Fade to Black
9 1/2 Weeks
Wild Orchid
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Double Team
etc.

Take a look at his IMDB page -there's a liberal dose of z-grade junk mixed in with the gems. He is capable of quality work to be sure, but let's not go overboard here.

I'm very excited for this, Thanks Donnacha for the the night's recap.

Thanks Spiral. I've got a bit more expanded coverage over at Film Threat.

I did just that, and while there's some dreadful movies there, the badness isn't for Rourke's lack of trying. Guy was a good actor then and even better now, he just needed a better agent, and as Aronofsky said, "years of therapy. Which he will discuss at great length if you ask him".

indeed Rourke's performance is top notich and I was surprised to see Tomei expose so much of herself ( ) for her performance. Aronofsky's direction and script gave this film a strong reality and while all is not explained, back story, character motivations etc, that to Aronofsky's credit is what makes this an impressive film, the ambiguoity is what set's the film apart.

is this movie a remake?

Over-the-hill athlete seeks one final shot at glory, aided by a stripper with a heart of gold? Probably.

I just watched it last night and loved it. I really enjoyed all the parallels and subtle moments from the movie. Oh and of course Tomei's naked body, she looks great for someone in their forties.

There was a Q&A with the writer of the script afterward, he was very informative about the whole process. Aronoskfy pitched him the idea in like 2004, and gave him Beyond the Mat for inspiration. After watching that he based Rourke's character to Jake the Snake Roberts. He went on to go how Aronoskfy wanted a $15 million budget, but only could get $6 million with Rourke as the lead. That's how Nic Cage briefly got the role, however Aronoskfy felt he wasn't right and decided to do the movie with Rourke with a $7 to $8 million budget. At first Rourke thought wrestling was all bullshit, but after training for the movie he gained a new perspective on it. He even bladed in the movie.

The interviewer kept mentioning that the Q&A podcast would be up on iTunes under Creative Screenwriters I think. It does contain a lot of spoilers though, pretty much talking about every aspect of the movie.

Photo of the poster:

hope they do the free screening thingy like they did with choke and Slumdog

30 minute Google Video interview with Rourke:

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This man just hasn't aged well, he looks like shit usually...but he looks normal here with the 'stache and goatee going there. Great actor though, loved him in Sin City.

The trailer is up!

Great trailer. I'm in.

Awesome trailer! Damn this looks good.

Great trailer, lots of ROH footage too i noticed.

It's funny...I don't think the kids of now will ever have such huge admiration we had for wrestlers like Hogan, Warrior, Hart, Jake The Snake, etc. I remember these characters being so fantastic and mythic...I missing being a little kid...

I really want to see this...

trailer looks great and the springsteen song is perfect.

I shouldn't have watched that. Now I can't wait until Jan. 16.

That looks like it has a lot of potential.

If it comes around my neck of the woods, I'll be seeing it.

whoa. when is this coming out? do i get to see this and Gran Torino this christmas?

I caught a sneak peak last Sunday, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. The plot admittedly isn't very original - it's a sports movie after all - but all the performances were very moving, and ultimately it felt nothing like the tired retread I initially expected. A lot of it, I think, comes from the naturalistic style it was shot in.

Darren Aronofsky and Marisa Tomei did a Q&A after the screening. Especially interesting was all the research he did about wrestling - how all the wrestlers in the movie (other than Mickey Rourke) were real wrestlers, how they saved money by borrowing fans from a real tournament - and honestly, after seeing this film and hearing him talk about it, I now have somewhat of a slight appreciation for wrestling.

Aronofsky also mentioned that he had never been to a strip club prior to going to one with Marisa Tomei while she was preparing for her role. That must've been a fun night.

Edited to add: Definitely not for the faint of heart. The lady sitting next to me was squirming throughout all the fight scenes.

Could not agree more, that trailer really got to me.

Wow. That is a great trailer!

Must...see...now...

Rourke looks fantastic. Tomei looks that way, but also in the appearances department.