Black Swan dance double controversy
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, and Mila Kunis. After the 83rd Academy Awards, in which Portman won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the film, controversy arose over how much credit for the dancing in the film was being given to her and how much to her "dance double", American Ballet Theatre soloist Sarah Lane.
In a March 3, 2011, blog post (written prior to the DVD release) for Dance Magazine, its editor-in-chief Wendy Perron asked why a visual effects video clip showing Lane's face being replaced by Portman's was once available online but later removed from the Internet prior to the Oscars. She also speculated as to whether Portman's omission of Lane's name during her acceptance speech was a case of "forgetfulness in the heat of the moment? Or was this omission, and the deletion from the video, planned by the studio's publicity machine?" It was also noted that Lane is credited as "Lady in the Lane" and as "Stunts" rather than as Portman's double in the theatrical release of the film. This led to a number of responses regarding Portman. Aronofsky and Fox Searchlight released a joint statement that argued: "We were fortunate to have Sarah there to cover the more complicated dance sequences and we have nothing but praise for the hard work she did. However, Natalie herself did most of the dancing featured in the final film." Benjamin Millepied and Kunis also argued in defense of Portman's dancing. Lane responded through an essay published in The Wall Street Journal (Portman declined through a representative to write one as well) and an interview on 20/20 that her interest lies primarily in defense of ballet as an art form that cannot be mastered in a year.
The DVD of Black Swan was released on March 29, 2011 and includes the featurette with Sarah Lane.
