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Content
Introduction _Darren Aronofsky
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_The Darkest Corner
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_Interview
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Location _St. Ann’s Warehouse
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_Food and Drink
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_How to Get There
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Filmography _Pi
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_Requiem for a Dream
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_The Fountain
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_The Wrestler
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_Black Swan
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Introduction Introduction
_Darren Aronofsky _The Darkest Corner _Interview
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Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer and environmentalist. He has received acclaim for his often surreal, disturbing films and has been noted for frequent collaborations with cinematographer Matthew Libatique, film editor Andrew Weisblum and composer Clint Mansell. His films have generated controversy and are known for their often violent, bleak subject matter. “The themes in the six Aronofsky’s films from 1998 to 2014 include the search for perfection, the search for happiness, longing for love, intoxication with publicity, the pain of alienation, and the burden of responsibility.” Aronofsky attended Harvard University, where he studied film and social anthropology, and the American Film Institute where he studied directing. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, Supermarket Sweep, which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist. Aronofsky’s feature debut, the surrealist psychological thriller Pi, was shot in November 1997. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; Aronofsky won the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival and an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay. Aronofsky’s followup, the psychological drama Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr. The film garnered strong reviews and received an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn’s performance. After turning down an opportunity to direct an entry in the Batman film series and writing the World
“I think it’s important to keep trying new things.”
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War II horror film Below, Aronofsky began production on his third film, the romantic fantasy sci-fi drama The Fountain. The film received mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box-office, but has since garnered a cult following. His fourth film, the sports drama The Wrestler, was released to critical acclaim and both of the film’s stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, received Academy Award nominations. In 2010 Aronofsky was an executive producer on The Fighter and his fifth feature film, the psychological horror film Black Swan, received further critical acclaim and many accolades, being nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director and winning Best Actress for Natalie Portman’s performance in the film. Aronofsky received nominations for Best Director at the Golden Globes, and a Directors Guild of America Award nomination. His sixth film, the biblically inspired epic Noah, was released in theaters on March 28, 2014.
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Filmography
Style
Pi(1998)
Frequently uses a technique known as the hip-hop montage,
Requiem for a Dream(2000)
which is a sequence of images or actions shown in fast-motion with accompanying sound effects, usually shown to simulate
The Fountain(2006)
a certain action, such as taking drugs.
The Wrestler(2008)
Fade to white for emphasis, a break in the story, or an end of
Black Swan(2010) Noah(2014)
an Act/Section in the story. Use of sounds to objects that are not always seen on screen (i.e., a train horn, or slurping liquid). Uses a string instrument and techno beat combination for the soundtrack to his films. Use of the Snorricam (a camera device that is rigged to the body of the actor). Characters with strong obsessions that drive them towards self-destruction. Lengthy over-the-shoulder shots.
Mansell’s music is an often important element of the films. “To me, watching a movie is like going to an amusement park. My worst fear is making a film that people don’t think is a good ride.”
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Awards
Pi
Won Gotham Awards Open Palm Award Won Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay Won Sundance Film Festival Best Director Nominated Independent Spirit Awards Best First Feature
Requiem For a
Won National Board of Review Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking
Dream
Nominated Independent Spirit Awards Best Director and Best Picture Won American Film Institute Franklin J. Schaffner Award Recipient
T he Fountain
Nominated Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Wpn Stockholm International Film Festival Visionary Award Won Chicago International Film Festival Emerging Visionary Award Recipient
T he Wrestler
Won Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Won Independent Spirit Award Best Film Won London Critics Circle Film Awards Best Film and Best Director
Black Swan
Nominated Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Won San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards Best Director Nominated Academy Awards Best Director Won Independent Spirit Awards Best Director and Best Picture Nominated Golden Globe Award Best Director
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Controversy
Several aspects of Aronofsky’s films
News, a state-run Iranian newspaper, also criticized the heel
have been controversial, most notably
(bad-guy) wrestler character “The Ayatollah.” Portrayed as a
Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler and
villain, he wears Arabic items of clothing (keffiyeh and bisht),
Black Swan. Requiem for a Dream was
which the newspaper believed was intended to lead audienc-
originally set for release in 2000, but
es to associate Iranians with Arabs. In the wrestling ring, he
it met with controversy in the United
wears a skimpy leotard in the pattern of an Iranian flag with
States, being rated NC-17 by the MPAA
the alef character, representing the first letter of the word
due to a graphic sex scene. Aronofsky
Ayatollah.
appealed the rating, claiming that cutting any portion of the film would dilute its message. The appeal was denied and Artisan decided to release the film unrated.
