LOS ANGELES, California?Two of Hollywood?s loveliest and smartest young actresses, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman, who portray feuding sisters in ?The Other Boleyn Girl,? are backing opposing US presidential candidates.
Scarlett has been actively campaigning for Barack Obama, while Natalie revealed to us in our recent interview at New York?s Ritz Carlton that she was supporting Hillary Clinton.
?Obama is wonderful, but I?m for Hillary,? shared Natalie. Usually dressed to the nines during interviews, the actress was casually garbed this time?simple wool-knit dress, flats and no makeup. ?Hillary is experienced, bright and strong. I?m very excited about her!?
Choices
?No,? she replied when asked if she and Scarlett have discussed their different choices. In ?The Other Boleyn Girl,? though, Natalie and Scarlett?who play the Boleyn sisters, Anne and Mary, respectively?their choice of man is similar: They both fall for King Henry (played by Eric Bana). Peter Morgan ("The Queen?) adapted Philippa Gregory?s best-selling novel to the big screen. Rising actor, Jim Sturgess, the star of the romantic musical, ?Across the Universe,? plays the brother of Anne and Mary.
In a separate interview, Scarlett talked about Obama like a star-struck fan. She was looking especially ice queen-ish that afternoon?but the actress is really one of Hollywood?s more accessible and down-to-earth actresses.
?Obama is someone whom I?ve been supporting and am very enthusiastic about,? she began her remarks about the Democrat presidential candidate, who?s leading the nomination as we write this. ?I?m proud to have met and worked with him! I?ve been trying to get the word out to young voters. I?ve been going to different high schools to talk about the importance of voting.?
?Why not Hillary?? she was asked. ?I don?t want to say nasty things about her, because she also has very good policies,? Scarlett answered diplomatically. ?Both candidates share a lot of good intentions. But, one of the reasons why I connect with Obama is because I feel a sense of trust with him, which is something that I?ve never had with any political figure before.
Very attractive
?Obama listens?and I trust that the people?s best interests are his, as well. He?s not someone who merely goes with what?s popular. He opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning! That was very attractive to me when I first learned about him years ago.?
Doesn?t she connect with Hillary? ?I?ve been asked before if, as a woman, I felt a responsibility to support a female candidate,? Scarlett disclosed. ?But, I think when Barack is elected, he will have an amazing female in the White House! His wife, Michelle, is an inspiring woman?she?s a strong mother and wife. She has conviction, is highly intelligent, eloquent and graceful. So, I don?t feel that I have an obligation to support Hillary based purely on the fact that she?s a woman.?
Breaking into a laugh, Scarlett recalled how she lost her poise when she met Barack for the first time. ?I was in a function to raise awareness for him,? she narrated. ?I had been supporting him online for years, so I couldn?t believe he was actually standing in front of me!
?The first thing I said was really stupid: ?Hi, nice to meet you. I love your wife!? I was like, ?You?re married to Michelle. It?s very nice to meet her husband!? He was like, ?Yes, she?s great. I?ll be sure to tell her that.? It was all I could say, because I was awestruck by the incredible speech he had just given. So, it wasn?t the most glamorous first meeting!?
Crazy schedule
The actress also admitted her giddiness when Barack personally called her. ?When he?s on the road, or in between campaigning, he?d call people who donated the smallest amount of money, knowing that it was probably all they could afford!? she explained. ?Despite his crazy schedule, he called to thank me for going to an event. I said, ?I?ll see you in Iowa.?
?He responded: ?Are you coming to Iowa? We look forward to seeing you!? I was on the set at the time. I was like, ?Everybody, quiet! You have to listen to this call?you won?t believe it!? I was so excited about the personal call.?
Scarlett appears in a music video made by Black Eyed Peas? frontman, will.i.am, and directed by Jesse Dylan (Bob Dylan?s son), that features celebrities singing words from a speech given by Obama.
?Will.i.am had the idea to record the song, ?Yes, We Can,? with John Legend,? she disclosed. ?He was looking for female vocalists. He knew I could sing, so I came on board. It has become the anthem for the campaign.?
It was unusual to hear Scarlett gushing like a teenage fan about her political idol. But, there was a person who also raved about her?Natalie!
?I had only met her a couple of times in the past, but I?ve admired Scarlett since we were kids,? Natalie admitted. When the petite actress dropped out of Robert Redford?s 1998 film, ?The Horse Whisperer,? the role went to Scarlett, who delivered her breakthrough performance.
?Scarlett is an incredible actress!,? Natalie enthused. ?When I agreed to play Anne, I said, ?You have to cast Scarlett!? It has to be her, because both characters need to be contenders?they need to be strong, smart, complicated, beautiful and viable as opponents, but they should also love each other!?
Special opportunity
?Working with her was amazing!? Natalie added. ?Seeing how she worked up close was a special opportunity for me. She was an amazing scene-partner. I drew my energy from her! We have a sisterly friendship, too.?
Indeed, while they may play feuding sisters onscreen, Natalie and Scarlett looked like regular pals excited to see each other when they met in our interview room. The former explained that there was no battle royale as to who got which role. ?When I read the script, both roles were yet uncast,? she revealed. ?I wanted to play Anne, because the character was someone I hadn?t done before. I knew playing a sort of villainess was going to be a big challenge!?
Scarlett shared, ?People may have expected which role Natalie and I would choose, based on our past work. Some people think I?m better-suited to play the vixen, based on my girlie ?Match Point? character. But, when I signed on to the project, Natalie was already attached to do Anne. So, I never thought about playing the other character!?
E-mail rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.
