Pale Blue Dot: first look at Natalie Portman in Noah Hawley's murderous astronaut drama
Oscar winner Natalie Portman has revealed her chic new retro look for the upcoming film Pale Blue Dot.
The Israel-born actress will be playing astronaut Lucy Cola as she struggles to adjust to life on earth after a successful mission. Portman posted on Instagram yesterday: "In character as Lucy Cola. ??: @hilstills #sneakpeek", where she is seen in a black bob wig, blue jumpsuit and lanyard.
Directed by Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo), Pale Blue Dot explores the theory that astronauts who spend prolonged periods in space may suffer PTSD when they return home.
Portman will star alongside John Hamm, best known as Don Draper in Mad Men, who plays fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin. With Legion star Dan Stevens playing her on-screen husband, Portman's affair with Goodwin quickly turns to obsession. Also in the film is Deadpool 2's Zazie Beets. The script is written by Brian C. Brown and Elliot Guiseppi, with filming due to start in the Spring.
The plot is loosely based on the true story of NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak. Nowak made headlines in 2007 for the attempted murder of Cathleen Shipman, whom she suspected of having won the heart of her colleague, Navy Cmdr William Ofelein.
Fueled by jealousy, and wearing space nappies to avoid toilet breaks, Nowak drove 900 miles from Houston to Orlando only, she claimed, to "confront" Shipman.
Early that day, Nowak followed Shipman's car into the airport and knocked on the window, claiming to need a lift. When Shipman rolled the window down, Nowak sprayed her with pepper spray. Shipman escaped in time to call the police, who later found a trench coat, BB gun, bin bags and an eight-inch knife in Nowak's car.
Nowak was arrested on charges of attempted murder and kidnapping, and a year later entered a reduced guilty plea of burglary and battery. In 2010 she received an "other than honourable discharge" from the Navy, and has now all but disappeared from public life. The case became known as the "NASA love triangle".