Category: Rocky

Ben Bova Praises Stallone & Rocky

Craig / / 1946, 1950, 2011, Celebs, Honors, Rocky

Dr. Ben Bova has written more than 120 novels and nonfiction books. He has received numerous awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, the John W. Campbell Memorial Award and the Robert A. Heinlein Award just to name a few. Dr. Bova is the President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America. He is also a huge fan of the movie, Rocky.

On October 9, 2011, The Naples News posted a piece by Dr. Bova titled “Rocky Reminds Us We Can Be Contenders.” Here are some tidbits…

  • I saw the movie “Rocky” again on television a few nights ago. And, as usual, got a lump in my throat.
  • “Rocky” holds a special place in my heart.
  • And as a writer, I have to admire the script that Sylvester Stallone put together for “Rocky.” Think about it: The movie is filled with conflict and suspense, yet there is no villain, no bad guy.
  • One of the secrets of writing fiction is to avoid the clichés. Stallone did this admirably in “Rocky.” It would have been easy to scribble out just another fight movie, but Stallone steered his way past the clichés and wrote what I consider to be a masterpiece.

Rocky in Sweats Statue

Craig / / 2011, Rocky

Mark from Hollywood Collectibles contacted me…

Hi Craig,

I hope this finds you well!

This is our latest Sly statue;

http://hollywood-collectibles.com/rocky_statue2.html

Our “Rocky in Sweats” statue.

As usual your members can grab a 10% discount if they place an order by using the discount coupon “sweats” at checkout.

Thanks!

Mark

***

Thanks to Mark and the folks at Hollywood Collectibles!  They always give us a discount on the price and a heads-up as soon as a new Stallone product is ready for production.  – Craig

 

Rocky #1 Again

Craig / / 2011, Honors, Rocky

On July 9, 2011, The Bleacher Report posted their choices for the Best Boxing Movies of All Time.  There was stiff competition from Cinderella Man, The Fighter, Million Dollar Baby and Raging Bull, but Rocky came in at #1.  Here’s a bit of what they said…

  • Rocky is not only the greatest boxing film ever, it’s likely the greatest sports film ever.
  • Stallone’s slow-talking, small-witted, big-hearted Rocky, is the All-American tale…
  • Rocky is simply an American institution.

Sly Talks Rocky

Craig / / 2011, Rocky

On July 10, 2011, The Daily Star posted a piece titled “Rocky’s a Knockout for Sylvester Stallone”.  In the piece Sly says that he still works out to the Rocky theme…

  • “Yeah, I exercise to the Rocky song… Even after 30 years it gets me going. It’s amazing.”

Sly also said that when he was younger he felt because he was so closely identified as Rocky it was a weight he had to carry…

  • “When I was younger, I thought it was a burden and I did everything in the world to go against it.  Now that I’ve gotten older, it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

 

Sly as Rocky

Craig / / 2011, Rocky

On July 1, 2011, Who2 posted a piece titled, “From the Movie Archives: Vincent Camby Slams ‘Rocky'”.  The piece then quotes Camby who said…

  • Mr. Stallone’s Rocky is less a performance than an impersonation. It’s all superficial mannerisms and movements, reminding me of Rodney Dangerfield doing a nightclub monologue… Throughout the movie we are asked to believe that his Rocky is compassionate, interesting, even heroic, though the character we see is simply an unconvincing actor imitating a lug.

The article goes on to say that Roger Ebert compared Sly’s performance in “Rocky” to that of a “young Marlon Brando” and that “Sylvester Stallone got the last laugh, in any case: Rocky won the Oscar for Best Picture, and Stallone was nominated as Best Actor.”

You can read the whole piece and see a Rocky photo gallery by clicking over to the original article.

 

“Rocky” Musical Moves Forward

Craig / / 2001, Rocky, Rocky Musical

On June 1, 2011, Patrick Healy, in the New York Times, wrote a piece titled, “Gonna Fly Soon: A ‘Rocky’ Musical is Moving Forward.”   Here are a few tidbits:

  •  The creators and producers, which include “Rocky” star and screenwriter Sylvester Stallone, held a private reading of the work in New York in April, according to Mr. Meehan and a member of the producing team, Barbara Darwall.
  • … they described the reading as creatively successful and said work was continuing toward the goal of mounting the musical in Germany in the fall of 2012 — and then, they hope, bringing “Rocky” to Broadway in the spring of 2013.
  • The project began about eight years ago, Mr. Meehan said, when Mr. Stallone called him about making a musical of “Rocky.” Mr. Stallone holds the rights to the story, Mr. Meehan and Ms. Darwall said.
  • He [Mr. Meehan] described the show as a small-orchestra, small-cast production, with about five principal characters and a plot that tracked closely to the first “Rocky” movie. He added that Mr. Stallone was an artistic partner and producer, not a potential cast member.

Of course other sites picked up the news…

And many other sites.