iW NEWS | Searchlight Gets "The Wrestler"

Fox Seachlight made a swift deal for Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" here at the Toronto International Film Festival, according to an individual close to the deal, nabbing the film after sleepless negotiations that concluded late this morning in Canada. On stage at the Elgin Theater last night for the North American premiere, Aronofsky thanked film financier Wild Bunch and, with an array of buyers in the crowded theater, teased that that he had no one to thank locally since there is "no North American distributor to thank...too bad!" The film gained momentum in recent days at the Venice Film Festival, after generating rave reviews for Mickey Rourke's performance and winning the Golden Lion on Saturday at the festival. "You're in for a treat," Toronto International Film Festival co-director Cameron Bailey told the full house crowd prior to Sunday's showing. "You'll be hearing and talking about this film for a long time." "The Wrestler" will close the New York Film Festival next month. Anthony Kaufman writes about the film in today's notebook from the festival. [Eugene Hernandez (Jenny Sung contributed to this report)]