Tag Archives: standin

Black Swan-Gate Coverup Revealed: Natalie Portman’s Face Digitally Placed Over Sarah Lane

How much of Black Swan’s ballet dancing was actually Natalie Portman, and not the secret “stunt” ballet girl, Sarah Lane?

Journalists became suspicious based on this poorly altered photo in the "Black Swan" press kit, which was later recalled.

Below is a video that shows how Black Swan’s directors and producers digitally placed Natalie Portman’s face over “stunt” dancer Sarah Lane, then tried to conceal that fact during Oscar-buzz season. The film producers allegedly hushed Lane, an American Ballet theatre soloist, and even reedited a public F/X reel to conceal some of the facial replacements. Lane says Portman actually did about 5 percent of the full-body dance scenes (see EW article linked in below image).

The real deception is the math: 80% and 5%, and how they got there

Darren Aronofsky said he had his editor count, and of the 139 dance scenes in “Black Swan,” only 28 are Sarah Lane, who was not credited in the film as a stand-in. That math is a bit misleading, however, since the number 139 includes lots of simple things like wiggling arms in front of a mirror.

What’ya think? Oscar coverup?