The
Hollywood Reporter posted an item about MGM and
SYLVESTER STALLONE being close to a deal for "Rocky
VI" and the story has exploded all over the internet.
It has been picked up by E!
Online, Dark
Horizons, Joblo.com,
Empire
Online, Drudge
Report and countless other sites. Thanks to Dustin
Tyria, Francis John Welch, Marco Marinelli, Mark Dambach,
and Ernie "The Erndog" McHone for sending in
links to different sites carrying the story. Listed
below is a typical report:
Stallone Ready for "Rocky"
Redux
By
Josh Grossberg
Rocky never gives
up. And neither will SYLVESTER STALLONE.
The aging action star is
nearing a deal with MGM that will see him step back into
the ring for a sixth installment in the saga of America's favorite
fictional prize fighter, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Rocky VI, which has been rumored for
years, would purportedly reunite STALLONE with the franchise's
original producers, IRWIN WINKLER and ROBERT CHARTOFF.
The trade paper also reports that the thespian
would write, produce and star in the project, which will be
budgeted at $10 million to $15 million in an attempt to take
the Roman numeral-friendly boxing franchise back to its indie
roots.
Such a move makes good business sense for
MGM, which has lately been putting the reins on runaway
spending with such flicks as Barbershop and Legally
Blonde, both of which cost less than $20 million and grossed
four times as much.
The original 1976 Rocky was budgeted
at a modest $1 million. But audiences latched on to the underdog
story of the chicken-chasing tomato can Rocky Balboa going
a full 15 rounds with champ Apollo Creed and made it
one of the top-grossing films of the '70s, pulling in more than
$220 million in ticket sales worldwide. The film also won an
Oscar for Best Picture.
The inevitable sequels had budgets that swelled
faster than STALLONE's pecs.
Philly's Italian Stallion returned to the
ring for 1979's Rocky II [Rocky wins the heavyweight
title], 1982's Rocky III [Rocky loses title to
Mr. T, then regains it in a rematch] and 1985's Rocky
IV [Rocky goes to Russia, battles steroid-crazed
Commie boxer Dolph Lundgren]. Each tallied more than
$100 million.
The 55-year-old STALLONE, who made
the first Rocky at age 30, hung up his gloves after 1990's
Rocky V was KO'd at the box office. That film, which
saw STALLONE's alter ego come out of retirement and engage
former protégé Tommy Gunn [real-life boxer
TOMMY MORRISON] in a good ol' street fight, grossed a
meager $40 million.
So studio execs decided to wait a long time
before ringing the bell on another installment, content just
to milk the series with home video, DVD and videogame releases.
If Rocky VI gets the green light, STALLONE's
flagging career could get a much needed boost.
He last appeared on the big screen in 2001's
high-octane race flick Driven. But, as a telling sign
of STALLONE's dwindling box-office muscle, that film
wasn't marketed around his pecs so much as the younger--and
much prettier cast--around him [blink and you might have missed
STALLONE in the trailer]. Despite the marketing switcheroo,
the film still bombed.
Even worse, STALLONE's most recent
vehicle didn't even make it to U.S. theaters. While Universal
decided to roll out STALLONE's suspense-free action thriller
D-Tox across the rest of the globe earlier this year,
the studio opted for a straight-to-video release in the States.
And if Rocky VI doesn't pan out, there's
always Rambo 4, which STALLONE has also been writing.
If STALLONE does sign on to Rocky
VI, the film isn't likely to hit the streets until 2004
at the earliest.
- Craig Zablo
