Natalie Portman and her Stand-In

[Sharnita]

When I read EW that's how I took it too, that while she wouldn't outright say "Lane is nasty: she will do waht she can to make sure that is what people read between the lines.

[jimithing]

Lane needs to get over herself and move on. There have been plenty of Oscar winners who forget to thank their own spouse!

I wonder how many people will cast her as a body/dance double again.

[Shoo]

Lane is shooting herself in the foot.  Who's going to want to hire her as a double in the future?  She's going to be known as The Complainer.

Natalie Portman has been the epitome of grace in this situation, IMO.

[still in va]

Lane is shooting herself in the foot.  Who's going to want to hire her as a double in the future?  She's going to be known as The Complainer.

Natalie Portman has been the epitome of grace in this situation, IMO.

i completely agree.  Lane was credited, as i posted last night, as Portman's stunt and dance double.  i really don't know what else she wanted to happen here.  but i'm sure she won't have to worry about such matters ever again.  i doubt she will be called upon to fulfill any such roles in the future, based on her actions in this case.

[Wonderflonium]

I still maintain that Lane didn't start this (see my timeline earlier).

Can someone show me the article in which Lane complained about not being thanked in the speech? I keep hearing about it but I can't find it, and I think it could influence how I feel about this.

[jimithing]

I found this interview from her: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/03/26/natalie-portman%E2%80%99s-black-swan-dance-double-says-she-deserves-more-credit/

She said that she wasn't expected to be thanked, given all the requests from the studio not to give interviews, but did feel a bit cheated.

She also says that "the dancing was everything to the movie." I think that fully discredits Natalie Portman's amazing acting, which Lane certainly wouldn't be able to do. It wasn't the dancing that won her the Oscar.

[KenveeB]

Lane is shooting herself in the foot.  Who's going to want to hire her as a double in the future?  She's going to be known as The Complainer.

Natalie Portman has been the epitome of grace in this situation, IMO.

Total pod to both of these.  I can't imagine any director wanting Lane around after this.  I think Natalie has done nothing wrong -- I actually wish that acceptance speeches would be less about thanking every. single. person. who ever spoke to you and say something meaningful for a change! -- and has been very gracious through the whole situation.  The dancing was an important part of the illusion, but the point of the movie was Natalie's emotional journey, which she portrayed breathtakingly.  All of the talk about who did or didn't dance which part seems to be downplaying her achievement on the more important part of the movie.  I'd be pretty darn annoyed in Natalie's shoes.

If an actor was said to do "most of his own stunts", of course we'd assume that the hardest ones would be the small percentage that wasn't them.  That's why they only did "most of" instead of all, because some were too dangerous or difficult.  That doesn't mean that their hard work for doing a majority of it, when they could have just said "whatever, get a double" for ALL of it, should be downplayed.

[Wonderflonium]

Thanks, jimi! After reading this, I stand by my support of Lane. People are describing her as grasping, greedy, whiny, nasty, etc. I don't see it. She didn't start the whole discussion. The most vitriolic comments haven't been coming from Lane. I really think people are confusing what Wendy Perron said with what Sarah Lane said. Also, I watched and read a lot of pre-Oscar coverage of this movie, and people were acting like Natalie Portman became a prima ballerina overnight. Until I saw the film, I was actually under the impression that she HAD done all of the dancing. I'm not gullible, and in other dance films I've assumed there have been doubles, but there was definitely a concerted effort to make it seem that in this particular movie, there was no double. When people (NOT SARAH LANE) started talking about it, instead of coming out and saying, "Natalie trained hard and did a lot of the dancing, but of course, we used a trained dancer for the harder moves," Millepied and Aronofsky said things like, "Lane just did x, y, and x" and "Lane only did blah blah blah." They really tried to downplay her role when they could have just said the truth and everyone could have gone on their merry way. Because they didn't, Wendy Perron rebutted their arguments, and Sarah Lane only spoke up trying to set the whole thing straight.

I have to say, Portman's acting was amazing, but for me, the dancing was "everything" to this film. If it had been about a singer rather than a dancer, I wouldn't have gone to see it. (Not that there's anything wrong with singers; I'm just into dancing.) I know a lot of dance fans who feel the same way.

[jimithing]

It's funny how different people read things! Because after reading that, I am staunchly on Team Portman.

I don't think Lane was nasty. I do, however, think she was very whiny. She is complaining about not being given enough credit, all while, according to that interview basically giving no credit to Natalie, either. She said that she she did all the dancing, ("Well basically I did all of the dancing.") which just isn't true, and that the dancing was "everything." She is very black and white.

If she said that she had she had done a majority of the difficult moves, or even the majority of the dancing, fine. But *all* the dancing? She also seems to dismiss the acting, and her comment about how she's not just any double you get, and she doesn't go in and crash through a mirror, sounds a bit condescending to "regular" stunt doubles.

I think that he studio definitely should have given her more credit. But I also don't think she does herself any favors. She may not have started it, but she certainly hasn't take the high road, either.

[still in va]

i'll just repost my own post #57 here.

