Would the PT have been better without Natalie?

Natalie did a great job. I think the only other person that could of played her part would of been Carrie Fisher from 1977.

 

Natalie Portman has played the role perfectly...she is not suppose to be colorful as Princess Leia, Leia and Padme grow up in totally different times in the glaxy soo their going to act differently...
Natalie is playing some victorian type Queen then Senator, which means you get a person with a stiff polite personality. So far Natalie has played that stiff but polite leader perfectly I feel. So if anyone else did play Padme (other than 1977 Carrie Fisher)...I think they'd ruin the character because I can't think of anyone better to play Padme than Natalie Portman.

Natalie Portman stars in Mars Attacks as the presidents daugther. Not a big role like Padme, but at the very end she is the one who gives the goofy kid and his grandma medals for saving Earth. Which is pretty similair to Leia giving Han and Luke medals for saving the Rebellion So Natalie was destine to play Padme.

I wonder if Natalie ever reads any of this.... cause if she did, I think she has enough money to pull a Jay n Slient Bob on all the people here that said bad stuff about her

 

I agree with someone who said that Natalie doesn't do anything to him.

She was there, no emotion, no presence whatsoever. IMHO.

 

The other thing, is Star Wars does not do its actors any favours, they have to act in front of blue-screen and talk to tennis balls on sticks. Most of the actors say its "an experience" but not very rewarding and they are glad to move on to different things. I know this is true of the OT actors who to this day regard Star Wars as some joke they got involved in - they really had no idea how big it would be.

This is a pathetic excuse. These are professional actors and they should be able to adapt.

 

Natalie lacks the charismatic presence that her character requires. She never sounds like the politician she is supposed to be.

AOTC is my second favorite film of the series, but it's in spite of Natalie's performance, not because of it.

 

Can't you all just let it go?! I mean, that's who Lucas picked to play Padme, there's nothing we can do about it.

 

"Can't you all just let it go?! I mean, that's who Lucas picked to play Padme, there's nothing we can do about it"

Nor should we. Portman is playing Padmé the way George Lucas wants (to me she is perfect and better than Fisher). It is the same as with Jake Lloyd in TPM. He was just playing Anakin the way Lucas saw him as a child (I liked Lloyd although obviously Christensen is better). The actors are playing those characters the way Lucas wants them to be. So if you don't like Lloyd or Portman (or anybody else for that matter), then blame Lucas. The characters would be very similar with other actors in their roles.

 

Hrafn and Fang:

It's nice to see some people with a little bit of common sense. It ain't gonna change. It's a waste of time to sit here and constantly complain. It gets old.

Those complaining about Portman have definitely put the NAIL IN THE COFFIN. If you read this post it sounds like this:

"I don't like her"

"I do"

"That's great I don't"

"Well, I do"

"Fine then, she lacks this and that, I don't like her."

"I don't think she lacks any of that."

Okay, that's enough, but the point is the convo is going nowhere. It's cool if you guys and gals want to keep talking about it, but I motion that this topic needs to submerge.

 

I couldn't say if the PT would have been better without Natalie. I think she did her job well in TPM. I can't quite think of someone else who will have looked as regal and queenly as she did, which was important. She was okay in AOTC, she wasn't great, but she does her job well enough. We don't know if the reactions of the people who say she's "wooden" is caused by GL's directing or the character per se, none of which, will be Nat's fault, of course, if those are the cases. The only scene I didn't particularly like was her reaction in the confession scene. Here was Anakin, the guy she loved, crying and pouring his heart out, saying "He killed them all", and she was... well, unreactive, for want of a better term. I expected either revulsion, or pity, or shame, or whatever, some kind of reaction. Naturally, I don't know whether this was Lucas's call ("do not react") or whether it's in character, seeing as she's supposed to be somewhat detached and unemotional or something, but the scene just didn't feel right without more of a reaction from Padme. Of course, that's all IMHO. No rotten tomatoes please.

