As a film critic who spent my early years watching Rocky on repeat and living through the ’80s action movie boom, I am genuinely excited about Peter Farrelly’s upcoming biopic, “I Play Rocky.
Previously, it was disclosed that Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly (Green Book) intended to explore the story behind Sylvester Stallone‘s iconic film Rocky for his upcoming project. Now, we have some additional information straight from the director himself. Originally released in 1976, Rocky went on to win the Best Picture Oscar and catapult Stallone to fame. However, the journey of how this movie came into existence will be the main focus of Farrelly’s biopic titled I Play Rocky.
In their conversation, Farrelly and his brother Bobby delved into various subjects, one of which being Bobby’s new movie starring Jack Black, titled “Dear Santa“. The siblings have collaborated on numerous films in the past, such as popular ones like “Dumb and Dumber“, “There’s Something About Mary“, and “Shallow Hal“. For their upcoming project, “I Play Rocky“, Peter will be working independently as the script was written by Peter Gamble. The director expressed nothing but praise for the script, mainly because it contained intricate details about Sylvester Stallone’s process in creating the original Rocky film.
“It’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. The guy who wrote it, Peter Gamble, came out of the blue. The guy teaches at USC. Toby Emmerich gave it to me, he’s a producer on it, and he said, ‘Hey, read this script. I think it’s special.’ It’s about the making of Rocky, and there’s a lot that I didn’t know. Stallone was homeless when he wrote that script, he was living in Penn Station, and he was doing softcore porn. He was broke. He had to sell his dog.”
Over time, the tale of Sylvester Stallone selling his dog Butkus has grown into a well-known urban legend. While it’s true that he had to sell his cherished pet for $40 outside a 7-Eleven store, the amount he paid to reacquire the dog after selling the script for Rocky is a subject of differing accounts. In 2017, Stallone shared with his Instagram followers that it was $15,000, but in 2013 he claimed it was only $3,000. Regardless of the exact figure, it was undeniably a valuable investment to see Stallone and his loyal bull mastiff on screen together, adding even more emotional depth to the movie.
Peter Farrelly Thinks Stallone’s Story is More Compelling Than ‘Rocky’
Apart from having to give away his pet dog in order to stay afloat financially, Stallone encountered significant resistance from film studio executives when trying to produce Rocky. Just like his character in the film, Stallone was an underdog from the beginning, with few expecting him to thrive due to the numerous hurdles placed before him. Initially offered up to $350,000 for the script and given the chance to walk away, Stallone remained firm and insisted on playing the lead role. Eventually, a deal was struck, but under the condition that if the film fell behind schedule by even a single day, he would be removed from the project.
It’s well-known that director John G. Avildsen and Sylvester Stallone managed to keep the production flowing smoothly. However, as Peter Farrelly recounts, it wasn’t due to a lack of studio interference. On the very first day of filming, the studio demanded an exterior shot, so they filmed every running scene in that movie on the first day itself. Stallone ran a total of 18 miles that day and was eventually hospitalized, as Farrelly shared with Variety.
In my opinion,
At present, there’s no information available about who might portray Stallone in the movie “I Play Rocky,” and it’s uncertain when production will commence. Fingers crossed, it won’t get stuck in development limbo because we’re really looking forward to watching it. The original “Rocky” was a truly inspiring film, and getting a behind-the-scenes look at its creation through Farrelly’s perspective promises to be a breathtaking experience. We have high hopes that the director will deliver a powerful punch with this biopic once it eventually materializes.
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2024-11-26 20:07