[13] His cinematic influences included Akira Kurosawa,[14] Roman Polanski,[15] Federico Fellini, Terry Gilliam,[15] Shinya Tsukamoto,[15] Hubert Selby Jr.[15] Spike Lee,[16] Satoshi Kon,[17] and Jim Jarmusch.

[18] In 1992, Aronofsky received his MFA degree in directing from the AFI Conservatory,[19] where his classmates included Todd Field, Doug Ellin, Scott Silver, and Mark Waters.

[28] Following the financial breakout of Pi, he was capable of hiring established actors, including Ellen Burstyn and Jared Leto, and received a budget of $3,500,000 to produce the film.

[36] In May 2000, Aronofsky was briefly attached to make an adaptation of David Wiesner's 1999 children's book Sector 7 for Nickelodeon Movies, the project remains unmade.

We're starting completely anew", who intended to re-imagine the titular character in a darker, adult-oriented and grounded style, with his adaptation aiming for an R-rating.

[44] In April 2001, Aronofsky entered negotiations with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to direct a then-untitled science fiction film, with Brad Pitt in the lead role.

By now officially titled The Fountain, the film had a budget of $70 million, co-financed by Warner Bros. and New Regency, which had filled the gap after Village Roadshow withdrew.

[clarification needed][58] In July 2010, Aronofsky had left the project due to uncertainty over the financially distressed studio's future.

Announced on June 16, 2011, the series would have depicted a group of magicians and con artists who use their powers of deception to defeat Hitler during World War II.

[84] He was set to work on the project with Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon and his wife Ayelet Waldman.

[86][87] By the following year, the film had secured funding and distribution from New Regency and Paramount Pictures, with Russell Crowe hired for the title role.

[90] The film featured Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman, and Jennifer Connelly, with the latter having also starred in Requiem for a Dream.

[96] It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris and Kristen Wiig.

[103] In 2018, he was the co-executive producer of SPHERES, a virtual reality journey through the universe, that was acquired in a seven figure deal at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.

[107] In 2024, it was announced that Aronofsky would direct the 1990s-set crime thriller Caught Stealing for Sony Pictures, with Charlie Huston adapting his own novel and Austin Butler attached to star.

Episodes cover topics like the universe's origins, alien life, human intelligence, and themes of survival and destruction.

In 2022, Aronofsky produced director Alex Pritz's documentary The Territory, about the Indigenous Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau people's struggle against advancing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, caused by farmers and unauthorized settlers.

[115][116] Guy Lodge of Variety writes, "'The Territory' is handsome without resting unduly on the natural beauty of its imperiled landscape, though iridescent closeups of plant and insect activity make clear the larger circle of life at stake here.

[126] Part of this consistent style involves collaborations with frequent partners cinematographer Matthew Libatique, editor Andrew Weisblum and composer Clint Mansell.

[129][130] The majority of reviewers characterized Requiem for a Dream in the genre of "drug movies", along with films like The Basketball Diaries, Trainspotting, Spun, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

He sought to make a science fiction film that explored new territory, as did The Matrix and its predecessors Star Wars and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

[45] In the Toronto International Film Festival interview conducted by James Rocchi, Aronofsky credited the 1957 Charles Mingus song "The Clown" as a major influence on The Wrestler.

It is an instrumental piece, with a poem read over the music about a clown who accidentally discovers the bloodlust of the crowds and eventually kills himself in performance.

[137] Requiem for a Dream was originally set for release in 2000, but it was met with controversy in the U.S., being rated NC-17 by the MPAA due to a graphic sex scene.

If you look at the final shot of the opening prologue, which lasts 85 seconds, and was danced completely by Natalie, she exits the scene on pointe.

That is completely her without any digital magic.While Aronofsky's other movies have evoked significant emotional response, they were surpassed by the controversy aroused by Noah.

It was screened for the first time on March 28, 2014, and despite its PG-13 rating, it has quickly been recognized by Box Office Mojo as one of the most controversial movies of the last 35 years along with such titles as The Passion of the Christ or The Da Vinci Code.

[146][147][148][149][150] In preparing for the role, Fraser consulted the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) and conversed with members of the group about their life experiences.

[152] In 2015, he traveled to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Brune, Keri Russell, and the leaders of several veterans groups.

[154] In 2015, he collaborated with the artist JR on The Standing March, a public art installation in Paris encouraging diplomats at COP21 to take action against climate change.