Category: Rocky

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.

 

Lady Gaga Gaga Over Rocky Balboa

Craig / / 2011, Celebs, Rocky, Rocky 3, Rocky Balboa

On May 23, 2011, Artist Direct posted an article titled titled “Lady Gaga Says Rocky Balboa is Her Dream Man.”  Gaga is quoted as saying…

  • “Rocky is my favorite movie – I love Rocky 3 because he gets his ass kicked in the first round and comes back.

Lady Gaga goes on to say…

  • “The Edge of Glory means a lot to me – it was written when my grandfather died. That song is about looking life in the eye and when you die saying ‘I won, I’m a champion’ like Rocky sprinting to the top of the staircase.”

You can read the entire article here.

 

Dave Wachter’s Rocky

Craig / / 2011, Craig's Sly Art, Rocky

Dave Wachter joins us this week with his take on Sly pounding the beef from Rocky.   I’m a huge fan of Dave’s art and own several pieces [and hope to get more in the future]. He’s a tremendous artist, but more importantly an all-around decent guy. You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig