Aronofsky's "The Wrestler"

[Zetterberg is God 0]

Fucking awesome. He truly did deserve it. I just read today that he probably did steroids for this role which is crazy but that shows his commitment to the part. I'm glad it payed off for him.

[strummer 0]

great speech by Rourke

[Ravenbomb 0]

except that he thanked everybody, including his dogs, but the wrestlers. At least thank Afa. But yeah, I'm glad he won, every actor that I was pulling for won.

[DMann2003 0]

Course he didn't thank ROH any, if he wins the Oscar should he thank some of the boys?

[Angle-plex 0]

Saw this. Don't know how I feel about the ending or what to make of it, but it was awesome besides that.

 

I really liked the ending. It was ambiguis (sp?), but that's what made it good. Basically saying,

if he didn't die after this movie, he was going to die in the ring somewhere down the line, very soon

.

 

Yeah, I liked it, but I don't know whether to feel happy or sad for the Ram for going out like that. He went out doing what he was good at I guess, but the nothing else worked out for him because of the wrestling, and he never overcame it. I'm not sure he wanted to though. Very cool ending.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Hey...now we know why Axl Rose was thanked in the credits. Mystery (that only I cared about) solved.

[Youth N Asia 0]

Course he didn't thank ROH any, if he wins the Oscar should he thank some of the boys?

 

I think ROH should thank him

[bob_barron 0]

Course he didn't thank ROH any, if he wins the Oscar should he thank some of the boys?

 

Why should he thank ROH? Aranofsky would be the one to thank them if he won anything I guess.

[cd213 0]

Hey...now we know why Axl Rose was thanked in the credits. Mystery (that only I cared about) solved.

 

I didn't see the speech. What was the reason?

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

The movie had no money so Axl donated Sweet Child O' Mine to be used in the film.

[dubq 0]

Why's everyone gotta be so nitpicky about whether or not he thanked Afa or ROH in his speech? The thing was obviously rushed, wrap-up music and all, and he was clearly a little shocked with being up there as a winner.

[Ravenbomb 0]

Not being nitpicky, just something I would've liked to have happened.

[Toxxic 0]

I assure you, i'm a Daily Mail reader.

 

Ahem.

 

Thank God you're in Derby.

[NoCalMike 0]

AFter watching the movie for a second time, I really think that Mickey Rourke's performance outshined an overall average film. I mean the movie itself is ok, but Rourke is so good as Randy the Ram that you'd almost think the movie is a straight documentary.

[cd213 0]

AFter watching the movie for a second time, I really think that Mickey Rourke's performance outshined an overall average film. I mean the movie itself is ok, but Rourke is so good as Randy the Ram that you'd almost think the movie is a straight documentary.

 

It's a case where the acting, including Tomei, is better than the movie. From what I'm told, the same is said about MILK, that the acting is better as a whole than the movie.

[Jebus 0]

Greg Valentine, Lex Luger, Roddy Piper, DDP & Brutus Beefcake on THE WRESTLER:

http://content.foxsearchlight.com/inside/node/3164

[BifEverchad 0]

"Fresh?

 

Fresh as monkey's breath, brother.."

 

 

I've seen this twice already. Downloaded it, as it hasn't even been advertised as an upcoming feature on the local movie theater site. It was a thousand times better than I was expecting. As everyone who has already seen this said, Mickey is amazing as The Ram. Really, really amazing. Very deserving Golden Globe winner, as I'll be pulling for him to get another come Oscar night.

[Hawk 34 0]

After a long wait, I was finally able to see this film and it absolutely lived up to all the expectations and without question, Mickey Rourke was tremendous and as a whole, the movie was just great. I thought Tomei held her own and didn’t get out-shined by Rourke. She deserves the praise she has received. As a wrestling fan, I appreciated the honesty and I'll admit to getting a kick out of seeing guys like Necro and Nigel having those small roles, even seeing Bobby Dempsey on the couch was cool.

[Conspiracy_Victim 0]

Gonna try to catch it tomorrow night. Can't wait to see it on the big screen.

[Coffin Surfer 0]

Great movie.

 

I think the most amazing thing was how restrained Aronofsky was; his directing was as natural as Rourke and Tomei's acting. Surprising to me considering how over the top and forced I think his previous films have been.

[DMann2003 0]

I'm deciding on driving to Columbus today to see both this and Frost/Nixon

[bobobrazil1984 0]

You should, both very worthwhile movies. I like frost/nixon a lot too, though maybe because I read the book and am fascinated by Nixon as a person.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Frost/Nixon was my #2 movie of last year. And since TDK doesn't have a chance of winning best picture...the movie that I'm rooting for to win.