Some Iranian newspapers avoided mentioning the character, presumably to avoid offending Iran’s clerical rulers. On March 2009, Javad Shamaqdari, cultural adviser to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, demanded an apology from a delegation of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Wrestler has been condemned as
actors and producers visiting Iran for what he characterized
an “anti-Iranian” film in many Iran
as negative and unfair portrayals of the Islamic republic in
newspapers and websites, in response
The Wrestler and other Hollywood films.
to a scene in which Mickey Rourke violently breaks a pole bearing an Iranian flag in half across his knee. Borna
The question of who had designed 40 ballet costumes for Portman and the dancers in Black Swan was one publicized controversy related to the film. The media gave substantial coverage to the dance double controversy: how much credit for the dancing in the film was being given to Portman and how much to her “dance double”, Sarah Lane, an American Ballet Theatre soloist. Lane claimed to have danced more than she was credited. The director and Fox Searchlight disputed Lane’s claim. Their released statements said, “We were fortunate to have Sarah there to cover the more complicated dance sequences and we have nothing but praise for the hard work she did. However, Natalie herself did most of the dancing featured in the final film.”
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The Darkest Corner This year we will be celebrating award winning and one of the most important independent filmmakers Darren Aronofsky, and a collection of his work Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler and Black Swan. Not only will this be a chance for you to view some of your favorite films, but there will also be a chance to meet and hear from the man behind this incredible talent, Mr. Aronofsky. The darkest corner film festival will give you a chance to wander in his unruly, ruminative—and most important of all— obsession breeds self-destruction.
10th Opening Ceremony/Interview/Pi 11st Requiem for a Dream/The Wrestler 12nd The Fountain/Black Swan
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Interview Q: So how did you come back to the story? A: After I made the film “Pi,” I was looking for a next film and started thinking about Noah. It didn’t happen for a few years, because Hollywood wasn’t really interested in making kind of a biblical movie. The idea wasn’t around back then, but now it’s very in vogue.
Q: Has making the film made a difference for your faith at all? A: I don’t think it’s changed in any way. I don’t think this has affected it in either way. It’s been more about bringing this story to life and breathing life into it. If you look at the film, every character is sort of dealing with these ideas of wickedness and forgiveness.
Q: Do you have any hopes for what people take away from the film? A: My job is first and foremost as an entertainer. I entertain people, and I try to make films that are exciting, and fun, and emotional, and moving, and filled with action, and that’s all I care about.
You get nonbelievers saying [That’is impossible, because all the species of the world would never all fit on the ark.] But that’s the exact wrong argument, you know?”
—The Washington Post
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Q: How did you do those scenes in the rehearsal rooms with the spinning camera? How did you hide the camera? A: We knew from the beginning that if we were making a film set in the ballet world with doppelgangers and doubles, the mirror was going to be a huge character. One because there’s mirrors everywhere in a dance studio, and two because the reflection wold be a part of the whole film. We started coming up with ways to reinvent the mirror scares.
Q: T here are some where you’re hiding the camera too, right? A: Not really. Removing a camera is not the hardest thing in the world to do. That was our whole approach for VFX, and kind of always been-- they’re supporting the film. I never give over to an animated movie, which is kind of what these big effects movies turn into. The only element might be a photograph of the actor’s face, but everything else is constructed in the computer.
