Natalie Portman & Lena Dunham's ‘Good Sex’ Sparks $45M Studio Bidding War

UPDATE: The hottest package at EFM Berlin has got to be “Good Sex.” The project has sparked a bidding war with Warner Bros, Amazon, Apple and Netflix among the studios in the mix to acquire the project. Bidding is said to currently be at $45M and rising.

Natalie Portman is set to star in “Good Sex,” written and to be directed by Lena Dunham (“Girls”). The project will be shopped around at next week’s EFM market in Berlin.

After the success of “Babygirl,” Dunham/Portman’s film will also tackle an age gap romance. This time around, Nicole Kidman will be taking a backseat, and it’ll be Portman’s turn to have an intense affair with a younger man.

“Good Sex” is said to involve Ally (Portman), a 40-ish couple’s therapist who “falls into a steamy fling” with a 20-something Brooklyn hipster just as she begins a promising, more conventional relationship with Alan, a successful 50-something in Manhattan.

Portman previously praised Dunham as a filmmaker, including her iconic HBO series “Girls,” but especially Dunham’s 2009 debut “Tiny Furniture”:

I remember seeing Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham’s film, and when the credits rolled I started crying because it was written by Lena Dunham, starring Lena Dunham, produced by Lena Dunham, and directed by Lena Dunham. This young woman has no fear of [saying] “I did it, I did all of this.” And it was so good.

Dunham recently dropped out of directing a “Polly Pocket” movie. She then released a statement which included her saying, “I feel like the next movie I make needs to feel like a movie that I absolutely have to make. No one but me could make it. And I did think other people could make ‘Polly Pocket.'”

Dunham is coming off having directed two films, both released in 2022, “Sharp Stick” and “Catherine Called Birdy” — the former was panned by critics and the latter earned decent reviews.

‘River': Horror Movie Sells to Universal and Blumhouse for $10M+ TIFF 2026’s First Big Deal

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Jeremy Saulnier’s Next Film Retitled to ‘Slayground,’ Current Runtime is 2.5 Hours, Plot Details

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‘Minotaur' Trailer: Andrey Zvyagintsev's Cannes Grand Prix Winner Gets November Release from MUBI

"Minotaur" won the Grand Prix at Cannes. A two-time Oscar nominee who already has the Golden Lion for "The Return," Best Screenplay at Cannes for "Leviathan," and the Jury Prize in 2017 for "Loveless.

‘Cosmic Motors,' John Lasseter's First Film in 15 Years, Moves from Netflix to Paramount Theatrical Release

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Edward Berger’s Lance Armstrong Biopic, Starring Austin Butler, Starts Production in January

Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Joaquin Phoenix Reuniting with Mike Mills for Next Film, Shooting in January 2027

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Paul Thomas Anderson Has Already Chosen His Next Film, Jonny Greenwood Says

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Ridley Scott Says “I Didn’t Say That” After Calling ‘The Dog Stars’ His Best Movie Since ‘The Martian’

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Todd Field-Written ‘The Girls’ Sets Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic to Direct, November Shoot

Cinephiles another Todd Field movie, and although we might have to wait for his next directorial effort, “The Girls” will have to suffice for now.

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

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