American Ballet Theatre dancer Sarah Lane told 20/20 she did most of the dancing in Black Swan, not Natalie Portman, who won an Oscar® for the role. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
Natalie Portman danced like a real ballerina in Black Swan but now it turns out that some of those exquisite dancing scenes may not have been her.
Sarah Lane, a dancer with the American Ballet Theater, says the movie's producers are trying to cover up her involvement in Black Swan.
In an interview with ABC's 20/20, Lane tells Elizabeth Vargas that in all of the dance scenes where you can see Portman's entire body, it was actually her! She says the filmmakers digitally inserted Portman's face over hers
They even demonstrate how they did it on the Black Swan DVD.
Adding insult to injury, Lane didn't even get a credit for her dancing. Instead she's listed in closing credits as a "stunt double."
"I'm just speaking because, not because I didn't get credit, but because [the producers are] completely lying about the amount of dancing that Natalie did in the movie," said Lane.
I'm speaking out because they're lying about the amount of dancing Portman did in the movie," Lane told Vargas.
Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky responded to Lane's claims in a statement saying:
"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 Lane lane. If you do the math, that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
"Is it possible his math can be correct and your version can still be correct?" Vargas asked.
"It's possible if, like I said, if you're counting the close-ups of her face as actual dancing shots, but I don't call close-ups of her face actual dancing," Lane answered.
Lane says she has no hard feelings towards Portman. She loves the movie and says Portman fully deserved her Oscar®.
"An Oscar® is for acting and she did an amazing job," Lane said.
Portman has never directly commented on just how much of the dancing was hers. She has said, "I know what went on," and that she's proud of everyone's work on the movie.
