Kim Lane Scheppele

Kim Lane Scheppele is an American scholar of law and politics. She is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Scheppele joined the Princeton faculty in 2005, after nearly a decade as the John J. O'Brien Professor of Comparative Law and Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where she is still a faculty fellow. Scheppele was at the University of Michigan from 1984 to 1996, and was an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor from 1993 until her departure for Penn. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago (1985) and her A.B. in urban studies from Barnard College (1975).
Scheppele is an expert on authoritarian regimes, as well as Hungarian and Poland's politics and law. 
Scheppele worked in Hungary in the 1990s, during which she met Viktor Orbán. During the socialist-liberal coalition government of Gyula Horn, she was a researcher at the Constitutional Court and served as an expert advisor to the constitutional drafting committee of the Hungarian Parliament in 1995-1996. She was the founding Co-Director of the MA Program in Gender and Culture at Central European University, when the program was first accredited. She does not speak Hungarian.
Now a leading critic of the right-wing Viktor Orbán government, she has called its actions as creating an "unconstitutional constitution,", and that Hungarian democracy is in jeopardy. She called Tünde Handó a "judicial Czar" whose role damaged the independence of the Hungarian judiciary. Scheppele also called a proposed constitutional rewrite in 2013 "a toxic waste dump of bad constitutional ideas", which prompted Fidesz MEP György Schöpflin to attack her claims on the basis of political animosity. In the name of the governing Fidesz party, Gergely Gulyás published an open letter to her, claiming that the reasons for her aversion towards the legislation of the Fidesz "are mostly personal and political." She worked together with Hungarian opposition parties to bring down the Orbán government.
In 2013, she testified before the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, repeating her thesis, that Hungary is slanting towards an authoritarian and oligarchic regime.
December, 2017 in an interview in the Hungarian weekly, HVG, Scheppele stated that an opposition cooperation is needed to bring down the Orbán-regime in the 2018 Hungarian elections, but the leftist opposition parties are divided, and it is possible that the Fidesz-government blackmails some of the socialist politicians. The only party which could put an end to the Orbán regime is the Jobbik, and she expressed her disapproval of the government attacks on this party. In her understanding "the electoral system has been designed in a way that makes it impossible for the opposition parties to win unless they all unite". She described Viktor Orbán as a charismatic leader "who melts people's brain by focusing his attention on them."
Also a critic of the Trump administration, Scheppele underlined that the markers of a falling democracy — "politicizing independent institutions, spreading disinformation, amassing executive power, quashing dissent, and corrupting elections—form a sort of authoritarian playbook, mirroring what scholars have observed in declining democracies around the world, in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and Venezuela" (page 29) could also be found in the actions of president Donald Trump, and tried to "illuminate similarities in the hopes that we can recognize them early enough to prevent the United States from drifting any further down these roads"(page 37).

Aronofsky was attached to "The Wolverine," which was scheduled to begin production in March 2011, but he left the project due to scheduling issues. The film was set to be sixth entry of the "X-Men" film series, featuring a story revolving around Wolverine's adventures in Japan. In December 2011, Aronofsky directed the music video for Lou Reed and Metallica's "The View" from their album "Lulu".
Aronofsky was set to direct an HBO series pilot called "Hobgoblin". 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. He was set to work on the project with Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon and his wife Ayelet Waldman. In June 2013, it was announced that HBO had dropped the show and Aronofsky had pulled out, as well.
In 2011, Aronofsky tried to launch production on "Noah", a retelling of the Bible story of Noah's Ark, projected for a $115 million budget. 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. The film was adapted into a serialized graphic novel written by Aronofsky and Ari Handel, published in French in October 2011 by the Belgian publisher Le Lombard. By July 2012, Aronofsky's crews were building an ark set in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. Aronofsky announced the start of filming on "Noah" on Twitter in the same month, tweeting shots of the filming in Iceland. The film featured Emma Watson, Anthony Hopkins, Logan Lerman, and Jennifer Connelly, with the latter having also starred in "Requiem for a Dream". During its opening weekend, "Noah" held the largest non-sequel opening within Russia and Brazil, and the fourth-largest opening of all time. Aronofsky did not use live animals for the film, saying in a PETA video that "There's really no reason to do it anymore because the technology has arrived". The HSUS gave him their inaugural Humane Filmmaker Award in honor of his use of computer-generated animals.
Aronofsky's next film, "mother!", was released by Paramount Pictures on September 15, 2017. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Ed Harris and Kristen Wiig. The film sparked controversy upon release for its depiction of violence, and, though it received generally positive reviews, it polarized audiences, becoming one of few films to receive a "F" CinemaScore grade. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 69% based on 278 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "There's no denying that "mother!" is the thought-provoking product of a singularly ambitious artistic vision, though it may be too unwieldy for mainstream tastes."
His next film would be "A courtroom drama of Artificial intelligence", in which he would cooperate again with Paramount Pictures, having doing so in "mother!". In 2018, he was the co-executive producer of "", a virtual reality journey through the universe, that was acquired in a seven figure deal at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. In January 2021, his next film was announced to be "The Whale", a film adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter's play of the same name, starring Brendan Fraser.
Directing style.
