Portman exits B'way for Fox 2000's 'Here'
Thesp puts down 'Diary', joins Sarandon in Wang pic
It will be the first starring role for the 16-year-old since she dropped out of "The Horse Whisperer" to make her stage debut in the Broadway revival of "The Diary of Anne Frank." Though no date has been set for her departure from the play, Portman will take her final bows as Frank before filming begins June 29 in L.A.
Sarandon had made an earlier starring commitment to the project, which was adapted by Oscar-winning scribe Alvin Sargent ("Ordinary People"). Sarandon and Portman star as a mother and daughter who leave their family and friends behind in Bay City, Mich., to start life over in Beverly Hills.
The drama revolves around the culture shock the pair encounter, as the protective and eccentric mom tries to help the beautiful young daughter navigate high school. The duo conflict constantly, because the mother's goals aren't the same as the daughter's. Laurence Mark, who just completed Fox's "Object of My Affection," is producing. Fox 2000 president Laura Ziskin and exec Carla Hacken are shepherding the project.
Portman will be a Fox fixture over the next several years. She worked with Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor in the first of the three "Star Wars" prequels for George Lucas, playing the young queen who is the mother of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. The film bows in May 1999, and Portman is set to continue the role in the two follow-up films. Lucas recently set those films up for distribution at Fox, which made such a strong showing with a rerelease of the original "Star Wars" trilogy.
Portman, who made her co-starred in Luc Besson's "The Professional," also has co-starred in "Beautiful Girls," "Everyone Says I Love You," "Heat" and "Mars Attacks!" She's repped by ICM's Aleen Keshishian and Joe Funicello and lawyered by Ira Schreck.
