MJF shares his thoughts on some of his scenes getting cut from The Iron Claw.
AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) plays Lance Von Erich in The Iron Claw, a film about the Von Erich wrestling family. In the theatrical cut of the movie, MJF only makes a brief appearance during a tag team match.
In an interview with Liam Crowley for ComicBook.com, MJF described how he shot some scenes that wound up getting cut. He explained that they did not fit the story the film was trying to tell.
“There most certainly is [an extended scene]. I don’t know where it’s going to live,” MJF said. “There was a scene where me and him were talking, but me and Sean both completely understood that listen, I want this film to succeed, and the film needed to be about the brothers.
“As fun as I had shooting that scene, realistically, it didn’t add to the overarching story and the importance of the story between the brothers and what they were going through in dealing with the pressures that their father put on them. It didn’t fit in the pieces of the puzzle.”
MJF, who is also credited as an executive producer, went on to note that plenty of things were cut from the movie. He stated there was only so much time. As a result, the film had to focus on the main story, which centered on the brothers.
MJF On Cuts From ‘The Iron Claw’
MJF continued by noting that other things were removed from the final version. With that in mind, he noted that a director’s cut could be fun, but he emphasized that the theatrical cut is good.
“There were a lot of other things that were cut in regards to their history,” MJF said. “If there is a director’s cut, I think people will have a lot of fun with it, but again, if there’s not, the theatrical cut is good. I’m not just saying that because I’m an EP.
“The story kicks you in the f–king balls, man. That’s what you want. That’s what you want in a drama. There’s also moments of levity and there’s moments of comedy. It makes you want to cry and it makes you want to laugh. I can’t think of a better endorsement for a film than that.”
MJF is set to compete on the December 27 episode of AEW Dynamite. WrestleZone will have coverage of the show as it airs.
