This could have been a half-decent scandal, but Page Six is making it sound like nothing much happened. A few nights ago, Natalie Portman went to the American Ballet Theatre’s new show (which her baby-daddy Benjamin Millepied choreographed – partially). Natalie might have run into Isabella Boylston, the chick who was Benjamin’s girlfriend when he began work on Black Swan – Isabella was the chick that got dumped in favor of Natalie (and her industry connections). Page Six doesn’t say whether or not the two women actually came face-to-face though.
There appears to be no tension between Natalie Portman and the American Ballet Theater’s Isabella Boylston, the ballerina dumped by choreographer Benjamin Millepied when he met the “Black Swan” star, who’s now his fiancée. A heavily pregnant and glowing Portman accompanied Millepied to ABT’s performance of his new piece in the company’s repertory program Tuesday night.
But first she watched his former girlfriend dance as a lead in a work which included most of the company. Boylston also performed in the last piece. Missing was soloist Sarah Lane, who caused a controversy when she said she did most of the dancing for the “Black Swan” part that won Portman an Oscar.
Lane said earlier this year, “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.”
While ABT reps didn’t get back to us, we’re told Lane was due to take to the stage last night.
[From Page Six]
Oooh, so Sarah Lane didn’t show up. Wait, if Benjamin choreographed at least one of the pieces, did he cast it too? Did he cast his ex-girlfriend Isabella and his current pregnant girlfriend’s former body/dance double Sarah Lane? I guess my question is – does Benjamin screw around on Natalie with any ballerina he can get? And, does the Black Swan-dance double controversy hurt Benjamin within the ranks of the ballet community? If ballerinas are boycotting anything to do with Benjamin (and Natalie!), he might have a bigger problems.
Photos courtesy of Pacific Coast News.
What dance-double controversy? I’m more and more willing to believe the “percentages and semantics” theory.
I’ll quote someone who wrote the following on Youtube:
Both did 100% of the dancing scenes. Lane did 100% of the good ones. Portilli did 100% of the bad ones.
I hope Sarah Lane isn’t be pushed out because of these two nitwits. They’re so full of sh*t and they believe their own hype! Gross.
It’s also worth reading the ABT review linked to the Page Six item for some entertaining snark, esp. the lead in from the review of Millepied’s piece to the next: “Because Ratmansky is more talented, his “Dumbarton” was more of a disappointment.”
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/abt_takes_new_dances_out_for_spin_NMwrZOSf4jiE2W5Gd8boQM#ixzz1NTcVOJFw
He’s such a shady creep…
Also lmao @ Natalie’s Black Swan dance double controversy getting it’s own wiki page. that whole mess is straight up karma for being an entitled bitch and shamelessly campaigning for an Oscar she didn’t deserve… her only accomplishment (by that I mean stealing Michelle Williams’ Oscar, not her shitty acting and vigorous hand flailing) will forever be tarnished with this scandal.
As if Iggles. Natalie stated what she did in the film and she is a very dedicated actress. BITCH SHAVED HER HEAD FOR V FOR VENDETTA. Dedication. The director stated what she did in the film, her co-star stated what she did in the film and the father of her child and fiance who choreographed the thing stated what she did. Nat has no reason to lie and there were a ton of other dancers in the film and not one came to Ms. Lane’s defense. No one did in fact. So whose really lying here.
Also if Ben’s ex was there clearly their relationship perhaps didn’t end as dramatically as people need it to in order to get a giggle. Calling Nat a jumpoff is just plain mean. Nat is his fiancee, the mother of his child, she is much more than some skank riding his jock before she moves on to the next one.
When is the baby due? Seems like she has been pregnant forever!
Baby daddy is Darren Aronofsky, that’s why Rachel Weisz left him and this dancer is the beard, in return he became famous.
Natalie has a habit of sleeping with married men, Jude Law then Sean Penn. Oh you mean that denial about her and Penn was real, just damage control. She is a slut.
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
Please, stop with the one-sided arguments. People came in defense of Lane. And even if no one had — that wouldn’t mean Portman, Aronofsky and this douchebag were right. You should know Hollywood producers, directors and actors lie to make themselves look good. Especially when there’s some controversy that brings doubt about their actual skills. I also give props to Lane for defending herself, for not backing down, when she was bullied by every single one of the people you mentioned.
Please, just stop. Want to be a diehard fan of Portman? Fine. But at least admit that she’s an entitled bitch who is capable of taking credit for something she hasn’t done. Because she is. Doesn’t make it suspicious to you that those who defended Portman so passionately were directly involved/interested in this whole thing and were close to her? Are you freaking kidding me?
And shaving the head as an ultimate sign of dedication? Hair grows back, you know…
who does he remind me of? it’s driving me crazy.
@ Original kate:
Johnny Lee Miller, perhaps?
original kate – Kind of Elijah Wood-ish.
“she is much more than some skank riding his jock before she moves on to the next one.”
yeah, she’s an OSCAR-WINNING skank riding his jock before HE moves on to the next one.
I doubt they’ll even make it down the aisle.
EDIT: “I can’t think of one thing that she did that would make people dislike her so much.”
1. she signed the “defense” petition for Polansky.
2. She compared eating meat to rape.
those are two off the top of my head.
@Eve What people came in defense of Sarah? The other dancers from the film? The guy who edited the film? The director? The camera man? Please tell me who backed this crazy board up, Sarah Lane. Natalie Portman has never struck me as entitled, never said one entitled thing, never came off as snob and really what your and alot of other people’s problem with her is that she is educated. I can’t think of one thing that she did that would make people dislike her so much. I think its truly unfair. Nat gave the performance of her career, a career she has been in her whole life and people stole a wonderful moment from her over complete BS.
