NATALIE PORTMAN PLAYS WITH FANTASY

Natalie Portman was attracted to the fantastic element of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.

Writer Zach Helm who recently penned the film Stranger Than Fiction makes his directing debut in Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium inspired by his own experience working at a toy store.

Zach sent the script to Natalie Portman as a gift to woo her into portraying the store’s manager Molly Mahoney. Natalie was taken with the magical possibilities of the story.

“The script actually came to me in a present box with a red ribbon around it that Zach sent to me ‘would you be in it,’ with this letter that was just as detailed and beautiful as the script.I mean he really has a very specific and optimistic way of looking at the world which is lovely to see in an age of cynicism. But it’s not sort of a naïve optimism, it’s a really intelligent and adult optimism I think.”

Natalie’s Mahoney is a closeted composer who practices the piano by constantly miming her fingers across an imaginary keyboard while working at the toy store. Natalie was interested in the idea of facing her fear of success with Magorium as her mentor.

“Her sort of dilemma was very sort of proof rock like obviously one of the greatest problems about that fear of having the courage in yourself to say this is my voice, this is my creation and putting that out there. So that was really moving to me and Mr. Magorium’s sort of way of looking at the world, I just thought it would be a bright sort of story to bring into people’s lives.”

Natalie learned to play the piano for the role and master a conductor’s baton skills for her character’s secret talents. From the fantastic to the very real, Natalie is set to portray Anne Boleyn, the doomed mistress of King Henry VIII in The Other Boleyn Girl.