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Darren Aronofsky: Entitled Requiem
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Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream") reportedly has pulled out of directing "Watchmen," an adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' graphic novel of the same name. The reason appears to be a scheduling conflict between "Watchmen" and Aronofsky's next project, the long-delayed sci-fi film "The Fountain."
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Aronofsky's second project, Requiem for a Dream (2000), was adapted from a novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr. (who actually helped co-write the screenplay). Aronofksy had long been captivated by Selby's work, and especially Last Exit to Brooklyn, but was unable, for years, to finish the difficult Requiem. At the behest of a friend, Aronofsky finally convinced himself to finish it, which led to his decision to adapt it for the screen. Although the cast included a pair of comparatively big name stars (Jared Leto, Jennifer Connolly), Aronofsky gave every actor in Pi a part in Requiem. After the film premiered in 2000, Aronofsky was cemented as a rising independent star.
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After the critical success of Pi, which Aronofsky made with $60,000 borrowed from family and friends and what must have been half of New York City's abandoned computer equipment, the maverick embarked on his next major project. Entitled Requiem for a Dream, and developed at the Sundance Lab, the picture stars Jared Leto as Harry Goldfarb, a heroin addict intent on pawning his mother's beloved TV as part of a scheme that will allow himself, his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly), and his best friend (Marlon Wayans) to score more smack. While the trio sink helplessly into a whirlpool of addiction, Harry's mother, Sara (Ellen Burstyn) wins a spot on a game show, but nearly starves herself to death on diet pills and develops a serious dependency herself. Issued on October 6, 2000 Requiem drew critical raves from coast to coast from all but the most discerning of reviewers.
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The only thing that reconciles Aronofsky, the Manhattan Beach boy made good, with the inky depths of his film visions is the earnestness radiating from both him and his work. Pi, Requiem, and especially The Fountain are moral fables with an actual moral at the center. In private, Aronofsky can easily, unself-consciously well up talking about something personal, like his parents’ cancer diagnoses and subsequent recoveries, or even the film’s production troubles. Sean Gullette, the Harvard friend who co-wrote and starred in Pi, deploys the E-word immediately when talking about Aronofsky. “Darren’s an earnest seeker trapped in the body of a hotshot city guy,” he says.
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Aronofsky, who directed Pi and Requiem for a Dream, aimed to reinvent the science fiction genre after being inspired by The Matrix. The film stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, who make up the emotional core of the film's millennial love story. Aronofsky incorporated visual effects using minimal computer-generated imagery. The Fountain was released on November 22, 2006.
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Aronofsky worked on additional projects and pursued additional leads. In-between Pi and Requiem, he had co-authored (with David N. Twohy and Lucas Sussman) the screenplay to Below, a much more conventional screen vehicle. Aronofsky ducked out of the limelight for a few years, but made a return in 2006 with the much-delayed, much-hyped The Fountain, a mystical, reality-shifiting gloss on 2001. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide
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Entitled Requiem