Black Swan FINAL V2-intl - Central-Kino

FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES Presents
In association with CROSS CREEK PICTURES
A PRØTØZØA and PHOENIX PICTURES Production
A film by DARREN ARONOFSKY
NATALIE PORTMAN
VINCENT CASSEL
MILA KUNIS
BLACK SWAN
BARBARA HERSHEY
and
WINONA RYDER
DIRECTED BY .............................................................. DARREN ARONOFSKY
SCREENPLAY BY ........................................................ MARK HEYMAN and
......................................................................................... ANDRÉS HEINZ and
......................................................................................... JOHN McLAUGHLIN
STORY BY ..................................................................... ANDRÉS HEINZ
PRODUCED BY ............................................................. MIKE MEDAVOY
......................................................................................... ARNOLD W. MESSER
......................................................................................... BRIAN OLIVER
......................................................................................... SCOTT FRANKLIN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS .......................................... BRADLEY J. FISCHER
......................................................................................... ARI HANDEL
......................................................................................... TYLER THOMPSON
......................................................................................... PETER FRUCHTMAN
......................................................................................... RICK SCHWARTZ
......................................................................................... JON AVNET
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ................................ MATTHEW LIBATIQUE, ASC
PRODUCTION DESIGNER .......................................... THÉRÈSE DEPREZ
FILM EDITOR................................................................ ANDREW WEISBLUM, A.C.E.
COSTUME DESIGNER ................................................. AMY WESTCOTT
ORIGINAL SCORE BY ................................................. CLINT MANSELL
CASTING BY ................................................................. MARY VERNIEU, CSA
MUSIC SUPERVISORS ................................................ JIM BLACK and
......................................................................................... GABE HILFER
BALLET CHOREOGRAPHY BY ................................. BENJAMIN MILLEPIED
VISUAL EFFECTS SUPERVISOR ............................... DAN SCHRECKER
BALLET COSTUMES DESIGNED BY ........................ RODARTE
Running time 110 minutes

