Sylvester Stallone’s life is the real Rocky Balboa story, I Play Rocky director says
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Director Peter Farrelly aims to bring I Play Rocky to fans of the fictional Philadelphia boxer, adding that “the message is, you never give up and you never give in".
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Director Peter Farrelly says Sylvester Stallone’s life is the true story behind the fictional Rocky Balboa character.
- The film I Play Rocky shows Stallone’s struggles before Rocky’s success, highlighting his determination and refusal to give up or sell out.
- Stallone watched the film alone and loved it; the movie stars Anthony Ippolito as Stallone and will be released by Amazon’s MGM Studios and Elevation Pictures.
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TORONTO – Sylvester Stallone’s life is the real Rocky Balboa story, film director Peter Farrelly said as he walked down the red carpet for the premiere of I Play Rocky at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept 12.
The film is the story behind the making of Rocky, an underdog story that has inspired many fans of Stallone’s fictional character Rocky Balboa’s sheer determination.
Farrelly aims to present I Play Rocky to fans of the fictional Philadelphia boxer, and to a new, younger crowd unfamiliar with Stallone’s struggles before he became the star of Rocky.
Stallone wrote and starred in the 1976 film, now a cultural phenomenon.
“The Rocky story is actually a true story. Rocky is fiction, but Stallone’s story is the Rocky story,” Farrelly said.
“And the message is, you never give up and you never give in. You can’t be bought out. And in this day and age, everybody’s bought out, everybody goes for the money. He didn’t.”
Asked if Stallone has watched the movie yet, Farrelly said the 80-year-old actor watched it alone.
“It was nerve-wracking because he saw it alone. And this is a great movie with a crowd. I didn’t know how he was going to take it,” Farrelly said of Stallone. “But he loved it. Thank god.”
Stallone was an obscure actor before pitching the story and stubbornly refused to let studios cast anyone but him in the role.
The film was nominated for 10 Oscars and won three.
Anthony Ippolito plays the lead in I Play Rocky, portraying Stallone’s determination to become an actor and capturing his gravelly voice and muscular physique, while also recreating the iconic scene on Philadelphia’s Rocky steps.
The film will be brought to theatres by Amazon’s MGM Studios in the US and by Elevation Pictures in Canada. REUTERS