Q: Do you feel like you now know more? A: Definitely. I definitely know the Tchaikovsky score, I listened to it nonstop for a year and a half. It’s interesting, if you had laid the Tchaikovsky over the film it would never have worked. It’s been used in Bugs Bunny and Volkswagen commercials, it’s been in the public domain for years. How to turn that stuff into something scary that works in a movie, that was the challenge. —By Katey Rich
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Location Location
_St. Ann’s Warehouse _Food and Drink _How to Get There
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St. Ann’s Warehouse For 34 years, St. Ann’s Warehouse has commissioned, produced, and presented a unique and eclectic body of innovative theater and concert presentations that meet at the intersection of theater and rock and roll. Since 2000, the organization has helped vitalize the Brooklyn Waterfront in DUMBO, where St. Ann’s Warehouse has become one of New York City’s most important and compelling live performance destinations. After twelve years at 38 Water Street, St. Ann’s activated a new warehouse at 29 Jay Street, turning it into an interim home while the organization has adapted the historic Tobacco Warehouse (45 Water Street) in Brooklyn Bridge Park into a waterfront cultural center. Construction is nearly finished. Through its signature multi-artist concerts and groundbreaking music and theater collaborations, St. Ann’s continues to celebrate the panoramic traditions of American and world cultures, with forays into a variety of contemporary forms, including new commissions and multi-disciplinary theatrical presentations.
St. Ann’s Warehouse produces tough, raw, emotion-provoking material at the vanguard of the avant-garde.
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Food and Drink Come early! Stay late! BAR JOLIE, curated by Vinegar Hill House, will open one hour before showtime in the St. Ann’s Warehouse Lobby. Bar Jolie offers small sandwiches, sweets and savories, tea and hand-roasted coffee in addition to wine and beer. Bar Jolie will also be open post-show. There are a number of other drinking establishments and places to dine within walking distance of St. Ann’s Warehouse at 45 Water Street.
Vinegar Hill House 72 HUDSON AVENUE 718.522.1018 | VINEGARHILLHOUSE.COM Mon-Thurs: 6 – 11pm; Fri & Sat: 6-11:30pm; Sun: 5:30-11pm Brunch Sat & Sun: 10:30am-3:30pm
Atrium DUMBO 15 MAIN STREET 718.858.1095 | ATRIUMDUMBO.COM Lunch Mon- Fri 11am-2:30pm | Brunch Sat & Sun 2pm-11pm | Dinner everyday 5:30-10pm
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Superfine 126 FRONT STREET 718.243.9005 Seasonal Mediterranean cuisine, organic meats, and fresh seafood. Full bar with occasional live music and pool table. Tues-Fri 11am-3pm & 6pm-11pm | Sat 2pm-11pm | Sun 11am-3pm & 6pm-11pm
Olympia Wine Bar 54 JAY STREET (b/t Plymouth and Water Streets) 718.624.7900 | YELP.COM Wine, beer, cocktails and small plates are offered.足 Mon-Sat 4-12am | Sun 4-11pm
68 Jay Street Bar 68 JAY STREET (b/t Front and Water Streets) 718.260.8207 | 68JAYSTREETBAR.NET American Industrial Drinking Establishment with a variety of beers, wine, and cocktails.
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How to Get There By Car* The New St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at 45 Water Street, Brooklyn 11201 — next to the Brooklyn Bridge. The entrance to the theater is on Old Dock Street in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
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By Subway* F to York Street – Turn right upon exiting the York Street station. Proceed down Jay Street and turn left on Front Street. Turn right on Dock Street. St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Water Street and Old Dock Street. CA/C to High Street – From Manhattan, exit at the rear of the train. From Brooklyn, exit at the front of the train. Walk down Cadman Plaza West which turns into Old Fulton Street. Make a right on Front Street and a left on Dock Street. The entrance to St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Water Street and Old Dock Street. 2/3 to Clark Street – Walk five blocks down Henry Street (toward the Bridge) and turn left at Cadman Plaza West. Cadman Plaza West becomes Old Fulton Street. Make a right on Front Street and a left on Dock Street. St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Water Street and Old Dock Street.
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By Bus* Take the B25 to the corner of Water Street and Main Street. Walk west on Water Street. St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Water and Old Dock.