BLACK SWAN
A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, BLACK SWAN stars Natalie
Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a
new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director
Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey
through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the Swan Queen turns out to be a part for
which she becomes frighteningly perfect.
BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet
company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives
with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter’s
professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima
ballerina Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, “Swan
Lake,” Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses
Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and
grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role
perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their
rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness
that threatens to destroy her.
Presented by Fox Searchlight Pictures, in association with Cross Creek Pictures, a Prøtøzøa and
Phoenix Pictures Production, BLACK SWAN is directed by Darren Aronofsky from a screenplay by Mark
Heyman and Andrés Heinz and John McLaughlin, story by Andrés Heinz. The film is produced by Mike
Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin and executive produced by Bradley J. Fischer,
Ari Handel, Tyler Thompson, Peter Fruchtman, Rick Schwartz, Jon Avnet, David Thwaites and Jennifer
Roth.
The creative team includes director of photography Matthew Libatique, ASC (IRON MAN 2),
production designer Thérèse DePrez (HOWL), film editor Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E. (FANTASTIC
MR. FOX), music by Clint Mansell (THE FOUNTAIN), music supervisors Jim Black (THE
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WACKNESS) and Gabe Hilfer (THE WRESTLER), ballet choreography by Benjamin Millepied and
visual effects supervisor Dan Schrecker.
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DANCING GOOD AND EVIL:
THE STORY
The daring and original director Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER, THE FOUNTAIN, REQUIEM
FOR A DREAM, π) lures audiences into a haunting, fractured world of delusions, doubles and paranoia in
BLACK SWAN, his first psychological thriller. He spins a sensual and chilling tale of a prima ballerina locked
in an obsessive battle with dark impulses that slowly engulf her.
Academy Award® nominee Natalie Portman (CLOSER) stars as Nina, an ambitious young New York
ballet dancer who is after the ultimate double role: the delicately innocent White Swan and the seductively evil
Black Swan of the star-making classic “Swan Lake.” She gets the role but is unsure if she can let go enough to
embody the dark side of the Swan Queen. As she ascends to new heights with her body, her most deeply buried
fantasies, jealousies and nightmares begin to ensnare her mind into the blackest depths causing a dangerous
clash with the provocative newcomer who is her greatest rival. Nina quickly becomes all too perfectly
entwined with the bewitching and deadly Black Swan.
Far from the typical thriller set in a world of crime or haunted houses, Aronofsky’s vividly intimate
portrait of a woman unraveling at the very seams of her psyche takes place in the least expected of realms, the
artistically electric and physically demanding world of professional ballet. For Aronofsky, it was the perfect
place to unfold a visually explosive tale of the obsessive pressure to be perfect. As with THE WRESTLER, the
film also gave him a chance to plunge into an unseen world and peel back what makes the people who are
driven to sacrifice so much.
Although he started thinking about this story fifteen years ago, Aronofsky notes that BLACK SWAN is
intentionally a companion piece to his most recent film, THE WRESTLER. While wrestling and ballet might
seem like they couldn’t possibly be more disparate worlds, BLACK SWAN dips into moments of sheer
psychological horror unlike anything Aronofsky has done before. The two films are tied together by themes of
bodily extremes, souls in turmoil and by a filmmaking style that pulls the audience inside the characters’
fascinating inner worlds.
“Some people call wrestling the lowest of art forms, and some call ballet the highest of art forms, yet
there is something elementally the same. Mickey Rourke as a wrestler was going through something very
similar to Natalie Portman as a ballerina,” Aronofsky explains. “They’re both artists who use their bodies to
express themselves and they’re both threatened by physical injury, because their bodies are the only tool they
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have for expression. What was interesting for me was to find these two connected stories in what might appear
to be unconnected worlds.”
The two films are also tied by a lead performance that dives well beneath the surface, says
Aronofsky, who compares Portman’s commitment to that of Rourke. “The role of Nina is quite different from
anything Natalie has done before,” notes Aronofsky, “and she took it to another level. Playing Nina was as
much an athletic feat as a feat of acting.”
The challenges of making BLACK SWAN were also similar to the notably intense production of THE
WRESTLER, perhaps even harder. As secretive as the world of professional wrestling can be, Aronofsky
found the ballet world even more insular and closed-off to outsiders.
And then there was the training that Natalie Portman had to undertake in order to make the film’s ballet
scenes as incandescently lyrical as they are full of mounting tension and foreboding. “Ballet is something most
people start training for when they’re four or five years old and as they live it, it changes their bodies, it
transforms them. To have an actress who hasn’t gone through all of that convincingly play a professional ballet
dancer is the tallest of orders. Yet somehow, with her incredible will and discipline, Natalie became a dancer.
It took ten months of vigorous work, but her body transformed and even the most serious dancers were
impressed. I’m convinced that the physical work also connected her to the emotional work,” states Aronofsky.
Aronofsky notes that he was gratified to find a cast who could take on this challenge. They, in turn,
were attracted by a story that became a suspenseful, yet daring, odyssey into a dancer’s sudden rise and
terrifying descent.
Aronofsky finally got the chance to express his idea for BLACK SWAN ten years ago via a screenplay
by Andrés Heinz – a dark drama that took place on Broadway, setting up a perilous rivalry between an actress
and her mysterious understudy. Aronofsky was intrigued, but having grown up as a witness to his sister’s
shockingly tough training as a ballet dancer, he wanted to switch the backdrop to that of a premiere New York
ballet company. This change led to the creation of Nina and Lily, two competitive rising dance stars willing to
sacrifice anything and everything for that one perfect performance.
Even as he was engaged in other projects for many years, Aronofsky continued developing the project
with Mark Heyman (co-producer of THE WRESTLER).
It was Aronofsky’s idea to merge Heinz’s original concept with the story behind the world’s most
popular ballet, “Swan Lake,” which tells the story of a dramatic duel between innocence and wickedness. All
the while, he was also working with Heyman to create the macabre new twist which galvanized the tale. In the
final draft, the key elements of “Swan Lake” – swans, demons, spells and doubles – became entwined with
Nina’s psyche as it shatters into a psychosexual kaleidoscope of shards, turning her from a naïve young girl into
a dangerous, metamorphosed creature.
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“Darren and I had talked for years about doing a ballet thriller,” recalls Heyman. “What I did was to
take the initial drafts of the screenplay and adapt the plot of ‘Swan Lake’ right into the center of it. That
changed everything and became the jumping off point for a modern New York story about duality, about
doubles and about the fear of someone or something taking over your life.”
“The story became about Nina’s fears of losing who she is,” continues Aronofsky. “That is something I
think everyone can relate to, but Nina becomes completely overtaken by those fears until her reality becomes
inseparable from the character she is playing.”
As the final script became a world unto itself, Heyman says it was increasingly difficult to place it into
a genre. Was the story a plunge into biological horror as a woman morphs into a demon swan or a riveting
portrait of a driven artist losing control of her mind under extreme pressure? Heyman hopes the answer is both
things at once.
“My favorite films are always difficult to categorize,” says Heyman. “Our hope for BLACK SWAN
is that it would be one of those films. That it would scare people but also get under the skin in a lasting way.”
The project soon attracted a producing team that included Mike Medavoy, Arnold W. Messer, Brian
Oliver and Scott Franklin. “This is both new ground and familiar territory for Darren. On the one hand, it is a
departure for him into the psychological thriller element, which is something he’s never really attempted before
and yet it evokes an intense realism with his attention to detail, camera style and the way he works with actors
to get very real performances,” says Franklin.
Adds Oliver, “If you’ve seen Darren’s films, you know he’s doesn’t do anything in a standard way.
Just as THE WRESTLER made people really feel what it would be like to be an aging wrestler, he delves
deeply into the world of a dancer, while building psychological suspense to fantastic levels.”
Executive producer Jennifer Roth says of the film, “BLACK SWAN is not simply a thriller nor a movie
about dance. It encompasses all these different aspects and crosses over to a dark but fascinating place.”
WOMAN INTO SWAN:
NATALIE PORTMAN AS NINA
Even before the screenplay for BLACK SWAN was completed, Darren Aronofsky knew who would
play Nina, the hopeful solo dancer overtaken by unsettling fantasies and eerie events as she prepares for the
greatest role of her life. It had to be Natalie Portman, whose diversity of memorable roles ranges from Queen
Amidala in the STAR WARS series to her Oscar®-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning role as a stripper in
Mike Nichol’s adaptation of CLOSER. Not only had Portman studied ballet as a child, more importantly, she
had the commitment and drive to plunge into the immense physical and psychological demands of a part that
would have her leaping, spinning and losing touch with reality, all at the same time.
Aronofsky approached her several years ago to talk about the film, then still in a fledgling state.
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“Very soon after I first started thinking of the idea for BLACK SWAN, I met with Natalie for coffee in Times
Square,” he recalls. “She had done a lot of ballet before she became an actress and had continued doing it over
the years just to stay in shape. She told me straight away that one of the things she’d always wanted to do was
play a dancer.”
Though it would take almost ten years after their meeting before the BLACK SWAN screenplay was
finished, when Portman read it, she was riveted by Nina’s twisting psychological journey.
Nina starts out as what the ballet world calls a “bunhead,” a not-so-endearing term for a ballerina so
devoted to dance that nothing else matters, who is sheltered by her equally driven, former-dancer mother and
who never really developed an adult life of her own. But when she gets the role of the Swan Queen, it awakens
something new in her, a need to explore her deepest, darkest feelings which begin to unhinge the fragile edges
of her mind. Nina, like the Swan Queen she wants to embody, suddenly becomes embroiled in a story of
enchantment, desire and danger.
This pushed Portman to edges that she had never before explored on screen – and required her to peer
into the abyss. “Nina is dedicated, hardworking but also obsessive,” the actress explains. “She doesn’t yet have
her own voice as a dancer, as a young woman, but she progressively changes as she searches to find her
sensuality and sense of freedom. At the same time, she also starts to come undone, and that was the challenge. “
She continues: “What Nina wants is perfection, which is something that can only exist for a moment, a
brief, fleeting moment -- but like all artists, she may have to destroy herself to find that. When she tries to
become the Black Swan, something dark starts to bubble inside her. It becomes an identity crisis where she’s
not only unsure of who she is but the lines become blurred between her and other people. She starts literally
seeing herself everywhere.”
Trapped in this dizzying world of doubles and deceptive appearances, of mysterious encounters and
erupting wounds, Nina begins to lose control -- and Portman had to do so, also.
“As Nina begins to rebel against all the structures around her,” she notes, “it comes with all this
paranoia that takes her to a dark place, where she isn’t sure what other people want from her and whether or not
she’s losing her mind.”
Amidst the darkness, Portman was thrilled to have a chance to immerse herself in the ballet world she,
like Nina, dreamed about as a young girl. “I loved the authenticity of all these very real dance world details in
the screenplay,” she says, “and I especially loved how Nina’s story parallels ‘Swan Lake.’ I saw her as
someone really trying to break free of a spell – trying to break free of everyone else defining who she is and
trying to see through all of it who she really is as a person and an artist.”
And yet, as Nina begins to lose the thread of reality, she cannot let anyone know what she’s going
through, lest she lose the role of the Swan Queen to her most threatening rival, the sensuous, shameless Lily --
who becomes Nina’s alternate, both literally and figuratively.
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Portman was intrigued by Nina and Lily’s twisted, envy-driven relationship which operates on several
levels. “I like how when they first meet, they size each other up the way that girls really do,” she says. “It’s a
survival mechanism, to scope out who your biggest competition is and in this case, Nina sees right away that
Lily is gorgeous, talented and a total threat to her position. But she also doesn’t yet know who Lily really is.”
To reveal all this on screen, Portman put herself through both rigorous physical and psychological
preparations. The physical training was beyond anything she ever imagined, as she began training intensively,
with single-minded focus, for five hours a day, every day, some ten months before production even began. She
did so under the tutelage of several pro-level teachers and trainers -- including Mary Helen Bowers, formerly of
the New York City Ballet – who put her through a gruelingly complete dance education in record time.
“I did a tremendous amount of dancing, and I also did a lot of swimming and weight training as well as
cross training, so I wouldn’t get injured because dance is so hard on the body,” Portman explains. “It’s
incredibly challenging, trying to pick ballet up at 28. Even if you’ve taken dance lessons before, you just don’t
realize how much goes into it at the elite level. Every small gesture has to be so specific and so full of lightness
and grace. I knew it would be a challenge, but I never expected just how physically tough it turned out to be.”
In addition to having studied dance in her youth, Portman studied psychology at Harvard, which yielded
further insights into Nina’s disintegrating psyche, allowing the actress deeper into Nina’s surreal inner
experience. “I saw Nina as being caught in a cycle of obsession and compulsion,” she assesses. “The positive
side of that for artists and dancers is that by focusing so hard you can become a virtuoso, but then there’s a
much darker side, an unhealthy side, in which you can become completely lost. That’s where I had to take
Nina.”
Portman explored that darker side with fearlessness in each of Nina’s relationships: with the ballet
company’s relentless artistic director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) who pushes her to explore the unvisited,
dark corners inside herself; with her over-involved, former dancer mother (Barbara Hershey), who keeps a
constant close eye on Nina; and by the veteran dancer (Winona Ryder) whose career Nina once idolized and
whose sudden downfall sends her reeling.
SHADOWING THE SWAN:
THE SUPPORTING CAST
Surrounding Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN is an accomplished supporting cast whose
performances add to the film’s hypnotic mix of beauty, mystery and fear.
To play Natalie Portman’s rival Lily, Aronofsky chose Mila Kunis, the Ukrainian born actress who has
been rapidly rising with roles in BOOK OF ELI and FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, who brought the
brashness and dark charm to her role as the overly ambitious newcomer.
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“Mila plays Lily as someone who has exactly what Nina wants. She is much freer, more alive and more
sexual than Nina,” says Aronofsky. “Lily has the freedom to express herself and that becomes the source of
both great allure and intense friction for Nina.”
Kunis was instantly drawn to her wildly uninhibited character and to the intriguing idea of playing a
dancer though the brutal reality knocked her for a serious loop. “I had this idea in the beginning of grandeur, of
feeling graceful and wearing a tutu, but you have no idea how physically demanding it is until you do it,” Kunis
says. “It really takes a toll on your body!”
Nevertheless, she threw herself into training and into exploring the upending effects Lily has on Nina.
“The key to Lily is that she had to be exactly the opposite of Nina, her mirror opposite, in every way,” says
Kunis. “Even their dance styles are opposite. Nina is a very technical, beautiful dancer while Lily is more raw,
free and spontaneous. Nina’s whole life is ballet but Lily eats hamburgers, parties, has sex, does drugs and
explores everything. She’s the complete antithesis of Nina and embodies the Black Swan.”
Taking on Lily as both the ultimate impulsive woman and an apparition was a tightrope act, one Kunis
says she could not have done without Darren Aronofsky providing a safety net. “I wouldn’t have done this
movie if not for Darren,” she confesses. “This character could be very iffy in the wrong hands. There isn’t a
right way to play Lily. I didn’t read the script saying, ‘Oh, I’ve got this character figured out; I know exactly
how to play her,’ because in every scene she’s different. But I trusted that in Darren’s hands it would work. I
don’t know if I would’ve felt like that in the hands of any other director.”
If Lily represents all that Nina wants to access within herself, then the company’s brilliant
choreographer and artistic director, Thomas Leroy, is the man who pushes her without mercy to do just that.
Playing Thomas is Cesar-winning French actor Vincent Cassel, who is lauded in Europe but has also worked in
a range of Hollywood films such as OCEANS TWELVE, SHREK, ELIZABETH and EASTERN PROMISES.
“Vincent is one of my favorite actors on the planet,” says Aronofsky. “I’m a big fan of his work in both
his French and American films. Here he plays a Machiavellian character – the artistic director who is all about
the art, and doesn’t care about the victims he leaves along the way. He was wonderful to work with in the role,
in part because he moves so beautifully.”
Cassel says the role was impossible to resist. “First of all there was Darren, who I always wanted to
work with. Then, there was Natalie, who I’ve admired for years. After that, came the idea of making a thriller
set in the ballet world, which is so attractive. The ingredients were cool. I knew it would be dark but very sexy.
Then, I discovered Mila and soon Winona Ryder got involved, and I was going to be in the middle of all these
women like a circus master. So, honestly, how could I say no?” he laughs.
Yet, Cassel also knew Thomas would not be an easy man to inhabit especially in his willingness to push
the dancers to their limit. “He’s not exactly a womanizer,” he explains. “I don’t think he’s really interested in
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women so much as he’s excited by going after the extremes of perfection, beauty and art. He wants to see the
dancers he chooses blossom into the ultimate expression of himself, and he drives them very, very hard.”
To play Thomas with an authentic air, Cassel dove into research, studying the lives and magnetic
personalities of the world’s great choreographers, from Balanchine to Baryshnikov. He was further inspired by
observing the film’s choreographer, renowned dancer Benjamin Millepied of the New York City Ballet.
“Seeing the way Benjamin interacted with the dancers, and the way he carried himself, gave me a lot of
interesting input,” notes Cassel.
Rounding out the main cast are two Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe®-winning
actresses: Winona Ryder as Beth, the company’s legendary star dancer who finds herself rapidly falling from
grace and Barbara Hershey as Nina’s mother, Erica, who both shields and smothers her daughter.
For Ryder’s character, Beth is key to Nina’s story as a prophesy of what awaits her in the future. “Beth
has been the star for awhile but now she’s at an age where, in one swoop, she gets fired and dumped by her
lover, the ballet’s Artistic Director,” explains Ryder. “It brings up the whole question of what dancers have to
endure, the tragedy and unfairness of how short their careers are.”
She continues, “I think it also deals more generally with the quest for perfection, because what dancers
have to go through to perfect their performances is beyond anything an audience ever sees. Beth has worked on
her art since she was a child and suddenly, she comes to a place where everything she’s worked so hard to
develop has just broken her down. And she doesn’t handle it well.”
Aronofsky says of Ryder, “Winona was fantastic for the role because she is such a superstar herself. I
think the audience will really connect to her as the famous prima ballerina who is being pushed out as Nina
steps in to replace her.”
Hershey, too, was entranced by BLACK SWAN and her unusual role. “I’m sure some people will look
at Erica as the mother from hell but I see her as a mother in hell, which is a big difference,” says Hershey. “I
think she’s pretty tortured. For everything she does, there’s this opposite thing happening at the same time. She
loves her daughter yet there’s an obsession to it. She wants her to succeed but at the same time she knows her
fragile mental state. She’s terribly jealous of her daughter, yet she wants the world for her. She wants Nina to
fly -- but she doesn’t want her to leave.”
Both women were captivated by Aronofsky’s techniques for working with actors. “I wasn’t available
for rehearsal because I was working on another film in England at the time,” recalls Hershey, “so Darren had
me do something I thought was so brilliant. He asked me to write two letters to Nina as my character. So,
while I was working on this other project, I was already thinking of the relationship between Nina and her
mother. I started writing and the character just started speaking. Then Darren took these letters and gave them
to Natalie at strategic moments.”
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POINTE AND PUNISHMENT:
THE TRAINING AND CHOREOGRAPHY
Just as he had penetrated the starkly human yet hidden world of professional wrestlers in THE
WRESTLER, amidst the psychological thrills of BLACK SWAN, Darren Aronofsky submerses the audience
into the gritty, sweat-and-anxiety filled backstage reality of dance that few people ever see. While ballet has
long been a part of cinematic history, from Michael Powell’s classic THE RED SHOES to Herbert Ross’ 70s hit
THE TURNING POINT, Aronofsky’s film looks like no other dance movie before it.
To shoot ballet from the inside looking out would take a combination of personal research, intensive
actor training and visceral camera techniques. “As a filmmaker, Darren is obsessed with details,” says co-writer
Mark Heyman. “So despite the fantastical elements of the story – seeing your double and the transformation of
Nina – it was very important to him to ground the film in a lot of authenticity.”
As production neared, Aronofsky began to hone in on how he was going to create the film’s dynamic
stage performances which he wanted to have all the first-person intensity of the fight scenes in THE
WRESTLER, yet also capture the grace and lyricism that makes ballet a kind of poetry of the body…and do
justice to the legacy of “Swan Lake.”
To start, he recruited a ballet team headed by choreographer Benjamin Millepied, himself a star dancer
with The New York City Ballet and a globally acclaimed creator of new ballets. Though it was his first time
choreographing for film, Millepied took to it immediately. “I got really into the whole process, and I was
blown away by the actors,” he says. Millepied also had fun stepping in front of the camera to play the role of
David, the company’s lead dancer.
His task was to take key moments from “Swan Lake” and choreograph them so they would perfectly
integrate with both Aronofsky’s screen vision of Thomas Leroy’s idea of a fresh, “stripped down” production
and at the same time be performable by the two actresses who, devoted as they were, were not life-long
ballerinas.
“It was really important to Darren to keep true to a real “Swan Lake,’” explains Millepied. “But we
both knew that you can’t train someone to be a lead ballerina in six months, so we worked very hard on
choosing specific movements for Natalie and Mila that would work on film. Natalie had already started taking
dance classes before I was introduced to her and she had done some training in her childhood, but Mila had no
training whatsoever. So my role was to really refine their movements and to use the choreography to bring out
exactly what was needed. Fortunately, Darren has a great understanding of what good dancing looks like, so
that made my job a lot easier.”
For Portman and Kunis, it would be an intense education. To help train them further, Millepied brought
in a crew of ballet coaches, including the legendary Georgina Parkinson, a principal dancer with the Royal
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Ballet and mistress of the American Ballet Theatre for 30 years, who sadly passed away just two weeks before
filming was completed. Also working with the actresses were the ballet mistresses Marina Stavitskaya, director
of classical repertoire for the Manhattan Youth Ballet, and Olga Kostritzky, whose past students included
Mikhail Baryshnikov and Jock Soto.
They pushed Portman and Kunis to do things with their bodies they never know possible – and both
paid a physical price. “I love dancing so much, I thought it was going to be so much fun to dance at work,”
Portman recalls. “I had no idea how grueling it would be.”
Grueling wasn’t even the half of it. Both she and Kunis would battle injuries and overtraining fatigue
as they raced the clock to be ready for the shoot. “Two torn ligaments and a dislocated shoulder later, I was
asking myself, ‘What am I doing?’” laughs Kunis.
She continues: “The pointe shoes are especially brutal. I could probably have them on for a maximum
20 minutes. You don’t even have to get up en pointe for them to hurt. All you have to do is walk around. Your
feet can’t go forward because there’s this wooden box at the tip. You trip over yourself. To have them on all
day, your feet swell and turn black and blue.”
Portman, who danced more than 90% of her scenes on screen, also suffered an agonizing rib injury
while training. “It was pretty intense because I had to deal with it for about half of the shoot,” she admits. “But
it’s hard to complain when you see what the professional dancers dance through all the time. They’re
constantly dancing with very serious injuries, like sprained ankles. They are accustomed to dancing through
pain.”
Despite all the difficulties, the two women were guided so expertly, they grew ever stronger and more
confident as dancers. “It was one of the hardest things I think I’ll ever do in my life,” admits Kunis. “I also
think ballet isn’t given enough credit as one of the hardest sports in the world. But the really amazing part
comes when you realize how all that hard work and suffering can produce an art that looks so effortless.”
That effortlessness, which characterizes the most powerful dancing, is what Millepied was after on the
screen, a stark contrast with Nina’s nightmarish personal journey. “It was amazing to watch Natalie and Mila
progress. We set the bar very high and they were able to pull it off,” he comments.
To accompany Portman and Kunis on stage, Millepied and executive producer Ari Handel brought in a
corps of professional dancers from the Pennsylvania Ballet – including male lead Sergio Torrado, who plays
Von Rothbart in the film’s “Swan Lake.” Due to the timing, it turned out to be far more difficult to find the
right ballet company than it was to find the starring actors.
“We found out that a lot of companies, like the New York City Ballet and ABT, were in season, so they
couldn’t spare any dancers for us,” says producer Franklin. “Fortunately, the Pennsylvania Ballet was on
hiatus. They agreed to work with us only a few weeks before shooting.”
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“We were thrilled to be able to make this work,” says Roy Kaiser, Artistic Director of the Pennsylvania
Ballet. “It’s a fantastic project and was a great experience for my dancers. They’ve had a chance to help show
ballet in a realistic light and were so excited to work with this phenomenal cast.”
HALL OF MIRRORS:
THE VISUAL DESIGN
Production of BLACK SWAN began outside Lincoln Center, home of the New York City Ballet, and
continued for several weeks, entirely on location in New York, mainly in Manhattan but also shooting at the
Performing Arts Center at the State University of New York Purchase, the versatile stage where Bob Fosse shot
portions of the cinematic dance classic, ALL THAT JAZZ.
Aronofsky worked with his talented design team to entwine two visual ideas: a visceral view of ballet
featuring raw, handheld camera work and a more surreal and frightening but equally gritty, series of images
filled with refractive mirrors and eerie sightings of doppelgangers that blur the edges of reality. The alwaysmoving
camera seems to both dance and descend with the main character.
The team included many Aronofsky regulars, headed by cinematographer Matthew Libatique, ASC
(THE FOUNTAIN), production designer Thérèse DePrez (HOWL), costume designer Amy Westcott (THE
WRESTLER), editor Andrew Weisblum, A.C.E. (THE WRESTLER) and visual effects supervisor Dan
Schrecker (REQUIEM FOR A DREAM).
Bypassing a century of both dance-on-film and psychological thriller techniques, Aronofsky and
Libatique instead brought their own trademark style to a world rarely seen in this kind of raw intimacy. Most of
the film’s scenes rely on a single hand-held camera that moves continuously, sinuously, with no resetting for
masters or close-ups.
“I was excited to shoot a psychological thriller mostly hand-held because I couldn’t think of a time
when it had been done before,” says Aronofsky. “There are sometimes a few scenes in thrillers where you see
from the monster’s POV with a hand-held camera, but to do the whole thing hand-held in a documentary style
felt unique.”
He continues, “I also felt that bringing a handheld camera into the ballet world would help to get inside
it, as we had done with the wrestling ring in THE WRESTLER. The camera is dancing and spinning with the
dancers. It captures the energy, the sweat, the pain and the artistry close up.”
And then there are the mirrors, which play a major role in the film’s visual architecture. “In the world
of ballet there are mirrors everywhere,” explains Aronofsky. “Dancers are always looking at themselves, so
their relationship with their reflection is a huge part of who they are. Filmmakers are also fascinated by mirrors,
and it’s been played with before, but I wanted to take it to a new level. Visually, we really pushed that idea of
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what it means to look in a mirror. Mirrors become a big part of looking into Nina’s character, which is all about
doubles and reflection.”
The task of forging the physical world of BLACK SWAN fell to production designer Thérèse DePrez.
Here, she faced the double challenge of designing both a Manhattan-based psychological thriller and an onscreen
production of “Swan Lake” meshing them together in every detail. “I’ve wanted to work with Thérèse
for a long time,” says Aronofsky. “She created a really big canvas for us on a very tight budget. She created a
world that is not the real world, but feels like it is real, which is a very hard thing to pull off.”
“Darren is very organic in the way he approaches his films,” says DePrez, “so I started by looking at the
palette, which was inspired both by ‘Swan Lake’ and by what Nina sees everyday – the rehearsal spaces that are
both Old World and modern New York. We wanted something very minimalist so it is mostly shades of black,
white, grey and the pinks of ballet, which were divided into the innocent pinks of Nina’s character and Beth’s
pinks which are a little more worn. Then there are some greens, which come from Rothbart and also the nature
settings of ‘Swan Lake.’ But that’s really it. We kept the colors very limited.”
Many of the film’s sets would quietly presage what is later seen on stage in “Swan Lake” during the
explosive climax of the film including Thomas Leroy’s stark, black-and-white apartment, where he gives Nina
an unusual homework assignment as well as Nina’s pink, childlike bedroom, which offers her fewer and fewer
comforts as the story builds. “It’s all very subtle, but there are common visual threads that keep weaving
throughout,” points out DePrez. “One thing about Darren is that he doesn’t like to over-stylize anything. So a
lot of the design was about grounding Natalie’s character in reality.”
It all built up to DePrez’s most massive challenge: designing sets for a new take on “Swan Lake,” one
that would be dark, modern, edgy and, most of all, highly cinematic.
“One of the things that was very important to Darren and me was to have movement in all of the set
pieces on the stage. We didn’t want anything stagnant or still,” she explains. “So, you’ll see in every act of the
ballet there are stage elements that move. There are tree scrims that spread apart, there’s a moon that is backlit,
there’s a cliff with a moving ramp. Everything also has a touch of photorealism to make it more modern and
unexpected. It all had to be very intricately composed.”
Her designs even extended to the wings of the stage. “The wings were almost as important as the stage
itself,” she says. “We made sure there were ballet bars where the dancers are stretching, and of course, mirrors.
Everything is there for the camera to capture.”
That same attention to Nina’s reality with the visual elements of “Swan Lake” intertwined throughout
can be found in the work of costume designer Amy Westcott, who started by throwing herself into the ballet
world. “I sat in on classes, went to performances at ABT and New York City Ballet, and then began to put lots
of idea together,” she explains.
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Having collaborated with Aronofsky before on THE WRESTLER, Westcott knew what to expect.
“Darren likes to dive into a world and get it right, and it’s our job to dive in right after him,” she says.
Key to getting BLACK SWAN right was finding a look for Natalie Portman as Nina, one that shifts as
her reality lurches. “I wanted to get across that, at first, Nina’s mother has a big influence on how she dresses,”
says Westcott. “Her mother wants to keep her in a childlike state, so Nina wears mostly three girlish colors:
white, grey and pink. We start out heavy on the pink. But, by the end, she wears mostly black. Once you start
to see her in black tights instead of pink, you know something’s snapped and she’s on the other side of the
fence.”
Westcott used each of the character’s core personalities to influence their look. “Lily is about sexy
confidence so she wears a lot of black with flashes of silver. There’s also a dream-like quality to her that we
tried to convey. Thomas Leroy is very strong and so Vincent wears black, grey and white.”
Then there was the extraordinary task of coming up with costumes for a New York ballet company's
new spin on the classic "Swan Lake." To do this, Aronofsky spoke to two exciting fashion stars, Kate
and Laura Mulleavy, sisters known collectively to the fashion world as Rodarte,. Aronofsky felt that
Rodarte's gothic, romantic, yet rough-edged designs could update the ballet's traditional look in
unpredictable ways. "Visually it's a very different take on 'Swan Lake,'" he says. "Rodarte's ballet
costumes take it to another plane, they're both classic and cutting-edge at the same time".
The Mulleavy sisters were intrigued and excited by the concept of a new take on "Swan Lake."
"The aesthetics of ballet are compelling to us as designers and we have always loved Tchaikovsky's
'Swan Lake.' Reading the script, we were immediately drawn in to the story and began to envision
Natalie as a ballerina and the world that Darren would create with her character. Darren is a true auteur
and we were excited by the concept of bringing our visions together. We met with Darren in New York
and Natalie in Los Angeles and instantly knew the vision for the movie was an aesthetic we wanted to
help bring to life."
They continue, "Black Swan is a story of beauty contrasted with a dark transfiguration. We
developed the costumes with the characters' dual identities in mind, always trying to find the balance
between their delicate and brutal natures and actions. We used colors (cool grey, pale pink, white,
black, and dark green) and textures (wool and angora, feather, tulle, metal, and embroideries) to
illustrate their on-stage and off-stage personas."
Another key component in building the mood, suspense and emotions of BLACK SWAN is the
music composed by Darren Aronofsky’s long-time collaborator Clint Mansell. Mansell began by going
straight to the source of Nina’s obsession – “Swan Lake” – and wove strands of Pyotr Ilyich
Tchaikovsky’s iconic music for the classic ballet throughout the fabric of the film’s score.
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When Aronofsky approached him about the film, Mansell had just seen a production of the
ballet in London. “I was knocked out by it as a live, visceral experience, and I thought, ‘this is going to
be cool,’” he recalls.
In creating the score, Mansell was faced with an intriguing challenge with how to be true to
Tchaikovsky’s timeless legacy while creating a distinctive sonic environment for Nina’s dark, modern
journey. “It was a tremendous privilege to work with Tchaikovsky’s fantastic piece of music. I had the
deepest respect for it, but I also felt I had to have no boundaries, that I had to really go for it,” the
composer says. “I really hope that in the end, people won’t think ‘oh that part is Tchaikovsky and that
other part isn’t.’ I hope it’s a journey of the two woven together to become a new take on ‘Swan
Lake.’”
Mansell’s idea was that Tchaikovsky’s lyrical masterpiece would, in a sense, haunt Nina,
following her, altering and shifting into something stranger and stormier, as she becomes more and
more overtaken by her role as the Swan Queen.
“The music is always referencing Tchaikovsky or echoing it in some way,” Mansell explains.
“Tchaikovsky was always the foundation, but then I started experimenting.”
The process grew more personal as it intensified. “Tchaikovsky’s score is so wonderfully
complex and there’s so much going on in it, it tells the story in every note,” Mansell observes. “But
modern film scores are more subdued, more minimalist if you will, so I had to almost deconstruct the
ballet. I broke it down into certain rhythms, progressions and melodies, and then rebuilt those into the
score for the film. As I continued writing, the score took in more of the way I hear music with more
atonal and discordant elements that bring out the suspense and turmoil.”
Mansell also worked with the music’s organic elements to mirror Nina’s subconscious and her
passage into corridors of paranoia, overwhelming desire and fear. “It wasn’t hard to dial in that element
of terror,” he notes, “because Tchaikovsky’s music is already so powerful and expressive. Ballets back
then were like films today, they were written to take people on an imaginative trip.”
Before production even began, Mansell wrote portions of the score so that the film’s ballet
sequences could be shot to the music then later, he began writing to picture as dailies started coming in,
providing fresh inspiration. At last, he traveled to London for the final recording sessions, where he
heard the score performed for the first time by a 77-piece orchestra. “When the music takes on a life of
its own in the hands of great musicians, that’s breathtaking,” says Mansell.
Aronofsky was exhilarated by what Mansell created. “This is some of the most extraordinary
work I’ve heard from Clint,” says the director. “You feel Tchaikovsky everywhere but it also feels
new. It’s eerie, mesmerizing and beautiful.”
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“From the music, costumes and sets, to the melding of choreography with camerawork, every aspect of
shooting the “Swan Lake” scenes was a major learning experience but each paid off,” Aronofsky notes. “We
started out knowing very little about ballet, about how to shoot it and how to get people excited by it, but I think
the film really works to connect people to the art form, to make it accessible,” he says.
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ABOUT THE CAST
NATALIE PORTMAN (Nina) made her debut in Luc Besson's THE PROFESSIONAL, in 1994. She
won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and received an Academy Award nomination for her
performance in Mike Nichol's CLOSER.
She will next be seen in Ivan Reitman’s untitled romantic-comedy opposite Ashton Kutcher, about two
long-term friends who share a casual sexual relationship without falling in love and ruining everything. The
Paramount film is slated for release on January 21, 2011. Also upcoming, Portman has David Gordon Green's
YOUR HIGHNESS, co-starring with Danny McBride, James Franco and Zooey Deschanel. The story focuses
on an arrogant, lazy prince who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom, with Portman as his love
interest. The Universal Pictures film is slated for release April 8, 2011. Following that, this summer, she will
appear in Kenneth Branagh's THOR, portraying Jane Foster, love interest of Thor. The Paramount film is slated
for release on May 20, 2011.
Additionally, Portman is set to topline and produce road-trip comedy BEST BUDS through her
handsomecharlie banner, with Vendome Pictures CEO Philippe Rousselet. The film, based on Jamie Denbo's
script, centers on a woman who is on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown on the eve of her wedding. To
save herself, she goes on a road trip to San Diego with two best friends, relying on a combo of marijuana and
the bonds of their decades-long friendship.
On screen, Portman has starred in over twenty-five films, including HEAT, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS,
EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU, MARS ATTACKS!, ANYWHERE BUT HERE (GOLDEN GLOBE
NOMINATION), WHERE THE HEART IS, COLD MOUNTAIN, GARDEN STATE, FREE ZONE, V FOR
VENDETTA, PARIS JE T'AIME, GOYA'S GHOSTS, MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, MR. MAGORIUM'S
WONDER EMPORIUM, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU and BROTHERS.
Additionally, she starred in George Lucas' STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE, STAR
WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES, and STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE
SITH. The prequels to the wildly popular STAR WARS trilogy of the 70's and 80's rank among the topgrossing
films ever produced worldwide. On stage, Portman starred in Mike Nichol's Shakespeare in the Park
production of The Seagull, opposite Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Philip Seymour Hoffman; as well as James
Lapine's Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank.
Behind the lens, Portman has taken turns writing, directing and producing. Her credits include EVE
which she wrote and directed. The film debuted at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and stars Lauren Bacall, Ben
Gazzara, and Olivia Thirlby. She also wrote and directed a short film for NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU, about a
day in the life of a father and daughter in Central Park. The film, released in October 2009, showcases twelve
filmmakers who each directed a vignette illustrating the universal theme of love within the five boroughs of
New York City. Additionally, she executive produced and starred in Don Roos' adaptation of Ayelet Waldman's
novel LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE PURSUITS, opposite Scott Cohen and Charlie Tahan. The film,
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which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, revolves around a young woman who tries to
recover her marriage through her relationship with her stepson.
Portman is currently developing film projects through her production company, handsomecharlie films,
which has an overhead deal with Participant Media. Together with Producer Annette Savitch, the company is
focused on finding intelligent, accessible films across varied genres, as well as female-driven comedies.
handsomecharlie films recently set up PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES with Darko Entertainment at
Lionsgate, BOOKSMART at Fox, BEST BUDS at Vendome Pictures with Portman attached to star, and they
are partnered with Plan B at Paramount to produce IMPORTANT ARTIFACTS, based on the book by Leanne
Shapton, with Brad Pitt and Portman attached to star. Their first produced film, HESHER, was recently bought
for distribution by Newmarket at the Sundance Film Festival and is slated for release in 2011. The film is
directed by Spencer Susser and stars Joseph Gordon Levitt.
Portman became the first Ambassador of Hope for FINCA, an international village banking
microfinance program providing small loans and savings programs to the world's poorest families so they may
create their own jobs, raise household incomes, and improve their standard of living thereby reducing poverty
worldwide. As the Ambassador of Hope, Portman has proved to be a globally aware and dedicated individual
who supports the work of FINCA through her advocacy and visits to FINCA International programs in
countries such as Guatemala, Ecuador and Uganda. She has also met with high-level United States Members of
Congress to lobby for support of international microfinance funding.
A Harvard graduate with a degree in psychology, Portman has also studied at Hebrew University in
Jerusalem where she learned Arabic and Hebrew, and studied the Anthropology of Violence and Israeli history.
VINCENT CASSEL (Thomas Leroy) is a prolific and prominent actor who's known for his bold
choice of roles and fearless inhabitance of his characters.
Earlier this year, Cassel was seen starring in Jean-Francois Richet's MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY #1
and MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT. The two-part films tell the true story of Jacques Mesrine, who became
France's most notorious felon throughout the 1970's. Arch-fiend to some and folk hero to others, Mesrine's
illegal career spanned nearly two decades of brazen bank robberies, prison breaks, and ingenious identity
