The last time Darren Aronofsky was in Tokyo in 1999, he was promoting his debut flick "Pi," which went on to become quite a cult hit. He also did a bit of shopping, picking up photo books by Araki and Hiromix that ended up influencing the look of his new film, "Requiem for a Dream."

While his budget was rather bigger on "Requiem," and his career seems on the cusp of taking off (recent rumors have Aronofsky's name floated in projects with Hollywood auteur Stephen Soderbergh), the young director remains down-to-earth. As he put it, he's "a reformed slacker," as eager to digress on electronic music and Jar Jar Binks as his own working methods.

So, how do you see this film as different from all the other junkie films out there?