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Natalie Portman Very Upset Over Marvel 'Firing' the 'Thor 2' Director

by Alex Billington
December 14, 2011
Source: THR

Or so sources claim. There's a very interesting article on Hollywood Reporter tonight, which is of course a very credible news source, about the recent news that Patty Jenkins would no longer be directing Marvel's Thor 2. We reported a few weeks ago simply that she would no longer be directing but would hang around at Marvel, now word comes out that she was apparently fired, for unclear reasons (the original report states "creative differences"). This confirms my big "uh oh" originally, as there is apparently something going on, as none other than Natalie Portman is now essentially up in arms, or "deeply upset", that she was let go.

I don't want to make too big a deal out if, but there's a report on vague issues with the production. The story goes that Natalie Portman "urged Marvel to hire the director of 2003's Monster," Patty Jenkins, making her (potentially) the first female to direct a major superhero movie - which would've been cool to see. Now she's upset that Jenkins was "fired" for odd reasons, which we'll get into in just a moment. But why does Portman even matter? Well, she's contractually obligated to return as Jane Foster in the Thor sequel, which she was getting excited about with Jenkins at the helm. Portman recently (*deep breath*) had a baby and wants to be a mom and has "begun to question whether she want[s] to continue acting at all right now."

Now she's involved in the discussion on who they're finding to replace her and this isn't going to be a simple relationship with Marvel from now on (you saw V for Vendetta and Léon, right Kevin Feige?). As for what exactly the issue was with Jenkins, it's rather unclear, even though THR mentions a few things. However, it's mainly that she showed "a lack of overall clarity in her choices", which is echoed in sentiments like "there were constraints on what she could do creatively" and "was not moving decisively enough" so they "feared the film might miss its November 2013 release date." Here's another blurb from their piece:

But an insider in Jenkins' camp says the lack of clarity might be on Marvel's part. This person says Jenkins was so explicit about her vision for the film that she didnlt expect to be hired in the first place. The source speculates that Marvel executives might have been won over initially by Portmanls enthusiasm for Jenkins but then, "when they started to interview writers for the rewrite... may have decided they really weren't comfortable."

Whether you believe all of this, none of this, or part of it, there's quite a bit to consider. In theory, would Portman really stand up and defend someone like this if there truly wasn't something behind it to get upset about? Also, isn't Marvel known for being notoriously picky, which may be their prerogative at this point anyway? And finally, maybe instead they offered Patty Jenkins the chance to stick around and direct something else, while they find someone else for Thor 2. Either way, it's not worth making too much of a big deal out of this, but of course we have to mention it anyway. The details are vague and that's pretty much all there is on this so far. You can read THR's post for the full report, but we'll keep you updated on who they find as a replacement director anyway, as they need to find one soon. Stay tuned! Anyone concerned?

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Filed under Development, Movie News, Rumors

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