changes. Critically acclaimed worldwide, the film was a commercial success in France, garnering the country's
highest honor in film, ten César Award nominations and winning the awards for Best Actor and Best Director.
For his performance, Cassel went on to receive Best Actor honors at the Lumiere Awards, the Etoile D'Or and
the Tokyo International Film Festvial.
Cassel has completed production on Dominik Moll's THE MONK, toplining an 18th century-set story
based on Matthew Lewis' Gothic novel depicting the rise and tragic downfall of Capucin Ambrosio, a respected
Spanish monk. He has also recently finished filming David Cronenberg's A DANGEROUS METHOD,
alongside Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley. The film revolves around a love triangle
that develops between psychiatry pioneers Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung who both fall in love with Jung’s
patient.
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Currently in production, Cassel has Romain Gavras' first feature, OUR DAY WILL COME (aka
NOTRE JOUR VIENDRA) starring opposite Olivier Bartélémy. The film, which Cassel also produced, focuses
on two rage-fueled outcasts who set off on a roadtrip of hate, violence and self-destruction. In addition to this,
Cassel is simultaneously in development on an untitled romantic comedy set in Brazil with Kim Chapiron set to
direct and Cassel writing, producing and starring in the film.
Cassel began his career in France in 1988 starting out with small roles on television and in film. In
1995, he made his mark in Mathieu Kassovitz's critically acclaimed film LA HAINE, where he played a
troubled youth from the deprived outskirts of Paris. For his performance, Cassel received his first César Award
nominations - for Best Actor and Most Promising Newcomer.
Following this breakthrough performance, Cassel has appeared in over twenty-five films in both France
and the United States. Notable film credits in France include Gilles Mimouni's L'APPARTEMENT, Gaspar
Noe's IRRÉVERSIBLE, Jan Kounen's DOBERMANN, and Jacques Audiard's SUR MES LÈVRES, for which
he received his third César Award nomination.
Cassel has appeared in various English-language films such as James Ivory's JEFFERSON IN PARIS,
Shekhar Kapur's ELIZABETH, Luc Besson's THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC, Mathieu
Kassovitz's THE CRIMSON RIVERS, Christophe Gans' THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, Paul
McGuigan's THE RECKONING, Andrew Adamson's SHREK, Jan Kounen's RENEGADE, Mikael Håfström's
DERAILED and David Cronenberg's EASTERN PROMISES. Cassel also co-starred in Stephen Soderbergh's
OCEAN'S TWELVE for which he later reprised the role in OCEAN'S THIRTEEN.
Behind the lens, Cassel also heads a production company, 120 Films. Formed in 1997, the banner has
developed and produced SHABBAT NIGHT FEVER, IRRÉVERSIBLE, RENEGADE, SECRET AGENTS,
SHEITAN, MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NO. 1 and MESRINE: KILLER INSTINCT.
Currently, Cassel is the face of Yves Saint Laurent men's fragrance, La Nuit de l'Homme, which was
launched worldwide in March 2009. The advertising campaign was shot by fashion photographers Mert Alas &
Marcus Piggot.
Cassel and his family split their time between Paris, London, Rome and Rio de Janeiro.
Russian-born MILA KUNIS (Lily) has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and
engaging young actresses. She most recently starred opposite Denzel Washington in the box office hit THE
BOOK OF ELI, directed by the Hughes Brothers.
In 2008 she starred in Judd Apatow’s hit comedy, FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, in which she
played Rachel opposite Jason Segel, Kirsten Bell, and Jonah Hill. She also starred in 20 th Century Fox’s MAX
PAYNE opposite Mark Wahlberg.
Kunis began her acting career in television commercials, then became known for her roles on two of
Fox’s most successful series: THAT ‘70S SHOW, playing Jackie Burkhardt, which earned her two Young Star
Awards for best actress in a television series and the voice of Meg on FAMILY GUY.
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In September 2009, Kunis starred with Jason Bateman in the Miramax film EXTRACT. She was most
recently seen in the comedy DATE NIGHT with Tina Fey and Steve Carrell as one of the characters the couple
encounter on a date gone awry. Currently, Kunis is filming FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS opposite Justin
Timberlake. The film is about the relationship between two friends (Timberlake and Kunis) that gets
complicated when they decide to get romantic.
Multi-award-winning actress BARBARA HERSHEY (Erica) has showcased her talent in some of
Hollywood's most memorable films, television movies, miniseries and series. Hershey won an Emmy® and
Golden Globe Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for A KILLING IN A SMALL
TOWN and also garnered unprecedented back-to-back Best Actress Awards at the Cannes Film Festival for her
performances in SHY PEOPLE and A WORLD APART, as well as an Academy Award nomination for THE
PORTRAIT OF A LADY.
The Hollywood native made her feature film debut in WITH SIX YOU GET EGGROLL. With
title roles in THE BABY MAKER and BOXCAR BERTHA Hershey quickly became one of
Hollywood’s most popular young actresses.
In the 1980's Hershey starred in THE STUNT MAN with Peter O'Toole, THE RIGHT STUFF
with Ed Harris, Sam Shepard and Scott Glenn, THE NATURAL with Robert Redford and Robert
Duvall, HANNAH AND HER SISTERS with Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest and Michael
Caine, HOOSIERS with Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper, TIN MEN with Richard Dreyfuss and
Danny DeVito, SHY PEOPLE with Jill Clayburgh, THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST with
Willem Dafoe and Harvey Keitel, BEACHES with Bette Midler and John Heard and A WORLD
APART with Tim Roth.
Hershey returned to television in 1990 with her award-winning performance as Candy
Morrison in A KILLING IN A SMALL TOWN, co-starring Brian Dennehy and Hal Holbrook. She
followed with a string of television successes, including her portrayal of Clara Allen in the miniseries
RETURN TO LONESOME DOVE with Jon Voight and Louis Gossett, Jr. and the role of Dr.
Francesca Alberghetti in David E. Kelly's series CHICAGO HOPE on CBS.
During this period, Hershey remained active in feature films. She was nominated for an Oscar
and Golden Globe for her performance in THE PORTRAIT OF A LADY with Nicole Kidman and
John Malkovich and also starred in Merchant-Ivory's A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES, as
well as the award-winning LANTANA from Australian director Ray Lawrence.
In 2007 Hershey starred in both THE BIRD CAN’T FLY directed by Threes Anna and LOVE
COMES LATELY directed by Jan Schutte. Both premiered to critical acclaim at the San Sebastian and
Toronto Film Festivals, respectively.
Following these, Hershey returned to television to star with Shirley MacLaine in Kevin
Sullivan’s ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A NEW BEGINNING for PBS, for which she received a
Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic
Program or Mini-Series.
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Next, Hershey co-starred opposite Jeroen Krabbé as ‘Helene’ in SCHWEITZER, Gavin
Millar’s biopic of Nobel Peace-Prize winning physician, philosopher and theologian Albert
Schweitzer. In December 2009, Hershey co-starred as the iconic Mrs. Hubbard in the new film
adaptation of Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, part of the new POIROT film
series for ITV with David Suchet.
Earlier this year, she co-starred opposite Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson in James Wan’s
INSIDIOUS, the story of a family who is beset by vengeful spirits from another realm. The film will
have its premiere during this year’s Midnight Madness at the Toronto Film Festival.
Hershey resides in Los Angeles.
With two Oscar® nominations and a Golden Globe award to her credit, WINONA RYDER (Beth)
hails as one of Hollywood's most sought after talents and classic beauties.
Ryder will next be seen in the Universal comedy THE DILEMMA for director Ron Howard.
Vince Vaughn, Kevin James and Jennifer Connelly also star. The film will be released January 14 th ,
2011
Previously, she was seen in Rebecca Miller's THE PRIVATE LIVES OF PIPPA LEE opposite
Robin Wright Penn, Alan Arkin, Keanu Reeves and Julianne Moore, and in JJ Abrams' STAR TREK
starring Chris Pine, Simon Pegg, Karl Urban and Eric Bana.
As "Jo" in Gillian Armstrong's highly acclaimed version of the Louisa May Alcott classic,
LITTLE WOMEN, Ryder received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. The previous year
she was Oscar® nominated, and won the Golden Globe and National Board of Review Awards for Best
Supporting Actress, for her performance in Martin Scorsese's THE AGE OF INNOCENCE. Ryder also
received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Richard Benjamin's MERMAIDS.
In 1999, Ryder starred in and served as Executive Producer on the critically acclaimed GIRL,
INTERRUPTED, based on the bestselling memoir and directed by James Mangold. While the film
marked Ryder's first feature as Executive Producer, she previously produced the documentary THE
DAY MY GOD DIED, which depicted the human story behind the modern tragedy of child sex
trafficking in India.
Noted for constantly challenging herself with each project, Ryder has worked with some of the
most acclaimed directors in film today including Jean Pierre Jeunet's ALIEN: RESURRECTION,
Woody Allen's CELEBRITY, Nicholas Hytner's THE CRUCIBLE, Billie August's THE HOUSE OF
THE SPIRITS, Francis Ford Coppola's BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA, Jim Jarmusch's NIGHT ON
EARTH, Tim Burton's EDWARD SCISSORHANDS and BEETLEJUICE, Michael Lehman's
HEATHERS, Ben Stiller's REALITY BITES, Al Pacino's LOOKING FOR RICHARD, Joan Chen's
AUTUMN IN NEW YORK, Janusz Kaminski's LOST SOULS, Jocelyn Moorehouse's HOW TO
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MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT, David Wain's THE TEN and Richard Linklater's A SCANNER
DARKLY.
On television, Ryder lent her voice to both “The Simpsons” and “Dr. Katz.” She also narrated a
Grammy-nominated album, Anne Frank: The Diary of A Young Girl. Additionally, Ryder appeared in
the season finale episode of “Strangers With Candy” and on an episode of “Friends.”
In 1997, Ryder was honored with Showest's Female Star of the Year, the Motion Picture Club's
Female Star of the Year, as well as receiving an honorary degree from San Francisco's American
Conservatory Theater. She served as a juror for the 51st Annual Cannes International Film Festival
under Martin Scorsese and received the Peter J. Owens Award for "brilliance, independence and
integrity" at the 2000 San Francisco Film Festival. Ryder was also honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Ryder served on the Board of Trustees to the American Indian College Fund, which helps
Native Americans preserve and protect their culture through education. She has been very involved
with the Klaas Kids Foundation since the organization's inception in 1994.
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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS
Director, Writer, Producer DARREN ARONOFSKY (Director) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New
York. His last film THE WRESTLER premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the esteemed Golden
Lion making it only the third American film in history to win this grand prize. One day later it was acquired by
Fox Searchlight hours after its gala screening at the Toronto Film Festival. THE WRESTLER won ‘Best
Feature’ at the Independent Spirit Awards and garnered Academy Award nominations for both Mickey Rourke
and Marisa Tomei.
Aronofsky’s previous feature, THE FOUNTAIN, a science-fiction romance which he wrote and
directed, starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. MTV’s Kurt Loder called the film “a classic; dazzling and
visually intoxicating” and Glenn Kenny from Premiere stated that THE FOUNTAIN, “may well restore your
faith in the idea that a movie can take you out of the mundane and into a place of wonderment.”
In 2000, Aronofsky premiered REQUIEM FOR A DREAM at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was
named to over 150 Top Ten lists including the New York Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and the
American Film Institute. The accolades continued with five Independent Spirit Award nominations, including
one for Best Director and a win for Best Actress Ellen Burstyn. Burstyn also received Golden Globe and
Academy Award nominations for her stunning performance.
Aronofsky’s first feature, π, won the Director’s Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.
Among his honors, the American Film Institute gave Aronofsky the prestigious Franklin J. Schaffner
Alumni Medal and the Stockholm Film Festival presented him the Golden Horse Visionary Award.
MARK HEYMAN (Written By) was born and raised in New Mexico and graduated from Brown
University in 2002. After attending NYU's graduate film program, Heyman began working as director of
development for Darren Aronofsky’s production company Prøtøzøa Pictures. He was a co-producer on THE
WRESTLER, starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood.
Following that movie, Heyman decided to turn his focus back to writing, and began working on
BLACK SWAN with Aronofsky. The film marks his first produced screenplay.
ANDRÉS HEINZ (Screenplay By/Story By) attended UCLA and NYU film school where he
completed his B.F.A with the highest honors; his thesis film GROUND LEVEL B was the winner of the 1st
Place Mobil Award.
After graduation, Andrés worked in film and television production, including Production Coordinator
for the film unit at “Saturday Night Live.” He went on to direct his first feature, ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES,
starring Amanda Peet, Jonathan LaPaglia and Michael Kelly.
Since then, Andrés has dedicated himself to writing and has sold several screenplays. BLACK SWAN
is his first original screenplay to be made into a major motion picture.
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JOHN McLAUGHLIN (Screenplay By) lives in NYC and writes for film and television. His
latest film projects include ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE MAKING OF PSYCHO at
Paramount; THE MAN WHO KILLED HOUDINI; a movie based on the Donald Westlake
underworld character Parker with Brian de Palma attached to direct and KILL YOURSELF BRIDGE
with John Carpenter attached to direct.
He is currently working on a mini-series remake of Coma for Scott Free and A&E and a pilot
for Syfy, “Blue Trace.” He’s previously written for the shows “Touching Evil,” “It’s Me,” “Gerald”
and “Carnivale,” and was co-creator of “Point Pleasant.”
BLACK SWAN is the third project he’s worked on with Darren Aronofsky’s company.
MIKE MEDAVOY (Producer) was born in Shanghai, China in 1941 and graduated from UCLA with a
B.A. in History in mid 1963. He began his film career at Universal Studios in 1964 where he rose from the
mailroom to become a casting director. Mike became a talent agent and VP of Creative Management Agency in
1965 and then head of International Famous Agency’s motion pictures department in 1971.
In 1974, he was brought on as the senior vice president of production for United Artists. There, he was
part of the team responsible for ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, ROCKY and ANNIE HALL,
each winning Best Picture Oscars in the mid 1970’s. In 1978, Medavoy co-founded Orion Pictures where films
such as PLATOON, AMADEUS, ROBOCOP, THE TERMINATOR and DANCES WITH WOLVES were
created.
After twelve successful years at Orion Pictures, Medavoy became chairman of TriStar Pictures were he
oversaw critically-acclaimed box office hits such as PHILADELPHIA, TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY,
SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, THE FISHER KING, LEGENDS OF THE FALL and HOOK.
Today, as chairman and co-founder of Phoenix Pictures, Medavoy has brought such films as THE
PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, THE MIRROR HAS TWO FACES, APT PUPIL, THE THIN RED LINE,
THE 6 TH DAY, BASIC, HOLES, ALL THE KING’S MEN, ZODIAC, MISS POTTER and SHUTTER
ISLAND, among others, to the silver screen. These films have received numerous awards and nominations
including Oscar nominations for THE THIN RED LINE and THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT.
Medavoy has received numerous personal awards including the Motion Picture Pioneer of the Year
Award and the Cannes Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Hollywood Walk
of Fame in 2005. He was also awarded the Legion of Honor by the government of France in 2009 and the
Bernardo O’Higgins award by the Chilean government in 2010.
Throughout his career, Medavoy has also been active in politics. In 1984 he was the Co-Finance Chair
of the Gary Hart Campaign. He actively participated in President Clinton’s campaigns in 1992 and 1996 and
President Obama’s campaign in 2008. His wife, Irena, was Obama’s Co-Finance Chair.
Medavoy has also written several books, now published in Chinese and Spanish. In 2002, he published
his best-selling book You’re Only As Good As Your Next One: 100 Great Films as well as 100 Good Films and
100 For Which I Should Be Shot with Josh Young. In 2009, Medavoy published American Idol After Iraq;
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Competing for Hearts and Minds in the Global Media Age with Nathan Gardels. He has two sons, Brian and
Nicky Medavoy.
ARNOLD MESSER (Producer) is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska and a graduate of Harvard Law
School. He launched his career in the entertainment business as senior counsel at Columbia Pictures Television
in 1979. After a stint as vice president of business affairs at Viacom International, Messer returned to Columbia
Pictures where he served first as senior vice president and later as executive vice president of worldwide
business affairs. In 1983, he was named senior executive vice president of TriStar Pictures and president of its
telecommunications group, where he oversaw the business of theatrical production as well as all ancillary
marketing and television activities for the company.
In 1987, Messer returned again to Columbia Pictures as executive vice president. He supervised
worldwide television production and distribution activities and negotiated major international television
agreements for the company. In 1989, Messer was named president of the international releasing group for
Sony Pictures Entertainment where he was responsible for all international activities and ancillary market
operations.
In 1992, he led this division to well over $1 billion in gross revenues worldwide. That year Messer was
promoted to executive vice president of Sony Pictures Entertainment, taking charge of long-term global strategy
and overseeing international production.
In 1994, Messer teamed with his friend and colleague, Mike Medavoy, to launch Phoenix Pictures.
Under that banner, they have produced such films as Oscar nominees THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT and
THE THIN RED LINE, as well as APT PUPIL, HOLES, ALL THE KING’S MEN, ZODIAC (which Messer
also produced) and Martin Scorsese’s hit thriller SHUTTER ISLAND.
BRIAN OLIVER (Producer) is President of Cross Creek Pictures and a member of the investment
committee of Cross Creek Partners, a film fund formed by the Thompson family and a consortium of private
business investors from Louisiana and Texas. Mr. Oliver is involved in all aspects of Cross Creek’s film
development, acquisitions, financing, and production. A veteran feature film executive and producer, Mr. Oliver
brings a tremendous amount of feature film production and financing expertise to Cross Creek Pictures.
Mr. Oliver started his entertainment career at Paramount Pictures and has been working in the
entertainment industry as either an executive or a producer for over 12 years. He has also been involved in the
development, financing, production, and distribution of over 20 films. Prior to forming Arthaus Pictures, Mr.
Oliver was the V.P. of Production at Propaganda Films, after working in the Motion Picture Department at the
William Morris Agency.
Mr. Oliver has been involved in numerous high profile films while serving as executive at Propaganda.
Mr. Oliver has developed and produced the Paul Schrader directed AUTO FOCUS starring Greg Kinnear,
Willem Dafoe, THE BADGE starring Billy Bob Thornton and Patricia Arquette, and GIVE’EM HELL
MALONE starring Thomas Jane and Ving Rhames. Mr. Oliver founded Arthaus Pictures to develop and
produce feature length films and acquired and developed a diverse slate of 12 feature films that he has brought
with him to Cross Creek Pictures to produce.
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Mr. Oliver received his J.D. with Honors specializing in Entertainment Law from Whittier College
School of Law. Prior to attending law school he also studied at the University of California at Berkeley and has
a B.A. in Political Science.
SCOTT FRANKLIN (Producer) was born and raised in New York where he has established himself as
a well-respected veteran of the NYC filmmaking community. Franklin’s last film, THE WRESTLER,
starred Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. THE WRESTLER was the recipient of the
Golden Lion award at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. Other awards included Best Picture, Best Actor (Mickey
Rourke), and Best Cinematography (Maryse Alberti) at the Independent Spirit Awards 2009. Rourke and
Tomei also received Academy Award nominations for their performances as well as a win for Rourke at the
Golden Globes along with Bruce Springsteen for Best Song (The Wrestler).
His previous film HOUNDDOG, starring Dakota Fanning, Robin Wright-Penn, and David Morse
premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it was a finalist for the Grand Jury Prize.
Before that, Franklin served as a co-producer on Aronofsky’s REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, which
premiered at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival and was named in over 150 Top Ten Lists of 2000. It received
many international awards, five Independent Spirit Award nominations, and star Ellen Burstyn received Golden
Globe and Academy Award Best Actress nominations.
As the Associate Producer, his collaboration on Aronofsky’s debut, π, premiered at the 1998 Sundance
Film Festival where it won the festivals Best Director’s Award. It went on to win several international awards
including Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay and the Open Palm Gotham Award.
BRADLEY J. FISCHER (Executive Producer) Brad Fischer began his career at Phoenix Pictures in
1998, rising through the ranks to Co-President of Production in 2007, reporting directly to Phoenix Pictures
Chairman and CEO Mike Medavoy.
During his tenure at Phoenix, Fischer has been instrumental in discovering, developing, packaging and
producing many high-profile motion picture projects, producing a total of seven films over the last seven years.
Most recently, Fischer produced Martin Scorsese’s latest film SHUTTER ISLAND, based on the New York
Times bestseller by Dennis Lehane, acclaimed author of MYSTIC RIVER and GONE BABY GONE. After
securing film rights to the book, Fischer sent it to screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis with whom he developed the
project. Scorsese and DiCaprio quickly signed on and the fully packaged project was set up on a productioncommitment
basis at Paramount Pictures shortly thereafter.
Following its world premiere Gala Screening at the Berlin International Film Festival, SHUTTER
ISLAND was released on February 19, 2010 and debuted to a $41 million dollar opening weekend, ranking at
that time as the biggest opener for Scorsese and star Leonardo DiCaprio in their individual careers. It has since
gone on to gross almost $300 million dollars worldwide, making it Scorsese’s highest grossing movie ever.
Among Fischer’s other recent credits is the critically acclaimed David Fincher film ZODIAC, which he
produced. An Official Selection of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, ZODIAC stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark
Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. It was released by Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures to massive
worldwide critical acclaim, and was one of the best-reviewed films of 2007. In 2010, ZODIAC was named one
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of the 10 best films of the decade by Entertainment Weekly, Time Out New York, The Chicago Tribune and
The New York Post, among many other critics and journalists around the world.
Among the upcoming projects Fischer is attached to produce are a reboot of ROBOCOP, which he is
developing with Darren Aronofsky, science-fiction epic ANVIL OF STARS, based on the novel by Greg Bear,
KOKO by Peter Straub, which Ken Nolan (BLACK HAWK DOWN) will adapt, and an upcoming slate that
includes projects with directors Alex Proyas (I, ROBOT) and Frank Darabont (THE SHAWSHANK
REDEMPTION).
In 2006, Fischer was selected by the Hollywood Reporter for their 13 th annual “Next Generation”
special issue as one of Hollywood’s top 35 executives under 35 years of age. And in the Spring 2008 issue of
Los Angeles Confidential magazine, Fischer was profiled as a “Power Producer” and recognized as “one of
Hollywood’s most promising producers of sophisticated, challenging films.”
In addition to his work at Phoenix Pictures, Fischer serves on the board of directors of the Stella Adler
Studio of Acting in Los Angeles.
Fischer graduated from Columbia University in 1998 with a BA in Film Studies and Psychology and is
a native of New York. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Karen, their baby girl, Olivia, and three dogs,
Katie, Chloe and Bentley.
ARI HANDEL (Executive Producer) is president of Prøtøzøa Pictures, a post he assumed in 2004. He
co-wrote the story for Darren Aronofsky’s THE FOUNTAIN, the 2006 fantasy-romance starring Hugh Jackman
and Rachel Weisz, and served as associate producer on the film. He was also associate producer on
Aronofsky’s award-winning THE WRESTLER in 2008. Handel received a
PhD in Neuroscience from New York University before his interest in storytelling led him away from science
and into film. In addition to his work at Prøtøzøa, he is vice-chairman of the board and storyteller for The
Moth, a non-profit whose live shows, podcasts and radio hour are dedicated to the art of the raconteur.
TYLER THOMPSON (Executive Producer) is co-founder of Cross Creek Pictures. His first film as
executive producer under the aegis of Cross Creek was BURNING PALMS, written and directed by
Christopher Landon, starring Zöe Saldana, Dylan McDermott, Paz Vega, Rosamund Pike, Shannen Doherty and
Lake Bell.
Thompson’s family has been in the oil and gas business for four generations. From 2006-2008, he
developed and helped run Highland Transportation, a family owned business based in Louisiana.
In 2008,Thompson decided to branch out of the family business to pursue a career in the film industry.
Following a trip to Los Angeles during which he found the script for BURNING PALMS, Thompson pulled
together the financing and served as Executive Producer on the film. While the film was in production, he
founded Cross Creek Pictures, a production company based in Los Angeles, with offices in Memphis, Houston
and Louisiana. In addition to forming Cross Creek Pictures, Mr. Thompson assisted in raising a private equity
fund, which would be used to finance all of Cross Creek Pictures movies.
BLACK SWAN will be the premier release under Cross Creek’s newly financed production banner.
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PETER FRUCHTMAN (Executive Producer) majored in Business at Ohio State University and
worked for seven years at Scott Jordan International, a manufacturer's sales rep company for commercial and
hospitality furnishings. As senior vice president of sales, his responsibilities included overseeing key national
accounts such as Marriott International and Starwood Hotels.
Fruchtman left Scott Jordan in 2008 to form Dro Entertainment, an entertainment production &
financing company, where he serves as president and CEO. Since its inception, Dro Entertainment has financed
and produced several television shows, including the comedy series PAULY SHORE AND FRIENDS and
RUSSELL PETERS PRESENTS in association with Showtime Networks. He also produced the highly rated
THE DOG WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS starring Dean Cain and Mario Lopez for ABC Family. The company
just completed production on the second season of the LOL COMEDY FESTIVAL, a national comedy tour
which they created and financed with Showtime.
Fruchtman's film credits include KING OF THE AVENUE, a thriller directed by Ryan Combs and
starring Ving Rhames and Esai Morales, to be released in the fall of 2010. Another 2010 release that Fruchtman
has executive produced, is the urban drama DOWN FOR LIFE, directed by Alan Jacobs and starring Danny
Glover, Snoop Dogg and Laz Alonso, produced in association with Dro Entertainment. He also helped finance
and is a co-executive producer on the upcoming action thriller MACHETE, now in post-production, co-directed
by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis and starring Robert DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez,
Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal, Don Johnson and Danny Trejo.
Fruchtman has also executive produced the Indy film HESHER, produced in a association with Dro
Entertainment, directed by Spencer Susser and starring Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rainn
Wilson. The film premiered in the domestic competition at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2010, where
it acquired domestic distribution. Fruchtman also served as executive producer on the 2010 film
ABANDONED, starring Brittany Murphy, Dean Cain and Mimi Rogers. He is also a co-executive producer
and equity investor for the dark comedy EVERYTHING MUST GO, directed by Dan Rush and starring Will
Ferrell and Rebecca Hall. Fruchtman and Dro Entertainment are presently in development on several high
profile television and film projects.
RICK SCHWARTZ (Executive Producer) is the principal and founder of Overnight Productions, a
fully integrated New York based independent film development, production and financing company that
generates smart and commercially viable projects across various genres both within the studio system and
independently.
Since its inception in 2007, Overnight Productions has completed production on a number of films
including the Lionsgate released feature, THE LUCKY ONES, directed by Neil Burger, starring Rachel
McAdams, Tim Robbins and Michael Pena; the ABC Family comedy LABOR PAINS, starring Lindsay Lohan,
Cheryl Hines and Chris Parnell; a remake of the French thriller 13 TZAMETI starring Jason Statham, Mickey
Rourke, Curtis “50 Cent' Jackson and Sam Riley; and the Robert Rodriguez thriller MACHETE starring Robert
DeNiro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan and Danny Trejo, released by 20th Century Fox.
Upcoming projects include an untitled romantic adventure, starring Selena Gomez and Leighton
Meester; SOUTHBOUND, a thriller set on the Mexican border, starring Matthew McConaughey and Eva
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Mendes; and GOREE GIRLS, a musical drama, starring and co-produced by Jennifer Aniston. Projects in
development include the supernatural horror film ESPECTRE starring Nicole Kidman, and an adaptation of the
Korean thriller DIE BAD being written by Brad Ingelsby and to be directed by Marc Forster, both for Universal
Studios; Warner Bros. BENIGHTED, a fantasy adventure, to be directed by Andrew Adamson (SHREK);
TATUA, an action packed graphic novel based story about a man driven by revenge, starring Sam Worthington;
and LA BANDA, a Spanish language musical comedy about a formerly rich divorcee who is forced to sing in a
cheesy wedding band to make ends meet, being co-produced with Salma Hayek.
Prior to founding Overnight, Schwartz joined forces with Initial Entertainment Group’s Graham King
and Colin Cotter to form the independent production company, Blueprint Films, and helped produce Martin
Scorsese’s Oscar-winning films THE AVIATOR and THE DEPARTED.
From 1996 to 2004, Schwartz worked at Miramax Films, eventually rising to Senior Vice President of
Production at Miramax Films, where he simultaneously developed numerous projects, discovered and nurtured
relationships with emerging actors, writers and directors, and identified and exploited potential new revenue
streams. While at Miramax, Mr. Schwartz was entrusted with the company’s most important relationships, and
was responsible for the largest budgeted film in the company’s 25-year history, Martin Scorsese’s GANGS OF
NEW YORK. Other films under his supervision included Alejandro Amenabar’s international success THE
OTHERS, starring Nicole Kidman; Giuseppe Tornatore’s, MALENA, starring Monica Bellucci; Jerry
Seinfeld’s documentary COMEDIAN; and Robert Benton’s THE HUMAN STAIN, starring Anthony Hopkins,
Nicole Kidman and Ed Harris.
Films in which Mr. Schwartz has been involved have been nominated for numerous accolades,
including 24 Academy Awards, and have amassed a collective worldwide box office of approximately $1
billion.
JON AVNET (Executive Producer) has been producing and directing movies and television for over
30 years. He most recently produced and directed the crime drama RIGHTEOUS KILL starring Robert DeNiro
and Al Pacino and 88 MINUTES with Pacino and Alicia Witt.
Avnet’s other films as producer-director include RED CORNER starring Richard Gere, UP CLOSE
AND PERSONAL with Robert Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer, THE WAR with Elijah Wood, Kevin Costner
and Mare Winningham, and the comedy-drama FRIED GREEN TOMATOES based on the novel by Fannie
Flagg.
As a producer, Avnet has made the films LAND OF THE BLIND, SKY CAPTAIN AND THE
WORLD OF TOMORROW, THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER, GEORGE OF THE
JUNGLE, LESS THAN ZERO, RISKY BUSINESS staring Tom Cruise and the hit hockey features THE
MIGHTY DUCKS, D2: THE MIGHTY DUCKS and D3: THE MIGHTY DUCKS. He has also executive
produced STEAL THIS MOVIE, INSPECTOR GADGET, MIAMI RHAPSODY, THE THREE
MUSKETEERS and DEAL OF THE CENTURY, among others.
On television, Avnet has received Emmy nominations for executive producing and directing the miniseries
THE STARTER WIFE and executive producing the drama THE BURNING BED, which also earned an
Emmy nomination for star Farah Fawcett. His other TV credits as producer or director include the series
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BOOMTOWN and the features UPRISING, A HOUSE DIVIDED, MAMA FLORA’S FAMILY, POODLE
SPRINGS, HEAT WAVE, DO YOU KNOW THE MUFFIN MAN, NAOMI & WINONA: LOVE CAN
BUILD A BRIDGE and the mini-series PARTING THE WATERS.
In 1995, Avnet received the Franklin J. Schaffner Award from the American Film Institute. He also
won the National Board of Review’s Freedom of Expression Award for RED CORNER, sharing the honor with
the movie’s star Richard Gere.
MATTHEW LIBATIQUE, ASC, (Cinematographer) studied at the prestigious American Film
Institute where he earned a MFA in Cinematography. BLACK SWAN marks Libatique’s fourth feature
collaboration with director Darren Aronofsky, following π, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and THE
FOUNTAIN. They began their careers together collaborating on the short film, PROTOZOA .
Most recently, Libatique shot director Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN 2, the sequel to the box office hit
IRON MAN on which he also served as cinematographer. Last year, he was director of photography on MY
OWN LOVE SONG, a comedy-drama with Forest Whitaker and Renee Zellweger. He is currently shooting
Favreau’s COWBOYS AND ALIENS.
The Independent Spirit Awards honored Libatique with a nomination for Best Cinematography for his
work on π and awarded him their Best Cinematography trophy for REQUIEM FOR A DREAM. The latter
film also brought him nominations for the BSFC and OFSC Awards.
Libatique’s career began in 1995 as a cinematographer in the music video industry. His work has
appeared on MTV for artists such as The Cure, Usher, Death in Vegas, Erykah Badu, Incubus, Tupac, Moby,
Snoop Dog, Jay-Z, and The Fray. Libatique earned the MVPA award for Best Cinematography in 2002 for
Matchbox 20’s Mad Season. Working in the commercial and music video industry, he has combined forces
with talented directors such as Floria Sigismondi, Dante Ariola, Brian Beletic, Phil Harder, Terry Richardson,
Mark Pellington, Traktor, Kinka Usher, Stylewar, and Noam Murro.
His other feature film credits include, Joel Schumacher's TIGERLAND and PHONE BOOTH;
GOTHIKA for Mathieu Kassovitz, ABANDON for Stephen Gaghan and EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED
directed by Liev Schreiber. He has also collaborated with director Spike Lee on three films: MIRACLE AT ST.
ANNA, SHE HATE ME and INSIDE MAN.
Libatique is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and The American Society
of Cinematographers.
THÉRÈSE DEPREZ (Production Designer) has spent well over a decade contributing her
talents to a diverse list of award-winning feature films as well as short films, commercials, theater and music
videos. Her film work includes both studio and independent projects with over 15 films in past Sundance Film
Festivals.
Among her most prominent films are John Cameron Mitchell’s HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH,
Spike Lee’s SUMMER OF SAM, Mark Pellington’s ARLINGTON ROAD and GOING ALL THE WAY, Tom
DiCillio’s LIVING IN OBLIVION and BOX OF MOONLIGHT; Todd Solondz’s HAPPINESS, Stephen
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Frears’ HIGH FIDELITY, Walter Salles’ DARK WATER, Kip William’s DOOR IN THE FLOOR and the
Oscar nominated AMERICAN SPLENDOR, which also received the Grand Jury Prize at the 2003 Sundance
Festival and the international critic’s Award at both Cannes and Dueville Film festivals.
Other DePrez-designed films include, Zach Helm’s magical MR. MAGORIUM’S WONDER
EMPORIUM with Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND by writer/director
Daniel Barnz, Dito Montiel’s second feature, FIGHTING, for Focus Features and Antoine Fuqua’s
BROOKLYN’S FINEST with Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes, and Richard Gere. She also
designed such popular features as I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, THE RETURN, STONEWALL, HOW TO
LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS, NO LOOKING BACK, MARCI X, THE DOOM GENERATION, POSTCARDS
FROM AMERICA and SWOON.
Most recently DePrez designed the 2010 Sundance opening night film, HOWL, based on the obscenity
trial of poet Allen Ginsberg, directed by Oscar winning documentary filmmakers Jeffrey Friedman and Rob
Epstein. She also recently designed Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial debut, JACK GOES BOATING,
which also premiered at Sundance in 2010 and David Koepp's action film PREMIUM RUSH for Columbia
Pictures starring Joseph Gordon Levitt.
DePrez has designed numerous music films and videos for such artists as Laurie Anderson, Bob Dylan,
and David Bowie.
She also did the stage design for Bowie’s 2003/2004 Reality World Tour.
DePrez has been recognized for her talent by such prestigious organizations as the Sundance Festival,
which gave her a special Jury Award for Production Design in 1997. The Gijon International Film festival
awarded her Best Art Direction for I SHOT ANDY WARHOL and Theater Crafts International awarded her
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design.
ANDREW WEISBLUM, A.C.E. (Editor) previously collaborated with Darren Aronofsky on THE
WRESTLER. Most recently, he edited the Oscar® nominated FANTASTIC MR. FOX for Wes Anderson for
which he earned a Best Edited Animated Feature ACE Eddie nomination. Weisblum also edited THE
DARJEELING LIMITED with Anderson and BROKEN ENGLISH for Zoe Cassavetes.
Weisblum was an additional editor on Nora Ephron’s BEWITCHED as well as John Waters' A DIRTY
SHAME. He served as the Visual Effects Editor on Aronofsky’s THE FOUNTAIN and Rob
Marshall’s CHICAGO, which earned Academy Awards® for Best Editing and Best Picture, as well as the 2003
Eddie Award for Best Edited Musical/Comedy. He also cut the independent films UNDERMIND and CONEY
ISLAND BABY.
As an assistant editor for more than a decade, Weisblum worked on a wide variety of films ranging
from independent features, including John Waters' CECIL B. DEMENTED and Allison Anders' GRACE OF
MY HEART, to larger scale productions such as Brian De Palma's SNAKE EYES and FEMME FATALE, and
Richard Linklater's School Of Rock.
AMY WESTCOTT (Costume Designer) previously collaborated with director Darren Aronofsky on
the award-winning THE WRESTLER. She most recently completed work on WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?
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starring Chris Evans and Anna Faris for director Mark Mylod. Other recent films include THE
ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT directed by Brett Simon, and 13 by director Gela
Babluani.
In addition to her film work, Westcott was the costume designer on HBO’s long-running hit series,
ENTOURAGE, for 5 seasons. She was nominated for three Costume Designers Guild awards for her work on
the show.
Among her feature credits are Noah Baumbach's THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, which won 2005
Sundance Film Festival awards for Best Director and Best Narrative Screenplay, and Dylan Kidd’s ROGER
DODGER starring Campbell Scott, which won the 2002 Tribeca film festival award for Best Narrative Feature.
She worked again with Kidd on his next feature, P.S., which starred Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne.
Westcott’s other credits include THE SECRET LIVES OF DENTISTS for director Alan Rudolph, OFF
THE MAP for director Campbell Scott and SMART PEOPLE for director Noam Murro.
A resident of both coasts, Westcott is a Philadelphia area native and a graduate of Syracuse University where
she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design. Her first foray into film was as a wardrobe assistant on
James Mangold's COPLAND. Thereafter, she ventured into independent films, receiving her first design credit
on the graphic novel-inspired horror film, CAMPFIRE STORIES.
CLINT MANSELL (Music by) has worked with director Darren Aronofsky on every movie
he’s made – from his first film, π, to the most recent THE WRESTLER.
Mansell received a Golden Globe nomination for his score on THE FOUNTAIN, which also earned
him a nomination from the Broadcast Critics Association and the Public Choice Award from the World
Soundtrack Awards.
Among Mansell’s more recent scoring credits were the romantic drama LAST NIGHT, the French
thriller FAREWELL, the Catherine Zeta-Jones comedy THE REBOUND and the critically acclaimed sci-fi
indie MOON starring Sam Rockwell, which brought him a British Independent Film Awards nomination.
Mansell’s other feature scoring credits include, DEFINITELY, MAYBE for director Adam Brooks and
Michael Moore’s SICKO, as well as SMOKIN’ ACES, DOOM, SAHARA, SUSPECT ZERO, TRUST THE
MAN, MURDER BY NUMBERS, ABANDON, RAIN, KNOCKAROUND GUYS and WORLD TRAVELER.
JIM BLACK (Music Supervisor) founded Clearsongs in 1998, and has since worked on some
of the most critically celebrated films of the last decade. His passion, love, and training in music have
all played a role in his career as a music supervisor. His creative ear, coupled with his unparalleled
understanding of the music business have made him a valuable resource on both selecting and clearing
music in all genres and for all budgets. His résumé speaks for itself, and with over 40 feature films to
his credit Jim is one of the most respected Music Supervisors in New York today.
GABE HILFER (Music Supervisor) began his professional career in music working as a DJ
and host of a radio show while in college. From there he went to work for several record labels in New
York City, and eventually moved into artist management. In 2003, Gabe was asked to help creatively
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guide, and efficiently license the music for several New York based television and advertising projects,
opening his eyes to the realm of music supervision. Gabe joined Clearsongs in 2005 and moved to Los
Angeles, where he heads up the Clearsongs LA office and has most recently worked on a variety of
award winning film and television projects.
BENJAMIN MILLEPIED (David/Choreography) makes his film acting debut in BLACK SWAN.
Born in Bordeaux, France, he began his dance training at the age of eight with his mother, a former modern
dancer. Millepied entered the Conservatoire National in Lyon, France, at age 13, where he studied ballet with
Michel Rahn until the age of sixteen.
In the summer of 1992 he went to New York to study at the School of American Ballet, the official
school of New York City Ballet, and returned with a scholarship from the French Ministry (Bourse Lavoisier)
to study full-time in the fall of 1993. Millepied originated a principal role in Jerome Robbins’ world premiere
of 2 & 3 Part Inventions set to music by Bach at SAB’s 1994 Spring Workshop.
In 1994 he received the Prix de Lausanne Award and, in 1995, he was the recipient of the Mae L. Wien
Award for Outstanding Promise and was invited to become a member of New York City Ballet’s corps de
ballet. Millepied was made a Principal Dancer in the spring of 2001. In 2004 and 2005, Millepied directed the
Morriss Center dance workshop in Bridgehampton, NY. The following year, he was choreographer in
residence to the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York. In 2007, Millepied received the United States Artists
Wynn fellowship and, in 2010, was made Chevalier in the order of Arts and Letters by the minister of culture in
France.
Millepied has danced featured roles in George Balanchine’s Agon, Ballo Della Regina, Coppélia,
Divertimento from Le Baiser De La Fée, The Nutcracker, Harlequinade, Rubies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Raymond Variations, La Source, Stars and Stripes, Symphony in C, Tarantella, Tschaikovsky Pas De Deux,
Theme and Variations, Valse-Fantasie; Jerome Robbins’ 2& 3 Part Inventions, Dances at a Gathering, Fancy
Free, A Suite of Dances, In The Night, The Four Seasons, Dybbuk, Interplay, Piano Pieces and West Side Story
Suite; Susan Stroman’s Double Feature and Christopher Wheeldon’s Carousel (A Dance) and Mercurial
Manoeuvres, Peter Martins’ Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Additionally, Mr. Millepied originated roles in
many works, including Jerome Robbins’ Brandenburg, Les Noces (revival) and Dybbuk (revival), Peter
Martins’ Hallelujah Junction; Angelin Preljocaj’s La Stravaganza; Mauro Bigonzetti’s Vespro, and In Vento,
and Alexei Ratmanski’s Concerto DSCH.
In 1999 and 2002 Millepied appeared in featured roles with the New York City Ballet for the nationally
televised Live From Lincoln Center broadcast. In 2002, Millepied started presenting his own performances
under the name Danses Concertantes. Since then, Danses Concertantes has given more than 100 performances
in countries including France, England and the U.S.
In addition to his success as a dancer, Millepied has been acclaimed as a choreographer. His
choreographic works include Passages for the Conservatoire National de Lyon (2001), Triple Duet for Danses
Concertantes performed at Sadler’s Wells, London (2002) and Circular Motion also for Danses Concertantes
premiered in London (2004); Chaconne, a dance film, co-directed by film-maker Olivier Simola (2003), On The
Other Side for Danses Concertantes performed at Maison de la Danse, Lyon (2004), Double Aria danced by the
33

