Natalie Portman in the DVDetails bunker

When Natalie Portman visited the DVDetails bunker for a chat, we initially thought about sitting her down with the Dude. But considering she speaks half a dozen languages, is well versed in the finer points of microfinance, and is an encyclopaedia of foreign films … well, we couldn't do that to her.

ART: Hi Ms Portman, you're latest offering is Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, what initially attracted you to this project?
Natalie Portman: I had admired Zach (Helm)’s writing for a long time and I had met him socially before, so I knew that he was a great, communicative guy. And then I was in Berlin shooting V for Vendetta and I received a white box with a red ribbon and the script was inside with this letter from Zach that said: “I want to make something that’s as special to kids as boxed apple juice and roller coasters and Willy Wonka”. I was like, “great!!!” (laughs) And then I read it and it was everything he promised it would be. It was genuinely sweet in a really true way. It’s really unique and smart and funny and I was just so excited by the whole ambiance of the script. I said yes immediately. I called him as soon as I finished and said, whenever, I’m there.

Were you attracted by the depth for a family movie?
Absolutely. I knew it was appropriate for kids, but also when I was reading it, I thought this is something I would go to with my friends. I could relate to my character’s struggle so much. It’s something I feel like people my age deal with a lot. Yeah, I absolutely connected to that and think it’s still there. It’s still very much a film for grown-ups too.

Mr. Magorium is the first project for Zach Helm as a director. How did you describe his style? Was he confident?
For a first-time director he was really just so easy with all of it and it was just great. It’s always fun to see someone’s new vision.

Do you have lots of input in your character?
Yeah, but I’m also obedient. I know my role as an actress. Ultimately is a director’s medium and it is their piece and you are there to serve their vision. And you try and figure out before you work that you like their vision enough that you are willing to serve it. And if you don’t believe in their vision then you shouldn’t be there. It’s their job. You have your ideas and also hopefully you find someone who wants to collaborate and who doesn’t want to be a dictator.

How much fantasy was important for you during your childhood?
Imagination was a big deal. I was alone a lot of the time because I’m an only child. We would go out on family vacations and it was just me so I would have whole little, I would spend hours in the bath with my bath toys making up whole stories for them. All kids had toys, everyone played with their own lives and they would talk to each other. I would rotate my stuffed animals in my bed because I would think they would get jealous if one got to be there a few nights and the other one didn’t (laughs).

Mr. Magorium has a literary feel to it. I was wondering if that was one of the major appeals to you and also what sort of children’s literature did you grow up with?
You’re absolute right. I think Zach’s screenplay probably did appeal to me as a sort of literary piece because it’s so bright. Every little line is special. There is something in there that is really unique. When I was little, there was a writer, Arnold Lobel, who wrote these Mouse Tale stories that I grew up on and I loved. I grew up on all the classic books: the Goodnight Moon and the Velveteen Rabbit, and Where the Sidewalk Ends and all those classic ones and the Dr. Seuss and the Berenstain Bears and all of those, but then later I got really into series, like when I started reading on my own. And probably around 8 or 9 years old I was really into and would read all the Babysitter’s Club books. I would just read 200 in a series. I wouldn’t move on. My parents would yell at me. They wouldn’t let me read on the way home from the bookstore because I would finish the book on the way home and they would freak out so I was a big, sort of, book nerd.

Is being a movie star enough for you?
I have many different interests that I have been lucky enough to have a lot of time to pursue because, in our job, we work a few months a year and the rest we are very lucky to have time. So I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of women who are clients of microfinance around the world and that’s been one of the greatest opportunities of my life.

Why did you decide to support microfinance?
I originally wanted to work on Mideast endeavors like Palestinian-Israeli women’s stuff together so I contacted Queen Rania of Jordan who was sort of an idol of mine. She’s really just so compassionate and eloquent and just bright. She’s so amazing and Palestinian, of course, and high profile, and I thought we could do something together and she directed me towards microfinance and it was the first time I’d ever been exposed to poverty. I never knew that half the world is on less than two dollars a day. I started visiting places and meeting people. The opportunity is just so rare to get. Even if you know that statistic it’s so abstract to get that there are parallel lives to yours going on, existing. And to get the opportunity to sit down with someone and hear what their day is like and what their hopes and their dreams and their goals and all that, it’s just an amazing opportunity. So I’ve really enjoyed that. And microfinance, I’ve learned is just an incredible sustainable way to affect poverty because you are creating access to banking services to capital, so these women can start these small businesses, and they don’t have to wait for an aid group to come bring them food because they’ve got their own business and they are taking care of themselves and that's what they most have told me what it means to them. “I have pride in myself. My kids have pride in me. I can kick out men who are beating me that I used to have to depend on for money. I have control over my life. I don’t have to work for whatever factory happens to be in my town and be away from my kids all day.” These kinds of things you really, it’s just extending opportunity, it’s not even charity. And it’s sustainable because the women pay back their loans at like 97%. It’s amazing so the money recycles. So it’s a really incredible concept and it’s been working for 25-30 years now, and it’s really effective.

You’ve been working with some of most famous international directors lately: Milos Forman, Wong Kar-wai, Tom Tykwer. I was wondering which other international filmmakers you admire or would like to work with?
I had such an amazing experience with Wong Kar-wai in My Blueberry Nights. He’s like a dream come true. He’s one of my favourites. I have a lot of international filmmakers that I’m really excited about and I think are amazing. I really enjoy Michael Haneke and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. What a long name (laughs). The Lives of Others is just wonderful. I really admire Park Chan-wook who did Lady Vengeance. I loved his new film, I’m a Cyborg. I also like Alfonso Cuaron, Walter Salles and Fernando Meirelles.

Do you think the fact that you were born in Israel and you speak fluently Hebrew influenced your taste and put you more in synchrony with a foreign style of filmmaking?
Yes and probably because in Israel everything is with subtitles. So if you see a movie there, and you get everything from all over the world so it’s not hard. It’s the usual. It’s not strange to be watching something with subtitles, so I think you get more used to seeing things. And you are also exposed to a lot more. That’s one of the things I always appreciate, even in England where it’s an English-speaking country obviously you get so many films with subtitles, so many more. I think you have a lot more access because they have National Film Theatre and that kind of thing is really helpful.