Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010): Natalie Portman
03-29-11, 01:15 AM
#602
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Under Golden Gate Bridge
Posts: 10,911
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
News Flash: Jackie Chan does not do all his own stunts. And hasn't for over 25 years.
Anyone here remember FLASHDANCE? A dancer named Marine Jahan did all the dance shots in Jennifer Beals' dance numbers. Everyone knew about it. No one complained. Ms. Jahan got plenty of publicity. At least that's how I remember it.
Here's what Wikipedia says in its entry on Jahan, implying there was a lot more "controversy" than I remember:
"Marine Jahan (born January 1, 1959, Versailles, France) is a French actress most widely known for having doubled for Jennifer Beals in the 1983 movie Flashdance.[1] At the time of its release, Jahan's role in the movie was controversial for several reasons. Beals was an unknown actress when Flashdance came out, and throughout the movie there were a lot of close up shots of what was implied to be Beals' body. However Marine Jahan's role was not listed on the movie's opening or ending credits, and because the movie was a huge hit by the time the truth had come out, some felt deceived to find out it was neither Beals' body nor her dancing.[2] The producers of the film stated it was never a secret that they had used a stunt double, and that Jahan's name not appearing in the film was due to Paramount Pictures shortening the closing credits.[3] Marine Jahan's other major film appearance was as a dancer in "Torchie's" bar in the 1984 movie Streets of Fire.
Jahan also played the role of Madame St. Cyr in the 1997 Broadway production of The Scarlet Pimpernel. She also made a guest appearance on the short-lived television series, The Wizard in 1986. She played the part of a dancer who is paralyzed after being shot by a stalker."
Anyone here remember FLASHDANCE? A dancer named Marine Jahan did all the dance shots in Jennifer Beals' dance numbers. Everyone knew about it. No one complained. Ms. Jahan got plenty of publicity. At least that's how I remember it.
Here's what Wikipedia says in its entry on Jahan, implying there was a lot more "controversy" than I remember:
"Marine Jahan (born January 1, 1959, Versailles, France) is a French actress most widely known for having doubled for Jennifer Beals in the 1983 movie Flashdance.[1] At the time of its release, Jahan's role in the movie was controversial for several reasons. Beals was an unknown actress when Flashdance came out, and throughout the movie there were a lot of close up shots of what was implied to be Beals' body. However Marine Jahan's role was not listed on the movie's opening or ending credits, and because the movie was a huge hit by the time the truth had come out, some felt deceived to find out it was neither Beals' body nor her dancing.[2] The producers of the film stated it was never a secret that they had used a stunt double, and that Jahan's name not appearing in the film was due to Paramount Pictures shortening the closing credits.[3] Marine Jahan's other major film appearance was as a dancer in "Torchie's" bar in the 1984 movie Streets of Fire.
Jahan also played the role of Madame St. Cyr in the 1997 Broadway production of The Scarlet Pimpernel. She also made a guest appearance on the short-lived television series, The Wizard in 1986. She played the part of a dancer who is paralyzed after being shot by a stalker."
News Flash #2: I pointed this out pages ago. Therefore, I get 80% of the credit for being first and original. You get maybe 20% for being second and quoting Wikipedia.
03-29-11, 07:22 AM
#603
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Join Date: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
Mila Kunis spoke out on this:
Black Swan co-star Mila Kunis is speaking out in support of her friend and cast mate Natalie Portman amid accusations that the bulk of the dancing in Portman’s Oscar-winning role was actually performed by her dancing double, American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane. “Natalie danced her a– off,” says Kunis. “I think it’s unfortunate that this is coming out and taking attention away from [the praise] Natalie deserved and got.”
Kunis also says Portman has been honest about how much of the demanding footwork she was — and wasn’t — able to do. “She’ll tell you [that], no, she was not on pointe when she did a fouetté [turn]. No one’s going to deny that. But she did do every ounce of every one of her dances,” she says. “[Lane] wasn’t used for everything. It was more like a safety net. If Nat wasn’t able to do something, you’d have a safety net. The same thing that I had — I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it.”
Last week, Lane told EW that she performed 95 percent of Portman’s full-body dance shots. Portman has been defended vocally by fiancé and Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied and director Darren Aronofsky, who insists Portman did 80 percent of the dancing in the film.