New York City Ballet to original music by Daniel Ott (2005), 28 Variations on a Theme By Paganini for the
School of American Ballet (2005), an original full-length Casse-Noisette for the Grand Théâtre de Genève with
set designs and costumes by artist Paul Cox (2005), Closer as part of Benjamin Millepied and Company season
at the Joyce Theater New York with live accompaniment by Philip Glass (2006), Capriccio for American
Ballet Theatre’s Studio Company (2006), Years Later, a solo work for Mikhail Baryshnikov in collaboration
with Mr. Simola (2006), Amoveo for the Paris Opera Ballet with set design by Paul Cox and costumes by Marc
Jacobs (2006), From Here On Out for American Ballet Theatre with an original score by Nico Muhly (2007),
Petrouchka for the Ballet de Genève with set design and costumes by Paul Cox (2007), Triade for the Paris
Opera Ballet with an original score by Nico Muhly (2008), 3 Movements for Pacific Northwest Ballet ( 2008),
Without for Danses Concertantes (2008), Quasi una fantasia for the New York City Ballet (2009), Everything
Doesn’t Happen at Once for American Ballet theatre (2009) and Sarabande for Danses Concertantes, which
premiered in Lyon (2009).
DAN SCHRECKER (Visual Effects Supervisor) heads LOOK Effects’ East Coast operations
in New York. Schrecker was introduced to LOOK’s vfx capabilities when, as an independent visual
effects supervisor, he contracted the company to create effects for FRIDA. That successful
collaboration led to a string of shared credits including THE BOUNTY HUNTER, PRECIOUS:
BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE, THE FOUNTAIN, THE PRODUCERS, THE
WRESTLER, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and the ABC series “Life on Mars,” which he supervised
on location in New York City.
After earning degrees from Harvard and New York University’s Interactive
Telecommunications program, Schrecker began supervising and creating visual effects, titles and
motion graphics, adding to his expertise in multimedia and interactive formats, traditional cel animation
and claymation. He has earned Visual Effects Society Nominations for FRIDA (Best Supporting
Visual Effects in a Motion Picture, 2002) and THE FOUNTAIN (Outstanding Visual Effects in a
Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture, 2006).
34

