Perfect Blue / Requiem for a Dream

[NSpan]

Currently watching Perfect Blue--an anime movie from 1998. So far, it's pretty good. Though I found one particular shot a bit too familiar. Check it out.



As it turns out, Aronofsky actually spent $59,000 acquiring the rights to Perfect Blue in order to recreate this particular shot. Cool scene, but was it really worth $59k? And, on a side note, where the heck did this at-the-time new director come up with a spare fifty-nine THOUSAND dollars in 1999? If I'm not mistaken, that would've paid for the entire production of Pi.

[Buscemi]

I imagine that he got the money from how much Artisan spent to buy the US rights to Pi and his script for Requiem For A Dream.

[Donte77]

Great scene. Worth 59K? Well with a #66 IMDB all time, a bunch of oscar nominations, and it helped launch the director into the big time I would say it may have been. The movie does not have a total produciton budget listed on BOM so I don't know how much he was throwing around on it but when launching a career, anything goes. Besides, the studios probably covered the expense anyway. I doubt Aronovsky wrote the check out of his bank account.

[becs]

Perfect blue is a great film, definitely one that really stands out as a film even if it weren't an anime. I own it, and have watched it a bunch of time, but its one of those movies I always come away with something new when I do watch it.
I had no idea Arronofsky has recreated the shot, but you know it makes sense, stylistically his films have a very asian feel to them.

[numbersix]

Both great films, and $69K is a lot of money. Makes you wonder why did Aronofsky come up with his own way of expressing the scene. Nevertheless, I think Requiem's budget was 3 or 4 million, so in the context 69K was just another expense.