I've never watched a wrestling match in my life. I don’t have any interest in that, but it was so intriguing on the screen. Is there a hit out on you now because you exposed what they're like behind the scenes?
Darren Aronofsky: "Oh, I don’t think so. [Laughing] I think everyone knows wrestling’s fake. I mean I think, you know, I guess in the '90s it just sort of became, when the WWF became the WWE they went from a sport to an entertainment, it just became known that it was. I mean there are some kids that are probably, young kids, but those young kids aren’t going to watch my movie. So I don’t think so. I think maybe some of the tricks are revealed but just the other night this famous wrestler, Rowdy Roddy Piper, you remember him? You know the name?"
Yes, I know the name.
Darren Aronofsky: "He was a very, very big wrestler in the late '80s/early '90s. He came to a screening and he broke down in Mickey’s arms at the end crying because his story is finally being told. And it’s not exactly his story, you know? But he showed up, he had a young daughter, so there were all these connections."
Were those connections deliberate?
Darren Aronofsky: "Well, I mean we couldn't escape them. Every wrestler we met, even the wrestlers that kind of kept their sh-t together and had saved some money and had a house and had a family and were able to preserve that for their older age, they all had the same stories and stuff. I mean these guys were on the road 350 days a year abusing their bodies the way, you know, only a tip of what we showed. Most of them can't tie their shoelaces and most of them don’t have a pension or healthcare, and they were performing for two/three hundred dollars a week."
And are wrestlers liking the film?
Darren Aronofsky: "Well Roddy Piper’s the first one to see it so that was the significance of that moment was that, the first kind of real star from the era saw it and really reacted. We’re going to show it to Vince McMahon in a couple of months when we're all in New York, which should be interesting."
What was it like stepping back into the world of smaller budgets after The Fountain?
Darren Aronofsky: "It’s all the same thing, you know?"
Is it really?
Darren Aronofsky: "Yes, I think it is. I think the bottom line is that triangle between money, time and just creative ability. It’s this triangle that pulls on it and it’s always there, that triangle. You always have limitations, you always have boundaries, you've always got to make compromises, and you always have a limited amount of creative spirit. You just try to make the best choices within that triangle."
Was there a lot less pressure?
Darren Aronofsky: "Definitely. You know, no one knew about the film and anyone who did thought I was out of my mind. People were like, 'What the hell’s he doing, a Mickey Rourke wrestling picture?' I mean my agents were scared. Everyone was like, 'What are you doing?' You know, my agents got it because I explained it to them, but the people surrounding them were just like, 'What's he doing? Why is he working with Mickey Rourke? Wrestling?' You know, 'What is he thinking?' So you never ever know. And what's happened, I mean winning the Golden Lion, we're only the third American film ever to win it. It’s just way beyond…I mean I didn’t even fantasize about it as a possibility. Like, you know, sometimes in the back of your head you think, 'Wow, maybe I could win a prize,' you know?
I thought maybe Mickey might get recognized or something but to win best picture... So all of this has been [a surprise] and I have to say I went into it pretty relaxed."
Did you?
Darren Aronofsky: "Yes, and I think that was for me, I think it’s becoming a father and it becoming more of a career. It was really nice to just sort of show up and try to enjoy it as much as I could."
So you did not expect any of this buzz that's happening?
Darren Aronofsky: "Not a drop."
That's good. It must be a great feeling.
Darren Aronofsky: "Oh, it's wonderful. I mean I was confident we would get a distributor and it would get out there, but Fox Searchlight is the best distributor and they spent a lot of money on it. You know, basically when I cast Mickey not a single financier on the planet would give me money. And basically it took us about a year and a half to find $6 million from the French to do it, which was way too low a money. We wanted like nine to twelve, and so we had to refigure out the whole film to do within that $6 million number."
Were you ever at a point where you thought maybe you had to get rid of Mickey Rourke because you just needed to get the film made?
Darren Aronofsky: "Yes."
So what happened?
Darren Aronofsky: "We did get rid of him. For about two and a half weeks I got rid of him and, well, I couldn’t live with myself. I just couldn't live with myself. I couldn't sleep at night and I was like, 'This is his role.' I just basically said, 'You know what? We just have to take that $6 million.' The six was on the table, but it was too little. I was like, 'Let’s take the six and we’ll figure out how to do it."
Page 3: On Financing The Wrestler and Making Compromises