I will tell you whats not uncommon in Hollywood jealous unfamous people trying to steal your thunder and make you look bad. Thats exactly the kinda person I think Sarah Lane is.
@Love Angelina: Hear, hear!
who cares these two aren’t gonna last.Ms Portman should give her Oscar back she didn’t earn it
Something is off w/this guy. Glad he’s not my baby daddy.
@Bf—ooo, that’s some fun stuff right there. Even if it’s not true, it’s funny to consider.
@Love Angelina—I’d shave my head for millions, too, as well as being able to brag about being so devoted to my craft that I was able to let go of my vanity and let the character take over(I’m not paraphrasing Natalie, but you know she dropped some nuggets like that). Not a fan of Natalie’s and I have my college degree. I just don’t like her b/c she’s been showing some seriously snobby bitch colors for while. Ain’t got nothin’ to do with book smarts. And do you think people who worked on the film keeping their mouths shut had anything to do w/$ and protecting Natalie’s amazing performance which garnered her an Oscar for the film? Nawww, that’s just crazy talk.
this is so sketchy. why would he even want to nail a *ballerina*? they are so thin, it’s probably like having sex with those bold cats
Holy fangirl, batman. I thought everyone on this site were all in agreement Natalie is an entitled, narcissistic snot. I’ve never seen someone so vigorously defend this broad.
I don’t care about this either way but…I think she is a bit snobby…there’s a huge difference between being educated and acting like your shit doesn’t stink…
I’m pretty sure that’s not his baby and time will tell.
she looks bad preggers like a stuffed sausage .. natalie did a goodish job waving her arms.. i do this all the time.. so i am now a prima ballerina… ha ha ha ..
both of them are douches.. thousandfoot and porkman ha ha ha
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
@Eve What people came in defense of Sarah?
How about real professional dancers from the ballet world? Or are they nothing to you?
If you care enough to read an article about this once again, here’s one on Entertainment Weekly — which is not exactly a tabloid.
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/03/25/portman-black-swan-double/
How about the people who saw the way this bitch handled her Oscar campaign and voiced their opinion? Yes, anonymous people like you and me. Are we really nobodies? I pay for f*cking tickets therefore I have a f*cking opinion that isn’t any less valid than yours as a super fan. I don’t really expect you to read my previous comment again, but I made clear that those people you mentioned once again, those who defended Portman are directly affected by this whole thing.
Natalie Portman has never struck me as entitled, never said one entitled thing, never came off as snob and really what your and alot of other people’s problem with her is that she is educated.
Sorry, dear. You’re barking at the wrong tree. I’ll never ever criticize anyone for having a good education since I’m an educated person myself. You may believe it or not, but I’m on my second college graduation and I speak a second language fluently. I’m not exactly a bimbo when compared to your precious Portman. Really low of you trying to discredit my point of view by suggesting I’m uneducated.
I will tell you whats not uncommon in Hollywood jealous unfamous people trying to steal your thunder and make you look bad.
Oh, and I will tell what is not uncommon in Hollywood. Super vain actors who will do anything (lying, taking someone else’s credit…) to get that golden statue.
Thats exactly the kinda person I think Sarah Lane is.
No, she wanted the credit she deserved. Portman’s performance in Dark Duck was a result of three things: her own acting, Lane’s work and the CGI team.
But you know what? Fine. Won’t try to argue with you anymore. Keep thinking Portilli is a wonderful human being whose fart smells like vanilla and would never do anything unethical to get what she wants. She’s an angel and her baby is the second comming of Jesus.
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
“Nat has no reason to lie and there were a ton of other dancers in the film and not one came to Ms. Lane’s defense. No one did in fact. So whose really lying here.”
Are you kidding me????
She was CAMPAIGNING for an oscar! Amble motive to the inflate and exaggerate her dancing “skills”. Just like actors love to talk about doing their own stunts, when most of stunt doubles for the very risky stuff. For example, that wasn’t Carrie Ann Moss in the Matrix scene when the helicopter smashed into the building!
There’s a reason why trained professionals/doubles are used. Because they KNOW their craft and can pull it off convincingly when an actor CAN’T.
As for no one coming to her defense. Seriously? Who has all the money, power, and favor stacked in their corner? The DIRECTOR, LEAD ACTRESS, and FILM BACKERS. Why would another dancer throw their lot in with Sarah Lane when they see her being marginalized and blackballed?
Eve & Praise St. Angie! – I agree with you guys.
The way this down was slimy and I’m sure there’s more to the story that we weren’t privy to.
1. She signed the Polanski petition, and definitely deserves to get criticism for it in my opinion.
At the same time, many other people signed it, including Emma Thompson (who took her name off when the backlash hit), Martin Scorcese, Harrison Ford, Tilda Swinton, etc. Somehow these stars don’t face the same hatred? People act like Natalie is the sole person who supports Polanski.
2. She did not compare eating meat to rape herself.
She referenced Joel Safran Foer’s philosophy which stated that Michael Pollan’s ideas about eating meat as a polite way to NOT offend your guests would be absurd when applied to any other context (say if you were in a room full of people who thought rape was acceptable). In other words, people should not eat meat simply because most of the world does so; instead, they should stick to their ideals if they feel eating meat is wrong.
Her words were completely ineloquent and made her look bad. But, it feels to me that people know that’s not what she meant, but are deliberately misinterpreting her because they want to bash her? Or, because the analogy she was quoting was too hard to follow? It’s hard to tell.
I have noticed that people keep repeating this point, and then, someone carefully explains it (I believe it was Liana who explained it last time), and then many threads later, people repeat the same point. It’s a little ridiculous, actually. 🙂
I personally think it’s Oscar backlash and people who think Natalie should have never won over say, Benning. While I do believe Benning is the far better actor and should have the Oscar, the backlash thing is a little much and smacks of bitterness. 🙂
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
One last thing: I cringe every time I see you referring to her as “Nat”. I’d pay to see her reaction when you, a peasant like myself, approached her and addressed her as such.
