By James Caldwell, PWTorch columnist

"The Wrestler" might be receiving a different type of hype right now had director Darren Aronofsky's original plans for the movie gone through.

Rather than Hollywood insiders praising the movie and considering it and its actors for Oscar nominations, WWE TV viewers might have seen the same type of WWE-machine-hype currently ongoing for Mr. Kennedy's "Behind Enemy Lines" DVD release.

"Originally, we didn't have the older wrestler idea, but it became pretty clear that if we had a younger wrestler doing something with the WWE, probably I wouldn't get the creative freedom I needed," Aronofsky told slashfilm.com in a recent interview.

Aronofsky said his team and he then went through a different phase with the plans for the movie. "So then we thought about making a period piece before Vince McMahon had organized all the territories," he said. "Then we realized we were probably looking at a low budget film here, so we can't do a period film."

Aronofsky said he then started meeting independent wrestlers and seeing wrestling stars from his childhood begging for autographs at conventions and shows. That's when the idea for Mickey Rourke as lead character - and central focus - for "The Wrestler" came about.

"They (wrestling legends) were kind of these big stars from childhood that I was embarrassed to meet," Aronofsky said. "They were there signing autographs for $8. That's when the idea of like there's a story here. Then it made it even more independent, because we were dealing with an actor past their prime, or what Hollywood considers its prime. That's how it slowly evolved."

In the interview, Aronofsky details the challenges working with Mickey Rourke, who he envisioned for the role from the start. One of the comical challenges was getting Rourke to wear a fanny pack like an old-school veteran wrestler.

Aronofsky recounted one story: "Getting Mickey Rourke to wear the (expletive) fanny pack was a bitch. 'Mickey, you've got to wear the fanny pack. They all wear fanny packs. You've got to wear the fanny pack.' Can you picture Mickey Rourke, who is Mr. Cool and Mr. Macho putting on a fanny pack? It's like, 'Mickey, every wrestler we've met has a fanny pack. You've got to wear the fanny pack.' I got him for one shot to do it. That's a shot that's in the movie."

Link: Slashfilm.com interview with Darren Aronofsky.

RELATED STORY at PWTorch.com: "The Wrestler" guest review - grown men will cry.

We suggest these recent related articles...

WWNLIVE NEWS: NXT star Sami Zayn announced for EVOLVE Tour

NEWS: Daughter of Bill DeMott dies in weekend car crash

HAAS NEWS: Charlie Haas getting back in the ring - big reunion match at OVW, headliner for CWE year-end tour