'Black Swan' Scandal! Dancing Double Disses Natalie Portman
by Andy Neuenschwander
Well, sometimes life imitates art.
Natalie Portman's ballet double, Sarah Lane, slammed Portman in an interview with "Entertainment Weekly" when she said that "Of the full-body shots [in "Black Swan"], I would say about five percent are Natalie." Lane went on to say that Portman "can't dance in pointe shoes" and that "her body is very stiff." Ouch.
Lane might have stepped over the line, but in fairness she spoke out only in response to another interview with Portman's fiancé, Benjamin Millepied. Millepied, who did the choreography in "Black Swan," told the LA Times that, "85 percent of that movie is Natalie." Millepied made a point of denouncing the idea that Lane did "most of the dancing."
Where is Natalie in all this? Nowhere to be found, so far. Portman and her people have yet to make a statement on the matter, and they might just stay out of it. Then again, with Portman starring in the upcoming "Thor" and "Your Highness," the extra publicity of a body double scandal might help ticket sales.
At the base of the argument, though, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding: Millepied said that "85 percent of that movie is Natalie" in reference to the dancing, and honestly with all of the close-ups and half-body shots, he may be right. Lane counters that only five percent of the full-body shots were done by Portman, which could also be correct.
In essence, both of them could be right, and the whole argument could be about nothing. But it's not about who's right, is it? It's just about seeing two people bickering in public forums. What could be more fun?