Category: Celebs

“Shade” Opens Philly Film Festival

Craig / / 2004, Celebs, Honors, Shade

Philadelphia, PA, March 22, 2004 – RKO Pictures has teamed with Philadelphia-area natives Joe Nicolo (Executive Producer), Carl Mazzocone (Co-Producer), Dina Merrill, and Philadelphia’s favorite son Sylvester Stallone, to bring some brotherly love-card shark style-to the Philadelphia Film Festival with the premiere of SHADE. A gritty poker picture about grifters and card mechanics in the shadowy world of the L.A. and Las Vegas underground, SHADE’s ensemble cast includes Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned), Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects), Thandie Newton (Mission Impossible 2), Jamie Foxx (Any Given Sunday), Melanie Griffith (Working Girl), Hal Holbrook (Magnum Force), Patrick Bauchau (Carnivale) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Copland). The ultra high-stakes card game thriller has been selected as the opening night film at The Philadelphia Film Festival on April 8th. SHADE is an RKO Pictures Production in association with Merv Griffin Entertainment, Hammond Entertainment, Judgment Pictures and Cobalt Media Group.

Hammond Entertainment brought Nicolo into the project after Hammond optioned SHADE from Merv Griffin Productions. RKO Pictures then joined the project as a financier, producer and distributor. The films other producers include Ted Hartley, Merv Griffin, Chris Hammond and David Schnepp.

The film is directed by first-time director, Damian Nieman, who also wrote the script. Nieman, a former card mechanic and poker player, knows this world first-hand having honed his skills at the famous Magic Castle in Los Angeles.

This is the first feature film for Nicolo, the former president and owner of Philadelphia-based Ruffhouse /Columbia Records. At Ruffhouse, he was responsible for launching the careers of Lauryn Hill, The Fugees, Cypress Hill, Wyclef Jean, and Kris/Kross. During his 10 years at Columbia Records, Nicolo also produced Billy Joel’s Grammy nominated album “River Of Dreams” and worked with such musical icons as James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones. In the spring of 2000, Nicolo sold Ruffhouse Records to Sony and started Judgment Pictures in Conshohocken.

“We’re excited to share this film with our family and friends,” said Nicolo. “How great to be recognized in your home town. I guess I was very fortunate because I had a great, great cast and production crew on this film. I think the quality of the movie speaks for itself”.

Carl Mazzocone is a 21-year veteran of the film business and is President of Main Line Pictures. He most recently produced Dumb & Dumberer as well as the controversial Julian Sands film, Boxing Helena.

“I love SHADE and had a great time working on the film,” said Mazzocone. “Every low-budget production is a challenge, especially when working with big stars; yet this film captured something special from the start. The material attracted an exceptional cast and crew–probably the best I’ve ever worked with. It’s a rare experience when 150 cast and crew members come together on a picture, endure long stressful hours of tedious work and in the process become as close as a family. I give Joe Nicolo a lot of credit for that. First off, it takes a lot of courage to finance an independent movie. Joe openly placed his trust in us all, which filters down and empowers everyone to do their best.”

ABOUT RKO. RKO is the oldest continuously operated entertainment company in the world, dating back to 1882, and boasting a film and script library of over 1,100 titles. Known for developing, producing, and distributing feature film and television programs for worldwide consumption, the RKO brand with its world-renowned “globe and radio tower” logo is being expanded into an array of new areas. RKO recently produced Never Gonna Dance, a Broadway musical stage adaptation of the 1936 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers film, Swing Time. The Company also has a number of projects under development with other studios, Suspicion (Dimension), Monkey’s Paw (Dreamworks) and Every Girl Should be Married (Paramount). SHADE opens in select cities nationwide on May 7.

– Craig Zablo

Paul Thomas Anderson Credits “Rocky”!

Craig / / 2004, Celebs, Honors, Rocky

Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes wrote in to tell of another filmmaker influenced by Sly:

Hey kids,

I got this recent interview from the Paul Thomas Anderson site, Coffee and Cigarettes.  Paul Thomas Anderson credits Stallone’s ROCKY in influencing him to become a filmmaker.

It would be a personal dream of mine to have Sly work with PTA the way Tom Cruise did in Magnolia.

