A Black Swan producer’s assistant, Alex Wilson, has written a blog post about working on the film. It’s an interesting read, with some added details on the nightclub scene in particular, and it also includes some juicy Natalie tidbits.

When I tell people I worked on Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan, almost without fail the first question is ‘What is Natalie Portman like?” My response? “Dedicated”.

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We had worked through until 3am after a long day of filming and Natalie was asked to act out a traumatic and emotional scene for the twentieth take in a cramped bathroom. Nico, the official photographer was snapping away in the corner of the room until Natalie in no uncertain terms requested he leave the room since he was getting on her nerves. This of course is completely fair, and just like anyone else would be in her position, she was frustrated and in need of a release. As Nico left the room, Darren saw an opportunity and sent him straight back in, stood him in the corner and told him to start snapping away again. This had the effect of pushing Natalie over the edge of frustration and emotion; and Darren got his shot. To this day we are unsure whether this was a masterstroke to evoke performance or just to wind up his star.