@Zoya… CO-SIGN. Michelle should have won that Oscar. I have nothing against natalie I just though that Michelle’s work in Blue Valentine was far superior to anything Natalie has ever done or will ever do. Michelle is just a much better actress.
I spent over a year and a half waiting to see this movie. When I did I absolutely loved it! It’s vampy/campy and totally dramatic, but it’s really good. I really didn’t care whether Sarah Lane danced most of the scenes or not. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Natalie Portman. She was hauntingly good at portraying herself as a frail and fragile dancer who was coming psychologically unglued. The whole ballet world was just the setting for the drama. I’m no movie critic, but most of the real ones agree. The controversy that came with Lane giving a million interviews didn’t deter any of the critics from agreeing that Portman deserved her oscar. And it certainly isn’t deterring anyone from seeing the movie. It started off as a small art house film, and has since picked up a lot of speed and thus, more money. It’s still on top ten lists for movie rentals, even though other new films continue to be released.
@Eve yea I don’t wanna argue. I just don’t agree with anything you said. So thats that. That whole BS about her running some kinda campaign during the awards season annoys me the most because when I was reading this site heavily at the time, I think it was the fact she was pregnant. That was her whole Oscar campaign. Literally the stupidest sh*t to accuse someone like Natalie Portman, a Harvard graduate and vegan and not even 30 years old yet of using her impending birth to gain a statue. That is ridiculous. You can’t even accuse of her trying to gain fame from it. Natalie Portman has been famous since she was 12 years old.
You mentioned those people were directly affected but really only the director, choreographer, and the actors are affected. Not the dancers they hired for the film, not the editor, not the camera man none of those people and I can’t see why those people would lie.
The dancing wasn’t even that technically hard in the film, the opening scene was awesome and so were the closing dancing scenes…most of which you don’t even see Natalie’s feet but her face and the passion in her eyes and then tension in her lips. The dance scenes she filmed with Vincent Cassel, those were all Nat. Not Sarah and we see alot of scenes of Nat in rehearsal in the movie and alot of her face at the end. So what the f*ck is Sarah talking about she did most of the work? Sarah didn’t do the rehearsal scenes with Vincent did she? The dances Ben made weren’t even that hard, he made it so Nat and the other actors could do the dances. For Sarah Lane to go on and on about what she did is just stupid. I watched this film 6-8 times and I try to figure out where on earth they had to use Sarah other then some of the scenes where they show complicated feet movements.
I do apologize if you feel I insulted you by saying you don’t like her because she is educated and you took that as me calling you and others uneducated.
EDIT: Regarding calling Natalie, Nat uhhh hello my generation abbreviates everything. I am just plain lazy like that. I would never call her Nat to her face if I ever met her, I would only call someone by a nickname if we were like close.
In terms of talking about the stunts she did for the film…hello…did you not See how skinny Mila Kunis got, Nat got really skinny, I doubt they just lost weight for the hell of it they were both kinda of thin anyway. If all they had to do was wave their arms around why bother losing weight? Christian Bale doesn’t get his balls busted for what stunts he does for a film yet Nat and Mila have to be big freaking liars right?
Thank you so much Kira for clearing up everything else.
kira, I understand the philosophy there.
it WOULD be silly to eat meat at a dinner party just because your host and/or most of the people at the table do.
but to apply that logic to something as horrible and violent as someone being raped, effectively throwing the two things (eating meat and rape) into the same category, diminishes what a rape-victim went through.
I get that she didn’t say “eating meat is equivalent to rape”, but she did agree with the idea of applying that logic to both, and it was still offensive.
@ Kira:
I personally think it’s Oscar backlash and people who think Natalie should have never won over say, Benning. While I do believe Benning is the far better actor and should have the Oscar, the backlash thing is a little much and smacks of bitterness.
You know…I do think Benning should have won. But Benning or Portman winning that Oscar wouldn’t have changed my life in the slighest — I mean, it wouldn’t pay my bills.
Again, I see a condescending way of criticizing other’s opinions. I dislike Portman’s acting and the fact she won an Oscar because I must be bitter. Really? That’s the best you can do? I have always stated, here and elsewhere, I find her acting to be below average. It’s over-the-top ham. That she basically does the very same thing, over and over again: crying unstoppably, the quivering lips and caricatural grimaces…I repeat what I’ve said on other threads, I have never ever said she didn’t commit to her character, nor that she didn’t have a share of sacrifice in order to play the role, nor that she never aknowledged Lane’s participation (she did at some point). What I’ve always said, and I stick with it, is that her campaign emphasized her ballet skills a way too much. And that the closer the race for the Oscars was, the less the fact she needed dance doubles for the real dancing scenes was mentioned.
It should tell you something that VHX posted a video online showing the head replacement thing, taking it down a few days later and replacing it with another one, lasting the same time (around 4:20 minutes) but with the head replacement scenes edited out. That happened right before the Oscars.
I’m sorry if you’ve been seeing horrible examples of fandom, but I for one was never blinded by my love and admiration for some, nor by my despise for others. I do not fail to see what those who I love do wrong, just as much as I don’t fail to see what those who I dislike do right. Example: I find Edward Norton almost as entitled as Portman (and even less professional on set), but he’s a f*cking great actor. I’ll always aknowledge that.
I have jokingly said once “Johnny Depp can do no wrong in my book”. But he can and he did. He (allegedly) said Roman Polanski wasn’t a sexual predator. Polanski rapped a 13-year-old girl, and it was a rape with aggravating circumstances. That’s pretty much a sexual predator behaviour, if you ask me.
