Darren Aronofsky is a screenwriter, director and producer of many critically acclaimed films such as " Black Swan', 'Requiem for a dream", 'The Fountain". After completing only two feature films, Darren Aronofsky is one of the most acclaimed independent film directors in the United States.
Background
Ever since his emergence with the breakout indie feature "Pi" (1998) - a schizophrenic sci-fi meditation on life, death and the cruelty of fate - writer-director Darren Aronofsky became something of a wunderkind who, unfortunately, would fall prey to artistic hubris and creative excess by the time he directed the incomprehensible time travel fable, "The Fountain" (2006).
Education
His interests during grade school and into high school were classic movies and graffiti art. He was at first, interested in black-and-white photography, then began writing angst-ridden teenage prose while attending Edward R. Murrow High School.Influenced early on by "The Twilight Zone," Bill Cosby and MTV, Aronofsky began developing an interest in film when he saw Spike Lee's "She's Gotta Have It" (1986) by sheer happenstance - the blockbuster he meant to see was sold out - and was immediately blown away, in part because the film took place in his native Brooklyn.
Before attending Harvard in 1987 where he studied anthropology, film and animation, he trained with The School of Field Studies as research biologist in Kenya as well as Alaska. He also backpacked through Europe and the Middle East during his interim between high school and college. He graduated from Harvard with honors in 1991 and went on to accrue similar high esteem from AFI Conservatory, as he was not only awarded his MFA in directing, but the Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal.
Career
With a budget of $60,000, Aronofsky's thriller about a mathematician's race to decipher the secrets of the universe through the number pi traveled at a breathless pace in black and white. Inspired by a rare comic book, Aronofsky used a stock called reversal film, which offers no grey or midtones in order to create a "hyper real" world for his audience.
Since no full-length feature had been shot on reversal film due to costs and difficulty in handling and processing, only one company in the U.S. would develop it. The task eventually swallowed 60 percent of the production's budget, but it paid off with the film's unique look. It was quickly snapped up by Artisan and opened in the U.S. during the same weekend as Lethal Weapon 4. Aronofsky's film managed to hold its own, pulling in $3.1 million. In addition, Aronofsky won the Best Director¹s Award at Sundance, Best First Screenplay at the Independent Film Awards, published his film diary and the film even spawned a comic book.
His next film, Requiem For a Dream (2000) adapted from Hubert Selby Jr.'s novel, starred Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto and Jennifer Connelly. Containing over 2000 cuts (as compared to the usual 600-700 for most films), the film features a dual storyline that focuses on a mother obsessed with losing weight for a TV appearance, her son, his girlfriend and his best friend, who are all addicted to heroin.
It took six years for his next movie to be released. The Fountain (2006), starring Hugh Jackman as a man who lives several lives over the course of 1,000 years, was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. He won several awards for his next film, The Wrestler (2008) starring Mickey Rourke. His latest film, Black Swan (2010) starring Natalie Portman, screened at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.
Religion
Raised in a Conservative Jewish household in Brighton Beach, Darren Aronofsky attended Hebrew school and celebrated his bar mitzvah
Views
You have to be memorable if you want people to be thinking about it thirty seconds after it happens. I don't think it matters, the reaction, as long as they're reacting.