Kunis also says Portman has been honest about how much of the demanding footwork she was — and wasn’t — able to do. “She’ll tell you [that], no, she was not on pointe when she did a fouetté [turn]. No one’s going to deny that. But she did do every ounce of every one of her dances,” she says. “[Lane] wasn’t used for everything. It was more like a safety net. If Nat wasn’t able to do something, you’d have a safety net. The same thing that I had — I had a double as a safety net. We all did. No one ever denied it.”
Last week, Lane told EW that she performed 95 percent of Portman’s full-body dance shots. Portman has been defended vocally by fiancé and Black Swan choreographer Benjamin Millepied and director Darren Aronofsky, who insists Portman did 80 percent of the dancing in the film.
03-29-11, 09:14 AM
#605
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
03-29-11, 09:46 AM
#606
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
I think Lane was just frustrated, perhaps exaggerated a bit and now her words are in the press all over. She must have hit a nerve though if all these people are defending Portman.
03-29-11, 11:09 AM
#607
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Land of the Lobstrosities
Posts: 10,300
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
I had a longer reply but my browser crashed. Two main points:
1. Regarding Lane not getting work. She isn't a Hollywood stunt double, she's a performance artist with a career outside of Hollywood, and a pretty successful one at that. There is a reason the studio could only get her for a couple of weeks.
2. I noticed some posters earlier saying Lane started this mess, but she didn't. Fox started it with their PR whitewash. An editor of Dance Magazine noticed what they were doing and posted about it on her blog, including the re-editing of the VFX video I posted earlier. Then Portman's beau gave his defense, outright saying Natalie did almost all the dancing, which was what Lane responded to.
1. Regarding Lane not getting work. She isn't a Hollywood stunt double, she's a performance artist with a career outside of Hollywood, and a pretty successful one at that. There is a reason the studio could only get her for a couple of weeks.
2. I noticed some posters earlier saying Lane started this mess, but she didn't. Fox started it with their PR whitewash. An editor of Dance Magazine noticed what they were doing and posted about it on her blog, including the re-editing of the VFX video I posted earlier. Then Portman's beau gave his defense, outright saying Natalie did almost all the dancing, which was what Lane responded to.
03-29-11, 12:26 PM
#608
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
Movies are an illusion. Whether someone takes 50 takes to get something right or CGI, mirrors, wires or a double is used to achieve the goal, it's all about creating the illusion that tells the story. This shaming of actors/actresses because they can't do it all is silly. I fail to see the big deal here.
03-29-11, 12:37 PM
#609
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
03-29-11, 01:36 PM
#610
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
03-29-11, 06:06 PM
#611
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
Same here. Both Bale and Portman lost a lot of weight for their performances and besides, a weak gag reflex would be a really bad thing for somebody who is giving a blow job.
03-29-11, 10:23 PM
#612
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/2...k-swan-double/
“Of the full body shots, I would say 5 percent are Natalie,” says Sarah Lane... “The shots that are just her face with arms, those shots are definitely Natalie,” she says. “But that doesn’t show the actual dancing.”
03-30-11, 12:19 AM
#613
New Member
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Top Ten Signs Your Stunt Double Is a Fame Junky
I find it very ironic that the movie portrays ballerinas as a cut throat, throw one another under the bus stereotype...and then this happens.
03-30-11, 09:53 AM
#618
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
03-30-11, 10:16 AM
#619
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
The stunt double for Eddie Murphy in that shot was probably not for Eddie Murphy's safety, but for the other stunt man's safety. You want to make sure the throw is executed correctly so that the fall goes as planned.
03-30-11, 05:09 PM
#620
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
03-30-11, 08:55 PM
#623
Re: Natalie Portman slammed by her Black Swan dance double
But at the beginning when there were insert shots of her feet, I thought about this thread.
Last edited by bluetoast; 03-30-11 at 09:39 PM.
05-18-11, 11:32 AM
#624
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Black Swan (Aronofsky, 2010): Natalie Portman in supernatural thriller
Can anybody else believe that this grossed $300 mil worldwide? I loved the movie, it was my favorite film of 2010, but I never thought it would get anywhere close to this.