 

I'm rooting for Rourke and Ledger too.

 

That's pretty much all of it.

[DMann2003 0]

Yep, I went and saw both today.

 

I have no problem saying that for me The Wrestler is my favorite film of 2008. Apart from it being a great character drama, from a personal standpoint as a fan for 20 years, to see that unique connection between the wrestlers and the fans, that no other form of sport or theatre can accomplish, was moving for me to see.

 

I feel, as many others I've read, that Randy doesn't neccesarily die from the match after the fade to black, but that he has accepted his fate that this is the only thing he can do, and feel whole because. He's lost all other connections, and he's at peace with that.

 

Seeing Pitt in Benjamin Button, Langella in Frost/Nixon and Rourke in this, all three displayed the key to great acting for me. In their eyes, I see no an actor waiting to say his next line, but they're able to convey in the moment thinking, that these men are not performing from a script, but are truly being affected by what is going on around them and responding accordingly. That for me is the key to truly great acting.

[Dr Funkenstein PhD 0]

Nigel was great in this, I really got the impression he wanted to buy a car from the cat.

[King Kamala 0]

Driving down to Amherst to see this on Friday. Haven't been this excited about a movie since The Dark Knight.

[TheFranchise 0]

I assure you, i'm a Daily Mail reader.

 

Ahem.

 

Thank God you're in Derby.

[PILLS! PILLS! PILLS! 0]

A really great write-up from Mike Johnson. Beware of spoilers.

 

 

 

13 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT 'THE WRESTLER'

by Mike Johnson @ 1:27 PM on 1/22/2009

 

With the announcement that Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" had received Academy Award nominations for stars Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, here are ten interesting facts about the film that you probably didn't know to give you something to think about when you see the film, or see it again:

 

THESE FACTS WILL GIVE AWAY PLOT POINTS FROM THE FILM

Lex Luger IS Randy the Ram. The film opens with a montage of clippings and photos from the heyday of Randy The Ram's sparkling pro wrestling career before jumping ahead 20 years later to find him the beaten, weathered performer he is today. All of the photos in the montage and other scenes in the film are actually doctored photos of former WCW World champion Lex Luger, acquired by the film from photographer George Napolitano, who has been shooting ringside for decades at major events. When Producers learned of the path Luger's life took in the years after WCW shut down, the decision to use him as a body model for the Ram made even more sense. Luger was later brought out to the film's Hollywood premiere.

How Would Those Hair Extensions Have Worked? Although the story that seems to get told is that director Darren Aronofsky listened to his heart and replaced Nicolas Cage with Mickey Rourke, the reality appears to be something different. Cage actually trained for several days under Afa the Wild Samoan in Allentown, PA. Afa later got word that Cage had departed the project and had to wait for Rourke to come on board, leaving Rourke a scant three months to pick up the physicality of the business. Watching Rourke in the film, one can't help but wonder how it would have worked with Cage in the role...and whether he would have been anywhere near the Oscars race. Afa was actually suggested by Georgianne Makropoulos of The Wrestling Chatterbox. Rourke still texts Afa daily. Cage, who likely left the project due to the physicality needed, probably doesn't stay in touch.

Originally, She Came To Him. In a scene that was later cut from the film (and probably never filmed), Randy the Ram's daughter Stephanie comes to see him backstage at a show he is wrestling on. In the scene, she is the one who has come to "made amends" as part of her AA program. Ram is half-interested and when fans interrupt their discussion, she comments, "I'm in the middle of something important and you drop it for f***ing wrestling." Randy then accuses her of showing up to attack him, ending the would-be reunion. Given the level of work from Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood in the film, it would have been interesting to see how the scene may have played out on screen - it also would have shown the effect of Ram's career on his daughter's emotional health beyond her anger over his decision to make his career the most important thing in his life.

As Jon Lovitz once said, "ACTING!" While the story of the film does not stray from Robert Siegel's script, all of the backstage locker room scenes and the first scene where Randy the Ram works a deli counter were all improvised. In fact, Rourke was serving legitimate customers in that first scene, making his quips to those getting food that much funnier.

