Fox Searchlight Pictures Acquires THE WRESTLER
Thomas on September 8th, 2008
FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES
ACQUIRES “THE WRESTLER”
Specialty Arm Acquires US Rights
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA September 8, 2008 – Fox Searchlight Pictures President Peter Rice today announced that the company has acquired US rights to the riveting drama THE WRESTLER, which had its North American premiere last night at the Toronto International Film Festival and won the Golden Lion at the 2008 Venice Film Festival. Directed by Darren Aronofsky and written by Rob Siegel, THE WRESTLER stars Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. The film was produced by Scott Franklin and Darren Aronofsky thru Protozoa Pictures. Vincent Maraval, Agnes Mentre and Jennifer Roth served as executive producers and Mark Heyman co-produced. The film is scheduled to be released in December 2008.
Said Fox Searchlight Pictures President Peter Rice, "Darren Aronofsky has created an unbelievably electrifying and compelling tale with tour de force performances. We are delighted to be releasing this brilliantly executed film and thank Wild Bunch for choosing Searchlight."
Added Darren Aronofsky, "I've known Peter Rice for many, many years and am excited and honored to finally get a chance to collaborate with him and his team."
Said Vincent Maraval "We are delighted to have closed the deal with Fox Searchlight which we believe is the best distributor for this movie."
Back in the late '80s, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.
Estranged from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) and unable to sustain any real relationships, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. However, a heart attack forces him into retirement. As his sense of identity starts to slip away, he begins to evaluate the state of his life -- trying to reconnect with his daughter, and strikes up a blossoming romance with an aging stripper (Marisa Tomei). Yet all this cannot compare to the allure of the ring and passion for his art, which threatens to pull Randy "The Ram" back into his world of wrestling.
Director Darren Aronofsky presents a powerful portrait of a battered dreamer, who despite himself and the odds stacked against him, lives to be a hero once again in the only place he considers home – inside the ring.
The deal was brokered on Fox Searchlight’s side by Senior Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Safford and Vice President of Business Affairs Megan O’Brien. Creative Artists Agency (CAA), which packaged the film, is handling the North American rights. Darren Aronofsky was represented by CAA and Carlos Goodman.
Fox Searchlight Pictures is a specialty film company that both finances and acquires motion pictures. It has its own marketing and distribution operations, and its films are distributed internationally by Twentieth Century Fox. Fox Searchlight Pictures is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.