Natalie Portman gained worldwide fame after starring in the cult film of 2010. Black Swan. Portraying the role of a ballerina who goes to great lengths to become the white swan in the play, the film explains the fine line between passion and obsession.
She won an Oscar for her role, and her double was used in some shots. Claiming that she staged her performance, director Darren Aronofsky and his co-star Mila Kunis were quick to come to the rescue when Portman was accused of cheating on her way to an Oscar win!
Natalie Portman danced to win an Oscar!
In 2011, Natalie Portman won an Oscar for Best Actress for the 2010 film. Black Swan. A film that walks the fine line between dedication and the need to be the best (as Whiplash) the film was very well received around the world, and Portman became famous.
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Director Darren Aronofsky is helming the project, and Mila Kunis is joining us for the ride. Black Swan was praised, but more importantly, Portman gave it her all for the role of Odette. After winning the Oscar, her stunt double Sarah Lane stated that she was used for most of the dance sequences. Claiming they did it to cement their Oscar win by calling Natalie Portman a wonderful performer, Sarah Lane said Portman did not dance in the film.
Director Darren Aronofsky and his co-star Mila Kunis came to Portman’s aid, denying the allegations in a statement (via The Guardian).
“I asked my editor to count the shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film. 111 – Natalie Portman is untouched. 28 – her dance double Sarah Lane. If you do the math, that’s 80% Natalie Portman.”
He further continued:
“What about the duration? Double shots are wide shots and are rarely performed for more than one second. There are two complex long dance sequences where we used face swaps. Even so, if we were to judge by time over 90%, it would be Natalie Portman.”
Along with the director, Mila Kunis also supported her co-star, saying that the dance scenes were actually written by Natalie Portman.
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Portraying her rivals on screen, Mila Kunis couldn’t just stand by and watch her colleague being defamed. Claiming that Portman danced on her toes during the opening sequence, Kunis told Entertainment Weekly that Portman “danced her ass.”
“Natalie danced to her heart’s content. She will tell you (this), no, she was not on pointe when she did the fouetté (turn), no one will deny that. But she performed every ounce of every one of her dances.”
WITH Thor actress who won an Oscar for her role, Black Swan received a rating of 8/10 on IMDB and a maximum of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2010 film is available to rent on Apple TV+ in the US.
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