It all began when actress Kim Novak criticized The Artist for using Bernard Herrman’s iconic Vertigo score – and now, it’s turned into the hottest mash-up trend on the internets.
“I want to report a rape. My body of work has been violated by ‘The Artist,’” Novak wrote in a press release. “This film took the love theme music from ‘Vertigo’ and used the emotions it engenders as its own. Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart can’t speak for themselves, but I can. It was our work that unconsciously or consciously evoked the memories and feelings to the audience that were used for the climax of The Artist.”
In the other corner, The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius responded, ”I love Bernard Hermann and his music has been used in many different films and I’m very pleased to have it in mine.”
It’s been used in everything from Kill Bill to Lady Gaga’s prologue in her “Born This Way” music video – really no surprise though, all she does is hijack old concepts.
Amongst the various copy-and-pastes some of our favourites include: ”The Notebook,” “Black Swan,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Top Gun,” “127 Hours,” “Badlands,” “Oldboy,” “Alien,” “Rocky“ and there are so many more (about 60 entries) over at the contest in IndieWire’s blog, “Press Play,”.
But none of them compare to this brilliance – mashing up Zoolander’s freak gasoline fight accident scene with Herrman’s mastery, Enjoy:
The ballerina double used for Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” is speaking out about how much dancing she actually did in the movie, reports Perez Hilton. And it’s more than you think.
“Of the full body shots, I would say 5 percent are Natalie. All the other shots are me,” said Sarah Lane, the dance double. That’s a huge difference than the 85 per cent the instructor said Portman did. “The shots that are just her face with arms, those shots are definitely Natalie,” said Lane. “But that doesn’t show the actual dancing.”
This revelation comes after Natalie’s instructor, baby daddy and fiancée defended Natalie and how much she actually did in the movie.
Lane also claims that producer Ari Handel specifically told her to keep quiet over this. “They wanted to create this idea in people’s minds that Natalie was some kind of prodigy or so gifted in dance and really worked so hard to make herself a ballerina in a year and a half for the movie, basically because of the Oscar,” said Lane. “It is demeaning to the profession and not just to me. I’ve been doing this for 22 years…. Can you become a concert pianist in a year and a half, even if you’re a movie star?”
Despite all this drama, though, Lane doesn’t have any jealous or angry feelings toward the Oscar winning actress. In fact, she thinks she did a wonderful job.
“I do give her a lot of credit because in a year and a half she lost a lot of weight and she really tried to go method and get into a dancers head and really feel like a ballet dancer. [Natalie] is an amazing actress, for sure,” Lane says. “I know that it’s not a personal thing against me. I know that it’s just a political thing. It’s just unfortunate that I kind of lost credit.”
I feel bad for the this dance double. I can only imagine how rigorous it must have been for her, and then to get no credit for her hard work is a real middle finger to her talents.
I still think Portman deserved to win the oscar though, because even though she didn’t do all the dancing, her acting and mindset throughout the movie was what really drove the movie forward. To be honest, I don’t know why the double is lashing out at Portman. It’s not like it’s her fault she’s getting all the praise, she is the star of the film, after all.
If you want to check out her performance, make sure to pick up “Black Swan” on DVD on Tuesday, March 29.
It’s been quite the year for Natalie Portman. Let us reminisce.
She was cast in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and was told she’d have to undergo intensive ballet training as well as a strict diet and exercise plan to shed approximately 20 pounds from her already tiny frame.
Then, while shooting the film, she fell in love with one of her choreographers, Benjamin Millepied.
Then, Benjamin impregnated her.
Then, she was nominated for Best Actress at this year’s Oscars.
Then she showed up at the awards show with a bun in the oven. Then she won the award for Best Actress and gave her speech with said bun in said oven. (It looked cozy).
Then, Chief Designer at Christian Dior (for whom Natalie is a spokeswoman), John Galliano, went on a ridiculous anti-semitic rant forcing Natalie to drop all ties with the company.
Now, Mike Huckabee is dumping on Portman for having a baby out of wedlock. Great. Just when she thought it was time to grab her housecoat, put her feet up on her pillows and break out the Ben N Jerry’s “We Are Waffling”, Huckabee has to screw things up.
Huckabee, now a host on Fox News, went on a radio show Monday and said, “One of the most troubling things is that people see a Natalie Portman or some other Hollywood starlet that boasts of, hey look, we’re having children, we’re not married, but we’re having children and they’re doing just fine.”
Huckabee, a staunch republican who is likely gearing up for a run at the White House next election, then added the following:
“There aren’t really a lot of single moms out there that are making millions of dollars each year by being in a movie. I think it gives a distorted image that not everybody hires nannies and caretakers and nurses. Most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can’t get a job, and if it weren’t for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and would not get healthcare.”
Portman and Millepied are engaged but do not plan on marrying before their baby is born.
Honestly though, Mike. Did you even see Black Swan? Something tells me that if Natalie’s ok with tearing off Mila Kunis’s panties with her mouth, she won’t let a little Huckabee honey get to her.
