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Watch: Natalie Portman's 'Black Swan' Ballet Training Featurette

by Alex Billington
February 17, 2011
Source: Fox Searchlight

Yea, we've been featuring a lot of these behind-the-scenes featurettes for Black Swan, from the effects to director Darren Aronofsky, but there's one more you've got to take a look at - especially before she wins the Oscar next week (she's the shoo-in, there's no way she won't win it). Fox Searchlight recently released a new featurette focusing on the hours and hours of intensive training that Natalie Portman had to do in order to play the role of ballerina Nina Sayers in Aronofsky's mesmerizing Best Picture-nominated psychological thriller (whew, what a sentence). We'll definitely be rooting for Natalie at the Oscars on the 27th. Enjoy!

Watch the Black Swan featurette on Natalie Portman's ballet training:

Black Swan has received 5 nominations in the 83rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actress (Natalie Portman) and Best Editing. Portman also won a Golden Globe.

Black Swan is directed by award winning iconic filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, of the films Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, and The Wrestler previously. The story and script were written by newcomer Andres Heinz and revised by Protozoa Pictures' exec Mark Heyman. Fox Searchlight released Aronofsky's fifth film on December 3rd last year. Its received BAFTA & VES noms for visual effects. See this if you haven't yet!

Related categories: Featurettes, Indies, To Watch

http://stepliana.tumblr.com step

And after all that training, her arms were still terrible, and Sarah Lane did all the work (and Natalie still won't thank her in any of her speeches.)

Anonymous

step wrote: 'And after all that training, her arms were still terrible, and Sarah Lane did all the work (and Natalie still won't thank her in any of her speeches.)' Nooooooo! Don't say that! She is a beautiful ballerina I sooooo luv her! OK I admit you are spot on. This movie's SFX (and body double) allowed a bad dancer to 'dance' in the same way auto-tune allows bad singers to 'sing'. All that training looked suspiciously like 'Oscar Best Actress winning and movie hype' training, disguised as ballet training. I bet they just drank coffee and lay about on the floor practicing splits LOL BTW if anyone actually wants an actual grown up and intelligent review of BS google the following: Black Swan - The Freedomain Radio Review
Anonymous

Why should she do it? Sarah became money for her job! She is just a dancer, not actress! and I completely can't understand why Natalie should share her fame with her! She got Oscar not for dancing but for acting! Recently I downloaded interview with her from http://www.torrentoff.com she says that stunt person in other movies doesn't get awards for their work! The role of a stuntman, or a dance double, or a special effects team, is to create false reality

http://stepliana.tumblr.com step

And after all that training, her arms were still terrible, and Sarah Lane did all the work (and Natalie still won't thank her in any of her speeches.)
http://stepliana.tumblr.com step

And after all that training, her arms were still terrible, and Sarah Lane did all the work (and Natalie still won't thank her in any of her speeches.)
http://stepliana.tumblr.com step

And after all that training, her arms were still terrible, and Sarah Lane did all the work (and Natalie still won't thank her in any of her speeches.)
tir na nog

Very rare to see a movie about being an artist...excellant film....some shades of the Red shoes,and I hope Aronofsky wins.
David Banner

Hm, again the Suspiria music?
http://twitter.com/darktaxidermist David Perretta

Glad to see someone cut his mustache
katie

Actually, Natalie Portman trained with an acclaimed ballet dancer for 5 hours a day, 6 days a week for a year. Although it will never come close to years of training, you can't say she just sat around and used a double. Most of what you see in the movie is her besides the tough turning sequences.