Bruce Springsteen Sings for 'The Wrestler' ... and Judd Apatow?
Filed under: Drama, Sports, Movie Marketing, Toronto International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival
By far, one of the most anticipated movies on the festival circuit this year is Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. But many have been wondering why the film had secured such an 'undesirable' closing spot at the Venice Film Festival -- could there be trouble ahead with the finished product? But it looks like all that fretting was for nothing, because Aronofsky updated his personal blog with the news that the only reason for the delay in the selection process was that he was awaiting a completed song from Bruce Springsteen for the end of the film.The Wrestler is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by an almost unrecognizable Mickey Rourke); a former star of pro-wrestling in the '80s who has been reduced to appearing at high schools and community centers. With a heart condition and early retirement looming, Robinson takes one last shot at the 'big-time' in a match against a former rival. I can't say pro-wrestling is my usual area of interest, but I am pretty excited to see what a visual maestro like Aronofsky can do with that world -- and for a great primer on the difficult life of a pro-wrestler, I highly recommend the documentary Beyond the Mat
According to Aronofsky, "Springsteen wrote a beautiful original song for the closing the film. called THE WRESTLER it is a wonderful acoustic piece. makes me choke up every time i hear it. he really captured the spirit of the film and mickey's character in the piece." The pairing of Springsteen with the film seems to be a perfect fit. Because, if anyone has the knack for singing about the travails of a downtrodden man, it's Springsteen (and that Oscar pedigree probably doesn't hurt either).
The Wrestler will premiere in Venice on September 5th (we'll have a review from Toronto), and is expected to arrive in theaters later this year.
[Thanks: /film]
According to Aronofsky, "Springsteen wrote a beautiful original song for the closing the film. called THE WRESTLER it is a wonderful acoustic piece. makes me choke up every time i hear it. he really captured the spirit of the film and mickey's character in the piece." The pairing of Springsteen with the film seems to be a perfect fit. Because, if anyone has the knack for singing about the travails of a downtrodden man, it's Springsteen (and that Oscar pedigree probably doesn't hurt either).
The Wrestler will premiere in Venice on September 5th (we'll have a review from Toronto), and is expected to arrive in theaters later this year. [via /film]
Additionally, CHUD tells us that Springsteen has been written into a very brief scene in Judd Apatow's Funny People (kinda like his little stint in High Fidelity) as someone "who attempts to deliver some spiritual guidance." No word on whether Springsteen will actually do it (apparently the role could fit a number of rockers), though our fingers are crossed that this boy from Jersey jumps in.
Related Headlines
Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. I received the Springsteen book " For You" , and well... I was really blown away. If any book can capture what it's like to be at a Springsteen show, this is it. The images are as good as concert photos get.
Posted at 3:00PM on Sep 6th 2008 by rob kingsley
Add your comments
Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.
When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.
To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.









1. I was initially turned off upon hearing that Springsteen did a song for the movie, but then I saw that it was acoustic. I am very much down with acoustic Springsteen (a la Nebraska); I just can't stand him when he's with the E Street Band.
Posted at 10:24AM on Sep 3rd 2008 by AJ Wiley