I had the opportunity to speak to Mick during this momentous week. In addition to talking about these two projects, we also discuss his charity work, the legacy of ECW, Terry Funk, and several other topics about the sport.
Eric: Mick, you just announced that a movie was going to be made about your life. Can you tell me how that came about?
Mick Foley: I met with director Chris Scott four or five years ago. I thought that he would be able to tell my story in a unique way that would appeal to wrestling fans and non-fans alike. I guess at the time there was just too much going on and it just fell through the cracks for whatever reason. So I was surprised to get a call about six months ago asking me if I'd like to revisit the possibility. I met with him again and he and I really clicked and we felt that we had a good story that we could tell.
Eric: What time frame of your life will the movie cover?
Mick Foley: I imagine it will be pre-WWE. We have a couple of time periods that we are looking at. Usually, the most boring way to do a biopic is from A-Z. I specifically said that I wasn't interested in doing the Kevin Costner version of Wyatt Earp. That nobody really cared that he was a horse thief. They wanted to know a little bit more about Tombstone. So we may actually be covering ground that is not as familiar to wrestling fans but will be really exciting and fun.
Eric: Is there a release date for it and do you know who is going to play the part of yourself?
Mick Foley: It's too early. We don't know when we are going to go into production. As far as stars, I imagine that there is going to be a stampede, not necessarily to play me, but to play my wife. My daughter was throwing around the biggest names in Hollywood and I said “That's great honey, but do you think they necessarily want to make out with your dad.” Right now, Chris and I are currently trying to work on the best script that we can. I don't know the ins and outs of the movie business so I'll let the people that do make those decisions.
Eric: Your fourth autobiography, Countdown to Lockdown, comes out later this week. What should fans that have bought the first three expect from this one in regards to similarities and differences from the first three?
Mick Foley: I believe that anyone that likes my writing style will enjoy this one as well. It's a departure in that it is my first memoir that in not published by WWE. But it is not necessarily a negative look at WWE either. I think that some people equate honest with bitterness. I think that I am very honest but not very bitter when I discuss my departure. The things that they loved about the first three, the sophomoric humor, the Tori Amos references, are all abundant in this one as well.
Eric: Speaking of Tori Amos, your entire $100,000 advance for the book is being donated to RAINN and the Child Fund International. Can you tell my readers a little about these two charities and how you got involved working for them?
Mick Foley: Before I met Tori Amos a few years ago, I would never have guessed that I could be a vital part in the fight against sexual violence. I literally had never been on the Internet by myself before going onto Toriamos.com after meeting her. There was a link to RAINN and I started doing a lot of research and felt like there were not really too many voices out there, and thought that male voices were especially lacking. So I went from thinking that I couldn't play a role to thinking that I might have something to say as a donor and later on as a volunteer.
I went to Sierra Leone almost two years ago and met a group of women that were victims of rape during that country's civil war. Had it not been for the reading I had been doing about RAINN, I don't know if I would have been emotionally prepared for their stories. When I came home, I specifically asked Child Fund if there might be a project that I could work on specifically involving the girls. It turned out the cost of the project for SEFAFU (Sealing the Past, Facing the Future) was almost going to be 50% of the advance which wouldn't have left much to spare for RAINN. Somehow that didn't seem right so after an inspirational listen of Tori Amos' CD Midwinter Graces, I decided that there were a lot of people out there that had things a lot tougher than me and that it would really mean a lot to me and hopefully other people that I was going to donate the entire advance.
Eric: In the book, you talk about wrestlers transitioning away from a life in the ring. Have you thought about retirement and your plans for life after wrestling?
Mick Foley: Sure I did. I thought that I had retired 10 years ago. Somehow life has a way to get in the way of our romantic plans. So I did. I rode off into the sunset in February of 2000 and ended up making several comebacks, one of which is detailed in Countdown to Lockdown. But it is a question that every wrestler has to face. I'm lucky that I've had other opportunities but it is a real difficult challenge. For most guys that spend time in professional wrestling, nothing they do in life will ever compare to that. It is a difficult situation for most guys that have ever stepped foot in the ring.
Eric: In the book, you mention that TNA has had problems converting their television fans into Pay-Per-View buying consumers. What do you think the company needs to do to fix that problem?
Mick Foley: I don't mean to sound like a pessimist about my own company but I'm not sure that is a fixable problem. It could be that Pay-Per-View is not going to be the bread and butter of our wrestling company whereas International expansion and finding a new way to market the guys and the show could be the bread and butter of the company.