Unit Production Manager
First Assistant Director
Second Assistant Director
JENNIFER ROTH
JOSEPH REIDY
AMY LAURITSEN
Made in association with
DUNE ENTERTAINMENT
Executive Producers
DAVID THWAITES
JENNIFER ROTH
Ballet Costumes Designed by
RODARTE
Co-Producers
JOSEPH REIDY
GERALD FRUCHTMAN
Club Images Manipulated
and Designed by
Visual Effects Producer
Associate Producer
RAY LEWIS
COLLEEN BACHMAN
ROSE GARNETT
CAST
Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen
Lily / The Black Swan
Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman
NATALIE PORTMAN
MILA KUNIS
VINCENT CASSEL
35

Erica Sayers / The Queen
Beth Macintyre / The Dying Swan
David / The Prince
Veronica / Little Swan
Galina / Little Swan
Madeline / Little Swan
Andrew / Suitor
Tom / Suitor
Sergio / Rothbart
BARBARA HERSHEY
WINONA RYDER
BENJAMIN MILLEPIED
KSENIA SOLO
KRISTINA ANAPAU
JANET MONTGOMERY
SEBASTIAN STAN
TOBY HEMINGWAY
SERGIO TORRADO
Mr. Fithian / Patron
Mrs. Fithian / Patron
Mr. Stein / Patron
Mrs. Stein / Patron
Costumer Georgina
Stage Manager Sebastian
Sexy Waiter Scott
Administrator Susie
Uncle Hank
Physical Therapist
Understudy for Siegfried
MARK MARGOLIS
TINA SLOAN
ABE ARONOFSKY
CHARLOTTE ARONOFSKY
MARCIA JEAN KURTZ
SHAUN O’HAGAN
CHRISTOPHER GARTIN
DEBORAH OFFNER
STANLEY B. HERMAN
MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ NOUEL
KURT FROMAN
36

