Absolutely ridiculous how people still think Portman should have tried to become an actual ballerina for this role.
I guess Julianne Moore actually had alzheimers in "Still Alice," then.
And Cate Blanchette had an actual breakdown for "Blue Jasmine."
These are actresses playing a role.
It's really stupid. People who bitch and complain about stuff like that don't get that the film's theme doesn't revolve around ballet.
shareIt was mostly the fault of the actual dancer, I'm guessing to get a name for herself?? It's to the point of stuidity. In fact, after you hear all the facts, it's quite amazing to see what the girls (Especially Portman) were able to pull off on their own. Some 80% of the moves were on her own... That's really good! Either way, these women dove into their roles and helped create a Masterpiece IMHO. It's utter nonsense. I'm not the type to throw this out there but I feel like alot of the hate is from 2 Camps. ACTUAL Ballet Dancers(For reasons beyond my understanding) and Misogynists.
shareGave it a 10.
Love this movie.
That is not what the people thought. That is how the movie was promoted and what the academy expected and believed. That's why she got the Oscar.
'Ne cherchez plus mon coeur, les bêtes l'ont mangé.' Baudelaire
haven't seen this, but Neve Campbell looked like a real ballerina in The Company
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Reminds me of way back in 1965, the revelation came out that Audrey Hepburn did not do her own singing in My Fair lady, ad it cost her the Oscar.
That's not where the controversy comes from. It's not that anyone expected Portman to become a real ballerina for the role, it's that she and the Aronofsky deliberately misrepresented the amount of actual dancing that she did in in the movie, effectively taking credit for another woman's work. Dancers already struggle a lot with getting the credit and recognition they deserve, I appreciate Portman's double for standing up for herself and her work.
~*I'd tell your fortune but the words don't rhyme*~
This is it 100%.
When I hear about the amazing stunt work on films, my response is never, "How dare those actors pretend to be [swordfighters, gunslingers, martial artists, whatever]!" But if an actor says, "Oh, I was the one playing that guitar solo," and then the person who really played it comes forward going, "Um...excuse me!?" that's when I judge on the actor (or director or producer or whoever spun it).
Maybe if it was a no-name actor I could see passed it since some producer or executive probably gave them a big speech like, "You wanna work? You tell these lies!" But Natalie Portman had a good career going at that time, so she didn't have to pretend like her dance-double didn't exist.
This was a case of Natalie and the producers courting the Oscars. "If we tell them she/I did it, the Oscar gold is ours!"
That is not the issue. The issue is that she LIED and said she had done the dancing.
shareNo. That's not the issue. The issue is: dancers want more credit.
Russell Crowe, Mark Whalberg, Usher, even Hilary Swank have played boxers. They trained. Learned moves. Promoted their prowess. And nobody in their right minds believes--not for one second--that any of them actually boxed 100%.
There's an entire featurette on YouTube showing Portman's training. She danced. But the double demands more attention? Dafuq? You want attention from the Academy? Become an actress. Simple as that.
Portman's portrayal was mesmerizing. Stunning. She earned ever bit of that award.
Yes, but in any of the boxer cases you mentioned did those actors sit in press events with the director and give the impression that they HAD become boxers? Because THAT'S what the issue is with Black Swan.
Natalie Portman may have trained, and she may have been able to conceivably pull off the close dance shots, but all the big movement work was performed by Sarah Lane of ABT. Dancers have long struggled with proper recognition in the performing arts, to a greater extent than actors or musicians. Lane wasn't asking for an award, or Academy recognition, she just wasn't willing to be Kathy Selden to Natalie Portman's Lina Lamont. Portman, Aronofsky, Millipied...they all exaggerated the amount of dancing that Portman had done in the movie as an appeal to the sensibilities of the Academy (who, as we all know, just love to award actors who have put themselves through the most grueling physical torment). To take credit for someone else's work, especially when you're all getting plenty of prestige points without doing that? It's contemptible. And, unfortunately, it's happened to way too many dancers over the years. Sarah Lane risked a lot (dancers have less protection in their professions than nearly any other kind of stage performer) to stand up for herself and for dancers in general; it was brave, and it was right.
We can go round and round on the merits of Portman's acting performance (I disagree with your assessment of it, personally), but she did not need to take credit for someone else's contributions to win that award. That Aronofsky felt that they had to play up that particular mistruth? I think it's sad that he didn't have more faith in what his star DID bring to the table in her own right.
~*I'd tell your fortune but the words don't rhyme*~
Actors don't get their heads replaced with CGI for boxing matches, you idiot.
sharePortman was too old, and didn't have enough time, to become an actual ballerina. It takes eight or more years of intense, daily training at a professional-level school (not the tap-and-toe academy with trophies in the window at the local strip mall) to become a ballet dancer. All female ballet dancers aren't ballerinas; it takes years of additional training, performing experience, and exceptional talent to achieve that accolade.
share