The Black Swan—Expected to be Remarkable

Author: Sammi Jonesman

Acting isn't easy. Yeah, right! It's hard to "feel the pain" of successful Hollywood actors when you know that they are making hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what they absolutely love to do. But, there are roles out there that take acting to a whole new level and the truly gifted and dedicated will pour their all into a particular role in order to give it the recognition and power that it deserves.

Natalie Portman has done this to the extreme in preparation for her upcoming psycho-thriller/drama, Black Swan, in which she plays a deranged ballerina. The story line itself is exceptional as you try to wrap your head around how someone so graceful, beautiful and talented should have such a propensity for madness.

Natalie, who trained in dance up to the age of 13, had an inkling of what it meant to be a ballet dancer, but fast forward 16 years, and you can't imagine that she has much in common with that young girl in dance class. 29 is no spring chicken, and most ballet dancers retire in their 30s. (A quick aside—there is only one ballerina in a ballet company and she has earned that title; the rest are called ballet dancers.)

So, Natalie Portman started physically training for this role one whole year in advance of the start of shooting the movie. Then, six months prior to filming, she was training 5 hours a day in both ballet and swimming, as she learned the choreography. The grit, determination and focus that this must have required speaks volumes, but the film and Natalie are already courting Oscar consideration. The film will open in theaters December 1st and is expected to open to rave reviews. The trailers are described as haunting, dark and terrifying while Natalie has been praised for taking on this role and leaving her comfort zone, though there isn't much about Natalie's career that has been "comfortable". From The Professional to Heat to Mars Attacks she has had a number of successful and differing roles. She actually gave up a role in The Horse Whisperer in order to play in The Diary of Anne Frank on Broadway. And she has starred in Star Wars!

No, it appears that Natalie Portman is not one to take her career for granted. And she is not the only one. The truly great actors work really hard at their craft. Just imagine "you" performing any of the great roles in such a convincing and engaging manner. Could you be cast in a role in which you could hold an audience spellbound and act with such believability that you earned millions in box-office receipts?

Natalie, with her vision, her maturity and her obsession for doing a role well and doing it right, will one day be right up there with Al Pacino, Julia Roberts, Anthony Hopkins et al. I'm looking forward to seeing the film Black Swan when it's released in December, and I don't go to the movies much.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/movies-articles/the-black-swanexpected-to-be-remarkable-3370449.html

About the Author

Along with enjoying good movies, Sammi spends time in her garden. Her favorite garden plant is tomato plants which do exceptionally well because she uses soil testers to determine the pH level of his garden soil and what fertilizers she may or may not need.