Cool Toronto Film Festival poster:

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...tiffposter.jpg

I saw this today in Toronto and it is as good as you are hearing. Rourke is a lock for best actor nod and I wouldn't be shocked to see it get a best pic nomination as well. It is a very emotional film that will appeal to fans of arthouse cinema as well as fans of 1980's wrestling.

Wow, maybe the twain shall meet.

As I've read, it actually takes place during the present, and its about the current independent system.

With a soundtrack apparently heavy with 80's metal songs, perhaps it has a retro feel to it in that respect.

Any news of trailer and release date in the USA?

Saw it today at TIFF.

It's a very good film and definitely takes place in the present day. Unless there happens to be a string of amazing lead male performances between now and the end of the year, Mickey Rourke should be a lock for an Oscar nomination.

The movie was just picked up for distribution a couple days ago, odds are before the end of the year in limited and wider in Jan, much like Juno (Fox Searchlight's previous oscar movie). Though they also have Slumdog Millionaire and The Secret Life of Bees to get on schedule.

found an interview with Aronofsky.
http://www.cinematical.com/2008/09/0...ren-aronofsky/
what i found interesting was that the movie litterally was finished a day before it premiered at venice.

It does take place during the present day, but Rourke's character was a top wrestler of the late 80's and fans of that era of wrestling will enjoy his performance and the film. I would say people that feel rock music went downhill when RATT was replaced with Nirvana will also enjoy the film.

I'm a huge fan of Rocky, and feel that "The Wrestler" while being less "crowd-pleasing" is a better film.

Slashfilm interview with Aronofsky, part I. I thought this was funny:

A few new reviews:

"In his least gimmicky film yet, Aronofsky ditches his usual skittery stylistics in favor of a relaxed atmosphere of seediness and a comeback-kid performance from Mickey Rourke." - Slant Magazine

"The most haunting sports film, or at least the most haunting film about the margins of a sport, since Fat City" - Bill Chambers @ Film Freak Central

"A natural awards contender and audience-pleaser without feeling overtly manipulative on the way." - Screen International

:thumbsup:

Cannot wait.

Rourke ready to climb off mat with 'Wrestler'
BY ROGER EBERT

TORONTO -- Mickey Rourke is back. The legendary tough guy in 1980s movies like "9½ Weeks," "Barfly" and "Year of the Dragon" has never been away. He's been working steadily, with 16 movies just since 2000 -- but his title role in "The Wrestler" is arguably his best career performance and could win him an Oscar nomination. The film, playing here at the 33rd Toronto Film Festival, arrived after winning the grand prize at Venice, and is drawing turn-away crowds. It came to Toronto without a distributor, but was snatched up for $4.5 million by Fox Searchlight.

Rourke plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a pro wrestling superstar in the 1980s, now reduced to shabby local clubs and rented school gyms where the dressing room is a children's classroom. He won't retire. He can't. His best friend is a lap dancer (Marisa Tomei) who he has to pay for her time. He still puts on a good show, although his body is taped together. I know -- pro wrestling is scripted. But the scripted stuff they do is brutal. Say you get thrown over the ropes and land on the floor. It's in the script, but how would that feel?

The film is also a comeback of sorts for gifted director Darren Aronofsky, whose "The Fountain" (2006) was a box office and critical bomb. That film was a confusing exercise in visual fantasy. "The Wrestler" is meat-and-potatoes filmmaking, anchored by a strong story and sharply defined characters. Rourke, who has done pro boxing, looks like he does the wrestling falls himself. If he does not, I don't want to know. When a guy does things for real, people assume "special effects." But with Rourke, you just never know.

Slashfilm interview with Aronofsky, part 2.This has become my most anticipated film of the year.

Slashfilm interview with Aronofsky, part 3. Aronofsky discusses future projects, including Robocop and Noah.

One of my clients works for Fox Searchlight and told me the trailer should be cut and out in about a week.

yes! BTW...is this a limite release or is it getting a wide release. Cuz I can see this catching on very well in the general public...

He said limited, and depending on how well it does, it'll open wider.

From slashfilm:

Sweet. Can't wait to see this one. Been a huge Aronofsky fan since Pi.

Rourke, for all his off-screen crap, has 'it'.

He's the real thing.

I'm looking forward to this.

The LATimes interview with them(O'Rourke and Aronofsky) about this film was interesting, and it's made me more anxious to see it.

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...ments/link.gif Part 1

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/i...ments/link.gif Part 2

Village Voice piece on Rourke and his career.

Showed up at the theater to see The Wrestler an hour in advance and was greeted by a line of about 200 people bursting to get in. Before we got in line, my brother Jude said "right, I'm off to get a sandwich, I'll be back". So he goes off on his snack search and I dutifully wait in line, holding the tickets tight in my pocket. I didn't want to give the sad bastards plodding around with "I NEED WRESTLER TICKETS" any ideas.

I parked myself close enough to the screen to matter during the expected q&a but far enough to enjoy the film, and made a mad dash to the jacks before the film started. In the hallways I met Alex, one of the PAs I worked with on a film earlier this year. He told me he was there with Chad, another fella from the same production. I knew this film would attract a cool crowd.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/3...431112anc7.jpg

The film's not out until December and yet there's already a ton of blogs, articles, message board wankery and speculation written about it. People mention Oscar rumors for Rourke as if the quality of his performance is somehow out of the blue. It seems clever and amusing to them that Mickey Rourke is playing a burnt-out shell of a man trying to claw his way back to the level of appreciation he had in the 1980s. I don't rate that at all. Can you honestly think of a time when Rourke turned in a rotten performance? The man has more than talent and character. He has grace. And that's just what he brings to The Wrestler.

