Sean Durkin made the most difficult decision of his career when working on The Iron Claw, the director/writer/producer has revealed.
The Iron Claw delves into the lives and numerous tragedies of the Von Erich wrestling family. The wrestling lineage began with Fritz Von Erich (real name Jack Adkisson,) and his sons would also find success in the squared circle. The Von Erichs are still a force in wrestling today with Marshall & Ross Von Erich competing to this day.
Sean Durkin’s Hardest Decision
While The Iron Claw features plenty of members of the legendary wrestling family, Chris Von Erich isn’t featured in the A24 biopic. The smallest of the brothers, Chris faced several health problems that limited his success in the ring. Following the suicide of his brother Mike in 1987, Chris took his own life on September 12, 1991.
Speaking to Uproxx, Durkin was asked about the decision not to include Chris and admitted it was a tough call for him to make.
“I’ve never had a more difficult decision to make as a writer. I care so deeply, so it was painful. But you have to make tough decisions and you have to do what’s best to get the film made. I wrote this script for seven years and Chris was in it for a long time.
“So there was a point where it became clear that if you separate yourself from the emotional connection to the family and to real life, you have to separate and say, okay, well, this is a movie, these are characters, and the movie just cannot withstand another death at that point in the movie.”
The Iron Claw will be released in cinemas across the United States next week. For a behind-the-scenes look at the new film, click here.
