Written Interview: Darren Aronofsky

Today’s written interview is with screenwriter-director Darren Aronofsky. His writing credits include Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), Below (2002), and The Fountain (2006). This interview is with MTV News. A few excerpts:

MTV: I know you did a lot of research for “The Wrestler,” going to matches and talking to wrestlers. What was your process like for “Black Swan”?

Aronofsky: Ballet is a very insular world. There’s a lot of privacy, and it’s hard to get in. Normally when you say, “I want to make a movie about your world,” the doors open up and you get tremendous access. The ballet world could give two sh — s about anyone making a film about their world. For people that do ballet, ballet is their universe and they’re not impressed by movies. I did find dancers that shared their stories with me, some retired, some working. Eventually I got to stand backstage when the Bolshoi came to Lincoln Center, standing in the wings watching some of the greatest dancers in the world. I got to see some amazing athletes up close and experience what they were going through.

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MTV: I spoke with Natalie back when she was promoting “Brothers,” and she talked about wanting to get away from “cute and girly” roles. “Black Swan” clearly doesn’t seem cute and girly. What’s your sense of why she wanted in?

Aronofsky: It’s kind of weird. It came together really well. One of the best things about the film is the casting of Natalie. She took the part and ran with it. I don’t know if when I was working with the writers we were consciously channeling Natalie or Natalie somehow transformed herself to the part, but they grew together. I first talked with Natalie about this project at least 10 years ago. We were in Times Square and had a coffee at the old Howard Johnson. I had this idea of setting something in the ballet world. It was very loose. I didn’t have a script. And then I found out she was fascinated by ballet and wanted to play a dancer.

MTV: Was that when it was still that ballet/wrestling film?

Aronofsky: No, that was after. I realized pretty quickly that taking two worlds like wrestling and ballet was much too much for one movie. So we met and for years it was something I’ve been developing and struggling with and when I finishing up “The Wrestler,” a guy who worked in my company, Mark Heyman, he had done a lot of writing and producing on “The Wrestler,” and I asked if he wanted to give the ballet project a shot. He jumped in and he turned it into something we could make.

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MTV: At Comic-Con, Natalie compared the movie to a psychological thriller like “Rosemary’s Baby.” Does that ring true for you?

Aronofsky: I’m a huge Polanski fan. Probably “Repulsion” and “The Tenant” are better comparisons than “Rosemary’s Baby.” They were big influences on “Black Swan,” as they’ve been on all my films. Unfortunately for my checkbook, I don’t really make movies that can be put in a box. I don’t know what it is. It’s not like much out there.

Black Swan opens December 1st.