By Bike* There are a variety of paths to take to reach St. Ann’s by bike. We recommend using H OPSTOP for biking directions from your specific location. For CITI BIKE users, the closest docking stations to the Warehouse are located at Old Fulton St/Elizabeth Pl, and at Front St/Washington St.
On Foot* Take the footpath over the Brooklyn Bridge and turn left. The stairs feed into Washington Street. Walk north two blocks on Washington and turn left on Water Street. St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Old Dock St and Water St.
By Ferry* NY Waterway operates the EAST RIVER FERRY to and from Brooklyn Bridge Park. From the park pier, exit on to Old Fulton Street. Turn left on Water Street, which curves to the right. St. Ann’s Warehouse is located at the corner of Old Dock St and Water St.
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Parking PARK KWIK | 718-797-2707 | 37 Front Street PARK KWIK | 718-330-0144 | 55 Washington Street (Entrance at Adamst. between Front and Water) PARK KWIK | 718-254-9141 | 20 Jay Street
Car Services Yellow cabs are available along Old Fulton Street, but there are also several car services serving the DUMBO area: Arecibo Car & Limo Service: 718-783-6465 Cadman Express Car & Limo Service: 718-858-7771 Continental Car Service: 718-499-0909 Eastern Car Service: 718-499-6227 Myrtle Car Service: 718-230-8100 Northside Car Service: 718-387-2222 Promenade Car Service: 718-858-6666
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Filmography Filmography
_Pi _Requiem for a Dream _The Fountain _The Wrestler _Black Swan
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Pi (1998) Pi, also titled, is a 1998 American surrealist psychological thriller film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky in his directorial debut. The film earned Aronofsky the Directing Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and the Gotham Open Palm Award. The title refers to the mathematical constant pi. The film is notable for its covering of an array of themes including religion, mysticism and the relationship of the universe to mathematics. The story about a mathematician and the obsession with mathematical regularity contrasts two seemingly irreconcilable entities: the imperfect, irrational humanity and the rigor and regularity of mathematics, specifically number theory. A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
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Storyline
A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature. Max is a genius mathematician who’s built a supercomputer at home that provides something that can be understood as a key for understanding all existence. Representatives both from a Hasidic cabalistic sect and high-powered Wall Street firm hear of that secret and attempt to seduce him. He is unemployed and living in a drab Chinatown apartment in New York City, Max is a number theorist who believes that everything in nature can be understood through numbers. He is capable of doing simple arithmetic calculations involving large numbers in his head, a skill that impresses Jenna, a very young Chinese-American girl with a calculator who lives in his apartment building. Max also suffers from cluster headaches, as well as extreme paranoia, hallucinations, and social anxiety disorder. Other than Devi, a young woman living next door who sometimes speaks to him, Max’s only social interaction is with Sol Robeson, his old mathematics mentor who is now an invalid. Later, in the final scene, Jenna approaches Max in a park asking math problems, including 748 ÷ 238, which is an approximation for Pi. Max smiles and claims that he doesn’t know the answer to them. No longer able to solve complex mathematics or experience headaches or paranoid thoughts, Max sits on the park bench and observes the trees blowing in the breeze, at peace.
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419 7169399375105820974944592307816406286 ...
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Cast
Sean Gullette as Maximillian “Max� Cohen Mark Margolis as Sol Robeson Ben Shenkman as Lenny Meyer Samia Shoaib as Devi Pamela Hart as Marcy Dawson Stephen Pearlman as Rabbi Cohen Ajay Naidu as Farrouhk Kristyn Mae-Anne Lao as Jenna Lauren Fox as Jenny Robeson Clint Mansell as Photographer
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Requiem for a Dream (2000) Requiem for a Dream is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Hubert Selby, Jr., with whom Aronofsky wrote the screenplay. Burs-
This... tyn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress her performance. The film was screened out of competidrives...for tion at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. most... The film depicts four different forms of drug addiction, which lead to the characters’ imprisonment in a world of delusion people...and reckless desperation that is subsequently overtaken by thus leaving them as hollow shells of their former crazy.� reality, selves.