Yes, That is the ECW Arena. Although most fans wouldn't realize it watching the film, the Combat Zone Wrestling sequence where Randy wrestles Necro Butcher and later suffers his health scare is the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia. The locker room scene where Ram passes out backstage in the venue is actually backstage at the Arena as well, one of the upgrades that have been done on the building since the original ECW collapsed. It was perhaps five feet from the famous speech Paul Heyman gave in the "Beyond the Mat" documentary. Of the other independent venues shown in the film, only the ROH show in Dover was a venue that was used specifically by the production with ROH working with the producers to fill the theater booked. The WXW and JAPW sequences were filmed at actual events promoted in venues regularly used by those companies.

Who You Should Thank. In the convention scene, where Randy the Ram is among the stars of yesteryear who sit around waiting to meet a small public, he meets a fan named Evan. In actuality, that fan is longtime Wrestling Then & Now newsletter editor Evan Ginzberg, listed as Associate Editor of the film. Ginzberg handled a lot of the groundwork for Ring of Honor, Jersey All Pro Wrestling and other independent companies to get involved. If you were happy to see this aspect of the business recognized and even happier to see some local talents get a payday, Evan was the person responsible. He also pops up in the crowd of the first wrestling scene.

Perhaps it was Russo's Booking? In the same scene, while most fans may not recognize him, the veteran that hugs Randy the Ram and is later seen dead asleep waiting for fans that will never come is none other than WWE Hall of Famer and former Tag Team champion Johnny Valiant. Yes, really.

The Ram's Other Trainers. While Afa the Wild Samoan oversaw Rourke's training, it was WXW wrestlers Supreme Lee Great and Tommy Suede who worked inside the ring with Rourke to prepare him for the film. Great appears in the film as a referee while Suede wrestles Rourke in the first match as Tommy Noxious.

Mom, Dad, For The Last Time, Just Do What I Tell You. In the second deli scene, in which Randy the Ram's worked and real worlds come colliding together, Darren Aronofsky's own parents make cameos as the annoying customers that set the stage for Randy's rage and retreat from the supermarket.

 

Rourke Really Did Wrestle...Sort Of. While the mainstream media has been fascinated by the fact that Mickey Rourke performed all his own stunts for the film, that is and isn't true. Kid USA, a New York area based independent wrestler from the early 1990s, worked as Rourke's stand-in, as they had a similar build and hairstyle. In many cases, when the matches were filmed, they were shot twice. Once with USA, once with Rourke. The final product in the film is likely the edited sum of those bouts. Rourke really did pull out the flying head scissors and dive over the ropes that you see in the climactic match of the film against The Ayatollah, however.

 

Hey Ram, You Suck! When Randy the Ram gives his speech prior to the match that closes the film, the audience is in love with their hero and gives him a huge standing ovation. The reality was that when they first attempted to film the scene, the ROH audience began catcalling the monolouge. It wasn't until Darren Aronofsky addressed the audience and explained how important the scene was that they got on board, giving themselves a "We f***ed up" chant before setting into the rabid Ram-Lovefest you see in the final film.

If You Are A Hardcore Fan, Sit Through The Credits. A number of people who worked in and around the wrestling industry were thanked by the production, but you have to wait to the end to see their acknowledgments, including Brutus Beefcake, Greg Valentine, Sabu and Gabe Sapolsky.

The Ending You Didn't See. The Wrestler ends with Randy coming off the top rope with the Ram Jam before going to black and playing Bruce Springsteen's haunting song for the credits. When the match was filmed at a March 2008 ROH event, Ram nailed the move and scored the pin....not that the pinfall truly mattered, as the character had sacrificed everything he tried to regain by returning to the wrestling world.

 

The Wrestler is an extremely fascinating character study of a performer who is also a walking time capsule, lost mentally and emotionally in what he used to be, with no idea how to grow and accept who he is today. It's a film well worth seeing.

[dubq 0]

13 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT 'THE WRESTLER'

Hey Ram, You Suck! When Randy the Ram gives his speech prior to the match that closes the film, the audience is in love with their hero and gives him a huge standing ovation. The reality was that when they first attempted to film the scene, the ROH audience began catcalling the monolouge. It wasn't until Darren Aronofsky addressed the audience and explained how important the scene was that they got on board, giving themselves a "We f***ed up" chant before setting into the rabid Ram-Lovefest you see in the final film.

 

There's a vid on youtube of someone in the crowd filming during this.. they were being total dickwads, too. Glad it got turned around, though.

[Scroby 0]

I saw the movie tonight, with maybe about 9 other people in the theater (theater that shows movies that aren't playing in big screen theaters + late Thursday night = no one there) and the movie was so fantastic. It was such a great movie and the ending was what really just caught me. Movie of the year, hands down.