 

It would be different. Not better to me.

 

The topic would submerge if you guys would stop adding new posts...it was on page two until the Portman apologists brought it back to page one. Funny thing is, the apologists who brought the page back to the top also say it is a waste of time to argue about it...go figure...











BTW, Portman's acting abilities in AOTC are PATHETIC

 

This post should be named Would the PT have been better without Hayden ?

Because I think it would of been. He won some award for Life As a House or whatever thats great but in SW he didn't do that great. He loooked as if he was trying soo hard not to screw anything up and that hurt his performance. Anyways Natalie Portman did a great job in SW along with Ewan,Sam,Ian,and Frank.

 

I believe there are at least one hundred other professional actresses that could have portrayed Padme Amidala better than Portman has so far. But of course there's nothing I can do about it, except voice my opinion.

 

From a CNN Online article:


"Oh, and she never took an acting class.

Sometimes when you kind of let things happen, it just works out," she says. "That's why it's kind of fascinating to me that I've succeeded. I think it's maybe why I've succeeded.

(**she actually thinks she is a good actress!!!**)

Then the undercover movie star leans in for a confession.

I didn't have this undying need to be an actress. I didn't have that fire me ever -- at any point. And still, I don't think I have that within me, she says."

and it shows, Natalie, it shows...

she does not truly want to be an actress, and she never took a single acting class. Of course some people have natural talent, which unfortunately she does not. She has said that she can't wait to finish the trilogy so that she can go back to Tel Aviv and retire from "acting"...whatever, the sooner she does that, the better!

 

Gee, if Natalie didn't like acting then she wouldn't have agree to do "Cold Mountain" nor that other movie which is directed by that guy who did "Scrubs".

She's obviously contradicting herself if she really said those words you quoted.

 

Yes, I think the PT could have used an actress that was motivated and happy to be in SW. She was not. I read in a magazine before AOTC opened about her career and aspirations summed up into an article. She did admit that she didnt like where she was and that she took several crying breaks in the set bathroom. She also said there were scenes in TPM where we could tell that she had been crying before the scene was shot. Before she was cast, she had never seen any of the OT movies ever. She had to go rent them right before she left for shooting. She is good in all the other movies Ive seen ie:the professional, heat etc. But she does not have what it takes to be in a SW film. Carrie Fisher was the bomb! Her performances were believable and heart felt. Natalie did okay with the action parts..but then again an extra could have done the same job. Her acting for the PT needs much work. In TPM her acting was aweful, Ive seen better on nickelodeon. Her voice was monotone, no feeling and it seemed like she was tired of her lines. Im hoping that she gives birth in the 1st part of EPIII and goes into hiding, so I can enjoy the last 3 quarters of the movie and there will be one less bad actor.IMO

 

Gee, if Natalie didn't like acting then she wouldn't have agree to do "Cold Mountain" nor that other movie which is directed by that guy who did "Scrubs".

She's obviously contradicting herself if she really said those words you quoted.

Her part in Cold Mountain is a small one, I think her character was only in 10 pages out of 100++. And that movie w/ the guy from Scrubs.. to be honest, it sounds boring. There isn't anything new in the topic, guy met a girl who turn his life around. I don't think Natalie is good at love stories. She is too distant and cold for this kind of movies. I hoped she can breath her character with that guy, but I won't bet on it.

As for her performance, here is a quote from Washington Post:
"Natalie Portman has always enjoyed good press, but she was at her best as a child in "The Professional." She's just overwhelmed here. - Washington Post

Meaning: her acting hasn't improved much since 10 years ago. IMHO

 

ENOUGH!! ENOUGH!! This is pathetic. LEave HER ALONE!!! Geez. You PPL ARE BLIND! SO BLIND!!! I don't get it. Maybe you ppl are focusing on Obi and Anakin too much. *sighs* Well thats all I can say for this stupid thread. *flames the thread* Bye bye.

