Time for another batch of smaller Natalie news items.

– Natalie’s author friend, Jonathan Safran Foer, has a new book out and on September 6th he will be live and in conversation with Natalie at this event. I wonder how production of Natalie’s documentary about his novel, Eating Animals, is going…

– Speaking of authors, the writer of Annihilation dropped by the set and seemed very encouraged by what he saw.

The producers and others were incredibly kind in showing us around, and Alex Garland let us tromp all over the set, admiring how seamlessly the builds fit in with the landscape. I was also pleased to see just how many women have key roles in the production. The final scene we watched before we left, involving Natalie Portman and Tessa Thompson, sent chills down my spine it was so good and both so poignant and so creepy. Not a scene in the book, but one very much in the spirit of the book.

– Finally, Jeff Wells has earmarked Jackie as a hot contender for next year’s Academy Awards. If it actually gets released this year.