…sickening… ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/6 "2002-05-10T18:58:19Z")
I heard\* that the actor who played the unmasked Darth in Ep VI told a frined he got a part in “some science fiction movie.” [sub]\* my cousin told me, so I don’t really know if this is 100% true[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Kilt-wearin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kilt-wearin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilt-wearin_man)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/7 "2002-05-10T19:37:20Z")
You’ve gotta bear in mind - she’s 20 years old. Many people her age (and slightly older) consider **Star Wars** to be “before their time” and therefore not of interest. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/8 "2002-05-10T19:39:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KneadToKnow \* > \*\*Besides which, it’s a job, not a religion. > Unless your the UK Census Bureau. \*\* _ahem_ [http://www.snopes.com/religion/jedi.htm](http://www.snopes.com/religion/jedi.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/9 "2002-05-10T19:49:54Z")
Well, **I’m** a girl and I LOVED the Star Wars movies. Even Menace, although admittedly not as much. I was born in '73, so I was what…six? when Star Wars came out. From then on, I quit Barbie and became a Star Wars collector. I had it all! X-wings, tie fighters, the Death Star and even two Millenium Falcons. And when Jedi came out, I entered a contest to win tickets to opening day here in Denver and WON! My dad and I got these giant golden tickets, like a foot long and t-shirts and stuff and I got to take the day off school since we were going to the first showing. It was awesome. Um…so… 😛 to you, Natalie Portman! A _girl_ indeed. Harrumph. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/10 "2002-05-10T20:01:27Z")
She seems to think that the average girl will only be interested in the romance or the beef cake. (or in this case veal cake) Besides sould we not compare the contrast the relative ‘hunkyness’ os Hayden to Harrison Ford? ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/11 "2002-05-10T20:14:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kilt-wearin’ man \* > \*\*You’ve gotta bear in mind - she’s 20 years old. Many people her age (and slightly older) consider **Star Wars** to be “before their time” and therefore not of interest. \*\* I respectfully disagree… I’m 20 and I gotta say, lightsabers are cool no matter how young you are. So say my friends as well. **msmith537** : A love triangle between a space pirate, a naive dirt-farmer and his spoiled sister is cool. Blowing up planets with super-lasers is cool. Yodaisms are cool. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/12 "2002-05-10T20:15:22Z")
Or Mark Hamill for that matter? (I mean, c’mon-look at him running around all sweaty in TESB, and those baby blues! YUM!) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/13 "2002-05-10T20:50:55Z")
Pssst… Alec Guinness thought the first “Star Wars” film was a bit silly, and eventually came to loathe the mania that surrounded the whole series. He appeared briefly in the sequels only because they paid him so well. Once, Sir Alec was accosted by a teenage boy and his mother. She told him, “Oh, Mr. Guinness, my son is a huge fan of yours, he’s seen “Star Wars” at least 200 times!” Guinness reportedly shook his head in disgust, asked her if they were both daft, and told them never to watch it again! ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/14 "2002-05-10T21:32:25Z")
IIRC correctly, Sir Alec agreed to give the young man his autograph on the condition that he wouldn’t watch the movie again. (If this anecdote is true.) Somehow his supposed disdain for _Star Wars_ doesn’t jive with his being the only one savvy enough to arrange for his contract to pay points off the net rather than a flat fee. I can understand his being a bit miffed if a kid had the idea that Alec Guinness = Ben Kenobi, since it certainly wasn’t his most inspired role-- Imagine putting your heart and soul into something as brilliant as _Kind Hearts and Coronets_, and then, as the end of your career approaches, thinking that people might remember you forever for something you could have done in your sleep. Bummer. I think that Alec Guinness’s mere presence in _Star Wars_ lent it, (and by extension, the entire _genre_,) a certain credibility that it didn’t have in 1976. (_2001_ or no _2001_.) And James Earl Jones didn’t even want to be credited for Star Wars, and indeed _wasn’t_, until they inserted it into the video release. As far as the romance in _Attack of the Clones_ attracting a wider audience, I think Natalie is bang-on-- The “Romance” in the original trilogy was cardboard and goofy. “I love you.” “I know.” --sure, it’s funny. But the romance in AOTC is much more sophisticated and compelling. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating-- it’s like Jane Austen collaborated on the script. These characters have a much more palpable inner life, and the basic conflict between the of both Aniken and Padme’s social obligations and their personal needs is handled in an involving, non-sappy way. (IMHO-YMMV ;)) Also, the themes of filial, paternal, and maternal bonds and fleshed out in a much more mature and satisfying way. Star Wars is growing up, and I think that this film _will_ appeal to wider audience than any of the other films. I’m planning to take my mum to it – and I’m sure she’ll love it. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/15 "2002-05-10T23:37:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sunshine \* > **Well, I’m a girl and I LOVED the Star Wars movies. Even Menace, although admittedly not as much. I was born in '73, so I was what…six? when Star Wars came out. From then on, I quit Barbie and became a Star Wars collector. I had it all! X-wings, tie fighters, the Death Star and even two Millenium Falcons.** How _you_ doin’? Can I come over to you house to play? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/16 "2002-05-11T05:43:33Z")
I still can’t believe that anyone thinks that any girl, or boy for that matter, who wouldn’t have otherwise watched the movie is going to be lured into the theater to see it because of the romance angle. If somone is only looking to watch a love story, they sure as hell aren’t going to go see _Star Wars_. The vast majority of girls who do go to _Star Wars_ would have gone to see it anyway. IMHO, the new male lead isn’t even that hunky. They’re lucky they’ve still got Ewan McGregor; I do know a few young ladies who are going just to see _him_. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/17 "2002-05-11T14:15:48Z")
If I were being paid a ton of money to play the part of a poorly written character in a bad movie with idiotic dialogue, I might have mixed feelings about it too. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/18 "2002-05-11T18:27:06Z")
Actually, I thought the boy Guinness told not to watch the movie was a kid-about maybe six or seven? From what I’ve read, he started crying and his mother got mad. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/19 "2002-05-11T20:10:09Z")
I don’t know if I got all the details right of the Gunness anecdote I passed along. I heard the story 3rd hand. I related it only to show that Natalie Portman is hardly the first actor in the “Star Wars” series who wasn’t totally enamored with the whole project. I don’t think Alec Guinness HATED the movies- he probaly thought, at first, that they were good, silly, harmless entertainments. But the excessive hype and media overkill eventually irritated him no end. He was happy to have the money, of course! Like many veteran British actors, he regularly appeared films he thought were beneath him (Laurence Olivier did “The Betsy,” after all) because the money was good. - For what it’s worth, I’ve seen all the “Star Wars” movies, some more than once. I thought the first one was great, and “The Empire Strikes Back” was even better. “Return of the Jedi” was okay, but rather uninspired, so I figured Lucas should end the series right there, on a SEMI-high note. Instead, nearly two decades later, he decided to resurrect the series. And “Phantom Menace” was mighty weak. It showed he was no more inspired than he had been in 1983. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2002, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323/20 "2002-05-11T21:52:26Z")
IIRC Liam Neeson was less than thrilled about his part in Ep.1. Can’t find a quote, though. However, Portman strikes me as a very smart young women. Her [quotes] ([http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Portman,+Natalie](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Portman,+Natalie)) at IMDB tells me that what she said in the OP, might be ironic. It would fit other things she said. Then again, she seems to be a little too precocious, so maybe it’s that instead. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natalie-portman-doesnt-like-star-wars/108323.md?page=2)