USA: Natalie Portman graces the red carpet for the New York premiere of 'Black Swan'
Record ID:
218952
USA: Natalie Portman graces the red carpet for the New York premiere of 'Black Swan'
- Title: USA: Natalie Portman graces the red carpet for the New York premiere of 'Black Swan'
- Date: 3rd December 2010
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 30, 2010) (REUTERS) ( * BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY *) NATALIE PORTMAN POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS ON THE RED CARPET MILA KUNIS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS DARREN ARONOFSKY POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS BARBARA HERSHEY POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS WINONA RYDER POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS, SAYING: "I was shocked. I didn't realise it was going to be so entertaining and such a rollercoaster. I mean, it was really thrilling and to see the audience reacting in that way was very exciting." ARONOFSKY BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) DARREN ARONOFSKY, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "It's, in our movie, it's very intense but we're telling a fairytale. We're not trying to fully you know approximate what's going on in the ballet world. We've kind of turned you know, 'Swan Lake' the fairytale into a movie and tried to get everything in there, including her transformation into a 'were-swan'. So that was the fun part." KUNIS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS (SOUNDBITE) (English) MILA KUNIS, ACTRESS, SAYING: "I would never do it, and I would hope my daughter doesn't do it. It's the most competitive, the most judgmental sport I've ever seen in my life." 'BLACK SWAN' CAST MEMBERS DOING INTERVIEWS ON THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS, SAYING: "It was five to eight hours a day of ballet, and swimming and toning and choreography from you know, a year ahead of time we started the choreography about two months before." PORTMAN CARRYING 'LOLITA' HANDBAG ON THE RED CARPET (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS, SAYING: "My worst injury was a dislocated rib but that, you know, just needed some rest to go away." PHOTOGRAPHERS PORTMAN AND RYDER POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS TOGETHER (SOUNDBITE) (English) VINCENT CASSEL, ACTOR, SAYING: "Well you know they had so much dancing to do. I was kind of free. I didn't have to dance that much so, you know, I didn't want to, to interfere with their dancing and warming up and everything. But they were still fun when they weren't dancing." PORTMAN BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATALIE PORTMAN, ACTRESS, SAYING: "It's just exciting that people have loved the film so much. I mean that's your biggest dream when you're making something that your audience will connect to it and be excited by it and be entertained by it and that's the response we've been getting so it feels very very lucky." 'BLACK SWAN' CAST MEMBERS POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 'BLACK SWAN' FILM POSTER EXTERIOR ZIEGFELD THEATER
- Embargoed: 18th December 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Usa, Usa
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAE1GQB6PIPSUR5IH7VDI1UP64G
- Story Text: Forget werewolves - 'were-swans' are the new black.
That's according to Darren Aronofsky, the director of the new pyschological thriller, 'Black Swan'.
The filmmaker joined Hollywood stars Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder for the New York premiere of their film about an obsessive ballet dancer.
In 'Black Swan,' Portman plays the role of Nina Sayer, a perfectionist dancer in a New York ballet company, who struggles to maintain her grip on sanity as the pressure mounts, and a rival ballerina arrives on the scene.
Despite the sinister role, even Portman said she wasn't prepared for how 'dark' the film turned out.
"I was shocked. I didn't realise it was going to be so entertaining and such a rollercoaster. I mean, it was really thrilling and to see the audience reacting in that way was very exciting," Portman said.
Aronofsky, whose film credits include 'The Wrestler', said he didn't create 'Black Swan' as a commentary on the ballet world, but rather a dark take on the fairytale known as 'Swan Lake'.
"It's, in our movie, it's very intense but we're telling a fairytale. We're not trying to fully you know approximate what's going on in the ballet world. We've kind of turned you know, 'Swan Lake' the fairytale into a movie and tried to get everything in there, including her transformation into a 'were-swan'. So that was the fun part," Aronofsky explained.
Nevertheless, actress Mila Kunis who plays Portman's rival, Lily, delivered a harsh assessment of the grueling form of dance.
"I would never do it, and I would hope my daughter doesn't do it. It's the most competitive, the most judgmental sport I've ever seen in my life," Kunis said.
Although Portman says she has danced in her past, she had little idea of how challenging it would be to play a professional ballerina convincingly. She trained at dance for months for the part and watched her diet and exercise routine very closely.
"It was five to eight hours a day of ballet, and swimming and toning and choreography from you know, a year ahead of time we started the choreography about two months before," Portman explained.
The actress even suffered an injury.
"My worst injury was a dislocated rib but that, you know, just needed some rest to go away," Portman said.
Vincent Cassel, who plays the ballet company's controlling artistic director, said it was clear that Portman and Kunis had their work cut out for them, and that he gave the two actresses plenty of space.
"You know they had so much dancing to do. I was kind of free. I didn't have to dance that much so, you know, I didn't want to, to interfere with their dancing and warming up and everything. But they were still fun when they weren't dancing," Cassel said.
'Black Swan' has been making the festival rounds, picking up rave reviews by critics along the way, playing at the Venice, Telluride, and Toronto film festivals in September, and the London and Austin festivals in October. Oscar buzz is building - and some have suggested Portman's performance could earn her a respected nod from the Academy.
"It's just exciting that people have loved the film so much. I mean that's your biggest dream when you're making something that your audience will connect to it and be excited by it and be entertained by it and that's the response we've been getting so it feels very very lucky," Portman said.
'Black Swan' will be released in North America on December 3. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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