Conductor
Nurse
Jaded Piano Player
Piano Player
Violin Player
Lady in the Lane
Man in Stall
Rich Gent
Ballet Mistresses
Corps De Ballet
MARTY KRZYWONOS
LESLIE LYLES
JOHN EPPERSON
ARKADIY FIGLIN
TIMOTHY FAIN
SARAH LANE
LIAM FLAHERTY
PATRICK HEUSINGER
MARINA STAVITSKAYA
OLGA KOSTRITZKY
REBECCA AZENBERG
LAURA BOWMAN
HOLLY L. FUSCO
ABIGAIL MENTZER
BARETTE VANCE
LILLIAN DI PIAZZA
MEGAN DICKINSON
JESSY HENDRICKSON
GENEVIÈVE LEBEAN
GINA ARTESE
CHRISTINE REDPATH
ALEXANDRA DAMIANI
RACHEL JAMBOIS
RYOKO SADOSHIMA
KAIA A. TACK
LAUREN FADELEY
SARAH HAY
ADRIANNA DE SVASTICH
JAMIE WOLF
CARRIE LEE RIGGINS
Stunt Coordinator
Assistant Stunt Coordinators
Stunts
DOUGLAS CROSBY
JARED BURKE
JEN WEISSENBERG
ABBY NELSON
KIMBERLY PROSA
SARAH LANE
LISA ANN MURPHY
BARBARA CHRISTIE
MARIA RICCETTO
Music from "Swan Lake" Composed by
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Adapted and Arranged by
CLINT MANSELL & MATT DUNKLEY
37