 

Enough is enough. Natalie is a good actress and portrayed the role as GL wanted. She's a very driven person as one can gather since she's attending such a prestitgious ivy league school. She's going to put in 100% to everything she does.

Maybe you all need to quit critiquing everything about the PT and enjoy it for what it is. Thank goodness we didn't have these boards when the OT came out, I'm sure we would have seen similar posts about those films and their actors as well. We all seem to think the OT is perfect, but I'm sure you could critique it to death too. Just leave AOTC and Natalie alone and enjoy the storyline.

 

funny how people who criticize her often have direct quotes and specific examples of her bad acting while her apologists simply say things like "enough! leave her alone!" and "why do you pick on her??!!" keep it up, it looks funny when you do that...

 

k...you keep that up... your gonna find yourself with no life because you make your life by making fun of everyone else. your last post..is..beyond pathetic... its meaningless.

Zeva, if you can't contribute anything to the discussion then don't contribute at all. Trash Portman ALL YOU WANT, But Just To let you and other Trashers know this:

You're ruining Star Wars and Portman's Character for me... no, not just for me, But to everyone else who thought Portman did a great job.

If you want to ruin star wars for yourself fine, but don't spoil it for the rest of us, there are some of us that enjoyed it.

 

Hey Darth Joe was curious as to what we thought about Natalie in the PT. We are answering that question. I have provided insight to my opinion and Im sticking with it. Natalie's performance has not satisfied my impression of her character padme. She lacks the actors savvy for the part. She can do all the love dramas she wants but she does not belong in SW. Its so bad that the actresses portraying the handmaidens could have taken the role of padme. Bottom line is that Darth Joe provided a question and Im providing an answer as well as others. If you dont like it, provide some proof why she is so good. Complaining and angry posts aimed at bashing dont solve anything.

 

Well... So What? Do I care? Just watch her face...her eyes. Maybe you can't see that, But I can. Trash Portman all You want, I don't care. It Ruins Star Wars For Me and whoever thought Portman and the cast did a good job. I rest My Case. Period.

and by the way... Im not mad at Joe for creating this thread. Im upset that ... y'know... you guys are being to harsh on her. And besides... its time to get over that. So...someone please... quit bringing this thread to page 1... Thanx. Im gonna stop posting in this thread. So Long.

*flames the thread as he leaves for good*

 

I'm with Anakin_Skywalker20.


Ya'll are smoking the pipe.

 

I'm definitely with the folks who say that Natalie is terrific in AoTC. Folks who say her acting is stiff or unemotional are not paying enough attention to what she is doing.

For example: The fireside scene that so many people bash her for. Natalie is perfect. This is my favorite dramatic scene where obsessed Anakin declares his undying love and devotion to the ever-resisting, yet seductively dressed older woman.

Padme's clothes are revealing, yet they are binding -- stiff corset -- suggesting Padme's internal conflict of wanting to be an experienced woman, yet wanting to be chaste. She is bound by her corset, yet spilling out of it. She so wants to be with this hunky, talented guy and is so unsure of herself that she needs to constrict and bind her body.

Padme's facial demeanor is stoic and unemotional, but her body is squirming, about to explode. She's stammering,... she can hardly bear to sit there so close to Anakin. Finally she has to stand up and move away from him. Only then does her mind take over and she lays down the law -- that they can not pursue their desires.

This is my favorite Natalie acting scene of the entire movie -- she is so torn and conflicted -- I could feel it. So much dramatic power in the barely concealed restraint in her body and words. There is so much sexual tension and drama in that scene, mostly due to Natalie and her body language.

I don't think people were paying enough attention to Natalie's acting if they thought she was "wooden." There is a lot going on in her portrayal of Padme, and it's not even all that subtle.

Plus -- why do folks blame Natalie for the way the scene is directed? If Lucas wanted Padme to cross her arms or move her body in some other way, or to break down in tears, we would have seen it. One thing that Natalie Portman has proven over time on stage and screen is that she can go on a crying jag.