@ Eve – shaving your head is no big deal right – I mean it does grow back right – no big deal. So, when is your appointment to shave your head?What indicates dedication in your mind? Perhaps amputating a limb? But maybe that’s not enough because after all, you have a spare right?
The Natalie Portman hate is unbelievable and particulary malicious. How can we demand the dignity and respect we deserve when we are always the first in line to tear each other down?
Gah, I have to stop reading these Portman/Millepied posts. Raises my blood pressure for no good reason. The more time passes, the less impressed I am with that movie, but maybe nothing could survive that amount of hype. It does feel like Portman won the Oscar based on the romance of her new fiance, her glowing state of pregnancy, a helping of willful misinformation, and some decent acting. But thus is often the case. It doesn’t change the movies that were truly great in the long run.
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
I only call my favorite actors by their first name when I’m having sexual fantasies with them.
Anyway, I never accused her of getting pregnant in order to look more “likable” in the eyes of the public (and voters). Never ever ever.
@ Everyone:
Have you guys noticed the only ones who campaign hard for an Oscar are actors? You don’t actually hear about any major drama when it comes to any of the other categories? I will always have a certain admiration for Mo’Nique for not campaigning…people jumped on her throat for that and called her ungrateful and shortsighted. If the Oscars relied solely on merit, there was no way she could have lost that Oscar for Precious. Even if they lose, the great actors will be remembered for having had great performances in the films they were nominated for. I know it’s not the same thing as the prestige and money that comes with that little naked guy. However, most people I know think Edward Norton’s performance in American History X was far better than Roberto Benigni’s (who won the award) in Life is Beautiful.
“The dancing wasn’t even that technically hard in the film.” According to who? As a former non-professional dancer, I can say that it was, indeed, difficult. Dancers are meant to make it look easy.
And saying you don’t want to argue and then proceeding to do just that for 7 paragraphs is ridiculous.
I don’t think you mean any harm, but you are hardly a reasonable judge of any of your ‘idols’ (Angie must be getting jealous of Nat) because you have a well-known (and often hysterical) bias in their favour.
And unless you’re 12, I doubt you’re from a different generation, and I don’t shorten the names of people I don’t know. I sometimes wonder if you’re not actually really old…..
@ Original Kate:
He reminds me of Joseph Fiennes.
I love when people start off a diatribe with “I don’t want to argue…” really? Because it looks like that’s exactly what you want to do or you’d STFU.
One nice thing I can say about Natalie is that I think she’s a lot prettier now that she has pregnancy weight on her. She may dress like crap, but at least her face looks so much softer! yay!
Also, her bf may very well be a douche. A very talented douche…but a douche nonetheless. He gives off that vibe.
She’s never dated anyone normal. I still like her, though.
Before any of you get too riled up about Love Angelina, let me point out that this is the same poster who no doubt has taken refuge here because she is so universally hated on Dlisted. For, get this, being a fan girl.
Lots of actors run campaigns for awards. Nothing new. Natalie got lucky and was able to sell her creating a creation angle. Not that there aren’t other people who wouldn’t, but it doesn’t mean she wasn’t campaigning her ass off.
I read everyone else’s posts. In my opinion, Millipied is a creep. Good for his ex for holding her head high, doing her work, and staying out of all of it. Did he really happen to fall in love with Natalie while he was already in a relationship?…or did he just fall in love with “Natalie Portman” the image, star, money, fame?…
Natalie was a pretty good actress in the movie and I have no major beef with her (other than thinking it’s just sad she took up with a guy who already had a girlfriend)…but Sarah Lane has some balls for sticking to her guns and speaking out, it’s true that Natalie did NOT become a ballerina for this movie, just learned enough to get by, and I just sincerely hope the Oscar was given to her because of her acting and not because they think she transformed into an actual ballerina, because she did not, and good for Sarah Lane for saying so.
And actually, there are other professional dancers (who were not in the film, hmmmm, says something, doesn’t it?) who have voiced their opinion about this in Lane’s favor.
As for the movie, wasn’t really impressed by it other than some of the pretty visual aspects.
You know…I’m almost seeing the moment Kaiser will pop here and scold me so I’ll try to get the hell out before that happens. However, I do have to answer this gem:
@ Eve – shaving your head is no big deal right – I mean it does grow back right – no big deal. So, when is your appointment to shave your head?
Uh…I don’t even know what to say here because I think you may have reading comprehension problems. I didn’t say it was “not a big deal”. I said it wasn’t “the ultimate sign of dedication” because poster LOVE ANGELINA had emphasized that, SHE EVEN USED CAPITAL LETTERS FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!
But do I have to shave my head to prove my point because as a non-actress whose life does not involve any type of dramatic physical transformation in order to perform my job I still would have to shave my head to prove it’s not a big deal for someone who works with such transformations on a regular basis, did I get that right?
What a great example of brilliant reasoning.
What indicates dedication in your mind? Perhaps amputating a limb? But maybe that’s not enough because after all, you have a spare right?
Well, quite frankly — and once again — I’m having a problem while trying to give a logical answer to your incredibly absurd question. I’m starting to think that if you, not Portman, had your head amputaded, it wouldn’t be exactly missed.
Toodles!
The ‘uhh, hello?!’ generation are likewise self-absorbed, self-entitled snots who think the world owes them and can’t take criticism.
Hence the rabid support of Portman. Makes perfect sense, there’s a complete merging of the minds here. It’s amazing that the spoiled are so sympatico…that or infantile solidarity.
