Black Swan Director: Natalie Portman Did 80 Percent of Her Dancing in the Film
Natalie Portman
Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky is defending Natalie Portman against claims that the she only did a small portion of the dancing for her Oscar-winning role.
"Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots.There are 139 dance shots in the film. One hundred and eleven are Natalie Portman untouched; 28 are her dance double Sarah Lane," Aronofsky told Entertainment Weekly in a statement. "If you do the math that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
See photos of Natalie Portman
Last week Lane told EW that approximately 5 percent of the performance footage used in Black Swan's dance scenes was performed by Portman. She also added that the film's producer, Ari Handel, asked her not to discuss her work with the media because the producers wanted to play up Portman's dancing to help her Oscar bid.
"It is demeaning to the profession and not just to me," Lane said. "I've been doing this for 22 years .... Can you become a concert pianist in a year and a half, even if you're a movie star?"
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Aronofsky said he released a statement to defend Portman and put the debate to rest.
"Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance," he said. "I don't want anyone to think that's not her they are watching. It is."