Natalie Portman writes herself a raunchy sex comedy

Natalie Portman is a frontrunner to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in BLACK SWAN and she’s an actress in demand for just about every high-profile project in Hollywood (including, apparently, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES), so what does she want to do next? If you answered, “Star in a raunchy SUPERBAD-style comedy that she co-wrote,” you win!

It may seem like an unlikely move for the A-list actress but perhaps now is the time to take such the risk, when you’ve got the clout to get the film made. Or does she? Portman and college friend Laura Moses have been shopping the script they wrote together, BYO (“Bring Your Own”), around Hollywood but have surprisingly found no suitors. In fact, a number of studios have already passed on the project. This is despite the fact Anne Hathaway is attached to co-star with Portman in the film.

As mentioned above, the project is described as a female-driven SUPERBAD, which follows two young women who throw a party for their female friends where each attendee is required to bring one eligible bachelor.

It certainly seems a lot more interesting than half the crap released so why is it being passed up? It could be that the script, written by Portman and Moses who don’t have a feature writing credit to their name, isn’t very good. But then, why not just pick up the project and have a screenwriter work on a polish with Portman’s supervision?

Somewhat more concerning is that studios may be passing on the film because it’s a female-lead sex comedy. Male sex comedies – both funny and unfunny – seem to get greenlit with relative ease. So why not a female-driven comedy with two popular and talented female leads? We often complain about how female films are watered down and banal efforts in tedium, so why not take a risk on this film? It’s unfortunately just the latest female comedy (not of the rom-com variety) that has found itself languishing.

It’s still possible the film could get made at a studio and possibly even more likely it could work on independent financing and work the festival circuit.