Well I know more than one person who’s had real life dealings with Natalie (same high school and teachers) and yup she really is a bitch. As for the Sara Lane issue Nat campaigned on the premise that she became a ballerina-you can argue that she did emotionally and physically but without her double the climactic scenes would have been shit. IMO it was Nat’s nasty attitude that alienated Lane to the point of going to the press. Oh and I kinda sorta think Aronofsky could be the Daddy and maybe thats why Ben’s ex doesn’t give a hoot.
I must have misread the headline. The woman who embarrassed herself in the Black Swan “scandal” didn’t show her face, and the guy’s ex-girlfriend…danced? Wow. Total drama.
Good on Portman and her guy for having a good time.
The woman who embarrassed herself in the Black Swan “scandal” didn’t show her face.
No, she did. Natalie Portman attended the show.
P.S.: No, I didn’t misinterpret your comment.
@ Eve: I totally agree with you and respect your position. Keep it coming!
And wtf with comparing amputating a limb as ‘dedication’ with shaving one’s head. The two are not analogous, period.
@LoveAngelina: no need to be condescending to make a point. Also, you lost all credibility once you had the audacity to state that people are just jealous because she’s educated.
@ EVE- You go girl!!
@Bill Hicks is God: Really good and well-worded point. And respect for your screen name, Bill Hicks really was a genius.
@Eve, #21
vow! i just…i couldn’t have said it better myself: cosign absolutely everything you wrote in that post.
This thread is so entertaining 🙂 I’ve giggled more than once.
@Reality,
That LOVEANGELINA chick is 20 or 21 if I remember correctly, she makes 20 something year-olds sound insane and she has horrible grammar, but I digress. She has been “outed” as a psycho on numerous websites. Look her up on Popsugar.com, she has a shrine devoted to Angelina Jolie that well crosses over into the stalker category. She is usually banned very quickly but Celebitchy is more tolerant than other websites.
Why are we glancing over the fact that Lane was scheduled to perform that night but didn’t take the stage????
Could she have been pulled as not to “offend” Natalie?
aaaahhhh! i know who he reminds me of! ron livingston’s construction worker neighbor from “office space” who was always looking for porn on tv. remember?
ron livingston: does anyone at your work ever say “uh-oh, someone’s got a case of the mondays?”
neighbor: shit no, man. i believe you’d get your ass kicked on a construction site for that.
him…that guy. that’s who millepied reminds me of.
thank god, now i can sleep.
Just so you know. Isabella wasn’t “some chick he was dating while meeting Natalie on set.” They were engaged and had been living together for almost 4 years. That’s serious and committed to me.
She must have been pretty devastated when he walked out for another woman.
Not gonna argue the whole “dancing” bit anymore. Actors do not have to be ballet prodigies to star in a ballet film. So what? Just like they do not have to be total psychos or perverts in order to play them pretty well in a film either.
@ eve and @ loves angelina — it strike me that what is really going in comment battles like this, is that there are allot of people out there who are getting tired of dishonesty and entitlement and would like a good healthy does of reality.
on the other hand there are those who cherish their fantasies and guard them with every knife in the drawer. they have this tendancy to call anyone who disagrees with them a “hater” which sounds like something an eleven year old would say. the two camps will never agree, but i admit, i prefer the reality based community.
I’m not a fan of Natalie Portman, but that certainly doesn’t make a fan of Sarah Lane, because I’m not.
Who did what, whose feet were those, who’s re-calibrating the torsos and so on–this is basically a case of ‘Stupid Audiences of the World Have no Concept of Reality’. I challenge anyone here to find a single living person of sound mind who is familiar with the film who had no idea that it was not Natalie Portman dancing throughout the entirety of the film. All of the other professions of the world are interchangeable, so why wouldn’t it be the same case for acting and dancing? People thought she was a professional-level ballerina like they thought Adrien Brody was a concert pianist. Didn’t he say he had to learn the early bits of the Chopin ballade? I wouldn’t know, as the very idea of someone over-pedaling alerts me to the fact that I must lay the hammer down upon the pretenders to the throne who would seek to kill not only classical music, but also the mothers of all piano tuners. Has Adrien Brody gone on tour with his masterful interpretations of Lizst’s Transcendental Etudes? Nope, not his job. I don’t rightly know what his current job actually is, but I know it’s not that. How’s that for a national nightmare? Her ego was bruised, ballet isn’t broken. How many musical movies featured no singing but that of the actor’s? I don’t know, she did her job, she was paid, the end. What exactly is ‘supposed’ to happen afterwards? Credit’s nice, but for Pete’s sake, she’s not frigging oppressed.
@annon2233 speak for yourself. i don’t know any guy who fantasizes about being with portman. not one. and some of the guys i know have very low standards for their fantasy life.
There are 3 kinds of actors : Incompetent, Fakers who try too hard [Natalie fits right there] and Skilled [Michelle Williams got robbed]
@Praise. Sorry, but I have a small bone to pick with your statement. 🙂
Saying, “placing it in the same category” means you are seeing it as a comparative. That’s not the point. When you say, “in another context,” you are not throwing the two things together. It’s an extrapolation. That means placing an idea in an absurd context to show how illogical the first idea is. The original point has nothing to do with rape, really. It could have been in a room full of cat-eaters, or a room full of fire-breathers, and so on. The point is about coercion and peer pressure. The original writer chose rape, and it was a VERY bad choice on his part. For Natalie, to repeat it, was another bad choice on her part. 🙂
Also, I don’t know about saying that she’s diminishing the experience of rape victims by repeating this statement? That would imply that anyone who talks about rape in anything but an appropriate way, would be diminishing the experience of rape victims. So, I know MANY comedians use this word, like rape-y (MK, for instance, on Dlisted), or talk about rape in a joking manner in prisons, and so forth. Does that diminish the experience of rape victims? It’s a strange argument to make? 😉
@ Kira: Again, I see a condescending way of criticizing other’s opinions. I dislike Portman’s acting and the fact she won an Oscar because I must be bitter. Really? That’s the best you can do? I have always stated, here and elsewhere, I find her acting to be below average.
