From 1998’s Pi to a string of provocative and acclaimed and controversial (sometimes) movies, Darren Aronofsky has proven to be one of the best and most original filmmakers of his generation. Movies like Requiem For A Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Black Swan, Noah, mother! and more have caused a stir, won praise as well as disdain, awards, you name it. In other words his movies get talked about. His latest film, The Whale is no different in that regard and premiered to a six minute standing ovation in September at the Venice Film Festival. Last weekend it set a 2022 opening boxoffice record for specialty releases , and has continued to earn strong Oscar buzz, especially for its star Brendan Fraser. The story of a 600 pound man desperately trying to reconnect with his teenage daughter is another highlight in the career of Aronofsky who had the property, originally a stage play written by Sam Hunter (who also wrote the screenplay), for 10 years before the right elements finally came together for the A24 release which goes out wider on Wednesday.
Aronofsky joins me for this week’s episode of my Deadline video series, Behind The Lens where we cover his entire career including his flirtations with making Batman and Robocop movies, his prodigious producing career which includes two other 2022 films – The Good Nurse and documentary The Territory – his beginnings at AFI and Harvard, the unique stories he finds himself drawn to time and again, and so much more. To watch our conversation just click on the link above.
Join me every Friday during Oscar season for another edition of Behind The Lens.