 

Question: Was there any one film that you remembered seeing when you were younger that instantly made you realize that you wanted to be a film director?
Paul Thomas Anderson: So many films that I saw — Jaws, Wizard of Oz, Rocky, all the Disney movies.

Thanks Jazz!
– Craig Zablo

Sly’s definitely a ‘Contender’

Craig / / 2004, Celebs, The Contender, TV

From Liz Smith’s March 19, 2004 Newsday.com column:
Sly’s definitely a ‘Contender’

JEALOUSY, ENVY, hurt pride, hurt feelings – sounds like the recipe for a soap opera or a love affair, doesn’t it? But, no, it’s big business. Big movie business.

For years, Sylvester Stallone has been trying to talk his original “Rocky” producer, Irwin Winkler, and the owners of the “Rocky” franchise, MGM, into another film about the indefatigable boxing hero. Sly sat down on more than one occasion and wrote an unpaid-for original screenplay for what would be the sixth round of the Philadelphia- based classic. The last one he titled “Puncher’s Chance,” giving himself a role in it as a boxing veteran.

So, some months ago, I ran into the gifted Winkler at the theater and, during the intermission, put my two cents in that the world will always be ready to welcome another “Rocky” movie, and why didn’t he get moving? (The original won the Oscar back in 1976; its theme music became a classic, and there have already been four sequels, all of them successful. The “Rocky” idea has earned at least $1.5 billion.)

While I didn’t give myself credit for actually pushing Winkler, it began to look as if he and MGM would finally move on the project. Little did I realize that behind the scenes, MGM’s head man Alex Yemenidjian, who had been saying the “Rocky” idea was passe, suddenly decided that MGM would distribute such a movie, only if the money was raised elsewhere to make it. This reluctance and lack of faith seemed a bit odd since “Rocky” is MGM’s second-largest asset after the James Bond movies.

In the meantime, Stallone, who has waited and waited while MGM and Winkler dragged their feet, was convinced by “Survivor” producer Mark Burnett and DreamWorks’ Jeffrey Katzenberg to star in their coming reality TV show about aspiring young boxers. “The Contender” could bow as early as November and will show us youngsters getting to live out their boxing dreams. Stallone will play a kind of Donald Trump figure; he’ll be the one to say “You’re down for the count” or “Count 10; you’re out!” Stallone will not only star, he’ll be executive producer, and he owns this show with Katzenberg and Burnett for NBC.

Since “The Contender” announcement, MGM and Winkler have both been galvanized and have exploded in fury at their old friend Stallone. Yemenidjian is quoted as saying that, as a result of the planned television series, “Now we, MGM, will do the real Rocky!” Stallone, who created his fame and movie career when he wrote and starred in the original against all odds, is reported saying, with some justification in my view – “They are looking for the real Rocky; he’ll be on NBC in ‘The Contender.'”

Thinking on all of this and the unfortunate circumstance of the severing of the Stallone-Winkler friendship, a thought occurs to me. If “The Contender” is a big hit, as everyone expects since it sold for one of the highest prices ever in tube history, doesn’t this make another “Rocky” feature a hotter idea than ever? Just asking! Of course, I can’t imagine a “Rocky” sequel without Stallone in some guise or other. So everybody ought to kiss and make up.

 

Craig / / 2004, Celebs

Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard attended the undisputed 154-pound title bout between Winky Wright and Sugar Shane Mosley at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, March 13, 2004.

Sly at the Arnold Classic

Craig / / 2004, Celebs, Sly Fan

SZoner, Randy Rousseau, checked in with his EXCLUSIVE StalloneZone report of Sly at this year’s Arnold Classic! Here’s Randy…

I have been a friend of Tony Nowak since 1991. I tracked him down after seeing Stallone on a talk show wearing his orange and tan leather Planet Hollywood jacket. I just had to have one, and found out after flying to the first Planet Hollywood in New York that Tony was in LA, near me. Tony and I got together and have been friends for years now.

Tony has gone to the Arnold Classic every year for the last sixteen years and has a booth selling the Arnold Classic jacket. Tony has been friends with Arnold for over thirty years. Tony makes all of Arnold‘s outfits for his films and that’s how he got involved with Planet Hollywood and became friends with Sylvester Stallone and the other owners. (By the way Tony has said that Sly was the best always to work with on his different coats for Planet, he always wanted fun colors and to have fun with them some times paying over three thousand a piece.)

