A film about a once-professional wrestler trying to extend his glory days way beyond their prime (Mickey Rourke), the daughter he left behind in that pursuit (Evan Rachel Wood), the exotic dancer he befriends amid its ups and downs (Marisa Tomei), and the heart attack that forces him to essentially reconsider his entire life and identity, Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler is already garnering Oscar buzz, audience praise, and critical acclaim almost everywhere its advance screenings and publicity tour has stopped.

Following an advance screening in San Francisco, Aronofsky and Tomei took a moment to talk about the film and their experience making it. And in no particular order, here are a few of the more interesting tidbits they shared:

• Just days before The Wrestler was scheduled to premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Director Darren Aronofsky almost pulled the film out of competition. He did not, and it went on to win the Festival's most prestigious award—the Golden Lion.
• When Aronfsky approached Tomei about playing the role of Cassidy, he told her to text him, "rock and roll" if she was in, "easy listening" if she was not. That beginning, says Tomei, was indicative of the pace and energy that was required of everyone in making the film.
• As part of his attempt to give the film as much of a realistic documentary-like feel as possible, Aronofsky did not even provide his actors with standard "actor's chairs" to sit in between takes.
• None of Rourke and Tomei's scenes were rehearsed before filming. Neither Rourke nor Tomei rehearses.
• Most of Rourke's wrestling scenes were filmed during four consecutive days at an actual wrestling event. In between fights, Aronofsky and his crew would take over the ring until the crowd got restless; then they would hand back the ring for a new fight, and during the next break, they would start filming again.
• Rourke and Wood met for the first time when they started filming their first scene. As Aronfsky saw it, the relational dynamic created between the actors was much like that of their characters. In the film, Wood's character had not seen her father since she was a child and had since only known him as a celebrity. In reality, Wood had never meet Rourke but did know of him through his celebrity reputation.
• Even though Rourke performed all but one of his own stunts (a glass sheet being smashed over his head), the only time Tomei saw him nervous was the day he had to sing.
• During Rourke's boxing career, he always entered the ring to Gun N' Roses' "Sweet Child of Mine." While filming The Wrestler, he used the same song to pump himself up before his wrestling scenes. Because of this, when Rourke approached Axl Rose and asked to use the song in the film, Axl gave it to the film for free.
• After Rourke wrote Bruce Springsteen a letter about the parallels he saw between himself and his character Randy and how he feels lucky to now be in a better place than Randy, Springsteen responded by writing the song "The Wrestler" specifically for the film.
• Aronofsky sees the film, like real life, as both a celebration and lament. "It's a hard cocktail."

The Wrestler opens in select cities on Wednesday, December 17.