Production Supervisor
GABRIELLE MAHON
Art Director
Set Decorator
Leadman
DAVID STEIN
TORA PETERSON
SCOTT GAGNON
Second Second Assistant Director
Location Manager
TRAVIS REHWALDT
RONNIE KUPFERWASSER
Camera Operators
First Assistant Camera
Second Assistant Camera
Camera Loader
Still Photographer
Video Assist
Additional Video Assist
Production Sound Mixer
Boom Person
Additional Boom Persons
Cable Person
STEPHEN CONSENTINO
JOSEPH CICIO
AURELIA J. WINBORN
KRIS ENOS
EVE STRICKMAN
NIKO TAVERNISE
DEVIN DONEGAN
ANDREW SCHMETTERLING
KEN ISHII, CAS
ANGUIBE GUINDO
BRENDAN O’BRIEN
SETH TALLMAN
JOE ORIGLIERI
38

Property Master
Assistant Property Masters
Script Supervisor
DANIEL FISHER
MAX SHERWOOD
JASMINE BALLOU
ANTHONY PETTINE
Post Production Supervisor
JEFF ROBINSON
1 st Assistant Editor KENT BLOCHER
Assistant Editor
Apprentice Editors
Post Production Assistant
IRENE KASSOW
ZANA BOCHAR
ANDREAS FEHRLE
ERIC GLATT
Supervising Sound Editor
Re-Recording Mixers
CRAIG HENIGHAN
DOMINICK TAVELLA
CRAIG HENIGHAN
Gaffers
Best Boy Electric
Company Electrics
JOHN G. VELEZ
MO FLAM
KUMAE R. SANDY
DUANE CHAN-SHUE
FRIDA MARZOUK
KABKEO “OZZIE”
PHOTHIVONGSA
SAMUEL GONZALEZ JR.
RYAN A. RODRIGUEZ
39

Dimmer Board Operator
Generator Operators
Construction Electric
Rigging Gaffer
Best Boy Rigging Electric
JIM GALVIN
MICHAEL A. LEO
NICHOLAS CUPKOVIC
JOE SCIRETTA
GAVIN CURRAN
LOUIS PETRAGLIA
Key Grip
Best Boy Grip
Dolly Grip
Company Grips
Rigging Key Grip
Rigging Best Boy Grip
LAMONT CRAWFORD
TONY ARNAUD
BENJAMIN D’ANDREA
DAVID MCALLISTER
SHAKA BROOKES
NICK VACCARO
BRENT HIRN
JONATHAN DAHAN
RASHAD CLINTON
Assistant Costume Designer
Costume Supervisor
Set Costumers
Additional Set Costumers
Wardrobe Production Assistant
REBECCA HOFHERR
JENNIFER INGRAM
NICCI SCHINMAN
NINA CINELLI
ANGELA MIRABELLA
DAVID TURK
AMANDA SROKA
AURORA ANDREWS
Make-Up Design
JUDY CHIN
40

Make-Up Department Head
Key Make-Up
Additional Make-Up
Prosthetic Make-Up Design
Silicone Specialist
Special FX Make-Up Assistant
Special FX Make-Up Technician
Hair Design
Hair Department Head
Key Hair Stylist
Additional Hair Stylists
MARGIE DURAND
TODD KLEITSCH
ANGELA L. JOHNSON
CARLA WHITE
MIKE MARINO
HAYES VILANDRY
EMMA JACOBS
CHRIS KELLY
PAUL LEBLANC
GEORDIE SHEFFER
MARY LAMPERT
VALERIE GLADSTONE
DIERDRE HARRIS
Production Coordinator
Assistant Location Manager
Location Assistants
Unit Production Assistant
Location Scouts
Parking Coordinator
LINDSAY FELDMAN
DAN TRESCA
PETER PYUN
SCOTT FERLISI
JAMES McGUINNESS
ORIT GREENBERG
TRISH GRAY
MEGAN FOERSTER
MAURICE CABRERA
Special Effects Coordinator
CONRAD BRINK
41

