“Nature Boy” director Rory Karpf recently spoke with Brian Fritz for Sporting News in advance of tonight’s 30 For 30 premiere on ESPN; you can read a few highlights below:
Rory Karpf on why he wanted to use Ric Flair as the subject of a documentary:
“I thought always thought Ric Flair would be a great subject because he’s relevant today. What wrestlers can you say from that era are quotes today in rap songs and athletes are doing their chants? They’re wearing Ric Flair cleats at NFL games. I pitched (ESPN) on (the idea that) we could explore why he was relevant and why athletes revered him and why wrestling could be and should be looked at as a sport, and they were game by that point.”
Karpf talks about how honest Flair was with the documentary:
“People say some tough things but, to his credit, he accepted it all. He didn’t ask for anything to be changed. He was very proud that he was the first wrestler, the only wrestler, to have an ESPN ’30 for 30′ done on him.
To his credit, he could easily have said, ‘I don’t want anything negative about me.’ I told him from the beginning we’re not whitewashing anything here. I tried to put wrestling on a pedestal as I would any other sport, and I think he appreciated that, that it is a sport, at least to me.”
Press Release: ESPN Films’ Ric Flair 30 for 30 “Nature Boy” Premieres Tonight At 10 pm EST
Karpf comments on having Shawn Michaels and Triple H included in the project:
“I think Ric, on one hand, he has an indescribable charm almost like a little kid with his hand in the cookie jar. At the same time, if you’re very selfish and lived your life a certain way, there’s ramifications. Two of his closest friends in wrestling are Shawn Michaels and Triple H, but they say some hard truths in the film. Triple H calls him a consummate liar. Shawn Michaels says the ‘Nature Boy’ is just a myth. For me, hearing those people say it carries so much more weight.”
