The Percentage Game Continues!

Natalie Portman’s face in that picture scares me too. We’ll hold each other later, but for now we have even more “SHOW ME THE PIROUETTES” business to tend to. Sarah Lane, the professional ballerina who was Natalie’s ballet doubles in Black Swan, opened the doors to Pliégate when she said that the Oscar-winning ivy league saint didn’t do most of the fully body moves in the movie. Natalie’s piece/choreographer Benjamin Millepied slapped at Sarah’s claim and said that 85% of the dancing in the movie came from his fiancee’s body. Sarah came back and said it was more like 5%.

Now Black Swan’s director Darren Aronofsky is joining the most boring math class ever and tells EW that his calculations show 80% to 90% of the dance shots are of Natalie herself. I’m just going to raise my hand and say that 100% of this ri-fuckin-diculous, but let’s let Darren go up to the board and explain how he got to 80%.

“Here is the reality. I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film. 111 are Natalie Portman untouched. 28 are her dance double Sarah Lane. If you do the math that’s 80% Natalie Portman. What about duration? The shots that feature the double are wide shots and rarely play for longer than one second. There are two complicated longer dance sequences that we used face replacement. Even so, if we were judging by time over 90% would be Natalie Portman.

And to be clear Natalie did dance on pointe in pointe shoes. If you look at the final shot of the opening prologue, which lasts 85 seconds, and was danced completely by Natalie, she exits the scene on pointe. That is completely her without any digital magic. I am responding to this to put this to rest and to defend my actor. Natalie sweated long and hard to deliver a great physical and emotional performance. And I don’t want anyone to think that’s not her they are watching. It is.”

Natalie better pop some Dramamine into her unborn baby’s mouth, because she’s going to have to throw down in a TWIRL OFF! If Natalie wins, she gets to keep her OSCAH! If Sarah Lane, wins Natalie still gets to keep her Oscar because she won for doing acting stuff and not twirling stuff.

And Natalie was going to ask Sarah to do the pushing for her in her labor video, but she’s totally changed her mind now!