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Storyline
T he drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions become stronger. Drugs. They consume mind, body and soul. Once you’re hooked, you’re hooked. Four lives. Four addicts. Four failures. Despite their aspirations of greatness, they succumb to their addictions. Watching the addicts spiral out of control, we bear witness to the dirtiest, ugliest portions of the underworld addicts reside in. It is shocking and eye-opening but demands to be seen by both addicts and non-addicts alike. During the summer in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, widow Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) constantly watches television, particularly infomercials hosted by Tappy Tibbons (Christopher McDonald). After receiving an unexpected phone call that she has won a spot to participate on a television game show, she becomes obsessed with regaining the youthful appearance she possesses in an old photograph from her son Harry’s (Jared Leto) graduation many years earlier. To fit into her old red dress seen in the picture, the favorite one of her deceased husband Seymour, she goes on a crash diet. To reach her goal sooner, she goes to a doctor to discuss weight loss. The doctor gives her a prescription for weight-loss amphetamine pills throughout the day and a sedative at night. Harry warns her about amphetamine dependence and risk of life-threatening consequences, but she rebuffs him and insists that the chance to be on television has given her a reason to live. As the months go by, Sara’s tolerance for the pills adjust and as a result she is no longer able to feel the same high the pills once gave her. When her invitation has still not arrived, she wrongfully increases her dosage from double to triple and, as a result, begins to suffer from amphetamine psychosis. Soon, her delusions worsen and she is driven to the brink of madness when she suffers a hallucination that she appears on the game show as the principal subject while being attacked by her monstrous, anthropomorphized refrigerator.
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Cast
Ellen Burstyn as Sara Goldfarb Jared Leto as Harry Goldfarb Jennifer Connelly as Marion Silver Marlon Wayans as Tyrone C. Love Christopher McDonald as Tappy Tibbons Mark Margolis as Mr. Rabinowitz Louise Lasser as Ada Marcia Jean Kurtz as Rae Sean Gullette as Arnold, Marion’s psychiatrist Keith David as Big Tim, Marion’s pimp Dylan Baker as Southern Doctor Ajay Naidu as Mailman Ben Shenkman as Dr. Spencer Hubert Selby, Jr. as Laughing guard Darren Aronofsky (uncredited) as Visitor
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The Fountain (2006)
by Darren Aronofsky, and stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The film consists of three story lines, in which Jackman and Weisz play different sets of characters who may or may not be the same two people: a modern-day scientist and his cancer-stricken wife, a conquistador and his queen, and a space traveler in the future who hallucinates his lost love. The story lines—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 Warner Bros. to shut down production. The director rewrote the script to be sparser, and was able to resurrect the film with a $35 million budget with Jackman and Weisz in the lead roles. Production mainly took place on a sound stage in Montreal, Quebec, and the director used macro photography to create 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 $15,978,422. Critics’ reactions to the film
Our bodies are prisons for our souls. Our skin and blood, the iron bars of confinement. But fear not. All flesh decays. Death turns all to ash. And thus, death frees every soul.
were divided, but it has gained a large cult following since its release.
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Storyline
As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mor tality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi. The film opens with conquistador Tomás Verde in New Spain fighting a horde of Mayans to gain entry into a pyramid, where he is attacked by a Mayan priest with a flaming sword. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that the conquistador has been commissioned by Queen Isabella of Spain to travel to the New World in search of the Biblical Tree of Life. Tom Creo is a doctor working on a cure using samples of the “Tree of Life”, found through exploration in Central America, which are being tested for medicinal use for degenerative brain diseases in his lab in 2005. He is motivated by his wife Izzi’s brain tumor, which has caused a rapid decline in her health. Izzi has used this time to assess the meaning of life and come to terms with her mortality, but Tom refuses to accept that she might die and has increasingly resolved to find a cure. The narrative for Tommy is set entirely in deep space in a small, self-contained biosphere bubble. Jackman’s character in this plot is alone, flying in outer space toward the golden nebula of Xibalba with a large tree and a few personal effects inside his ship. While traveling, he meditates, performs t’ai chi, grows mushrooms and cuts pieces of bark from the tree for nourishment. He also converses with apparitions of Izzi from 2005. It is implied that the tree within the biosphere represents Izzi and that Tommy has been transporting it to Xibalba with the hope that her life will be restored. Tommy is also shown to have applied extensive, incremental tattooed patterns to both of his arms; it is implied that the tattoos mark the passage of time on his journey.
