It’s been a good month for Darren Aronofsky. Just days before “The Whale” won Oscars for Brendan Fraser and his makeup and hairstyling team, Aronofsky’s debut feature “Pi” received an IMAX re-release from A24. Aronofsky oversaw the restoration, which used a technique known as black and white reversal to transfer the film to 8K without losing its trademark graininess. It was a full-circle moment for the director, and was only possible because he negotiated a clause with the film’s original distributors that gave the film back to him after 25 years.

In a new interview with Uproxx, Aronofsky reflected on the original negotiations that led him to regain the rights to his debut feature. He credits another independent filmmaking legend, Jim Jarmusch, with pioneering the business model that allowed him to do so.

“It happened because, it was very much like this socialist pact amongst the filmmakers where I,...