The Wrestler Wins The Golden Lion in Venice!

Darren Aronofksy's The Wrestler has taken out the top prize, The Golden Lion, at this years Venice Film Festival. Aronofksy is an amazing filmmaker in my eyes and Mickey Rourke, who plays pro-wrestler Randy (the Ram) Robinson trying to make a come back, is just one of those actors that I love to see on the screen.


Back in 2006, Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain premiered in Venice and bombed big time, and I think that it's great that Mickey Rourke touched on it this year. "Darren Aronofsky came here a couple of years ago and fell on his ass," Variety reports Rourke saying in the Lido's packed Sala Grande theatre. "I am glad he had the balls to come back,” Rourke added.

This is great news for all involved and I can't wait to see The Wrestler. You can also check the full list of Venice Film Festival winners below:

PRIZES OF THE 65TH VENICE FILM FESTIVAL
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION JURY
GOLDEN LION "The Wrestler,” (Darren Aronofsky, US)
SILVER LION “Paper Soldier” (Aleksey German Jr., Russia)
GRAND JURY PRIZE "Teza," (Haile Gerima, Ethiopia-Germany-France)
ACTOR Silvio Orlando (“Il Papa di Giovanna,” Italy)
ACTRESS Dominique Blanc ("L’Autre," France)
BEST SCREENPLAY Haile Gerima (“Teza,” Ethiopia-Germany-France)
TECHNICAL CONTRIBUTION (Cinematography) Alisher Khamidhodjev, Maxim Drozdov (“Paper Soldier,” Russia)
MARCELLO MASTROIANNI PRIZE FOR YOUNG PERFORMER Jennifer Lawrence (“The Burning Plain,” US)
SPECIAL LION FOR BODY OF WORK Werner Schroeter (Germany)
OTHER JURIES
LUIGI DE LAURENTIIS LION OF THE FUTURE “Pranzo di Ferragosto,” (Gianni Di Gregorio, Italy)
VENICE HORIZONS “Melancholia” (Lav Diaz, Philippines)
VENICE HORIZONS DUCUMENTARY “Below Sea Level,” (Aleksey Fedortchenko, Russia)
VENICE HORIZONS SPECIAL MENTION “Un Lac,” (Philippe Grandrieux, France)
VENICE HORIZONS SECOND SPECIAL MENTION “Women,” (Huang Wenhai, China-Switzerland)
Label Europa Cinemas – Venice Days 2008 Prize ““Machan,” (Uberto Pasolini, Sri Lanka-Germany-Italy)
FIPRESCI (INTL. CRITIC'S ASSN) COMPETITION PRIZE "Gabbla” (“Inland”) (Tariq Teguia, Algeria)
FIPRESCI HORIZONS AND CRITICS’ WEEK PRIZE “Goodbye Solo” (Ramin Bahrani, US)
SHORTS
Corto Cortissimo Prize “Tierra Y Pan,” (Carlos Armella, Mexico)
Corto Cortissimo Special Mention “The Dinner,” (Karchi Perlmann, Hungary)
UIP Prize for Best European Short “The Altruists,” Koen Dejaegher (Belgium)