NEWS FROM THE NET.
EXCLUSIVE NEWS.
First of all I would like to tell that Mr. Aronofsky is a very down to earth person. He's a very polite gentleman.
Questions were asked answers were given. On Batman questions he only said that Darren himself and Frank Miller wrote a draft based on Year One. But he said that Batman wasn't his next film. He said that his next film is an "untitled" sci- fi with Brad Pitt. He said that the film was "untitled", he didn't mention the name 'Last Man'. He also said that he'll be working with Ellen Burstyn again but he didn't specifically explain whether it was the untitled sci-fi or another future project.
He said that Kurosawa was an influence on him, visual wise. Darren said that when making a film he starts to think about the visual language from the very beginning (before a script is written) then said that it evolved during the script stage. Someone in the crowd asked about the scene where Marion stands at the pier and it's similarity from a scene from Dark City. Darren said that he watched Dark City after the script was finished (during the making of the film) and said that is was a coincidence. Darren quoted J. Conelly that she said during the shooting of the scene she said " Darren we can't do this... I've already done this scene". And his reply was (jokingly) after looking at the crew ready to shoot the scene "sorry we have to".
Darren talked about the casting for Requiem. He said Burstyn was wonderful and Leto was a natural for the role.
Darren also said that the script Selby wrote in the 70's and his own draft were almost the same. He said that he didn't want the film to take place in a specific time so he kind of mixed the 70's and the present day. And Darren said that he liked adapting more than writing original scripts. He also explained that in the book Sara was a soap opera lover and Darren added Tappy Tibbons from his own script about a fortune teller. He said that Tappy suited the story. For an advice to wannabe writers he said that "you can use your own material from a script of yours and apply it to another.". He said that he wants to do the fortune teller film but not in the near future. He said that his family was a big support for him. And his father had a small role in Requiem (Darren said that his father is the man on train who calls Sara a "whack".) and his mother played one of the Yentas in the film.
On a cool side note although he didn't reveal what "step 3" is he said that it is hidden somewhere in the DVD. He also gave a tip and said call the telephone number on the DVD Menu.
On using the hip hop mini montage in the drug taking scenes in Requiem, Darren said that he didn't want to show the process of taking drugs or the preparations to taking drugs. He said that he wanted to show the drugs' effects on the human body and he didn't want to do it with showing it in a long takes.
On a quick side note: The Fortune Teller movie that Alican mentions is a film that Darren wrote a while back but never brought it to film. Also, the third rule said by the Tabby Tibbons character can be found in the Requiem For A Dream trivia section on this site.
RECENT MAGAZINE MENTIONS.
A few weeks back, Dark Horizons ran two Aronofsky-related stories one stating that "[Brad Pitt] will definitely be
starring in Darren Aronofsky's science-fictioner The Last Man shooting summer2002" and the other stating that the film Below directed by David Twohy (and produced and co-written by Aronofsky) may be pushed back to summer. (Once again, thanks to 'William')
Another Aronofsky news story from the web comes from The Onion AV Club. They printed an interview with Frank Miller (Batman: Year One co-writer) in which he mentions how he started working with Darren Aronofsky on his comic book adaption Ronin and how he is now working with Darren on the Batman script. Miller also says, "[Darren is] a ball. Ideas pour out of his ears. We tend to have a lot of fun together. It's funny, because in many ways I think I'm the lighter one of the team, and I'm not used to that...I can't really talk about what's in the movie, though, because I think Warner Brothers would have somebody beat me up. And asking a screenwriter what the movie's going to be like is like asking a doorman whether a building is going to be condemned." To read the full interview click here. (Thanks to 'Rob')
First we've got official word that Sean Gullete has a role in Darren's Last Man film.
We also just got an email from our pal Alican Pamir who attended a screening of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem For A Dream and two question and answer sessions with Aronofsky at the Istanbul Independent Film Festival in Turkey a few days ago. Here's what happened:
Today we're starting a new section on the site where we list all of Darren's recent mentions and notes in all magazines. If you spot an Aronofsky related item in any magazine be sure to send us a quick email!
A recent issue of Premiere Magazine gives the current status of Batman: Year One and says, "It's a character-driven piece about a twentysomething, tentative Batman who’s still finding his calling as a crime fighter. Miller is completing a first draft of the screenplay, and Aronofsky could start work next summer." (Thanks to 'Max')
I know it's a bit late, but in the Sept/Oct 2001 issue of Film Comment, Darren is mentioned for putting Batman on hold to embark on Last Man. The article cracks, "Let's hope there are no talking refrigerators in this one." (Thanks to William)
Not long ago Entertainment Weekly ran a story on the best DVDs ever. Requiem For A Dream was listed and EW says, "Arguably the only film of the new millennium so far to advance the medium, Darren Aronofsky's harrowing shocker tracks two Coney Island addicts: a young junkie (Jared Leto) and his diet-pill-popping mom (Ellen Burstyn, who -- sorry, Julia -- should've won the Oscar). Utilizing digital-video technology to create hypnotic recurring images, Aronofsky's anti-drug drama is so potent that you can't ''just say no'' even if you want to."
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