Dark Matter is a 2007 American drama film and the first feature film by opera director Chen Shi-zheng, starring Liu Ye, Aidan Quinn and Meryl Streep. Liu Ye plays a young scientist whose rising star must confront the dark forces of politics, ego, and cultural insensitivity. The film is loosely inspired by the true story of Gang Lu, a former graduate student who killed four faculty members and one student at the University of Iowa in 1991. However, the film’s story has substantial differences in plot and character motivation.