Actress Natalie Portman is one of the biggest names in Hollywood and is known for her riveting performances. The Thor actress has gained superstardom due to her choices of complicated dramatic roles, which she performs to perfection. Her penchant for balancing mainstream blockbusters and artistic drama films has gained her global box office successes as well as an Academy Award in her kitty.
The films that Natalie Portman has been a part of, typically earn huge numbers. Both blockbuster franchises like the Star Wars prequel trilogy have earned over $2.5 Billion at the global box office, and more dramatic features such as Black Swan earned more than $300 million. However, in the year where she received her highest honor, she also was part of her biggest dud.
The Natalie Portman Starrer Which Lost Millions
By the end of 2010, Natalie Portman had received universal acclaim for her riveting performance in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. The film which centered around the production of Swan Lake by the New York City Ballet company, sees Portman play the role of a ballerina who struggles to find her grip on reality after she is selected to play the White Swan.
The film was lauded upon release, with praise showered on Natalie Portman and her rival in the film, Mila Kunis. Portman’s performance as Nina Sayers was particularly appreciated, with critics mentioning, “…[Natalie Portman] captures the confusion of a repressed young woman thrown into a world of danger and temptation with frightening veracity.” The film was a huge success, earning over $320 million against a $13 million budget. It also received several accolades, with Portman winning the Academy Award for Best Actress.
However, the year was not all great for Natalie Portman. In May of 2010, Natalie Portman was in an independent drama titled Hesher which was directed by Spencer Susser. The film followed the story of a troubled teenager, TJ who is going through the loss of his mother and the friendship he shares with the metalhead Hesher. Natalie Portman stars as Nicole, a grocery store clerk who also befriends TJ. The film also starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the titular role as well as Rainn Wilson and John Caroll Lynch.
Hesher was a disaster with critics and at the box office. The film, which premiered at that year’s Sundance Film Festival did not receive the same love upon release. The film was also a box-office dud. It only earned a meager $446,000 against a $7 million budget. With stars like Gordon-Levitt and Portman attached to it, this was a huge financial disaster. The film was such a blow to the investors that it prompted them to sue the producers.
Hesher’s Lawsuit Nightmare
Hesher was an independently funded film without the backing of any studio. It was bankrolled by many independent investors. After its terrible opening and financial run, many investors of the film were fuming. It prompted them to file a lawsuit against the producers, claiming that they were defrauded by lawyers.
First among those who filed a lawsuit were the Fruchtman brothers. Greg and Ian Fruchtman invested $750,000 in Hesher and accused the producers of fraud. The investors claimed that they were not made aware of the fact that the producers had defaulted on their loan payments and that the creditor had also threatened to foreclose any revenue streams of the film. This fact was brought to their notice at a much later stage.
However, the nightmare does not end here. The lawsuit prompted a deal where the Hesher producers could repay money to one investor with the earnings of selling the foreign-distribution rights. The deal mentions that investors could recoup their investment from the foreign sales by a first-in/first-out clause. However, it was not clear which investor would get the money.
Accordingly, one of the investors Dreamagine Entertainments, which claimed to have invested more than $1.2 million on the project sued the Hesher producers as well as the Fruchtman brothers, citing that they were entitled to the foreign sales money as they had invested early on. They sued the Fruchtmans as the company was still owed more than $375,000 and the Fruchtmans’ claims would endanger their recoupment.
While the lawsuits seem to be still ongoing, Natalie Portman has seemed to move on from the project entirely as she has since appeared in multiple blockbuster films such as Thor and has also given another Oscar-nominated performance in Jackie.
Source: The Things