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Well, I didn’t mean to be condescending, but I see people writing long diatribes on Portman and it’s a little strange. The way people go on about her, it’s like she kills puppies in her spare time. The continuing negativity is way overboard to be just “oh, she’s a mediocre actor.” I guess some people were really rooting for Benning, or someone else to win, and are still not over it? It’s odd. 😉
@ Kira:
I guess some people were really rooting for Benning, or someone else to win, and are still not over it? It’s odd.
The diatribes, as you say, are a result of attacks from those who keep not accepting the obvious: she did campaign hard for her (un-deserved) Oscar and she bragged about things she hadn’t done (most of the dancing my ass).
I’m not “not over” anything. Annette Benning winning the Oscar would not affect my life that much, I meant what I said.
Now, if you want to try to (unsuccessfully) be a snarky bitch towards me, be it. But at least own it. I f*cking hate passive aggressive comments with the overuse of emoticons that just enhance the passive-aggressiveness. I’m not “strange”, I’m not a troll and I’m not overreacting.
You meant to be condescending, you know you did that but you keep being a coward.
Defending my point of view against narrow-minded, fanatic people isn’t odd. It’s normal. I know it can be useless but I’m feeling like doing that today.
P.S.: Oh, and for those who keep bringing the “whoever had a discerning eye, whoever had half a brain knew she wasn’t dancing” or “whoever believed she actually danced, I have a bridge to the moon to sell” for the millionth time: there are smart people who watched Black Swan and thought Natalie Portman actually danced during those difficult dancing scenes — they read misleading interviews and articles about how amazing she was and they were not aware of how perfect head replacement could be.
Whoa, wow ok people. A lot of you want to came at me like I am wrong but you haven’t offered me a sherd of proof to prove your point meanwhile I used my post to point out all the facts. You can’t tell me out of all the dancing scenes in the film for a movie that didn’t contain that much dancing scenes that Ms. Lane supposedly did. It can’t be any of the reherasl scenes where Nat is dancing with Ben and Vincent because hello…no shots her feet really in those scenes. Those scenes take up half the movie.
I defend Natalie so vehemently because I have been a fan for a long time. In just a matter of seconds one twat with ZERO proof comes forward and tries to trash all the hard work Nat did preparing for the film and a bunch of people immediately believe her instead of looking at how hard Nat works when she does a film and gives great performances and immerses herself in her characters.
Nat never said she did all the dancing herself, no one said that, but Nat did a great deal of the dancing herself…ACCEPT IT. You people have to some sort of serious problem giving people credit for their hard work when they EARNED It. Why? Because Natalie is young? Because Annette Benninng is YOUR idol and your miffed she lost…I love Annette too but The Kids are Alright is not her best work. Seriously just deal with it. Nat wasn’t even nominated for the dancing, Nat gave an amazing performance…no one could have played Nina like she did.
Gah just tell me WTF you mean when you said Nat campaigned for an Oscar, like seriously, what exactly did she do?
Also love how you guys just talk s*it like you know what your talking about. Where is the proof, concrete solid evidence that Ben was with someone when he met Nat? You can give me gossip columns all you want but gossip and fact have two very different meanings.
Beebeedom sweetie, name calling isn’t necessary. “Outed as a pyscho” WTF does that even mean? I have only posted exclusively on 4 sites JJ, Dlisted, Popsugar and here. The only ones I still read as well as comment on sometimes, are JJ and this site. Everyone on Popsugar has a profile with pics of celebs they like or whatever they want, its not a shrine love.
@Yasmine: Thank-you for the compliment, and yes he certainly was.
@Love Angelina: I have a “sherd” of proof of something – you are argumentative and hostile.
Also, you do know that the word ‘fan’ is an abbreviation of ‘fanatic’ right?
Oh, Leonard Cohen, please forgive me for this…
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
Nat wasn’t even nominated for the dancing, Nat gave an amazing performance…no one could have played Nina like she did.
You’re right about that. No one could have played Nina like her — a real good actress would have played Nina better. Much better.
You choose NOT to read what you don’t want to see. I gave a great deal of credit to Portman — for what she did.
And I never used the expression “she claimed to have done all the dancing”. It was “most of”. Which she technically did (if you count the ridiculous arm flapping) or she didn’t (if you count the real dancing scenes).
By the way, I’m not a fan of Annette Benning. And even if I was, I can assure you I’d do a better arguing job than you do when you defend Portman, or “Nat”, as you say.
@Bill Hicks is God: there are many days and many times when I read one of your posts and platonicly (sp?) love you to death.
Now, on to the “controversy:”
I have both worked on a set with and lived near Natalie Portman. I am NOT fond of her by a long shot. I think she’s a bit snobbish and mean girl in her demeanor. And no, it has nothing to do with jealousy over her education. I have a darned good education behind me. NYU is no slouch in the hierarchy of good schools.
As for the Sarah Lane thing – maybe I’m just jaded because I work in the industry, but films are often vehicles in which one suspends one’s belief for the entertainment they provide. Doubles exists – stunt and body. Body doubles aren’t just used for nudity and the like, they are also used to save time and money (long shots in which the actor cannot be identified can now be shot by a second unit, freeing up the first unit to simulataneously shoot a principle scene, for example). I believed (and still do) that Sarah Lane was offered a job. She read and signed the contract and was paid for her time. She got what she was entitled to.
@ Liana:
Thank you so much for having a point — even though it doesn’t side with mine — and making sense while defending it.
