The following is a write up by our Los Angeles correspondent Joseph Palreiro who was in charge of covering anything related to 'The Wrestler' in LA. He attended the premiere and the after party. Audio from the after party will be available tonight on Ringside Live.

The Academy Theater in Beverly Hills, CA was the site of the premiere of Darren Aronofsky's latest directorial offering, "The Wrestler", starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood.

I settled in about an hour prior to showtime, and watched quite an eclectic mix of professional wrestlers and Hollywood celebrities make their way into the auditorium. Actors, Chaz Palminteri and Robert Davi enjoyed the festivities, as did Harry Hamlin ("LA Law") and his wife, Lisa Rinna ("Dancing with The Stars"). And no Hollywood event would be complete without an appearance from adult film legend Ron Jeremy and his "Surreal Life" co-star, the lovely (and she looked amazing) Joanie "Chyna" Laurer.

Darren Aronofsky began the proceedings with a brief introduction of the film, in which he brought up the film's stars, and then acknowledged several of the wrestlers in the audience, all of whom he refers to respectfully as 'legends'. We were treated to brief glimpses of Rowdy Roddy Piper, who received an especially
impressive round of applause, along with Diamond Dallas Page, who gave us all a nice "Bang!", and unofficial film consultants Greg "The Hammer" Valentine and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake.

Aronofsky then mentioned another legend in attendance who he was looking forward to meeting, and then introduced none other than Ric Flair. Every head in the room, including mine, spun around looking for him. I quickly located him on the aisle 4 rows behind me. The reaction was bordering on reverance. It was a great lead-in to the film.

The film received a lengthy ovation at its conclusion, which was followed by a stream of people heading for the afterparty. At which I spotted director Oliver Stone ("Platoon", "JFK"), actor/singer Jared Leto, actress Edie McClurg ("Ferris Bueller's
Day Off"), John C. McGinley ("Scrubs") and Matthew Perry ("Friends").

But I was here to talk to wrestlers. Unfortunately I missed out on Ric Flair, who apparently called it an early night, and Lex Luger. But I did get the chance to speak with Ernest "The Cat" Miller, who plays "The Ayatollah", Randy "The Ram"s arch-rival in the film, Greg Valentine, Brutus Beefcake, Diamond Dallas Page (including a great story about himself, Kevin Nash and strip clubs that you MAY hear another time), "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels (he assured me that his return to TNA is imminent, as soon as they can find a proper situation in which to re-introduce him), and after chasing him for about an hour, Roddy Piper. Everyone was incredibly cooperative, and Page, Daniels and Piper were exceeding gracious and generous with their time. You'll be able to hear some of my conversations with them on "Ringside Live" tonight at 7PM EST.

Thus concludes 2 of the busiest, and most enjoyable weeks of my life. Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to share more with you in the year to come.

Happy New Year, everybody!