Author: Craig

SZoners in Philly!

Craig / / 2011, Sly Fan

Recently SZoner,  Mike Kunda co-hosted a celebration of the 35th Anniversary of Rocky in Philly.    Here’s his report and and photos!

Craig,

This past weekend, I co-sponsored the 35th anniversary celebration of Rocky in Philadelphia. We had an amazing weekend, complete with the first ever – ROCKY bus tour.  We promoted this event for six months, and in the end, forty five of this planets most hardcore ROCKY fans proved their weight in gold. They arrived from the United Kingdom, California, Kentucky, Florida, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and of course, Pennsylvania.

The event started in South Philly, at the Skyview Plaza, where the staff was sincere and blown away at all the ROCKY fans. The giant yellow school bus headed for our first destination, 12th and Cantrel street; the “screw you creppo” corner from ROCKY. Imagine forty five people piling out of a school bus as locals looked on in wonder, as a 1976 Rocky Balboa led the charge, repeating the lines from the movies with the group. (And they knew their Rocky trivia)

If smiles, laughter and friendship were the keystone to money, we were millionaires. We had an Adrian trivia contest on the bus for the ladies only, with awesome, but humble prizes.

Next, the church where Rocky and Adrian got Married. (the exterior, the interior was shot inside a second church down the road.) Guiding the tour around back to the famous “Yo, Father Carmine window”  the group gave their best lines from Rocky 2. As we took pictures, a familiar face joined the group – Rocky’s lawyer from Rocky 5,  Mr. Jimmy Binns, also known for his dual role in Rocky Balboa as the council member who discourages Rocky by asking him, “What rights do you think you have?”.

The next stop on the tour, The Italian Market, where Rocky was thrown an impromptu orange. Also, I’d like to thank Debbie and Frank. They were the bus drivers that kept us safe on those narrow Philly side streets. They also happen to be close friends with Frank Stallone. Frank was also standing on the corner with Frank Stallone as Rocky came by for a swig of wine. Fantastic back stories to be sure.

Heading over to The Museum of Art, or as the world refers to them as the Rocky Steps, The tour stopped by the Rocky Statue for a group picture as we were welcomed by a very graceful Cynthia Schomberg, the wife of Thomas Schomberg, the creator of  The Rocky Statue. We interviewed her at length for our documentary and she was thrilled to join us later that night for dinner at The Victors Cafe, home of Adrian’s in Rocky Balboa.

As the documentary crew set up shop at the Victors, Jimmy Binns joined us for dinner, but not before explaining his role in the Rocky series and discussing his beloved charity; putting children of fallen police and firefighters through college. The host of the Victors, Greg and Alexa DiStefano were thrilled to have us. Though they were busy, they did take time to talk to the many fans at dinner. The oprea themed resturant is like no other as the waiters and waitress break out into classic opera singing that melts the heart. Here, amoungst the fans that traveled to be on the tour new and everlasting friendships with others were forged, like Rambo’s knife, sharing laughs and Rocky related stories. I stood back in my maroon-Rocky Balboa sports coat and just watched. Amazed.

After dinner, several parties were continuing in the hotel rooms as others went out to see the Philly nightlife

9:00 A.M. came early with the second part of the Rocky Bus tour as we headed to Kensington: the Graceland of Rocky sites.

First up – Gurney street, or as Rocky fans call it. the “Gazzo Street”. The brick cobblestone road is still there, though much has changed. We all recited “I should’a broke your thumbs” a thousand times. we then headed over to 1818 Tusculmn street; Rocky first apartment, the “Take You Back” corner where Frank Stallone sang, then down to the gym and pet shop. We interviewed several locals as they recalled filming and Stallone.

As time grew short, we headed back to the stairs for our Rocky look-alike contest that took place along side the Rocky Statue with another visit from Jimmy Binns. Then, the crowd was treated to Miss Angie Boyd, who played bar trash/Angie in Balboa, as she and I brought to life the scene where she yells at Rocky, “YOU AIN’T NO BETTER THAN ME! YOU’RE THE FOOL!” The contest judges- Robin Schomberg, myself and Joy Cooper asked the contestents triva questions such as – In Rocky 3, what did Apollo help Rocky get back? Name an opponent Rocky faced. Where did Paulie work and how much did Rocky get paid for fighting Spider Rico?

Ending the event was a “Going the Distance Run” up the steps for an amazing prize donated by the Schombergs – a 20 inch signed Rocky statue!

All in all,  an amazing weekend.

Zoners! Unite, next year it’s gonna be bigger and better!

Best, Mike “Adnuk” Kunda

Thanks to Mike for the co-hosting the event, plus the report and photos! – Craig

 

An Evening with Sly Stallone

Craig / / 2011

Would you like to spend time with Sly and fellow Stallone fans in an extended question and answer session?   Well you can, if you score a ticket to the Fallsview Casino Resort’s “An Evening with Sylvester Stallone” which is set for Feb. 24 and Feb. 25.  At each hour and a half to two hour session  Sly will be on stage with a moderator as he discusses his career and takes questions from fans.


Krayola Kidd Treats Us to a Sly Pun

Craig / / 2011, Craig's Sly Art

Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back and he brought Sly dressed as The Punisher.