The ridiculous thing about this entire debate over how much Portman actually danced is the fact that, to anyone with a background in dance (or who is just a ballet nerd), the difference between scenes of Natalie dancing versus Sarah Lane is painfully obvious (turnout and posture were the two biggest things, you could even see it when she wasn’t dancing, no ballerina walks like that). It doesn’t take away from the job she did acting in the movie, but no one with any real knowledge of ballet walked out of the theatre thinking that Portman was any kind of halfway decent, let alone some kind of prodigy.
I haven’t seen Black Swan so I can’t comment on the ridiculous arm-flapping but I can comment on how I know my arms would be flailing if my bra were on fire and use that as my frame of reference.
@Lianna: Thanks very much, platonically! 🙂
I liked Black Swan for the storyline, did not watch it so much for the dancing.
If people want ballet, they’ll watch a ballet performance.
The body double is a whiner imo, she knew she was being a BODY DOUBLE for an actress, not the star of a ballet extravaganza.
I would love to see this narcissistic bitch get taken down a few pegs. This guy’s a user and a taker. Once he gets everything he can out of her, he’ll dump her and the baby and move on.
As for the “Polanski defense petition” — I don’t think anyone who signed it is actually defending Polanski’s actions. I think they signed it out of respect for his victim who has stated emphatically, on more than one occasion, that she wants the whole matter dropped. She’s a mature woman now who knows what she wants and how she feels. Polanski’s a pig, but she was the victim of the crime and they feel her wishes should be considered.
@Bill You don’t have proof of anything. Yes I have made several posts in the past about being a fan/fanatic, nothing wrong with it IMO.
@Eve We are not gonna agree on this. I think your flat out wrong and thats that and vice versa. I think its absolutely awful your so spiteful toward Nat. Whatever. If you wanna be that way, fine. Nat did an incredible job and for whatever reason you don’t like her thats your business, I don’t care why. I have no problem saying someone did excellent work even if I don’t like them clearly you don’t have that capability, maybe you genuinely didn’t like her performance, fine.
@love Angelina-
So do you know her personally? Were you there on set when this dancing took place? You seem to know the “real deal” while the rest of the uneducated people read gossip columns..
Not a very good point to make. This website if FULL of celebrity gossip, wtf are you doing here if you don’t read it or believe it?
Edit-Loved the movie, her performance was great. Although I’m sure it takes more than a year to become that brilliant of an artist. You do know that they can digitally alter heads in movies? Example-Ed Norton in American History X, that wasn’t his real abs and chest, it was computerized. He even said it in an interview.
Bill Hicks is Gawd— you made me laugh. I haven’t seen the film either so I’m borrowing your flailing arms/bra on fire scenario.
Love Angelina—I truly mean this in the nicest way. I think it’s great you have such enthusiasm and passion for the actors you like. To me, how you express yourself isn’t showing the positive feelings you have for them. It comes off as negative, aggressive, and derogatory. Obviously, people are going to disagree, but your posts feel more like attacks than cheering for your team. You can jump on me and get all defensive, but I think it’d be cool if you’d sit for a bit and consider what I’ve said. Thanks.
I don’t get why it’s critical that a person like or dislike Natalie Portman in order to have a sound judgement on the film itself. If there really are people out there who thought Portman was dancing most of those scenes, ok. I fail to see what’s wrong with that. If the people behind the movie are performing their jobs well, it would be a failure to really recognize a double from the actor. Isn’t that the point of watching a movie? I guess I thought it was. I’d like to ask those same people if they think that Meryl Streep was a spectacular chef, or if they thought Adrien Brody was a concert pianist. Both of those actors were nominated, weren’t they? And didn’t Brody actually win in his category? I dunno. Seems pointless to expect that an actress should do a shoddy job just so that the double can be clearly seen and clearly idolized for her part…? What difference does it make whether she’s a great person or a “mean girl” (ps I LOVE that movie!)? She acted the part really well. Also, is it a negative thing for an actor/actress to “campaign for an oscar”? I thought that’s what all of them do? If not for an oscar, at least for the success of the film? Most of them are contractually obligated. It’s one of the best forms of recognition for their work. I’d do it too. Finally, I don’t mind differing opinions about stuff, but is it ok to say that you don’t think another poster would be missed if they had their head chopped off? That’s a pretty harsh statement to make to someone who only disagrees with you. I thought it was one of three main rules that could get you kicked off this site?
*sigh* I think Natalie sucks but I don’t see how making personal attacks on Loves Angelina proves anything… seems like people like who know everything about her postings on other sites may have their own agenda (and I get that I’m a loon so my opinion doesn’t count to many of you)*sigh*
This video on Youtube explains what I was referring to on my post # 29:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drS0XgRdlQc
@Eve. No, I didn’t mean to be condescending at all and said so. In fact, my original statement was never about you. I was thinking of all the negative threads that have been out on Natalie, and some of comments, and wondering why all the continuing negativity? I didn’t even read your comments.
You were the one who came after me FIRST, taking offense to ONE WORD I probably shouldn’t have used (are people still “bitter” about Natalie winning over Benning?), and then wanting to fight over that ONE WORD. I took a look at your posts AFTER you did so, and redirected that small comment towards you. Now, you come back at me with the I am acting like a “snarky bitch,” “passive aggressive,” etc, etc. That is really OVER-THE-TOP.
She’s just a celeb, and it’s NOT that serious–for me, anyways. The fact that you want to turn this into World War III is amazing to me. Like I said–odd. And, “odd” is actually the kindest thing I can think of to say NOW, since I think that resorting to name-calling is immature, and that’s why I come to this web-site rather than TMZ, etc.
