WWE has scheduled a meeting with Darren Aranofsky, director of the upcoming movie The Wrestler. It is uncertain what the meeting is in regards to but the movie has picked up a lot of pre-release buzz, including speculation of an Oscar nomination for lead actor Mickey Rourke. His character is said to be loosely modeled upon Greg Valentine. Rourke met him at an airport and struck up a conversation, with Valentine becoming the template for his character as an old, slow, broken-down guy still working indie shows. Valentine says they discussed the life of a wrestler for several hours at a hotel meeting but that he was never offered a role in the movie.
Meanwhile, Bobby Heenan has continued to make good recovery following his intensive throat and jaw surgeries. He has started talking again, although only a few words at a time for a brief period, and is fully coherent. The birth of his first grandchild was tremendous motivation for him through the worst stages of it all. He has also been following baseball (mainly the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Devil Rays) and some wrestling, including Mick Foley’s arrival in TNA.
Ric Flair has also been paying attention to Foley’s TNA debut. He told him not to go there as it was too much of a step down and, at present, Flair has no interest in going there. His non-compete clause does not expire until August, however, and Dixie Carter has already been trying to contact him. Flair is currently scheduled to appear for the World Stars of Wrestling group in Portugal on February 28 as the General Manager authority figure for the promotion. His fee is $30,000, including first-class transport and accommodation. There are also dates in Spain and Italy lined-up but, despite lucrative offers, he will not be wrestling on any of his European appearances. If he does wrestle again it will be in Japan or South Korea as he considers these to be different spheres of the industry from North America and Europe. It hinges for the most part on Shawn Michaels though, as Flair really does value having his last match with him and the wristwatch he gave Flair that WrestleMania weekend means a great deal to them both.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 27 October 2008 (subscribe here)
