Current:Home > MarketsOliver James Montgomery-Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore on hot dogs, 'May December' and movies they can't rewatch -Excel Money Vision
Oliver James Montgomery-Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore on hot dogs, 'May December' and movies they can't rewatch
Oliver James Montgomery View
Date:2025-04-09 12:58:53
After three decades in Hollywood,Oliver James Montgomery Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman have finally made a movie together.
"May December" (now streaming on Netflix) seems tailor-made for men who love watching Oscar-winning actresses go toe to toe. In other words, it's basically Gay Christmas.
"That should be our tagline," Portman says with a laugh, speaking over Zoom with Moore last week. But the film is much more nuanced than its "campy," "catty" descriptors let on.
The story follows Elizabeth Berry (Portman), star of the fictional "Nora's Arc," a popular TV series she'd sooner forget. Looking to be taken seriously as a film actress, Elizabeth signs on to play Gracie Atherton-Yoo (Moore), a woman who, 20 years earlier, was caught having sex with a teenage boy named Joe. She later married and had three kids with him.
Directed by Todd Haynes, the movie walks a tricky tonal tightrope between dark comedy and stomach-churning drama as Elizabeth travels to meet and study Gracie, and a now-grown Joe (Charles Melton) reckons with his past.
“The film is a lot of fun,” Moore says. “There might be some things that are uncomfortable and feel risky emotionally, but it's engaging."
Adds Portman: "It's been fun to hear people laughing in the theater, and to see how much people are excited by being challenged. It's rare as a moviegoing experience now to be so provoked by the material."
Moore, 63, and Portman, 42, spoke to USA TODAY about the movie (edited for length and clarity).
'May December':Natalie Portman breaks down that 'extraordinary' three-minute monologue
Question: What do you recall about the first time you met?
Julianne Moore: There's so much evidence of us together. It's always at an awards show. You Google us, and all these photos pop up of us standing next to each other in evening gowns.
Natalie Portman: You're right, Jules. The photographic evidence would suggest we had a very intense friendship before, but it was, "Hi, nice to see you, bye." That was the extent of it. But I really studied Julie's work as an actress and I was so lucky to get to play that (in this movie). I could use my own fandom as part of the character.
There's so much fantastic dialogue that catches you off guard. Do you have a favorite line in the film?
Portman: I have a favorite "Did she really just say that?" one. It's when Elizabeth says "They're just not sexy enough!" (when child actors audition to play Joe in the film-within-a-film). You just get chilled. Also, the mirror scene when Gracie answers the question "What was your mother like?" And she says, after a long pause, "She was beautiful." Everything that's unsaid there is devastating.
Moore: The one I love so much is "You try going through life without a scale and see how that goes." It made me laugh so hard − it is a very funny, biting line. But the truth of it is, this is a woman who is so saturated in the idea that the only power she has is in being female. The willfulness and fury that's under that, too, is very interesting.
Can you ever order a hot dog again without thinking of that scene at the fridge?
Moore: (Laughs.) I've been off hot dogs for a long time. I loved them when I was a kid, but I've stopped eating them. The word itself is funny, though.
Portman: Doesn't Nancy Pelosi eat a hot dog and chocolate ice cream every day? That's awesome.
Are there roles you look back on and think, "Maybe I didn't need to dive quite so deep?"
Moore: The only thing I did that I wouldn't do again is actually on "Safe," my first movie with Todd. I played a woman who's sick, so I lost a bunch of weight and it was really unpleasant. It threw my body out of whack for a while and it took a long time to recover physically. On the other hand, I'm glad that I did it so I know it's something I don't want to mess with.
Portman: I have more regrets about not preparing enough, honestly. Like, "I could have done that one better with a little more effort."
What about a "Nora's Arc" in your filmographies?
Portman: A real one that I'm very embarrassed about because of "Breaking Bad" is "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium." I think at the end (of that series), the punishment for (Walter White) was that he's trapped in a room and that was the only movie available. It was like, this large joke about how torturous that would be. That's my shame. (Laughs.) I should say, I loved everyone I worked with on that.
Moore: There's lots of stuff! I never watch anything again. Oh my goodness, there are plenty of things in my television past that are forgettable, let's put it that way. But I was always happy to have the job.
At its core, this film is about possibility and rebirth. Is there a project that felt that way for you?
Moore: This one, honestly. People ask me a lot, since this is my fifth collaboration with Todd, “Do you guys talk about things? Do you (plan ahead)?” Oddly, things pop up in your life. We all had different things going on scheduling-wise; it didn’t even look like it was going to happen in 2023. And then suddenly it came together so quickly. It was very inspiring, because it reminds you that you don't know what's going to happen.
Portman: I feel similarly. This is the first film my production company with my partner, Sophie Mas, is working on. It was so extraordinary to feel empowered to be like: "You know what? I've dreamed my entire career of working with Todd Haynes and Julianne Moore. I'm going to make this happen. I will make my dreams come true." And then on set, I kept waiting for the shoe to drop. But making it was so joyful and meaningful and fulfilling. So it’s a refreshing, exciting moment.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- Frontier Airlines settles lawsuit filed by pilots who claimed bias over pregnancy, breastfeeding
- Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree tops Billboard Hot 100 chart for first time since 1958 release
- US makes offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Russia rejected it
- Romantasy reigns on spicy BookTok: Recommendations from the internet’s favorite genre
- Atmospheric river brings heavy rain, flooding and warm winter temperatures to the Pacific Northwest
- New Forecasting Tools May Help Predict Impact of Marine Heatwaves of Ocean Life up to a Year in Advance
- Young and the Restless Actor Billy Miller’s Cause of Death Revealed
- DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
- Adam Johnson Death: International Ice Hockey Federation Announces Safety Mandate After Tragedy
Ranking
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- Brenda Lee's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree tops Billboard Hot 100 chart for first time since 1958 release
- Northwest Indiana boy, 3, dies from gunshot wound following what police call an accidental shooting
- Powerball winning numbers for December 4th drawing: Jackpot now at $435 million
- Backstage at New York's Jingle Ball with Jimmy Fallon, 'Queer Eye' and Meghan Trainor
- Endangered red squirrel’s numbers show decrease this year in southeastern Arizona
- Selection Sunday's ACC madness peaked with a hat drawing that sent Notre Dame to Sun Bowl
- Man charged with murder in Philadelphia store stabbing that killed security guard, wounded another
Recommendation
Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
Texas high school sends Black student back to in-school suspension over his locs hairstyle
College presidents face tough questions from Congress over antisemitism on campus
Kate Middleton Channels Princess Diana With This Special Tiara
Brianna LaPaglia Reveals The Meaning Behind Her "Chickenfry" Nickname
North Carolina Rep. McHenry, who led House through speaker stalemate, won’t seek reelection in 2024
USWNT to close out disappointing year, turn new leaf: How to watch game today vs. China
Stretch marks don't usually go away on their own. Here's what works to get rid of them.