and now, a word from our sponsor. . .

Just so you know it's not all 'predators in the pulpit' and freaking out over fundamentalist antics.

Here is my latest movie that has nothing to do with religion or abuse.

Well, there is this part where a guy talks about being abused by his mother and how he conditioned himself to accept the pain she caused him.

He kept hitting himself on the arm until he was used to the pain. Eventually, his mother hit him, and he casually accepted it.

He did not flinch.

She never hit him again. Since accepting pain is such a part of the wrestling experience, he went into wrestling under the name 'BLOOD'.

You might also be interested in knowing that a former student from Trinity Christian Academy went into pro-wrestling. He was a few years below me, so our paths never crossed.

His name is Krusher Knopf: myspace.com/slamsnjams.


Why WRESTLING THEN AND NOW is the MOST INSPIRATIONAL movie I've made.


1.) I finished it. That right there puts it at Number One.

2.) While I find myself prone to introspection and asking 'WHY?'. Not one of the wrestlers in my movie EVER asks themselves 'WHY?'. Not even after they've intentionally hurled themselves onto a table, filled with broken glass, and set on fire. They're damaging their bodies for very little in return, and NOT ONCE do any of them ask, 'Why am I doing this?'

You have to admire such unquestioning devotion to their art.

3.) 'I WANT MORE' performed by THE FADED. That's my new theme song to life. You can get it from the LOST ANARCHY compilations by visiting myspace.com/lostanarchy.


4.) These are the most fully realized characters in the annals of fiction, BUT THEY'RE REAL!!!

Yes, Virginia, there really is a man living in Brooklyn who, concerned about gangs, suddenly donned a wrestler's mask and now walks the streets turning youth from a lifetime of crime.

And his name is . . .THE GREAT MAMBO KING!

Although I am not a wrestling fan, I had more fun putting this movie together after sitting on it for 7 years. The problem was, I didn't have a 'center' to build this movie around back in 2002. It's hard to edit something if you don't feel the excitement.

Somewhere between Evan Ginzburg, whom I stayed with during the shoot, becoming the associate producer of Darren Aronofksy's The Wrestler, then becoming the producer for Wrestling Then and Now, and after spending my own time in the 'school of hard knocks', I found myself looking beyond the body slams and appreciating their devotion to the craft. The inspiration kicked in.

Maybe that's where I went wrong in life? While I was out 'fighting the good fight' and doing 'noble things' for all the 'right causes' and receiving zip in return, I realize it would have made more sense to hurl myself onto a flaming table filled with broken glass.

Which brings me to:

5.) These are the nicest wrestlers you will ever see in a movie. Yep, I mean that! Unlike Beyond the Mat and The Wrestler, the men and women in my movie are not selfish SOB's. It seems in most wrestling documentaries I've seen, the characters are either so over the top they've become ridiculous. Or, they're treating their family and friends like crap in their pursuit of fame and fortune.

Neither is the case in this movie. I didn't set out to make a movie where wrestling looks good. Especially, since I've been critical of a lot of things in the sport, but damned if that isn't what happened!

This is a movie wrestling fans, or those who want to get into wrestling, can show to their families and friends and have them remark, "Okay, I can see why you want to do this!"

You can't do that with The Wrestler or Beyond the Mat, or even Donald Jackson's I Like To Hurt People. Jackson's movie is more like a comic book. Good, but I don't see it causing viewers to become enamored with wrestling.

Wrestling Then and Now is probably the only documentary I've seen that makes wrestling look (dare I say?) 'wholesome'. It reflects the truth of the people I met when I spent three weeks in NYC back during the Summer of 2002.