dirac

Thanks again, cantdance, I hadn't seen this one. The interview is with Kimberly Prosa. Nice article.

Lane didn't seem to have any objections at the time. If you see the movie, the photoshopped shots are carefully handled - as mentioned previously, there is very little sustained dancing in the film, because Portman and Kunis were non-dancers and the goal seems to have been to use them as much as possible. If The Turning Point was made today, possibly something similar might have been tried for a few of Anne Bancroft's scenes. Obviously in the best of all worlds a dancer would play a dancer, but Black Swan was Portman's and Aronofsky's project and that was never in the cards. Without Portman it probably doesn't get made, for better or worse. Respectfully, that's splitting hairs a bit. Bale was playing an ex-boxer and trainer. I think the point was that Bale trained very hard and still a double was necessary. It's still his performance. And although I didn't follow the PR for The Fighter as closely as I did Black Swan's, I still managed to hear an awful lot about training regimens and weight loss. Yup. Great timing on Lane's part.

Makarova, the one who inherited the very essence of the Russian school-("I like my body to sing...Kirov training"). IYes, that's right. I also saw Spessivtseva for the first time in this film and she was a revelation even though the clips were so poor.

Dunno what to tell you, volcanohunter. I quite agree with the quotes around "controversy." If actual spouses have to adjust to not getting mentioned on Oscar night, I guess doubles can cope with it, too.

Thanks, cantdance. I thought I'd seen that somewhere. I think the total count of Lane's credits were three, and her name did come up. I'm reading that she was apparently peeved because she didn't get a mention in Portman's Oscar speech, which if true might account for the oddly belated timing of her complaints/charges. As I said earlier, I do have some sympathy. I also think the studio bears some of the blame for too much emphasis on Portman's "dancing" as part of her role, especially in a film that isn't really a ballet film and hasn't much in the way of dancing. If Lane actually expected an Oscar night thank you then one is sorry for her. Whatever you think of Portman's performance, it's definitely hers. You'd be surprised how much of importance can wind up on the cutting room floor.

No apologies necessary, Helene, although thank you for letting us know what the problem was. I thought it was my computer, at first. I add my thanks for all your hard work keeping this site going.

I haven't seen her ask for personal publicity, I've seen her object to her work being credited to Portman. It's one thing to agree to work behind the scenes so to speak. It's another to stay silent while people say you really didn't do very much work. We shall have to agree to disagree, kfw.

And you always read about how hard they trained, and I'm sure much of it is true - they work hard just to be able to approximate for the screen the level of skill they're supposed to have. The fact that Portman didn't make a fool of herself is tribute enough to her training. atm711 made mention of Claire Bloom and Melissa Hayden - Chaplin made Bloom attend ballet class every day and work hard at it, and Bloom wasn't called upon to do half of what Portman did. There's not much you can do about the [really] credulous. Had those people paid more attention to what Portman said in her interviews, they would have had no such expectations. I suspect that ballet is still very exotic to much of the public, and unfamiliarity has something to do with it, as well. They see a lot more of sports.

Thank you for keeping this thread up to date, richard53dog.

I saw it a couple of times via a Blockbuster tape. Eventually it was taken off the shelf and I never saw it again even in the resale stacks and to this day I kick myself. It's an invaluable document (in small doses, for this viewer - the music gets annoying after too much repetition).

I’m not sure what part of the “double” concept Sarah Lane doesn’t understand and I’m sorry she didn’t receive the degree of personal publicity she believes was her due, but I’m inclined to agree with abatt. I doubt there will be a next time for Lane but if there is she will know better when it’s time to sign on the dotted line. I note that in the item linked to in the original post Lane seems to be dialing it back a bit, beefing less about the wrongs done to Sarah Lane and more about the wrongs done to ballet. (Uh, Sarah, did you read the script?) Lane did receive a fair amount of acknowledgment from Portman when the actress was giving interviews on the subject. I can imagine how annoying much of the publicity about Natalie the Ballerina must be to Lane and I sympathize -- up to a point. Given the very limited amount of “dancing” in the finished film, the whole dispute becomes even weirder.

