Black Swan director Darren Aronosfky is setting the record straight after allegations from Natalie Portman’s body-double who said that Portman was only responsible for 5 percent of the dancing in the film.
Sarah Lane, an American Ballet Theatre soloist performed many of the film’s complicated dance sequences and allowed Portman’s face to be digitally grafted onto her body.
“Here is the reality,” Aronosfky said. “I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film. 111 are Natalie Portman untouched. 28 are her dance double Sarah Lane. If you do the math that’s 80% Natalie Portman … Even so, if we were judging by time over 90% would be Natalie Portman.”
“And to be clear Natalie did dance on pointe in pointe shoes … That is completely her without any digital magic. I am responding to this to put this to rest and to defend my actor. Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance.”
Additionally, Portman’s fiance and the film’s choreographer, Benjamin Millepied, was the first to say that the majority of the dance sequences were, in fact, Portman.
Edited: March 29th, 2011