Fox SearchlightThis is one ballerina drama that will not stop twirling, and somebody's tutu is in a bunch!
In a new 20/20 interview airing tonight, Natalie Portman's dance double from Black Swan gives her first TV interview explaining why she thinks the filmmakers need to come clean about the amount of dancing the star actually did for the Oscar-winning role.
So what exactly does Sarah Lane, who has previously written about the controversy, say? Doesn't sound like she's scoring an invite to Portman's baby shower, let's put it that way:
"They're completely lying about the amount of dancing Natalie did in the movie," Lane tells Elizabeth Vargas on tonight's 20/20.
Oh no she diiiin't!
"I've been doing this for 22 years, and to say that someone trained for a year and a half and did what I did is degrading not only to me but to the entire ballet world," explains Lane. "They threaten the entire principle of ballet and I feel like I need to say something."
In response to the interview, Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky released a statement saying this:
"Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film—111 are Natalie Portman untouched. Twenty-eight are her dance double Sarah Lane. If you do the math, that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
But then 20/20 took it a step further and asked the film's editor to go back and verify Aronofsky's percentages.
Editor Andy Weisblum says, "There are about 35 shots that are full-body shots in the movie. Of those 35 shots, 12 are Natalie, and then the rest are Sarah. But over the overall film, Natalie did a lot more than that. I mean, she did most of the other shots. It was sometimes hard for me to tell the difference as the editor, it was so close."
Doesn't sound like this controversy is going to get resolved anytime soon, especially since Portman acknowledged the Black Swan camera crew in her Oscar acceptance speech—but not her dance double.
"I expected it because at that point I knew," explains Lane in the interview. "I did wish that she could have said something nice about ballet itself instead of saying that it was so horrible and she's so glad she's done with it."
So what's at the root of Lane calling out Portman and her sudden desire for public acknowledgment? Could it be that she is close with Portman's fiance's ex-girlfriend?
So far, Portman's only response has been: "I had a chance to make something beautiful with this film, and I don't want to give in to the gossip."
Sounds like a swan-fight. Let the feathers fly, ladies!
(Originally published April 15, 2011, at 12:17 p.m. PT)