You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable. You’re also going to be happy to know that once a month Mike has a contest for someone to win a free sketchcard! That is how I came to own this cool piece. I won the contest [Halloween Edition] and told Mike to pick a Sly character. He chose Sly as the Punisher and I salute him!

Top 10 Reasons We Can’t Get Enough Sly Stallone

Craig / / 2011


AMC Blog recently posted the Top Ten Reasons We Can’t Get Enough Sylvester Stallone.

10. He Directs Well
Stallone brought a smoothly professional hand to four Rocky movies (including the surprisingly character-driven Rocky Balboa), the last Rambo movie, and The Expendables. And with only two duds (Paradise Alley and Staying Alive) out of eight features, his track record is the envy of most Hollywood directors.

9. He Lets Others Have the Last Laugh
Unlike onetime rival Arnold “Hasta la Vista” Schwarzenegger, Stallone doesn’t have to steal the show. His lets his co-stars have the memorable lines. For example, who can forget Burgess Meredith in Rocky: “You’re gonna eat lightning, and you’re gonna crap thunder”? Or Teasle’s advice to Rambo: “Get a haircut and take a bath. You wouldn’t get hassled so much”?

8. He’s Not Afraid to Take a Punch
True action stars get knocked around a little. But no one would have thought less of 63-year-old Stallone if he’d deferred to a stunt double for The Expendables‘ knock-down, drag-out fight with former wrestler Steve Austin (nearly 20 years his junior). But Stallone didn’t and ended up with a fractured neck. That’s what you call walking the walk.

7. He’s Willing to Look His Age
Stallone doesn’t pretend he’s ageless. In Rocky Balboa and Rambo, his signature characters are old guys — old guys in great shape, granted — but they still have no business getting back into the ring or rescuing missionaries from Burmese warlords. They do it anyway, but Stallone makes sure you know they’re going to ache for a long, long time.

6. He Went From Bad Guy to Good Guy
Before Stallone was a hero, he was a hood. As egotistical auto racer “Machine Gun” Joe Viterbo in Death Race 2000, Stallone tommy-guns spectators who don’t show enough love. In The Lord’s of Flatbush, Sly plays a self-centered gang member who knocks up his girlfriend. Now he tends to be the hero, but back in the day he didn’t.

5. He’s Not Perfect
That’s quite a body — no two ways about it. But Stallone’s asymmetrical face and much-imitated speech impediment make him seem approachable, even vulnerable. That’s part of the reason that seeing Rocky beat the bejesus out of flawless Soviet superman Drago (Dolph Lundgren) in Rocky IV is so satisfying.

4. He Has Depth
Having said he regrets not doing more independent pics, Stallone took time out between Daylight and Driven ($17.5 and $20 million, respectively) to play a fat, lonely hearing-impaired policeman in the low-budget Cop Land. It paid off with the best reviews of his career. Beneath that swagger lies an actor who can hold his own against Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel.

3. He Knows His Limitations
Stallone isn’t a monosyllabic mountain of muscle — he just plays one on the screen. He may like comedies, but after disasters like Oscar, Rhinestone, and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot he opted to face facts and play to his strengths: great abs, buns of steel, and those wounded-puppy eyes that make women melt.

2. He’s a Fighter in Real Life
At 25, Stallone reached the point where most aspiring actors bail: broke with little work to show — a soft-core porn, a couple of exploitation movies, some uncredited bits — and a pregnant wife paying the bills. But he wrote a screenplay that made an old story — hard-luck guy, shy girl longing for love — new again. A year later, Rocky had ten Oscar nominations, and Stallone was a star.

1. He’s Rocky. And Rambo
Two iconic movie characters who can still pack theaters — and Stallone embodies them both.

Top 25 Threequels

Craig / / 2011, Rambo 3, Rocky 3

On November 3, 2011, Crave Online posted their choices for the Top 25 Movie Threequels. Coming in at 23 was Rambo 3 and here’s why…

By the third film in the franchise, John Rambo had gone from a tragic figure – a man so scarred by the Vietnam War that living amongst quote-unquote “peaceful” folks was now an impossibility – to a musclebound all-American hero for the Reagan era. But even so, Rambo III is still a kick-ass action movie. Once again, John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) is called out of retirement, this time to aid Afghan rebels in fighting off Communist invaders from the Soviet Union and save his kidnapped former colonel, Sam Trautman (Richard Crenna) in the bargain. If you can overlook the unfortunate-in-hindsight political subtext, director Peter MacDonald made a killer, over the top action extravaganza, which once owned the Guinness World Record for “Most Violent Movie Ever Made.”

Sylvester Stallone makes his second (and final) appearance on our list with Rocky III, the last good film in the Rocky franchise until Stallone concluded it (we assume) with Rocky Balboa in 2006. The third time out, Rocky Balboa doesn’t start the film as the underdog. In fact, the new champion has gone so soft that he’s easily beaten by young, upstart boxer Clubber Lang, played by 1980s icon Mr. T in his film debut. After the death of his former mentor he’s forced to turn to his old nemesis Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) for guidance, creating an iconic “bromance” for the ages, and culminating once again a grand fight sequence that once again proves Rocky to be the greatest boxer of the age. The Rocky movies started to get a little hokey here, but if Rocky III had been the last film in the series it would have been a fine send-off to a classic franchise.

You can see the list here.