Farrell's book also mentions that Bigelow was the one deputized to escort her home when Mr. B couldn't do it himself. Plainly, the definition of his duties was a broad one. RIP. Hi, Farrell Fan.

Yes, those were the days, jimmo, even if the big three had more pragmatic reasons beyond beneficence to the arts and education. I think the show was called "Dancing: A Man's Game" and I too would like to see it in its entirety. Edward Villella appeared on the show, and so did Johnny U. Has anyone seen the whole thing? I also remember that "American Masters" special on Kelly. One of the best programs in that fine series.

I posted the article in yesterday's Links. There's no great mystery here, Lallone didn't want to leave, Boal had to indicate where the door was, and Lallone was ready to talk about it. It would be even more awkward to have a press release that pretended there were no difference of opinion if there was no agreement on what to say to the press, and it doesn't sound to me as if there was.

Not in front of a rock band. I was responding to puppytreats' comment in context, not suggesting that blue jeans are appropriate elsewhere.

Many churches face a problem similar to that of arts organizations when it comes to getting younger people in the seats and Christian rock has been part of pop culture for some time, so it makes sense that there's been some relaxation in regard to dress codes there, as well.

I have no Russian and so my opinion of any translation is of limited use, but I have the one by Diana Burgin and Katherine Tiernan O’Connor and found it an easy and enjoyable read. Bulgakov’s lengthy sentences must be a tricky business to translate and although some of it is awkward in English I thought the sensibility came through, and you can’t ask much more from even the best translations of a great work. As I'm sure you know, Balanchine gave it to Suzanne Farrell to read. It took me some time to get into the book but it casts a spell. Enjoy and please tell us about it here when you do read it.

You're right, Jane, I'd forgotten that one, too. Some nice photos and two trailers illustrate this articlein French.

Seconded. Not to mention that women's dry cleaning is more expensive, as well. And of course anyone wearing hosiery has had the experience of getting a run in an expensive pair first evening out. If men had to wear pantyhose they'd storm the Hanes factory like the Bastille, but women just pay up and shut up. I agree, vipa. Not to the extent that they appear in flip-flops, but to let them know it's okay to walk up and buy a ticket. I would also hope they understand the effort we out of towners on the train make to get to them, as well.

I would agree that shorts are out of line. Maybe at a performance outdoors, but that would be it.

Thank you for posting this, Mashinka. This topic has inspired some lively discussions in the past. My view in general is that times and customs change (nobody dresses up for air travel any more, either)although I tend to draw the line at sweatshirts, myself. My own impression is that there are still a fair number of people out there who have the time and inclination to dress up. I think it's fine for them, although as an office worker and one who often travels by public transportation to get to performing arts events, I appreciate the relaxation of the dress code and take advantage of it. Any other thoughts?

Oh, thank you for mentioning 'The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing,' Bonnette. I'd forgotten. Yes, Granger was very good as Thaw. I also agree with you about the movie - a disappointing treatment of very promising material.

Thank you for posting this news, miliosr. Sorry to hear it. I had trouble with him in “Senso,” if only because the voice didn’t match up and it tended to place the drama at a remove for me in his scenes. He looked terrific, though. He was a little on the squishy side for my taste, but he was perfectly cast in “Strangers on a Train” and as the weaker half of the murderous pair in “Rope.” (He also showed spine in taking that part; Cary Grant and Montgomery Clift turned the movie down, made nervous by the implications of homosexuality in the subject matter.) I liked him in “They Live By Night,” as well, an appealing performance. I would be interested to know more about his stage work. RIP.

David Paltenghi appears in the movie also. For those who haven't seen it, be forewarned - although it's a must-see for any ballet lover, it's not very good. I would love to be able to say it's a neglected classic, but no can do. I respect Kelly's ambitions and his dedication and I really do wish I had high praise to offer.

A friendly reminder that this is a discussion thread and we don't need too many links standing alone - that's what we have the Links for - and as it happens both these items appeared there last week. Thanks. I'm sorry Lane feels this way but I don't see any grounds for her beef. I can understand how it might be grating to read glowing and uninformed praise of Portman's "dancing" but that's par for the course in the life of a double.