ROCKY: NOT THE BEST PICTURE??
The April 2001 issue of Premiere contains an article entitled “They Wuz Robbed!” The article compares the results of two polls taken (one with 25 film professionals such as Quentin Tarantino; and the other with 2,000 film fans) who voted for their choices of who should have won Academy Awards during the last 25 years.
The piece is accompanied with some spectacular artwork by ROBERTO PARADA showing Rocky putting Travis Bickle in a headlock while Ghandi and ET look on!
The article makes for some interesting reading and I’m sure will inspire some lively debate. I plan to discuss my thoughts on the results over at BigBeatty’s message board. I hope to talk to you there!
Craig Zablo (March 17, 2001)
Author: Craig
Sly & Jen Attend “Exit Wounds” Premiere
SLY STALLONE and his wife JENNIFER FLAVIN attended the premiere of Exit Wounds on Tuesday, March 13, 2001, in Los Angeles.
Sly Revives Rocky
The March 13, 2001 issue of The National Enquirer contains an item called “Yo! SLY Brings Back Rocky to Help a Tragic Kid” in the Hollywood Behind the Screens section by Mike Walker.
“In a heartrending revival of his gutsy “Rocky” character, SLY STALLONE played a real-life hero when he suddenly appeared in the hospital room of a badly injured little boy who idolizes him, knelt by his bedside and said gently: “Yo!… Give Rocky a punch!” Sadly, 5-year-old Brandon Zucker, maimed in a Disneyland accident, can’t throw a punch anymore.. or even whisper, “Yo, Rocky!” But STALLONE got a smile from the beautiful kid – and these are rare these days, says mom Victoria, who relives the horror of watching her son fall out of the “Roger Rabbit” ride and get crushed under machinery. SLY’s wife JENNIFER FLAVIN, read in a paper how Brandon used to run through his house wearing oven mitts punching the air like his hero, “Rocky.” JENNIFER showed the story to SLY, who went to the hospital to give the kid a shot of come-from-behind Rocky courage! “His visit did a lot of good for Brandon,” wept Victoria. [Keep punching, kid… and… lookin’ good, Rock!]
– Craig Zablo
Sly and Jen attend “Exit Wounds” Premiere!
Sylvester Stallone and his wife Jennifer Flavin attended the red carpet premiere of the new film “Exit Wounds,” on Tuesday, March 13, 2001, in Los Angeles.
“DRIVEN” POSTER
Sly and Crew Promote “Driven”
On March 8, 2001, Sly Stallone joined director Renny Harlin and co-stars Christian de la Fuente and Kip Pardue at a Warner Bros. luncheon to promote Driven. The luncheon was held at the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino in Las Vegas.
Sly Stallone is a Celebrity Classmate
In the March 6, 2001 issue of The National Enquirer, SYLVESTER STALLONE is featured in the “Celebrity Classmates” section. Lyn La Cava (pictured at left) attended The American College of Switzerland with SLY back in the day! The article features a couple of other pics of SLY and Ms. La Cava as well as quotes from both.
– Craig Zablo [March 11, 2001]
Sly in “Total Film’s Top 50 [Twice]
The March 2001 issue of Total Film contains some items of interest to STALLONE fans. In an article titled: “The 50 Greatest Movie Heroes of All Time! As Voted By You,” two of SLY’s portrayals made the list! Rocky Balboa clocked in at #30 and John Rambo followed at #40.
In another section called Best of the Best the following appears: – COP LAND ” An undisputed career best performance for STALLONE.”
Thanks to Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes for the pic and tip! – Craig Zablo
Sly Makes an Impact
The March 2001 issue of Impact, features an article entitled “SYLVESTER STALLONE: On the SLY.” The four page article provides an overview of SLY’s career and features eleven pictures [including the one above]. Although hard core fans will learn nothing new, and at one picture is obviously labeled incorrectly, it still is a positive article which looks forward to SLY’s next decade of films.
Thanks for the tip to – Paul Corr from Ireland and Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes for the mag!
– Craig Zablo
ROCKY: “THE BEST OF THE BEST”
The February 23, 2001 issue of Entertainment Weekly has an article titled “The Best of the Best” in which EW ranks the 72 Best Picture Oscar winners. Here’s what they had to say about Rocky:
43 ROCKY 1976
Directed by John G. Avildsen Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire Nominations 9 Wins 3 Stiffest Competition Taxi Driver, Network
A likable triumph-of-the-underdog tale, but why this boxing fable and not Scorsese’s Raging Bull four years later?
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Let me begin by pointing out a small error… did you catch it? The listing says that Rocky was nominated for 9 Oscars but the right number is 10! I’ve already e-mailed them about the error – so let’s talk about the article…
Articles like these are written to encourage discussion about the subjective rankings of personal favorites. So let me say that, personally, I feel that Rocky should be in the Top 10 and without a doubt the Top 20 — I am happy to see that the editors of the piece ranked Rocky higher than many past winners (even if they didn’t “get it exactly right.”).
- Craig Zablo (February 24, 2001)