For the past five years my father and I have helped Tony sell the Arnold Classic jackets at the show in Columbus, Ohio. I have met Arnold many times there, but this year had a special guest that I or Tony had no idea was coming.

The show started on Friday and before the doors opened I went around looking at all the other booths that were out there at the expo and picked up a print of the show and flipped threw the pages and could not believe my eyes. There was a story in there about Sylvester Stallone coming to the show this year! I took this over to Tony, and he said he had no idea Sly coming. What a surprise!

My father came over and said, “Come look at this.” Up on a fifty inch flat screen was a promo spot of Sly working out and talking about fitness (he looked great in the promo wearing black work out attire). There were all these large pictures from Rocky IV and Demolition Man. ( Great body shots being that we are at a body building show and every single person at the show has a killer body) Then there was a banner that said ( “In my life, I have learned that success is best achieved by taking control, rather than standing on the sidelines. Now I want to teach others what I ve learned from a lifetime of taking care of my body through performance nutrition and exercise. That is why I founded INSTONE. Sincerely, SYLVESTER STALLONE Chairman & Founder”)

So to my disbelief not only was Sly going to stop by, but he had his own booth. You could feel the excitement in the air. There were about six men and women working his booth. They told me that Sly would be by on Saturday for about an hour. I went back to our booth and told Tony what was going on. I than called my wife back in California and told her the great news. She asked me, “Do you want me to send the picture of Sly that my cousin drew for you of Sly to sign”? and I said, “Please overnight it and I’ll see if I can get close to Sly to sign it.”

Over the years I have become good buddies with the security guys who guard Arnold. They told us this year they were left out because now that Arnold was the governor he would be bringing his own security. They also told us that Sly would be in about 10:30 am and he would NOT making any stops as he would be here for only thirty minutes.

On stage they were having the arm wrestling, and in walks the team of security. They come over to our booth and tell us the will bring Stallone by after he goes on stage. I go to the dock to check for my picture that my wife had overnighted and there it was, great timing. I took it back to the booth and showed it to the guys. Tony loved it and said, “put it here for me to get Sly to sign.” Tony asked, “what jacket do you think I should give him?” I said, “the Joe Weider one.” Tony picked the all-leather $1700.00 ONE AND THREE OTHER JACKETS TO GIVE TO HIS FRIEND.

I asked Tony, “when was the last time you talked to Sly” and he said when Sly was filming “Get Carter.” A few years had passed and I was thinking to myself how good does Sly know Tony? I was about to find out.

Then from the back door in comes the security and Stallone in the middle. They go to the back of the stage, and the MC talks about a special guest movie star that is into arm wrestling and made a movie about the sport. And very loudly said Sylvester Stallone. Sly thanked every one for the great welcome. Sly talked about making the film and then shook hands going of the stage, and back down to the crowd.

Sly came by our booth and noticed Tony. Sly turned and yelled, “Big Tony” and gave Tony a huge bear hug. I was standing right next to Sly. He looked fantastic. Tony said, “I have some jackets for you.” Sly said, “no you don’t have to do that, but thank you very much!!”

Than Tony said, “This is my very good friend Randy Rousseau and he is the biggest admirer you have!” Sly said, “Thank you. HOW YOU DOING?” and shook my hand. Then Tony said, “would you do us a favor and sign this?” and turned the Rocky portrait over. Sly said, “Wow! This is beautiful. Can I have it?” Tony said, “We will send you a copy.” Sly signed it and then I asked him to sign the yellow leather jacket for my company Sly asked, “are you sure?” and then signed it!

Then he took some pictures with all of us at the booth and spent a good amount of time with us. Sly then went on looking and greeting fans all over the expo. He finally went over to his booth spent around one there signing autographs and taking pictures with hundreds of fans! Sly was in the expo for over THREE HOURS AND FIFTY minutes. They were blasting Gonna Fly Now, and Eye of the Tiger. Sly spent more time at the Arnold expo in side the building with fans than Arnold has in the last sixteen years if you were to combine all the years together in just one day.