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Cast
Hugh Jackman as Tomas/Tommy/Tom Creo Rachel Weisz as Isabel/Izzi Creo Ellen Burstyn as Dr. Lillian Guzetti Mark Margolis as Father Avila Stephen McHattie as Grand Inquisitor Silecio Fernando Hernandez as Lord of Xibalba Cliff Curtis as Captain Ariel Sean Patrick Thomas as Antonio Donna Murphy as Betty Ethan Suplee as Manny Richard McMillan as Henry Lorne Brass as Dr. Alan Lipper Abraham Aronofsky asLab Technician Renee Asofsky as Lab Technician Anish Majumdar as Dr. Spencer
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The Wrestler (2008)
The Wrestler is a 2008 American sports drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky, written by Robert D. Siegel, and starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. Production began in January 2008 and Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired rights to distribute the film in the U.S.; it was released in a limited capacity on December 17, 2008 and was released nationwide on January 23, 2009. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on April 21, 2009 in the United States. It was released in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2009. Rourke plays an aging professional wrestler who, despite his failing health and waning fame, continues to wrestle in an attempt to cling to the success of his 1980s heyday. He also tries to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter and to find romance with a woman who works as a stripper. The film received universal critical acclaim and won the Golden Lion Award in the 2008 Venice Film Festival in August, where it premiered. Film critic Roger Ebert called it one of the year’s best films, while Rotten Tomatoes reported that 98% of critics gave the film positive reviews. The success of the film revitalized the career of Mickey Rourke, who went on to receive a BAFTA award, a Golden Globe award, an Independent Spirit Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Tomei also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The only place I get hurt is out there. The world don’t give a shit about me.
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Storyline
A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle. Robin Ramzinski, better known by his ring name Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke), is a professional wrestler who became a celebrity in the 1980s. Now past his prime, Randy wrestles on weekends for independent promotions in New Jersey while working part-time at a supermarket under Wayne (Todd Barry), a demeaning manager who mocks Randy’s wrestling background. A regular at a strip club, Randy befriends a stripper, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), who, like Randy, is too old for her job. After winning a local match, Randy agrees to a proposed 20th anniversary rematch with his most notable opponent, “The Ayatollah” (Ernest Miller), which could bring him back to stardom. Randy intensifies his training, which includes steroid injections. After wrestling in a hardcore match, Randy suffers a heart attack backstage and undergoes coronary artery bypass surgery. His doctor tells him that his heart can no longer handle the stress of wrestling. As a result, Randy decides to retire and begins working a fulltime shift behind the supermarket’s deli counter. At the deli counter, a patron recognizes Randy as the wrestler, though he denies it. The customer persists, which agitates Randy, who then cuts his hand on the deli’s slicer and goes into a rampage in the store, hurling abuse at Wayne and the customers. Spurred by the fan’s recognition of him and with nothing left, Randy decides to return to wrestling and reschedules the rematch with The Ayatollah. He reconciles with Cassidy, though she begs him not to wrestle because of his heart condition. However, Randy explains to her that he belongs in the ring with the fans who, unlike the rest of society, love him. As he wrestles, Randy begins to feel chest pain and becomes unsteady. The Ayatollah notices this and urges him to initiate the pin. Randy refuses, however, and climbs the top rope for his signature finishing move, a diving headbutt called the “Ram Jam”. In tears, he salutes the crowd and leaps from the ropes. The film ends at this point, leaving Randy’s fate unknown.
