The Wrestler: 8 Things You Didn’t Know About The Movie

Darren Aronofsky has given audiences some of the most talked-about films of the past twenty years. Movies like Requiem For A Dream have reached iconic cult status, while features like Black Swan have been praised at award shows. The Wrestler is one of Aronofsky’s highest-rated movies.

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Fans might say it is one of his most accessible films. The director’s movies often feature innovative filmmaking techniques like microphotography in The Fountain and dedication from actors like Natalie Portman’s ballet training for Black Swan. Fans might be surprised to learn the details behind the making of The Wrestler.

Audiences might say The Wrestler presents a heartbreaking emotional story. As such, they might expect the writer of the film to have a background in drama writing. However, the writer behind The Wrestler used to write for the famed satire newspaper The Onion.

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Robert Siegel wrote the movie from an idea Aronofsky came up with. Before the film, Siegel wrote for The Onion and has since written movies like The Founder and directed projects like Cruise. His latest credit comes with the viral series Pam & Tommy, which he wrote and created.

The actors in Aronofsky’s films have a history of giving their all for a role’s authenticity. Natalie Portman trained in ballet for Black Swan, while Jared Leto has been said to have spent time with real addicts before starring in Requiem For A Dream. Rourke followed suit with The Wrestler.

Pulse Wrestling revealed that Afa Anoa’i of the Wild Samoans, Jon Trosky AKA Supreme Lee Great, and Tom Farra trained Mickey Rourke before filming. They worked with him for about two months, and Farra and Trosky also appear in the film.

Some fans call it his comeback movie, and The Wrestler presents one of Mickey Rourke’s highest-rated films. It’s hard to imagine the movie with any other main star, but Nicolas Cage was set to play Randy the Ram before Mickey Rourke signed on.

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Aronofsky told Slash Film that Nic Cage was briefly considered for the movie and that he wanted to be a part of it because he loved the script. However, the director was vehement about having Rourke star, even though it was difficult for production to agree to have him on. Cage is friends with Rourke, and amicable stepped aside.

Some audiences perhaps say Mickey Rourke makes The Wrestler great, but the actor did more than they might know. Aronofsky was set on having Rourke star, but the performer wasn’t too keen on the role after first reading the script. UPI revealed that Rourke didn’t sign on to the project until he changed much of the script, specifically his character’s dialogue.

He said he wanted to work with the director, so Aronofsky let him “rewrite all [his] part” to make The Ram sound more authentic. Rourke said he thought he had spent more time around the type of people presented in the film than the scriptwriter, and changed the dialogue accordingly.

Perhaps only diehard The Wrestler fans recall Wrestle Jam ’88. It is the videogame in which Randy is featured that he plays in his trailer with a young neighbor. It might not be considered a fictional game in The Wrestler audiences would love to play, because it was fully functional.

You can’t find Wrestle Jam ’88 at Gamestop, but the game was created for the movie.  Kotaku revealed that Aronofsky asked for a playable demo for the game with time-appropriate graphics and music from Randy’s heyday. Randall Furino and Kristyn Hume programmed the game, making for the realistic sequence.

Mickey Rourke has been acting in features for decades, starting in the late 1970s. Before The Wrestler, the actor worked with Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Sean Penn, and Wong Kar-wai in the directing chair. However, he was never recognized by the Academy until he starred as Randy the Ram.

Mickey Rourke earned an Oscar nomination for The Wrestler, solidifying for many the film’s role as Rourke’s comeback piece. He was nominated for Best Actor and Best Actor in a Drama for the Oscars and Golden Globes respectively. He won the Golden Globe, along with several other accolades like an Independent Spirit Award.

If The Wrestler pays homage to any decade, it’s hard to say it isn’t the 1980sRandy and Pam dance to 80s music and discuss their disdain for the 90s at a bar and Randy’s life is defined by his success during the decade. Guns N’ Roses encapsulate the sound of the era and are featured during Randy’s final wrestling sequence.

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Guns N’ Roses doesn’t make an appearance in The Wrestler like they do in The Dead Pool, but Slash can be heard in the film’s score. He is credited with guitar work in the film’s original music.

It is no surprise The Wrestler got audiences thinking about the WWE, and the organization took the opportunity for a cross-promotion amid the film’s release. In it, Mickey Rourke told Today he would step in the ring for Wrestlemania 25.

Although fans might have loved to see Rourke hit the mats in real life, he didn’t go through with it. WWE told fans he would appear, but only as a guest.

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Author: Alex Gentile