Darren Aronofsky essays

Darren Aronofsky essays Darren Aronofsky, director of the indie sensation Pi was in town to screen his latest, last years Oscar-nominated Requiem for a Dream as part Southern Methodist Universitys film festival. I had the privilege of getting to know Mr. Aronofsky at the Amstrom Gallery after party. As a kid in Brooklyn, Aronofsky took the D train to Manhattan so that he could sneak into such films as A Clockwork Orange and Eraserhead. The films were, at that time, X-rated (they are both now rated R). They were films, he says with a smirk, you werent supposed to see. Fifteen years later, Aronofsky finds himself making controversial, provocative movies for the same restless young people. Mr. Aronofsky first wooed critics with his 1998 debut Pi. The film was a Sundance hit, managing, of all things, to add some suspense to the ever-dull world of a mathematician. The film became a small triumph for Aronofsky (and Artisan Entertainment, its theatrical distributor), a no-budget science fiction drama that was financed by Aronofskys credit cards, his friends, and complete strangers that populated Brooklyn. Aronofsky promised friends and strangers alike that if they put up $100, he would pay them that same amount plus interest, if the film made any money. With a budget of $60,000, it did. Aronofsky discovered an untapped passion for the art of filmmaking as a student of Edward R. Murrow High. With one of his friends in tow, Aronofsky traveled to Brooklyns only mall, Kings Plaza, to see a movie that he now cant remember. They got there late and the movie was sold out. Aronofsky was determined to see something, however. I saw a poster with a goofy guy with a Brooklyn hat, went in, and it turned out to be Shes Gotta Have It (a 1986 Spike Lee film; his debut). And I remember being just blown away. It spoke to me partly because Im from Brooklyn, and I really re...