Darren Aronofsky’s New Creative Mission? Make Science Cool at a Time It’s Under Attack
Brent Lang Executive Editor Oscar-nominated director Darren Aronofsky and his longtime creative partner, Ari Handel, are on a mission. At their production company, Protozoa Pictures, the two want to use movies and television to make science cool at a time when it’s under attack. “There’s a lens that we look at things through,” says Handel. “A lot of our work is pro-science or involves technology or the environment. Morally, we think the world can use that right now.” Some of that has to do with the backgrounds of the pair — Aronofsky did field research as a student at Harvard, and Handel has a Ph.D. in neuroscience. But that embrace of empiricism was also something the two felt had become important during the Trump era, when the government was often at odds with experts.