The Circuit

The ground was well fertilized by the time Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" sold to Fox Searchlight hours after its first screening.  A New York fest closing night slot, a glowing review, a Venice Golden Lion win.   Its sale felt all but inevitable as a brewing comeback story for Mickey Rouke quickly made it award fodder. 

The producers now must be thrilled that Nicolas Cage, originally intended for Rouke's role, didn't work out.  One can only imagine the financier reaction to that phone call -- "We lost Cage, but we did get Mickey Rouke!"  Credit goes to whomever okayed that decision.  A Nicolas Cage "Wrestler" seems worlds away from this film, and one with only a fraction of the power.

But as one distrib exec said, the film's $4 million sale price was a reflection of the current market -- "Eight years ago, that film would have sold for a lot more."

Now that the deal is old news, the fest is finally settling into other films.  "Hurt Locker" appears to be a hot title after a big screening last night.  Some are re-looking at Linklater's "Me and Orson Welles" and Ramin Bahrani's "Goodbye Solo," which saw a few second-round viewings by distribs today.