Chavo Guerrero Believes Von Erich Biopic Iron Claw Will Have Oscar Buzz
Between shows such as "Glow" and "Young Rock," Chavo Guerrero has found his niche as a real-life pro wrestler training actors on a show based on pro wrestling. In a recent chat with Bobby Fish's "The Undisputed Podcast," Guerrero detailed his exact job function as the wrestling coordinator and consultant on "Young Rock," a show based loosely on the life of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
"Not only am I putting the matches together and training the actors, but I'm also going over scripts [and offering advice]," Guerrero said. "I'm also involved with set design, costumes — anything to do with wrestling on that show. Me and Brian Gewirtz, the former WWE writer, collaborate a lot. When we have a question, we call Dwayne and ask him, 'What do you want [to] happen here?' Because, of course, it is his show."
Chavo then disclosed the extent of his involvement with "The Iron Claw," an upcoming biopic on the legendary Von Erich family.
"At one point, the director, Sean Durkin, who also wrote the movie, wrote a scene where these guys are talking, and he wanted something to happen in the match," Guerrero began. "However, it didn't coincide, So, I pulled him aside and go, 'Hey man, that won't really happen in a match. What you want [to] happen can't happen because of the way guys were talking over here.
"He was like, 'How would they talk?' I explained it to him. Right there, we rewrote the script. We ended up rewriting the scene, to make it sense for where he wanted to go in the movie. Unless he wanted to go in a different direction, we would have changed it up."
'It's going to be in that Oscars talk'
Besides training Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, who portray the roles of Kevin and Kerry Von Erich, respectively, Chavo also got involved at the production level of "The Iron Claw" with director Sean Durkin. Chavo revealed that several of the wrestling-related scenes in the movie were reshot after the director heeded his advice.
"Again, their movie, not mine," Chavo admitted. "You have to tread lightly at certain things. But, most of the time, they took my advice."
Due to the ongoing writers' strike in Hollywood, Chavo is unable to visit sets to get involved in more of his passion projects. That said, the third-generation wrestler is excited for the premiere of "The Iron Claw," which is due for a late 2023 release, and will also star current AEW star MJF in the role of Lance Von Erich.
"A24 just swept the Oscars, and I think this movie is going to be really good," Chavo predicted. "It's going to be in that Oscars talk, I think. At least some buzz. It's so good. The acting is amazing. Of course, the wrestling is very, very good [laughs]. The story, the directing, the camera work — I think it's going to be really good. Zac Efron was telling me the same, man."
In conclusion, Chavo said he and the rest of the film crew are "just trying to pay homage to the Von Erich name" the way he does for his family daily.
While most of Chavo's involvement in "Glow," "Young Rock" and "Iron Claw" were behind-the-scenes, he did make a cameo on two episodes of "Glow" as Chico Guapo. Furthermore, the training facility used by the wrestlers was named "Chavo's," a nod to the fact that he trained the cast on wrestling fundamentals. Clearly, Chavo has found ways to thrive in his post-wrestling career.