Darren Aronofsky was under pressure to “pull the plug” on Black Swan before the cameras rolled, because he struggled to win financial backing for the ballet movie. The director has won rave reviews and critical acclaim, as well as numerous awards nominations, for the dark new film, which stars Natalie Portman as a dancer who descends into madness after landing a leading role. Aronofsky admits ‘Black Swan’ almost didn’t get made as numerous investors refused to fund the film, but he was determined not to give up on the project and he’s glad he persevered.
He tells TheWrap.com, “There were endless pressures to pull the plug. The money was harder to get than it was for (Aronofsky’s 2008 movie) ‘The Wrestler’. It took about 18 months of chasing money. And there were many moments where we didn’t think it was going to be possible, and our good friends at CAA (Creative Artists Agency, talent agency) were like, ‘It’s not happening.’
“Unfortunately, any film that doesn’t have a superhero in it is really hard to get made in today’s world. But, you know, I can sit there and complain about how hard it is, but at the end of the day I got to make a $14 million movie about ballet.”
Aronofsky’s financial woes