"according to IMDB, she was listed as Natalie Portman's stunt double.  in addition, when one clicks on her name, she has three listings for the film: Lady in the Lane, stunt double (Natalie), and dance double (Natalie).  she got the credit that she signed on for.

perhaps it's just my common sense, but i'm thinking that if someone is listed as a stunt double in a film where the star is supposed to be a prima ballerina, that she is doing at least some of the dancing in the film. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/fullcredits#cast"

she got the credit that she signed on for, and that she was paid for.  should Ms. Portman have stood up at the Oscars, grabbed her hand and tugged her on stage with her when she accepted the Oscar, stating, "i owe it all to Ms. Lane.  i was only the actress, but SHE was the dancer!" while Natalie handed the Oscar to Ms. Lane?  what exactly does Ms. Lane hope to accomplish here?  she did the difficult dancing in the film?  granted.  she wants more movie roles?  probably not happening.  not only because she's a ballet dancer and there aren't a lot of roles calling for ballet dancers. but she's already shown that she wants, no DEMANDS, more than what she signed for.  contracts are such pesky things.

[Wonderflonium]

i'll just repost my own post #57 here.

"according to IMDB, she was listed as Natalie Portman's stunt double.  in addition, when one clicks on her name, she has three listings for the film: Lady in the Lane, stunt double (Natalie), and dance double (Natalie).  she got the credit that she signed on for.

perhaps it's just my common sense, but i'm thinking that if someone is listed as a stunt double in a film where the star is supposed to be a prima ballerina, that she is doing at least some of the dancing in the film. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/fullcredits#cast"

Yes, I read that post. I simply stated what I observed in the run-up to the Oscars re: publicity for the film.

she got the credit that she signed on for, and that she was paid for.  should Ms. Portman have stood up at the Oscars, grabbed her hand and tugged her on stage with her when she accepted the Oscar, stating, "i owe it all to Ms. Lane.  i was only the actress, but SHE was the dancer!" while Natalie handed the Oscar to Ms. Lane?

Neither I nor anyone else (on this thread or in any article that I've read or to which anyone on this thread has linked) has suggested anything of the sort. We will obviously never agree, but we can't even have a productive debate if you're going to jump to hyperbole.

what exactly does Ms. Lane hope to accomplish here?  she did the difficult dancing in the film?  granted.  she wants more movie roles?  probably not happening.  not only because she's a ballet dancer and there aren't a lot of roles calling for ballet dancers. but she's already shown that she wants, no DEMANDS, more than what she signed for.  contracts are such pesky things.

Where did she demand more than what was in the contract? Press surrounding the movie said one thing. Reporters said something else. Millepied (who, as Portman's fiance, is probably not the most reliable resource or the best person to be addressing these issues because of that) jumps in. More reporters and bloggers comment. Finally, one of the people about whom everyone is fighting decides to stand up and speak up for herself. How is that a problem?

And yes, she said she was disappointed, but good lord, she was just being honest. She's a dancer, not an actress, and she wasn't sure of all of the particulars. Just because she was disappointed doesn't mean that she was demanding anything.

[Sharnita]

I have to say that I am actually left slightly soured on Natalie Portman and I don't know that I ma overly enthusiastic about seeing her in future films so depending on your perspective of who is being a bit ungracious there could be some fallout.  I guess Ms. Portman probably has enough money that it won't make much of a difference if a few people avoid her films for a bit but at least in a theoretical sense there night be a loss for her as well.

[still in va]

And yes, she said she was disappointed, but good lord, she was just being honest. She's a dancer, not an actress, and she wasn't sure of all of the particulars. Just because she was disappointed doesn't mean that she was demanding anything.

Wonderflonium,

you're right, i did indulge in hyperbole and i apologize. 

i do have one question, and it goes to the bolded.  she was always to be Natalie's stunt/dance double.  that was her understanding, correct?  if that was always the agreement, why is she disappointed?  if it is that Portman's face was projected onto her body, i think it's a bit unrealistic for her to be disappointed, as she was doubling for the star of the movie, she was not the star. 

i'm sorry she's disappointed.  this situation does seem to point out that one must always be sure to of all of the particulars before one signs a contract. 

[Miss March]

The thing is, I wouldn't have enjoyed the movie any less had I walked into it knowing that the difficult dance steps were performed by a double. I wouldn't have blinked. I still would have wanted Natalie to win for her acting, and I would have been extremely impressed by how seamlessly they did their 'movie magic' to make all her dancing look real.

I guess I just don't see why the issue of Ms. Lane being a dance double was ever taboo. Seems like some silly Hollywood producer nonsense to me.

[Ceiling Fan]

And yes, she said she was disappointed, but good lord, she was just being honest. She's a dancer, not an actress, and she wasn't sure of all of the particulars. Just because she was disappointed doesn't mean that she was demanding anything.

Wonderflonium,

you're right, i did indulge in hyperbole and i apologize. 

i do have one question, and it goes to the bolded.  she was always to be Natalie's stunt/dance double.  that was her understanding, correct?  if that was always the agreement, why is she disappointed?  if it is that Portman's face was projected onto her body, i think it's a bit unrealistic for her to be disappointed, as she was doubling for the star of the movie, she was not the star. 

i'm sorry she's disappointed.  this situation does seem to point out that one must always be sure to of all of the particulars before one signs a contract. 

And that goes both ways as well. If the producers didn't want her to give interveiws before the Academy Awards, that should have been in the contract.

No one comes off looking particularly well here.