‘Lady in the Lake’ Trailer: Natalie Portman Tries to Untangle Moses Ingram’s Murder in Baltimore-Set Journalism Drama
Natalie Portman is a 1960s housewife turned investigative reporter for the Apple TV+ adaptation of novel “Lady in the Lake.”
Portman stars as Maddie Schwartz, a Jewish divorcée seeking to shed a secret past and reinvent herself as a journalist within a sexist newsroom. The murder of Cleo Johnson (Moses Ingram), a mother navigating the political underbelly of Black Baltimore while struggling to provide for her family, becomes a news story that Maddie just can’t let go of until justice is served.
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“Anora” breakout Mikey Madison, Y’lan Noel, Brett Gelman, Dylan Arnold, Byron Bowers, Noah Jupe, Josiah Cross, and Pruitt Taylor Vince also star.
Lupita Nyong’o was originally set to play Cleo, however she exited the project due to unknown circumstances. “Obi-Wan Kenobi” breakout Ingram was cast as Nyong’o’s replacement.
Alma Har’el directs the limited series centered on the price women pay for chasing their dreams, as the official synopsis teased. Har’el created, wrote, directed, and executive produced the show alongside producing partner Christopher Leggett, with Portman also executive producing with partner Sophie Mas.
Late “Big Little Lies” director Jean-Marc Vallée executive produced through Crazyrose with Nathan Ross. Julie Gardner executive produces for Bad Wolf America. Layne Eskridge, Amy Kaufman, Boaz Yakin and author Amy Lippmann also executive produce. The show hails from Fifth Season.
The “Lady in the Lake” soundtrack has been composed by Marcus Norris, the founder and artistic director of the South Side Symphony. The live performances were composed and produced by the critically acclaimed, Bekon, a Grammy-nominated producer known for his work on Kendrick Lamar’s albums “DAMN.” and “Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.”
Lead actress/producer Portman told L’Officiel that she wanted to take on “Lady in the Lake” as her first TV role for the historical elements of the show.
“The story itself was really compelling to me because of two primary things: One is that my grandmother was from Baltimore and about the same age as Maddie during that time period. So there was a real imagination of what it was like to be a woman at that time in that kind of city,” Portman said. “And also the story of Jewish assimilation is interesting to me, and the question of what it’s like when oppressed people can become oppressors.”
Portman added that the production was “extremely demanding and extremely emotional” in part due to her personal connection to the story.
“It’s taxing, and you really have to preserve your energy. It’s just really, really consuming,” Portman said. “As an actor, you also have a lot more character details because you have so much more time, of course. The format of telling a story in a series format allows for such intricacy of character and so much more space to develop a story. It obviously has been so impressive as a medium. Some of the best storytelling of our times has been in the series format.”
“Lady in the Lake” premieres July 19. Check out the trailer below.
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