Aronofsky's first two films, "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream", were low budget and used montages of extremely short shots, also known as hip hop montages. While an average 100-minute film has 600 to 700 cuts "Requiem for a Dream" features more than 2,000. Split-screen is used extensively, along with extremely tight closeups. Long tracking shots, including those shot with an apparatus strapping a camera to an actor, called the Snorricam, and time-lapse photography are also prominent stylistic devices. Often with his films, Aronofsky alternates between extreme closeups and extreme wide shots to create a sense of isolation.
With "The Fountain", Aronofsky restricted the use of computer-generated imagery. Henrik Fett, the visual effects supervisor of Look Effects, said, "Darren was quite clear on what he wanted and his intent to greatly minimize the use of computer graphics ... and I think the results are outstanding." He used more subtle directing in "The Wrestler" and "Black Swan," in which a less-visceral directing style better showcases the acting and narratives. Aronofsky filmed both works with a muted palette and a grainy style. Part of this consistent style involves collaborations with frequent partners cinematographer Matthew Libatique, editor Andrew Weisblum and composer Clint Mansell. Mansell's music is an often important element of the films.
Themes and influences.
"Pi" features several references to mathematics and mathematical theories. In a 1998 interview, Aronofsky acknowledged several influences for "Pi": "I'm a big fan of Kurosawa and Fellini. In this film in particular I think there's a lot of Roman Polanski influence and Terry Gilliam influence as well as a Japanese director named Shinya Tsukamoto—he directed ""." The visual style of "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream" features numerous similarities to "Tetsuo: The Iron Man".
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". But, Aronofsky placed his movie in a wider context, saying:
Dream logic is another leitmotif.
With his friend Ari Handel, Aronofsky developed the plot for "The Fountain"; the director wrote the screenplay. In 1999, Aronofsky thought that "The Matrix" redefined the science fiction genre in film. He sought to make a science fiction film that explored new territory, as did "The Matrix" and its predecessors "Star Wars" and "". He wanted to go beyond science fiction films with plots driven by technology and science.
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.
Aronofsky called "Black Swan" a companion piece to "The Wrestler", recalling one of his early projects about a love affair between a wrestler and a ballerina. He eventually separated the wrestling and the ballet worlds, considering them as "too much for one movie". He compared the two films: "Wrestling some consider the lowest art—if they would even call it art—and ballet some people consider the highest art. But what was amazing to me was how similar the performers in both of these worlds are. They both make incredible use of their bodies to express themselves." About the psychological thriller nature of "Black Swan", actress Natalie Portman compared the film's tone to Polanski's 1968 film "Rosemary's Baby", while Aronofsky said Polanski's "Repulsion" (1965) and "The Tenant" (1976) were "big influences" on the final film. Actor Vincent Cassel also compared "Black Swan" to Polanski's early films, commenting that it was also influenced by Alejandro Jodorowsky's movies and David Cronenberg's early work.
Controversy.
Several aspects of Aronofsky's films have been controversial, most notably "Requiem for a Dream", "Black Swan", and "mother!". "Requiem for a Dream" was originally set for release in 2000, but it met with controversy in the United States, being rated NC-17 by the MPAA due to a graphic sex scene. Aronofsky appealed the rating, claiming that cutting any portion of the film would dilute its message. The appeal was denied and the film's distributor Artisan Entertainment decided to release the film unrated.
The question of who had designed 40 ballet costumes for Portman and the dancers in "Black Swan" was one publicized controversy related to the film. The media gave substantial coverage to the dance double controversy: how much credit for the dancing in the film was being given to Portman and how much to her "dance double," Sarah Lane, an American Ballet Theatre soloist. Lane claimed to have danced more than she was credited. The director and Fox Searchlight disputed Lane's claim. Their released statements said, "We were fortunate to have Sarah there to cover the more complicated dance sequences and we have nothing but praise for the hard work she did. However, Natalie herself did most of the dancing featured in the final film."
Aronofsky said in an interview with "Entertainment Weekly":
While Aronofsky's other movies have evoked significant emotional response, they were still far from the turmoil 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". "Noah" has been banned in United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Indonesia on religious grounds with other countries following suit.
Personal life.
Aronofsky began dating English actress Rachel Weisz in the summer of 2001, and in 2005 they were engaged. Their son was born on May 31, 2006, in New York City. The couple resided in the East Village in Manhattan. In November 2010, Weisz and Aronofsky announced that they had been apart for months, but were continuing to raise their son together in New York. In September 2016, he began dating actress Jennifer Lawrence, whom he met during the filming of "mother!". The relationship ended in November 2017.
He said of his spiritual beliefs in 2014, "I think I definitely believe. My biggest expression of what I believe is in "The Fountain"".
In April 2011, Aronofsky was announced as the President of the Jury for the 68th Venice International Film Festival.
In November 2014, Aronofsky was announced as the President of the Jury for the 65th Berlin International Film Festival, for February 2015.
Environmental activism.
Aronofsky is known for his environmental activism. A number of his films, notably "Noah" and "mother!", can be read as environmental parables. In 2014, he traveled to the Alberta Tar Sands with the Sierra Club's Michael Brune and Leonardo DiCaprio. In 2015, he traveled to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with Brune, Keri Russell, and the leaders of several veterans groups.
In 2014, he received the Humane Filmmaker Award from the Humane Society of the United States.
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.
He is a board member of the Sierra Club Foundation and The School for Field Studies.