Natalie Portman to write film during maternity leave

Los Angeles
Jan 21, 2017
Natalie Portman

Actress Natalie Portman, who is expecting her second child with husband Benjamin Millepied, says she is going to use her maternity leave to write a new film.

Portman is due to give birth in few weeks.

The Oscar winner is going to take a break from acting to focus on her new baby, but she also wants to use that time off to create a big screen project which she can direct.

'I will be having some maternity leave. I need to write, to take some time, get a little focus,' Portman, who previously directed 2015 drama film 'A Tale of Love and Darkness', told theguardian.com.

Portman is determined to use her craft to promote feminism in the world and thinks it's 'crazy' that there are not more 'women's voices' being heard in films.

'Every year it's exclusively male-directed, written and filmed movies that we're talking about in awards season. Not that men shouldn't be making films. I love watching men's films. It's just crazy that there is such a minority of women's voices out there,' she said.

'If someone notices that there's only one woman at the table they need to make a change. Or if they notice that there are no minorities getting prominent roles in film ... they need to make a change,' she added.