Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer.
Early life
Aronofsky was born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish family of Abraham and Charlotte Aronofsky, both school teachers. His father taught science and was a dean at Bushwick High School.
He graduated from Edward R. Murrow High School. He was selected to attend Camp Rising Sun, the Louis August Jonas Foundation's international summer scholarship program. He was trained as a research biologist with The School for Field Studies on a ranch in Kenya and Prince William Sound, Alaska. Upon graduating high school, he backpacked around the Middle East and Europe for six months and, in 1987, entered Harvard University where he studied anthropology, live action film and animation. His senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, starred his fellow student and friend Sean Gullette. It was a finalist in the 1991 Student Academy Awards. He graduated in 1991 with honors. He received his M.F.A. degree in directing from AFI Conservatory and was honored with the institute's prestigious Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal.
Features
Pi
The film is about a mathematical genius, Maximillian Cohen, who narrates much of the movie. Max, a number theorist, theorizes that everything in nature can be understood through numbers, and that if you graph the numbers properly patterns will emerge. He is working on finding patterns within the stock market, using its billions upon billions of variables as his data set with the assistance of his homemade supercomputer, Euclid. It won the Directing Prize at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. It also won the Open Palm at the Gotham Awards. Aronofsky won best first screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Requiem for a Dream
One of Aronofsky's favorite books is Hubert Selby Jr.'s Last Exit to Brooklyn.citation needed While editing π, producer Eric Watson asked Aronofsky to read another Selby book, Requiem for a Dream, which Aronofsky had actually started reading years before but never finished. He was moved by the novel and wanted to film an adaptation, quickly beginning work on the script with Selby. Aronofsky delivered a relentless and disturbing movie of hopes and dreams shattered and lives laid waste by various addictions. The film premiered at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and was greeted by a 13 minute standing ovation. It was released in the United States in October, 2000. Ellen Burstyn was nominated for several awards including the Academy Award for best actress for her performance as Harry's widowed and lonely mother. Composer Clint Mansell's score has gone on to be one of the most recognizable scores of the decade.
The Fountain
Main article:
The FountainThe Fountain is a 2006 American film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The film comprises three storylines where Jackman and Weisz play different sets of characters: a modern-day scientist and his cancer-stricken wife, a conquistador and his queen, and a space traveler who hallucinates his lost love. The storylines, interwoven with use of match cuts and recurring visual motifs, reflect the themes of love and mortality.
Aronofsky originally planned to direct The Fountain on a $70 million budget with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the lead roles, but Pitt's withdrawal and cost overruns led to Warner Bros. shutting down production. The director rewrote the script to be sparser, and he was able to resurrect the film with a $35 million budget and Jackman and Weisz in the lead roles. Production mainly took place on a sound stage in Montreal, and the director used macro photography to create the key visual effects for The Fountain at a low cost. The film was released theatrically in the United States and Canada on November 22, 2006. It grossed $10,144,010 in the United States and Canada and $5,761,344 in other territories for a worldwide total of $15,905,354. Critics' reaction to the film was divided; the consensus was that the film was visually strong but lacked focus in its ambition.
The Wrestler
Aronofsky directed The Wrestler, starring Mickey Rourke as professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson. The film tells the story of Robinson's decline, and eventual reentry into the pro wrestling scene. Filming began late January 2008 and wrapped two months later.1 The Wrestler won the prestigious Golden Lion prize at the 2008 Venice Film Festival2 (it is only the third American film to win this award in over 65 years and the other two were co-winners, having shared their awards with other, non-American films), as well as two Golden Globe Awards: Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama for Rourke and Best Original Song for the song The Wrestler written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Marisa Tomei and Mickey Rourke were nominated for Academy Awards.
Future projects
Aronofsky is currently filming Black Swan, a psychological thriller film about rival dancers. The film stars Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis and is filming in New York City.3 Aronofsky is also planning a Noah’s Ark Project4 which he started developing before Pi, and was co-written with Ari Handel.5 Aronofsky is also working on a film based on the February 2006 heist at the Securitas Depot in Tonbridge, England. 6
Filmography
Personal life
Aronofsky is engaged to English actress Rachel Weisz. They began dating in 2001 and have a son, Henry Chance, born on May 31, 2006, in New York City.89 The couple reside in Manhattan.
References
External links
Websites
Interviews
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Films directed by Darren Aronofsky |
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![The Wrestler [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51LeD6GNObL._SL160_.jpg)
![Requiem for a Dream [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CMS5988WL._SL160_.jpg)
 and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem For A Dream) discuss their two unique ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/YWP9F8UGhGQ&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://0.gvt0.com/vi/YWP9F8UGhGQ/default.jpg&celebrity=Darren Aronofsky)
![Clip Darren Aronofsky talks "The Wrestler" On Howard Stern part 1 of 3 Video](/viewVideo.html?title=Darren Aronofsky talks The Wrestler On Howard Stern part 1 of 3&videoType=YouTube&summary=Darren Aronofsky talks "The Wrestler" On Howard Stern part 1 of 3&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/j_Y1xunztOs&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://3.gvt0.com/vi/j_Y1xunztOs/default.jpg&celebrity=Darren Aronofsky)
 and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem For A Dream) discuss their processes for ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/u4vOf0IZFS0&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://1.gvt0.com/vi/u4vOf0IZFS0/default.jpg&celebrity=Darren Aronofsky)
 and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Requiem For A Dream) discuss the different ...&link=http://www.youtube.com/v/kbu3GmiWF68&fs=1&source=uds&autoplay=1&thumb=http://3.gvt0.com/vi/kbu3GmiWF68/default.jpg&celebrity=Darren Aronofsky)