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Cast
Mickey Rourke as Robin Ramzinski / Randy “The Ram” Robinson Marisa Tomei as Pam / Cassidy Evan Rachel Wood as Stephanie Ramzinski Mark Margolis as Lenny Todd Barry as Wayne Judah Friedlander as Scott Ernest Miller as Bob / “The Ayatollah” Ajay Naidu as Medic Wass Stevens as Nick John D’Leo as Adam Gregg Bello as Larry
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Black Swan (2010) Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological thriller-horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake ballet by a prestigious New York City company. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina (Portman) is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities better embodied by the new arrival Lily (Kunis). Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the part, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into a living nightmare. Usually described as a psychological thriller, Black Swan can be also interpreted as a metaphor for achieving artistic perfection, with all the psychological and physical challenges one might encounter, i.e. “the film can be perceived as a poetic metaphor for the birth of an artist, that is, as a visual representation of Nina’s psychic odyssey toward achieving artistic perfection and of the price to be paid for it.” Aronofsky conceived the premise by connecting his viewings of a production of Swan Lake with an unrealized screenplay about understudies and the notion of being haunted by a double, similar to the folklore surrounding doppelgängers. Aronofsky cites Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s “The Double” as another inspiration for the film. The director also considered Black Swan a companion piece to his 2008 film The Wrestler, with both films involving demanding performances for different kinds of art. He and Portman first discussed the project in 2000, and after a brief attachment to Universal Studios, Black Swan was produced in New York City in 2009 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Portman and Kunis trained in ballet for several months prior to filming, and notable figures from the ballet world helped with film production to shape the ballet presentation. It’s about a girl who gets turned into a swan and she needs love to break the spell, but her prince falls for the wrong girl so she kills herself.
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Storyline
A committed dancer wins the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” only to find herself struggling to maintain her sanity. Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), is a professional dancer in a New York ballet company. Nina lives in New York City with her overprotective mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey). The company is preparing to open the season with Swan Lake. The director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), is looking for a new principal dancer after forcing Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder) into retirement. Thomas wants the same ballerina to portray the innocent, fragile White Swan as well as her mysterious, sensual twin, the Black Swan. Nina auditions for the part, performing flawlessly as the White Swan, but she is not able to emulate the characteristics of the Black Swan. Upset, Nina approaches Thomas and asks him to reconsider her as the lead role. Thomas forcibly kisses Nina, and she displays a change of character and bites him, convincing him that she has the ferocity to play the Black Swan. Nina begins to witness strange happenings, and her mother finds scratches on her back. Sprouting feathers, her arms become black wings as she finally loses herself and is transformed into a black swan. At the end of the act, she receives a standing ovation. Offstage, Thomas and the rest of the cast congratulate her on her stunning performance. Nina takes Thomas by surprise and kisses him. Back in her dressing room before the final act, Nina is congratulated by Lily, revealing that their fight was, again, imaginary. The mirror, however, is still shattered. Nina removes a small shard from her own body and realizes she stabbed herself. Dancing the last scene, in which the White Swan throws herself off a cliff, Nina spots her mother weeping in the audience. As Nina falls backward onto a hidden mattress, the theater erupts in thunderous applause. Thomas and the cast gather to congratulate her—only to find that she is bleeding profusely. As the white ceiling lights envelop her, she whispers, “I felt it. Perfect. It was perfect.”
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Cast
Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers / The Swan Queen Mila Kunis as Lily / The Black Swan Vincent Cassel as Thomas Leroy / The Gentleman Barbara Hershey as Erica Sayers / The Queen Winona Ryder as Elizabeth “Beth” MacIntyre / The Dying Swan Benjamin Millepied as David Moreau / The Prince Ksenia Solo as Veronica / Little Swan Kristina Anapau as Galina / Little Swan Janet Montgomery as Madeline / Little Swan Sebastian Stan as Andrew / Suitor Toby Hemingway as Thomas “Tom” / Suitor
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Printed and bound by Han Leng Printer: Epson Stylus Photo R2880 Paper: Red River 50ld Premium Matte Double Sided Paper All rights reser ved. No par t of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission of the copyright holder.
Š 2015
Design: Han Leng GR612 Intergrated Communications Message Synthesis Hunter Wimmer // Spring 2016 // Academy of Ar t University