Jackie’s just the job for Natalie Portman

At these ritzy-glitzy film festivals, not everyone goes purely for the red carpet and free champagne. A case in point is Natalie Portman, who has been in Cannes this week to clinch the deal to star as Jackie Kennedy in a biopic due to start shooting later this year (amongst other things), on top of looking effortlessly glam.

Imaginatively titled Jackie, the news came courtesy of Deadline as it unleashed its Cannes hot titles list just days ago.

Perhaps more imaginatively, the movie will give an account of the four days that followed the seismic event that was the assassination of Jackie’s husband, John. F. Kennedy. It will be directed by Chilean maverick Pablo Larrain who scored a success with No, depicting the downfall of evil dictator Augusto Pinochet.

It’s no surprise that such an iconic figure as the former first lady has been portrayed in film several times in the past. First to take up the mantle was Jacqueline Bisset back in 1978 in The Greek Tycoon. Former Charlie’s Angel Jaclyn Smith was next three years later in Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, a made-for-television ABC vehicle. More recently, Katie Holmes gave it a bash in 2011’s The Kennedys.

Back to Ms Portman, and it’s certainly true to say she’s a busy little bee at the moment. She is due to star in Planetarium as well as sci-fi horror Annihilation. Just recently, the actress put pen to paper for another biopic, On the Basis of Sex, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsbury. If you can’t wait for those, you can catch Portman at a big screen near you in the near future in Weightless and Jane Got a Gun. To top it all off, she’s also been in Cannes to promote her directorial debut A Tale of Love and Darkness, which is receiving its world premiere at the prestigious French festival.

Phew! Did we also mention that she’s after baby number two with husband Benjamin Millepied? With all these flicks in the pipeline, there’s surely one or two box office smashes somewhere. Are you looking forward to Jackie, or does one of the other Portman projects tickle your fancy?