The Independent Spirit Awards took place yesterday, February 26, and featured many of the same categories and nominees as the Oscars, which take place tonight. Among the films nominated, ‘Black Swan’ swept many awards – a psychological thriller telling the story of a ballerina striving for perfection.
The film won four awards, including Best Feature, as well as Best Female Lead for Natalie Portman, who starred as the schizophrenic ballerina. Darren Aronofsky was also named Best Director, and the film also took home the Cinematography Award for Matthew Libatique.
The Independent Spirit Awards, along with the Globes, are usually a strong indicator of who will win at the Oscars. Then again, many of the winners at the Spirit Awards are not the ones critics expect to win at the Oscars. James Franco won Best Actor for his role in ’127 Hours’, which I believe is well deserved, but many people believe Colin Firth will win the oscar for his role in ‘The King’s Speech’.
‘The King’s Speech’ is also expected to win best film at the Oscars, but I am personally hoping for ‘Black Swan’ to win. Not only did Portman deliver a crazy, compelling, amazing performance, but the film is so unique and beautiful that it deserves to win. It would be a nice change from the typical, feel-good movies that usually win the Oscars. I mean, a film about a king overcoming his speech impediment? It has Oscars written all over it! Try something new and daring, oscar academy.
‘Black Swan’ cost about $15 million to make, and has grossed just over $100 million at the North American box office, reports The Sun. The film is driven by performance, acting, and crazy plot lines. Yes, there is the occasional freak-you-out special effects, but most of the film focuses on the acting – and that deserves a best picture in itself.
The Spirit Awards honor low-budget American films and focus on criteria such as originality, provocative subject matter and the degree of independent financing.
Make sure to tune into the Oscars to see who takes home the awards tonight. If Natalie Portman doesn’t win Best Actress, I’m pretty sure I will grab my television and throw it out my 6th-floor window.
It was a big night for showbiz as Hollywood’s most talented gathered in Los Angeles for the 2011 Golden Globes. The ever-hilarious Ricky Gervais hosted, bringing his trademark barbed quips and off-the-cuff jokes to the stage as the room celebrated the most inspired productions of the year.
Big winners included The Social Network, who took home the awards Best Director, Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Screenplay, and Best Original Score. Musical Comedy Glee also took home a bucketful of globes, including one for fan favourite Chris Colfer’s performance on the show.
But the most buzzed-about win of the night was Natalie Portman’s statue for her work in Black Swan, the Darren Aronofsky thriller about a ballerina driven mad by her role in the classic ballet Swan Lake.
We’re pretty unhappy that Christopher Nolan’s Inception didn’t fare very well, but you can’t win ‘em all, right?
Click HERE for a full list of last night’s winners and losers!
It’s been over a month since I released my picks for this year’s Academy Award best picture category. I think it is time to revise the picks as the ceremony is getting closer and closer and I have seen more of the films.
Like last year, I am still disappointed by many of the “Oscar worthy” films this season, but that is a discussion for another time. Here is my list of nominees for best picture revised.
1. 127 Hours (Danny Boyle)
2. Inception (Christopher Nolan)
3. Black Swan (Daron Aronofsky)
4. The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper)
5. The Social Network (David Fincher)
6. The Fighter (David O. Russell)
7. Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik)
8. The Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mitchell)
9. Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich)
10. Made in Dagenham (Nigel Cole)
A shocking report was released by Variety early this week. The report claims that reports that the scores for Black Swan, True Grit, The Kids Are All Right and The Fighter will be disqualified for the 83rd Academy Awards.
The trade says that Black Swan and True Grit scores won’t be competing because they are “diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music. Clint Mansell’s score for Black Swan is solely based on Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Carter Burwell’s True Grit score is based on 19th century hymns. The scores are being criticized for their lack of originality.
Whereas, The scores for The Kids Are All Right and The Fighter won’t be competing because they are “diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs.”
I mean, I think this is a little harsh. It still takes a tremendous amount of work to compile a film score even if the songs are not all original. Of course, the totalitarian ruling Academy is pulling the plug on these films. It’s not a surprising move from one of the most biased institutes.
Acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky and his partner of nine years actress, Rachel Weisz have called it quits. As reported by TMZ.com, the exes seek joint custody of their 4-year-old son, Henry Chance.
Why the split? Reports have been surfacing that Weisz is linked romantically to hot James Bond star, Daniel Craig. Weisz is denying the reports saying that she has been friends with Craig for a long time. Friends is a pretty vague term these days. She probably means friends with benefits. Who wouldn’t want to be involved with Craig?
Aronofsky does seem to be getting crazier and crazier, at least with his films. He is currently one of the most talented directors but he does have a tendency to choose very dark roles. His new film, Black Swan, which everyone is swooning over, will be released next month. Maybe Aronofsky has flown off the handle at home? Too obsessed with work? He has signed on to do multiple projects including Wolverine 2. Perhaps he just has too much on his plate.
