Katie Crocker - Associate Editor
Hey Gang,
USA Today has some snaps up from Darren Aronofsky’s latest creation “Black Swan” – which is set to open at the Venice Film Festival in September.
Shot in New York, the psychological thriller centers on a talented ballerina (Natalie Portman) in the New York City Ballet who is tormented by a rival (Mila Kunis) who might or might not be a figment of the dancer’s imagination.
Portman. Kunis. Aronofsky. Ballet. Thrills. Winner!
And from the looks of it, it appears I have even more of a reason to be excited for the release – the stills (and, of course, Ms Portman) look splendid. There’s some gorgeous stuff here… pics of Mila Kunis (my girl crush) and Winona Ryder, too. None featuring Clint’s friend, Kristina Anapau, who co-stars in the film, yet – – maybe the next lot?
Aronofsky tells the paper he’s super impressed with Portman’s newly-learnt ballet skills. “Most of these women who are here started dancing when they were 4, 5 or 6 years old. Their bodies are shaped differently because they started so young. She was able to pull it off. Except for the wide shots when she has to be en pointe for a real long time, it’s Natalie on screen. I haven’t used her double a lot.”
Portman explains that she had done ballet before, but not for a long time.
“I took ballet until I was 13. I had always hoped to do a dance film. It is the most emotional form of expression.” She started training six months before shooting with a veteran of the New York City Ballet and also did toning and swimming exercises to attain a dancer’s form.”
Kunis, who dropped 17 pounds from her slender frame, said “It takes them 10 years at least to look like a ballerina. I had six months before production started.”
Speaking of Aronofsky, over the Comic-Con weekend we reported that the filmmaker’s planned “RoboCop” reboot has been good. Seemingly – since Aronfsky has lost interest in the project – for good.
