Natalie Portman is playing a bull rider in Anna Rose Holmer’s next film

She’s been cast as a female rodeo star in the writer/director’s Bronco Belle.

Words

John Wadsworth

Natalie Portman has already turned plenty of heads in 2017 with her stunning portrayal of Jacqueline Kennedy in Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, but her next role has the potential to be even more compelling.

According to various reports, Portman is saddling up to star in Bronco Belle, in which she’ll play a female bull rider attempting to navigate a male-dominated world.

Khurram Longi wrote the screenplay with Emily Blunt in mind after seeing her performance in Edge of Tomorrow, but Blunt has since dropped out – leaving the role wide open for Portman.

Adding another layer of excitement to this announcement, Anna Rose Holmer, the ace writer/director of The Fits, is also on board.

Given how successfully Holmer’s feature debut grappled with the outsider status of its protagonist – a boxing tomboy who hopes to break into a dance troupe – she seems to be an ideal match for the project.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Portman and Holmer have teamed up. They previously collaborated on a music video for James Blake’s ‘My Willing Heart’, taken from his 2016 album ‘The Colour in Anything’.

Though the video features very little in terms of action – it consists only of Portman swimming, lazing about and stroking her pregnant belly – its moody monochrome texture marks an intriguing stylistic departure from Holmer’s previous work.

Before Bronco Belle, Portman is set to appear in Terrence Malick’s Song to Song, Alex Garland’s Annihilation and Xavier Dolan’s The Death and Life of John F Donovan, with the latter pair expected to receive festival premieres later this year.

Published 28 Mar 2017

Tags: Anna Rose Holmer Natalie Portman

Suggested For You

The Fits

By Simran Hans

Anna Rose Holmer’s sparkling directorial debut offers a fresh take on female coming-of-age.

review LWLies Recommends

It’s time a female director was given a shot at making a Star Wars movie

By Ella Donald

We think The Fits writer/director Anna Rose Holmer would be the perfect fit for a galaxy far, far away...

Song to Song – first look review

By David Jenkins

Terrence Malick dazzles with a metaphysical jukebox musical starring Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling.

Little White Lies Logo

About Little White Lies

Little White Lies was established in 2005 as a bi-monthly print magazine committed to championing great movies and the talented people who make them. Combining cutting-edge design, illustration and journalism, we’ve been described as being “at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement.” Our reviews feature a unique tripartite ranking system that captures the different aspects of the movie-going experience. We believe in Truth & Movies.

Editorial

Design