Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky — Exploring Creativity, Ignoring Critics, and Making Art
Photo credit: Niko Tavernise
“Procrastination is part of the process.”
– Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky (@DarrenAronofsky) is the founder and head of production company Protozoa Pictures. He is the acclaimed and award-winning filmmaker behind both cult classics and blockbusters, including Pi (which earned him a Best Director award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival), Requiem For a Dream, The Wrestler (the third U.S. film in history to win the esteemed Golden Lion award), Black Swan (which won Natalie Portman the Academy Award for Best Actress and garnered four other Oscar nominations), Noah (His biblically inspired epic that opened at number at the box office and grossed more than $362,000,000 worldwide), and his latest, mother!, a psychological horror-thriller film starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
In this episode, we explore a wide range of topics, including:
His creative process and “nomadic writing”
Work environment and highly unusual desks
The “Month of Fury”
How to navigate tough conversations over creativity and control
Psychedelics
Dealing with critics
And much more…
Many thanks to Peter Attia for making the introduction — check out his three previous appearances on this show here.
Please enjoy!
Listen to it on iTunes.
Stream by clicking here.
Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
Want to hear another podcast with another award-winning movie maker? — Listen to my conversations with Robert Rodriguez. In this episode, we discuss the making of From Dusk ’till Dawn, Sin City, and what it means to be the “Wizard” of Hollywood (stream below or right-click here to download):
This podcast is brought to you by WordPress, my go-to platform for 24/7-supported, zero downtime blogging, writing online, creating websites — everything! I love it to bits, and the lead developer, Matt Mullenweg, has appeared on this podcast many times.
Whether for personal use or business, you’re in good company with WordPress — used by The New Yorker, Jay Z, Beyonce, FiveThirtyEight, TechCrunch, TED, CNN, and Time, just to name a few. A source at Google told me that WordPress offers “the best out-of-the-box SEO imaginable,” which is probably why it runs nearly 30% of the Internet. Go to WordPress.com/Tim to get 15% off your website today!
This podcast is also brought to you by Audible. I have used Audible for years, and I love audiobooks. I have two to recommend:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Vagabonding by Rolf Potts
All you need to do to get your free 30-day Audible trial is visit Audible.com/Tim. Choose one of the above books, or choose any of the endless options they offer. That could be a book, a newspaper, a magazine, or even a class. It’s that easy. Go to Audible.com/Tim and get started today. Enjoy.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
Selected Links from the Episode
Connect with Darren Aronofsky:
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
mother!
Pi
The Pipe Organ Desk by Kagen Sound
Final Draft
Carrie by Stephen King
Black Swan
The Wrestler
The Fountain
Noah
The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker
Fear-Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I Do Every Month (The TED Talk in which I discuss my own thoughts of suicide)
Animals on Psychedelics: Survival of the Trippiest by Steven Kotler, Psychology Today
Are Psychedelic Drugs the Next Medical Breakthrough?
Treating PTSD with MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy by Amy Emerson, MAPS
Exploring the Benefits of Outdoor Experiences on Veterans by Jason Duvall and Rachel Kaplan, Sierra Club
Dr. Peter Attia on Life-Extension, Drinking Jet Fuel, Ultra-Endurance, Human Foie Gras, and More
Barfly
Angel Heart
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
A Marrakech Tale: Master Storyteller Ahmed Ezzarghani and Apprentice Sara Are Fighting to Keep the Moroccan Storytelling Tradition Alive by Horia El Hadad, Al Jazeera
The School for Field Studies
After 25 Years, Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Hasn’t Ended by Marybeth Holleman, CNN
The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin
Nobody’s Perfect by Tom Shone, New York Magazine
The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler
The Hero with a Thousand Faces (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell) by Joseph Campbell
Requiem for a Dream
Welcome to the Dollhouse
AlphaGo: The First Computer Go Program to Beat a Human Human Go Player
The Alien of Extraordinary Ability
Japanese Chess (Shogi)
The 4 Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat Loss, Incredible Sex and Becoming Superhuman by Timothy Ferriss
Requiem for a Dream: A Novel by Hubert Selby, Jr.
Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg
Heavy Weather: Darren Aronofsky Gets Biblical by Tad Friend, The New Yorker
Dungeons & Dragons
Humans of New York
Show Notes
Darren tells us about his peculiar, one-of-a-kind desk. [07:50]
How does Darren’s “nomadic” writing process differ from project to project? [11:26]
How is screenwriting like sculpting? [14:39]
Darren tells us why it only took him about 18 hours to write the draft for Pi. [15:30]
For contrast, Darren walks us through the formation of the draft for mother! and how years can often pass between an idea for a film and its end result. [16:27]
The sometimes fine line between genius and madness. [18:17]
Psychedelics and nature as therapy. [23:30]
On the benefits of fasting. [27:21]
Why Darren believes in being up front with people from the very beginning — as illustrated by his first conversation with Mickey Rourke. [31:40]
What does Darren want the audience to take away from his films? [39:32]
What are the ingredients that create emotional engagement in a movie? [42:43]
The experience that got Darren involved in storytelling. [45:05]
Darren’s life-changing experiences as a 16-year-old “concrete jungle flea” in Kenya, and kayaking next to glaciers in Alaska. [49:38]
How does Darren respond to public perception and criticism? [52:06]
Why does Darren not consider himself a “real” writer? [56:09]
As an aside, here’s why you shouldn’t stay awake for six days straight. [59:11]
How does Darren stay creatively focused without sacrificing balance in other areas of his life? [1:02:16]
The schedule of a filmmaker. [1:06:43]
Resources for aspiring filmmakers and the real secret to gaining an audience. [1:09:20]
Darren’s history with the game of Go. [1:13:19]
The unwritten rule of people watching in New York City, and why Darren laments the advent of Wi-Fi on the subway. [1:18:33]
Darren talks about his first time in Tokyo. [1:21:40]
Darren explains the three rules behind a “Month of Fury.” [1:22:48]
How does Darren write heavily visual components into his screenplays? [1:28:11]
Why mother! required an especially long time to put together. [1:30:43]
The importance of boundaries and constraints in any art form. [1:32:49]
The origin ideas behind mother! and what Darren hopes people take away from seeing it. [1:35:28]
On feedback loops, climate change, and coping with the guilt of being an accidental litterbug. [1:36:49]
What potential mother! viewers should know before going into the theater. [1:39:49]
Career advice Darren might give to a new filmmaker who wants to avoid being chewed up by the industry. [1:46:18]
What would Darren’s closest friends say is the superpower behind his success? [1:50:08]
How is Darren’s teaching process like playing Dungeons & Dragons? [1:53:31]
If Darren himself could no longer make films, how might he focus on teaching others to do so in six months? [1:55:23]
Top scriptwriters Darren recommends for inspiration. [1:59:03]
Parting thoughts. [2:01:34]
People Mentioned
Peter Attia
Natalie Portman
Jennifer Lawrence
Javier Bardem
Kagen Sound
David Blaine
Ari Handel
Bob Dylan
Mickey Rourke
Mike Tyson
Milan Kundera
Paul Newman
Dr. Seuss
Rick Rubin
Federico Fellini
Debbie Millman
Maria Popova
Christopher Vogler
Joseph Campbell
Scott Silver
Murray Carter
Howard Stern
Tony Robbins
Allen Ginsberg
Steven Spielberg
George Lucas
Eric Roth
Scott Silver
Chris Terrio
Charlie Kaufman
