Masterclass with Darren Aronofsky

Find the whole thing at Mentorless:

“You definitely need to be a bit obsessive to make a film, but that doesn’t mean you need to be obsessed all the time. When you get an idea, thousands of people will say no to you before it gets done, in all different times and ways. So I think more than obsessive, what drives me is the passion for the characters, for the story, sometimes for a shot.The first draft I wrote of The Fountain, I pumped it out very quickly and I wrote the scene of the flower coming out of the conquistador’s mouth and him exploding with the flowers, and I just knew I just wanted to do it. I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but I wanted to see it done and executed. So when the fifth person of that day said ‘no’ I remember getting that and going through it. Is that obsessiveness? I don’t know, it’s not the only thing that you think about. You think about so many other things but it’s obsessive to an idea and holding on to a project. I think that’s a bit part of it, it’s being stead fast with a project. Persistance maybe is more?”