Natalie Portman Nude in Hotel Chevalier?

Update - Sept. 26, 2007: Finally! Natalie Portman nude pictures from Hotel Chevalier!

Believing a rumour about a Natalie Portman nude scene is probably the most dangerous thing you can do to yourself, because it invariably ends up being denied, a body double, or cut out and burned, and then you feel like killing yourself (or something less dramatic maybe). However, according to Timeout London, we will see Natalie Portman nude in Wes Anderson's short film Hotel Chevalier, which is a prequel to his latest feature film, The Darjeeling Limited.

This wistful and maudlin short story offers some background to the main attraction as Schwartzmann and Natalie Portman play a pair of estranged lovers who square up to each other in the sumptuous surroundings of a Parisian hotel room.

If there's one element of 'Hotel Chevalier' that's surprising for Anderson, it's a strong sense of romance and sexuality: in one shot, Schwartzmann gently pulls off Portman's clothes to reveal her naked body from behind, and a later shot has Portman, nude, standing still in a doorway, one foot up against the frame. It's the sexiest thing that Anderson has ever done.

So can this one be believed? Well, the writer seems to have actually seen the film, but we'll obviously have to wait for the inevitable negative response from the Portman camp. Until then, feel free to let your fantasies run wild, but don't come crying to me if it turns out not to be true.

Here is a Hi-Res still image of Natalie Portman from Hotel Chevalier. I wonder what, if anything is under that bathrobe...