Natalie Portman: Queen of Hearts (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: eretz yisrael, Natalie Portman, Star Wars, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Natalie Portman is only 20 years old, but she has already costarred in nine motion pictures with actors such as Susan Sarandon, Woody Allen, Al Pacino, Goldie Hawn, Robert De Niro, and Jack Nicholson. Recently, she has found her way into the hearts of people around the world as Queen Amidala in the new Star Wars trilogy and is the only actor George Lucas has signed for all three episodes. This biography examines the charm and wit of her professional persona and reveals the emotional life of the real Portman, giving readers an idea of what lies behind her fresh beauty and formidable talent. Israeli-born and a descendant of Holocaust survivors, Portman's influences and ambitious dreams are revealed through accounts of her relationship with her successful and demanding parents, her modeling career and early acting roles, her life at Harvard, and her breathtaking performance in Star Wars.

About the Author

James L. Dickerson is the author of Faith Hill: Piece of My Heart, Colonel Tom Parker, and Last Suppers. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: ECW Press (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1550224921
• ISBN-13: 978-1550224924
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #399,567 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disrespectful, Speculative Rubbish by a Paparazzi with a Pen, July 8, 2002

By	Kelli - See all my reviews

Yet again, this work is an excellent example of how ultimately fruitless it is to attempt to write a biography of someone without having access to that person. In this rather tendentious, seedy little biography, Dickerson has essentially strung together snippets from the public interviews conducted by Ms. Portman over the past several years in magazine features and on TV talk shows, and has attempted to concoct a "biography" based on this meagre store of real information. As a result, the book abounds with "it is believed that", and "many consider that" ... because ultimately there are many things that Dickerson writes in the book without knowing whether or not they are true. Speculation begins with the details of Ms. Portman's family background, and continues at several points along the way, because without having access to Ms. Portman and her devoted parents, Dickerson has no other alternative in order to write a biograhphy that is in any way interesting for the reader (whether true or not). The reader therefore comes away with a speculative vision of the person that Natalie Portman is -- and certainly none the wiser as to who that person, in fact, really is.

Surely Ms. Portman must be laughing at times when she reads Dickerson's fatally flawed "biography"; in fact, it seems, based on the voluminous interviews that appeared in the press as part of the media campaign for "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones", that she is almost deliberately slipping in this or that true biographical detail into her conversations with the press to subtlely (and with some wit) undermine the more egregious of Dickerson's speculations.

But perhaps the most troubling thing about this book is that it categorically refuses to respect Ms. Portman's right to maintain some semblance of privacy. Surely, a celebrity of her level has a more limited expectation of privacy than the average citizen, but her well-known choice to act under a pseudonym -- out of respect for her own privacy as well as that of her parents -- has been completely disrespected by Dickerson, much to his discredit. Dickerson is entitled to disagree with Ms. Portman's decision in this regard, but his own decision to completely disrespect her own privacy is regrettable and credibility-shattering, as this happens at the very outset of the book.

In all, this is an example of a papparazzi with a pen -- not a biographer in any meaningful sense of the word. Save your money, and read Ms. Portman's interviews in the media and watch her films ... you'll surely have a better sense of her person than you will by reading this speculative drivel.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dickerson lacks authority..., December 24, 2002

By	Velardo Dala (Calabasas, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I found this book to be nothing more than a high school-level book report on magazine articles and newspaper clippings. The fact that Dickerson himself admits that he hadn't really taken an interest in Natalie Portman until the year 2000 shows that he does not speak from any privileged vantage point. He is not privy to any special information about Natalie that would draw any intelligent reader's attention, nor does he offer any keen insight into things that even the most casual fan of Natalie Portman's would know through pop culture and the media. The fact that Dickerson fails to get substantial information from those closest to Natalie proves not only that he is irresponsible, but he lacks authority to speak on Ms. Portman as well.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shame on you Mr. Dickerson, July 17, 2003

By A Customer

I was really disappointed. A lot of the book is based on speculation about her background and no one knows for sure what is fact and what is fiction. The author seems to have some sort of obsession with the young lady and her sexuality and her apparent envy of another child star Britney Spears because she (Britney) became famous before her. He gives absolutely no evidence for his reasoning and it reads like a tabloid magazine, and really it's quite creepy that a grown man would dwell on it so much. He goes on to say more than once what a noble thing it has been that he has waited so long to reveal her real name, that by not doing so would go against freedom of the press, yet it's confusing to the reader because he apparently has only been aware of her for a couple of years. I literally feel guilty and sick for buying this book and supporting this guy. It's highly disrespectful to both Natalie Portman and her family.
Shame on you, Mr. Dickerson. Shame on you!