Special Effects Technician
MICHAEL BIRD
Construction Coordinator
Construction Foreman
Best Boy Construction Grip
Key Carpenter
Construction Production Assistant
RICHARD TENEWITZ
DANIEL D. KIRSCH
WILLIAM GARVEY
ANDREW VELENCHENKO
NOREEN E. SOUZA-BAILEY
Charge Scenic
Camera Scenic
Scenic Foremen
Scenics
Set Dress Foreman
Set Dresser
On Set Dresser
GREG SULLIVAN
MAX NISSENHOLTZ
IAN ZDATNY
ERNIE SANDIDGE
CAROLINE IRONS
WOLFE DIETER
BOBBY PROVENZANO
HANK LIEBESKIND
JEFF ROLLINS
DON NACE
NANCY BRANTON
Art Department Coordinator
Graphic Artist
Art Department Production Assistant
MIRIAM JOHNSON
DERRICK KARDOS
AIMEE ATHNOS
Production Accountant
TEDDY AU
42

First Assistant Accountant
Second Assistant Accountant
Payroll Accountant
Post Production Accounting
DAVID FARR
DEIRDRE DONOHUE
KERRY ROBERTS
JENNIFER FREED
JESSIE GANT
TREVANNA POST, INC.
Assistant Production Coordinator
Production Secretary
Office Production Assistant
Assistant to Mr. Aronofsky
Assistant to Mr. Franklin
Assistant to the Producers
Assistant to Mr. Medavoy & Mr. Messer
Assistant to Ms. Portman
JODI ARNESON
M. BALDWIN LEWIS
BEN LUSTHAUS
JON KAUFFMAN
ALEX WILSON
ALEXANDRA MENDES
PANDORA VANDERPUMP-TODD
GRIT MENZZER
1 ST Team Production Assistant SOREN MILTICH
Background Production Assistant
Walkie Production Assistant
Paperwork Production Assistant
Additional Production Assistants
JENNIFER ROBERTS
JACKIE BERNON
ZARA BURDETT
ANGELA CUTRONE
EUGEN AHL-KLOPSCH
Casting Associate
Casting Assistant
LINDSAY GRAHAM
BRANDON HEMMERLING
43

NY Casting
Background Casting
Background Casting Assistant
Unit Publicist
ANN GOULDER
GAYLE KELLER
GRANT WILFLEY
SABEL
ADAM GOLDMAN
ROB HARRIS
Transportation Captain
Transportation Co-Captain
Transportation Office Manager
Security Supervisor
Catering
Craft Service
STEVEN HAMMOND
PETER J. CLORES
CHRISTINA SCHAICH
MIKE COSTELLO
GOURMET TO U
WILSON RIVAS CATERING
Product Placement Coordinator
Fine Art Advisor
Artist Liaison
WENDY COHEN
DOMINIC SIDHU
MARY ANNE HOBBS
Associate Choreographer
Head Trainer
Trainer
Male Trainer
Trainer for Ms. Portman
KURT FROMAN
GEORGINA PARKINSON
MARINA STAVITSKAYA
JOCK SOTO
MARY HELEN BOWERS
44

Trainer for Ms. Kunis
On Set Ballet Consultant
Ballet Coordinator
Pennsylvania Ballet Liaison
Ballet Consultants
ALEXANDRA BLACKER
OLGA KOSTRITZKY
ASHLEY MELONE
MICHAEL SHERIDAN
FRANCESCA HARPER
TYLER PECK
GILLIAN MURPHY
JULIE KENT
MEGAN FAIRCHILD
HEATHER WATTS
GAVIN FITZPATRICK
45

Visual Effects by: Look Effects, Inc
Additional Visual Effects Supervisor Henrik Fett Additional Visual Effects Producer Melinka Thompson-Godoy
Visual Effects Coordinators Matt Kushner Niko Tavernise SK Nguyen
3D Supervisor Michael Capton
3D Artists
Carl Frytz Joanie Karnowski Darren Kiner Keith Lackey Jessica Y.C. Lai
Shawn Lipowski York Schueller Antonello Stornello David Sudd
2D Supervisors Michael Collins Brad Kalinoski
Digital Compositors
Ulysses Argetta Derek Bird Cyntia Buell Seth Brower Christian Cardona
Manda Cheung Leslie Chung Michael Degtjarewsky Katherine Filtrani Kelly Fisher
Chris Flynn Buddy Gheen Jim Gorman Danny Kim Manuel Llamas
John Mangia Daniel Molina Maureen Nixon Joseph Oberle Greg Silverman
Ben Sumner Chris Wesselman
Roto/Paint
Ray Lewis Jose Lopez Martin McGreevy
Ryan Chatel Melissa Widdup Tina Wallace
Flame Artists
Adam Avitabile David Geoghagen Gabriel Sanchez
Visual Effects Editors Migs Rustia Paul Stemmer
Data Management Michael Oliver James Coleman
President Look FX Mark Driscoll Visual Effects Executive Producer Steve Dellerson
45

THEATRICAL UNIT
Stage Manager
Chief Lighting
Follow Spot Operators
Dimmer Board Operator
House Sound
House Flymen
LOREEN DOMIJAN
LORNE MAC DOUGALL
JAMES F. MCCULLAGH
JAMES J. MANZIONE
CRAIG P. HARRIS
LLOYD ROTHSCHILD
JONATHAN E. HATTAN
KEVIN MCCARTHY
JEFF GOTTESFELD
JEFFREY WONDSEL
GERARD BOURCIER
Art Department Interns
Camera Intern
Location Interns
Production Interns
Set Interns
Wardrobe Interns
TIM CHUNG
DANIEL HAHN
SCOTT GIRSHEK
DANIELLE KRUDY
ROB APUZZO
EVA HANNON
SAM DAY
ALEX FOOTMAN
ALYSSA FRANKEL
AMA AMPADU
ARIEL WHITE
JESSICA HELD
ALEX PHILLIPS
MALLORY GROFF
Contact Lens Consultant
DR. MITCHELL CASSEL
Sound Designers
BRIAN EMRICH
CRAIG HENIGHAN
46

Supervising Dialogue & ADR Editor
SFX Editor
Foley Artist
Foley Recordist
Foley Assistant
SFX Recordists
Recordists
Mix Engineer
ADR Mixer
ADR Recordist
Voice Casting
Personal Coach for Mr. Cassel
Main and End Titles Designed by
JILL PURDY MPSE
WAYNE LEMMER
STEVE BAINE
PETER PERSAUD
GINA WARK
COLL ANDERSON
NELSON FERREIRA
HARRY HIGGINS
DREW GESCHEIT
AVI LANIADO
BOBBY JOHANSON
KRIS CHEVANNES
DANN FINK
BRUCE WINANT
VERNICE KLIER-MOSKOWITZ
JEREMY DAWSON
JEFF KRYVICKY
Post Production Sound Facility
Post Production Facilities Provided by
Lab Processing & Dailies
Dailies Colorist
Dailies Project Manager
Canon 7D Dailies Advisor
SOUND ONE CORP
SIXTEEN19
TECHNICOLOR – NEW YORK
SAM DALEY
KRISTYN DIPANE
RICHIE ROEFARO
47

Post Facility Supervisor
Digital Intermediate
Digital Intermediate Project Manager
Digital Intermediate Producer
Digital Intermediate Colorist
Digital Intermediate Editor
Data Manager
Digital Intermediate Engineer
Digital Imaging
Visual Effects
VFX Compositors
VFX Producer
VFX Artist
Film Scanning and Recording
CHARLES HERZFELD
TECHNICOLOR – NEW YORK
KEVIN VALE
DANA BLODER
TIM STIPAN
JESSICA ELVIN
ANDREW STILL
MICHAEL P. WHIPPLE
MORGAN MILLER
ERIC LEVERENZ
ERIC LUSZCZ
TECHNICOLOR
ALEX BOOTHBY
BRENT WHITMORE
JODIE BROWN
JAY TILIN
TECHNICOLOR - HOLLYWOOD
BRETT LANDON
JASON SNEA
Music Editor
Associate Music Editor
NANCY ALLEN
MICK GORMALEY
Cranes and Dollies by
ABLE EQUIPMENT
48

Score Conducted & Orchestrated by
Score Contracted by
Assistant Score Orchestra Contractor
Score Preparations by
Score Recorded and Mixed by
Score Recorded & Mixed at
Assistant Engineers
Technical Assistant/Guitar Viol
Music Consultant
Piano
Solo Violin
Additional Production by
MATT DUNKLEY
ISOBEL GRIFFITHS
CHARLOTTE MATTHEWS
JILL STREATER
DAVID RUSSELL
GEOFF FOSTER
AIR STUDIOS, LONDON UK
ADAM MILLER
FIONA CRUICKSHANK
NIGEL WIESEHAN
CHRIS BENSTEAD
SIMON CHAMBERLAIN
ROLF WILSON
JOHN BRADBURY
DUOTONE AUDIO GROUP
SONGS
“Apotheosis”
Written and Performed by Pete Min
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
“Outside The Lines”
Written by Praveen Sharma and Travis Stewart
Performed by Sepalcure
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilvich Tchaikovsky
"Danka Jane"
Written by Tom Rowlands
Performed by The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers Perform
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
“The White Easton”
Written by Alec Storey
Performed by Al Tourettes
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
49

“Illicit Dreaming”
Written by Jamie Kavanagh
Performed by Kavsrave
Courtesy of Tighten Up Records
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
"The Nina Frequency"
Written by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons
Performed by The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers Perform
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
"Electric Hands"
Written by Tom Rowlands
Performed by The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers Perform
Courtesy of EMI Records Limited
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
“Dark Sygnet”
Written by Jermaine Troy Jacob
Performed by Jakes
Contains “Swan Lake” written by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
SOUNDTRACK ON
FILMED IN PART ON LOCATION AT LINCOLN CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY
THE PRODUCERS WISH TO THANK THE FOLLOWING FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE:
WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO SWAROVSKI ENTERTAINMENT
WITH THANKS TO SCHONBEK WORLDWIDE LIGHTING INC.
PENNSYLVANIA BALLET
A VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, PURCHASE COLLEGE
NYC MAYORS OFFICE OF FILM, TELEVISION, AND BROADCASTING
NYC POLICE DEPT, MOVIE & TV UNIT
FILMED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE NEW YORK STATE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE FOR
MOTION PICTURE & TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT
50

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE
NEW YORK CITY BALLET
SCHOOL OF AMERICAN BALLET
MAC
LA MER
CHANEL
LANCOME
SENSAI/KANEBO
NARS
YUMIKO
BLOCH
MIRELLA
CAPEZIO
EBERJEY
DIESEL
SANSHA
ME & RO
LULULEMON
THEORY
FREED OF LONDON
GAYNOR MINDEN
CAROLINE SEIKALY
KD DANCE
BOEDTCHER
AG ADRIANO GOLDSCHMIED
EQUINOX GYM, NEW YORK CITY
HOOKER FURNITURE
BLOSSOM LAMPS COURTESY OF
JEREMY COLE DESIGNS
GLASS FIXTURES COURTESY OF
NICHE MODERN
AL HIRSCHFELD REPRODUCED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVE, THE MARGO
FEIDEN GALLERIES, LTC. NY
AVNER BEN-GAL COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND BORTOLAMI GALLERY, NEW YORK
© FLENSTED MOBILES, LTD DENMARK
FRITZ SCHOLDER BRONZE COURTESY OF THE ESTATE
GARTH WEISER PAINTING COURTESY OF CASEY KAPLAN GALLERY, NYC
KENNETH HOPKINS PHOTOGRAPHY
RUDOLPH STINGEL COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PAULA COOPER GALLERY, NEW YORK
SKEET MCAULEY ARTWORK COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
VIJA CELMINS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND McKEE GALLERY, NEW YORK
WADE GUYTON COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND FREDRICH PETZEL GALLERY, NEW YORK
MAYA LIN COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND PACEWILDENSTEIN, NEW YORK (PaceWildenstein)
NICK MAUSS COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND 303 GALLERY, NEW YORK
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, L.P. USED WITH PERMISSION.
CHRISTOPHER WOOL ARTWORK COURTESY OF THE ARTIST AND LUHRING AUGUSTINE, NEW YORK
ARTWORK PROVIDED BY CULVER STUDIOS COLLECTION
ARTWORK BY KAREN KILIMNIK, NICK MAUS, AND MARY HEILMANN COURTESY OF 303 GALLERY
Color by TECHNICOLOR
Prints by DELUXE®
FILMED WITH ARRI
CSC®
CAMERAS & LENSES
SDDS logo
FUJI MOTION PICTURE
FILM STOCK (Logo)
DOLBY STEREO (logo)
In Selected Theatres
DTS
51

Approved No. 46261 (MPAA Globe)
MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICA
IATSE "Bug"
Copyright © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and Dune Entertainment III LLC in all territories
except Brazil, Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2010 TCF Hungary Film Rights Exploitation Limited Liability Company, Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corporation and Dune Entertainment III LLC in Brazil, Italy, Japan, Korea and Spain.
All rights reserved.
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to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or firms is purely coincidental.
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52