Darren Aronofsky (really?) directs Rourke in a sad story about Randy "The Ram", a wrestler who was on top of the world in the 80's, but now trades on past glories, working his weekends at low-level wrestling shows in elementary school gyms and community centers. The other wrestlers - all younger guys who no doubt grew up idolizing "The Ram" - treat Randy with the utmost respect and adulation. The crowd (if it could be large enough to be called a "crowd") loves him. He's still a king in the ring. But outside, the hearing aid comes on and Randy goes home to a squalid existence in a New Jersey trailer park. He's no-one, and has no-one.

The ever-harder and bloodier matches, coupled with the years of painkillers and 'roids, eventually get the better or the big guy and he has a heart attack. Unable to wrestle, he has to confront the fact that he no longer has anyone to cheer him on. Time to see if the stripper with a heart of gold (Marisa Tomei) and his estranged daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) want to give him the time of day.

Hmm. Watching The Wrestler it became increasingly apparent that we've seen all this before. The former great, living in the past and so sure he can fix his personal and professional life, is a role we've seen played out on screen time and time again. Rob Siegel's script feels like it's sticking close to formula; of course it's not going to be that easy to patch it up with the daughter, of course he can't live up to past glories, of course there's a big match at the end that could make or break him. Everyone, from Tomei's stripper with big plans to get out of that dive, that city, that life to Randy's petty dictator boss at his supermarket day job, feels like a stock character out of sundry other movies. But not necessarily better ones. The story may follow a familiar path but this is no Disney inspirational-sports-film-of-the-year. It's a tragic, wincing tale that won't warm your heart as much as give you a sick, cold feeling in your gut. All the actors are bringing their A game to the match, none more than Rourke, who bears the film on his back.

And it's a back you'll see often; Aronosky follows our lumbering hero from behind, a lot, showcasing Randy's hulking gait as he prepares for a challenge, whether it be a wrestling match or dealing with the indignity of working a deli counter. It's moments like these that remind us whose film we're watching. Remember Aronofsky's past flicks, with hundreds of loopy visual touches, jackhammer edits and cinematographic effects? Well there's none of that here. The Wrestler looks like it was shot by a doc crew, with tons of grain, naturalistic lighting and handheld shots. If it weren't for Aronofsky's name in the Quiet Riot-scored opening credits you'd never know. It's a good fit, though. The grimy images reflect Randy's existence, from his moth-eaten flannel jacket to his rust-ridden van.

I wonder though, would this film be half the movie it is without Rourke. Aronofsky may have directed the film, but Rourke owns every second he's on screen. He's magnificent, showing us how much the physique and bleached hair facade masks the turmoil underneath, enduring cruel and unusual punishment because it's the only thing he knows how to do. He draws you in to every bit of pain he feels, whether it be staples and shards in his back or the shame of regret. Forget the Oscar rumors. Mickey Rourke need sto start making Oscar plans.

"The Ram" may be a loser, but The Wrestler is a winner, and Mickey Rourke is this year's champion.


Immediately following the show was the Q&A between Darren Aronofsky and some guy I've never heard of. He writes for Time Out Chicago but I really can't remember his name or anything he said (that's not a slight against our esteemed moderator or anything). Aronofsky, however, was agreeable and indulged his fans, opening up the conversation to the crowd. My friend Chad got the first question off (I really hope someone got him on camera, his afro's amazing).

I asked the genial director about how the film seemed to skirt around naming any famous wrestlers or the WWE, and whether or not that was indicative of opposition from professional wrestling. Darren said that he went into it knowing he'd never have the support of something like the WWE, due to showcasing the story of a forgotten wrestler - something he and writer Robert Siegel saw all too often when researching the film. He then smiled and pointed out that recently, Vince McMahon gave him a call and now he'd behind the film.

I wish I hadn't asked that because it seemed to open it up to questions from testy wrestling fans. One such winner blurted something at Aronofsky, and the director asserted "a wrestling fan would like me to make clear that there is a difference between what is depicted in the film and actual wrestling events..." That's paraphrasing, I can't remember all the acronym wrestling organizations that Aronofsky said, or the one that the earnest fan corrected him on.

Questions about the change in visual style yielded interesting answers - Aronofsky did, in fact, get a doc crew to follow Rourke around from the back - but the best answers were his short ones. Forgive me if the quotes aren't exact, my photographic memory's out of film.

GUY IN CROWD: "What's your favourite movie and why?"
DARREN ARONOFSKY: (smiles) "Next question".

GIC: "Is this visual style something we expect to see in The Fighter?"
DA: "What's The Fighter? I don't know anything about the film. Don't read the internet! When The Fighter comes it'll be a surprise. Like The Wrestler, did any of you see that coming?"

GIC: "What actor do you really want to work with?"
DA: "Right there with the favourite film question. Seriously, those questions would need really long answers"

GIC: "Why would you ever consider Nicolas Cage for The Wrestler?"
DA: "Again, STOP READING THE INTERNET! NONE OF WHAT YOU READ IS TRUE! Someone writes something on the internet, then someone writes about what someone wrote on the internet... It's always been Mickey's movie."

GIC: "Was it the New Jersey setting that got Bruce Springsteen to do the song at the end?"
DA: "No, that was all Mickey. Apparently the Boss is a big fan, Mickey called him up and Springsteen contacted me, he said I seemed serious (laughs) and he wanted to do this thing for Mickey to help him get his shot."

All in all he was very gracious, answering the questions while sidestepping anything too clarifying (nothing about the Mark Wahlberg frustration over The Fighter or anything, no mention of Robocop or Noah's Ark). Good man. And, realising my error from the night before, I asked for a photo and the guy was cool enough to pose for a pic with me.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/7820/59136181yk1.jpg


A lot's going to made about Mickey Rourke in the next few months, I hope that doesn't mean Darren Aronofsky gets ignored.