And I don’t care that you don’t like my emoticons, and want to criticize even THAT! Unbelieveable. I like them and will continue to use them. :-^
And that’s all I have to say about this topic. Feel free to find every possible offense to every little thing I’ve said. I honestly don’t care. Knock yourself out.
@ Kira:
Oh, please. If you read my comment # 29 you would have noticed clearly I wasn’t trying to fight or anything, but explaining what I think about Portman’s acting and her behaviour. And you answer with “strange” an “odd”. Because yes, I must be the one poster on Celebitchy who, by disliking a certain celebrity and ranting on her (usually because no one is supposed to have a negative opinion about her so I have to keep coming back to explain myself when I really shouldn’t have to), on specific threads about the subject that bothers me, on a website where people are supposed to express their opinions — whether they’re negative or not — is strange.
That’s not a passive aggressive way of insulting me and I’m the one who’s over sensitive…right.
I stick to everything I’ve said so far.
@original kate: thank god he doesn’t remind you of johnny lee miller. i am so relieved i can barely express.
@kelly: as an amputee, a limb is not hair. we are not starfish… sadly. bad analogy. don’t know what’s up with “amputee humor” but frankly, it’s a little more offensive than calling natalie portman a bad actress. which she is. she did the character well because she portrayed someone affectless who craved success as a dramatic performer and got it. wow, what a stretch. all she needs is a meltdown and she is the character to a T. great job casting aronofsky.
I don’t get the Natalie Portman hate, either. She is a little boring, not sexy (a pity because she is pretty) but she is living her life and trying to be good in her profession — aren’t we all a little like this at age of 29? She is still young. I think the world should give this young lady a break.
Re: Love Angelina
Finally Love Angelina is defending someone else than the almighty St Angie. I think it’s pretty cool. I think they miss you at D-listed.
BM broke up with his ex almost 2 years ago! Most women don’t need 5 years of sping cleaning to get over a guy.
Sarah who was so brave 2 months ago wouldn’t suddenly become shy of facing her “enemies” and abuse them in their faces if the need be.
My guess there is no darama on either end. One was scheduled and danced the other wasn’t and didn’t. That’s it.
Cry me a river for Sarah Lane. She got her nose out of joint because Natalie got more attention than her and has more celebrity cache. Welcome to the world the rest of us live in Princess! Now go and drink a cup of cement and harden the fuck up!
Whoa, sure is getting angsty up in here.
*leaves some xanax and valium for all you celebitches and backs slowly out of thread*
@Love Angelina: Oh, I do have proof my girl. Proof that you can’t spell “shred”; proof you are argumentative and hostile.
Proof of what I relayed is all right here in this thread.
I also have proof now too that you may be a bit of a dim bulb, otherwise you wouldn’t have made such an obtuse remark.
You’re in way over your head here and out of your league with this thread – and quite possibly this site – because I’ve never seen one poster bring so much aggro as you and take the justifiable rain of heat that you received because of it.
I honestly recommend you leave it alone now.
Was gonna say what Junk said.
*sigh*
@ LOVE ANGELINA:
@Eve We are not gonna agree on this. I think your flat out wrong and thats that and vice versa.
Agreed.
I think its absolutely awful your so spiteful toward Nat. Whatever. If you wanna be that way, fine.
It’s not spite. Much on the contrary, I have a clear mind when I think about why I dislike her. It’s the bad acting (MY opinion), her demeanor (MY opinion shared with many others, not that that matters, but still…) and the way she behaved before, during and after the Oscars. You keep trying to turn me into some sort of bitter hag who can’t see what you see. You say we can agree to disagree yet you keep trying to convince me and the other posters that you’re the right one. That’s contradictory.
Nat did an incredible job and for whatever reason you don’t like her thats your business,
Not “for whatever reason” as I stated loud and clear every single one of the reasons that make me dislike her. You can disagree with them, not saying that I didn’t express them clearly. Because I did.
I don’t care why.
Apparently you really don’t care about what other have to say. You don’t, as long as it’s not what you want to read, so you’re partially right here. Indeed, I’ve been repeating over and over again my points and you’ve been failing to comprehend them repeatedly.
I have no problem saying someone did excellent work even if I don’t like them
No, dear. That’s me you’re talking about: I’m the one who has no problems to say when someone I despise can be, at the same time, a great actor/actress. I’m the one who said someone I love can actually disappoint me somehow (examples mentioned Edward Norton and Johnny Depp, respectivelly).
clearly you don’t have that capability,
Now you’re talking about yourself. As I stated above, and on one of my many comments here, I am able to appreaciate really good acting in spite of my personal views about someone.
maybe you genuinely didn’t like her performance, fine.
That’s not a “maybe”. That’s a sure thing. I didn’t like her performance, as I, AGAIN, stated that clearly, previously and multiple times.
You either reread all comments again, with the help of an interpreter (in order to understand what I believe is not that hard to understand to anyone but you) or you’ll have to leave it at that. For the sake of your pride and my patience.
Please, stop.
@ Everyone who said Michelle Williams shouldve gotten that Oscar:
YES!
Wow, Natalie has finally beaten out Brangelina for over-posting.
Millipede, please keep your tongue to yourself.
Need to see Michelle’s movie. Don’t even want to watch Portman’s b/c I’m afraid I’ll get nightmares 🙁
This girl doesn’t know how to smile. It always comes across as a creepy grimace. For that reason alone I think she was well cast in Black Swan. Not an Oscar worthy performance in my opinion. The Oscars have become a joke anyway.
co sign with Bill Hicks is God
@Eve. Actually, she didn’t. Sarah Lane didn’t show.
@Jo. Exactly.
Nice to see that Portman and BM are having such a good time. Hope everyone involved in the “scandal” is too. 🙂
@Charlotte –
Thank you! And obviously that is not a reason to be kicked off the site.