Tuesday, September 9

Go, Mickey! And, er, Barton Fink.. ?

TORONTO — Fox Searchlight Pictures put some heat into an otherwise cool film market this week by beating out competitors for distribution rights to “The Wrestler.”

The film, which is directed by Darren Aronofsky (“The Fountain”) and stars Mickey Rourke as a retired wrestler looking to make a comeback, was picked up after a Sunday night screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Variety, an industry trade paper, reported the acquisition price as $4 million, but a person briefed on the sale said the price was somewhat lower. The bid was nonetheless a strong one, given the surplus of films and scarcity of buyers.

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