Sly in Entertainment Weekly

Craig / / 2003, Celebs, First Blood

The current double issue( April 30, 2004 # 762/763 ) Entertainment Weekly ‘ Summer Movie issue contains a couple of Sly items. Jazz sent in two pics and some excerpts…

THE BOYS WHO BURNED A BILLION DOLLARS, How two wild and crazy guys seduced stars for their fledgling studio, spent oodles of cash, and blew up a lot of stuff. Including their own white-hot careers. By DANIEL FIERMAN

“They promised him the film would shoot for three months, and it ended up [ delaying ] Rocky 3. He was really pissed off. One day, right in the middle of this small town in Canada, Sylvester started ranting and raving and swearing a blue streak, ” says Kotcheff.

Vajna was the one who saw something in the First Blood script, and they both agreed Sylvester Stallone, an actor fresh off Nighthawks, should star.
In 1985, the First Blood sequel turned into a money-spouting geyser: Rambo grossed $ 150 million–and yielded Rambo bedsheets, Rambo action figures, even, frighteningly, a Rambo Saturday morning cartoon.

” Sly was at the pool [ of the Hotel du Cap ] wit all these topless sunbathers surrounding him, and I pitch him the story and he says, ‘ I love it! I’m on board.’ And Mario said, ‘ Good ! Because I already ordered fireworks with the name of the movie on it.’ ” Later that evening, the title of de Souza’s film, Isobar, lit up the night sky.

– Craig