Category: Rocky

“Rocky” Makes All-Time Greatest Screenplay List

Craig / / 2006, Honors, Rocky

“Rocky” Makes All-Time Greatest Screenplay List

In 2005, ballots were sent out asking all Writers Guild of America members to list up to ten of their favorite produced screenplays. Any film [past, present, or foreign language or otherwise] was eligible. The resulting list featured films from every decade from the 30’s on, films with big name stars that achieved blockbuster status as well as little films that went largely unnoticed by the masses. The one thing that they did have in common was a great screenplay.

“Rocky” made the list. It came in at 78. Quite an honor for a little film written by a then unknown Sylvester Stallone.

To see the list click HERE.

.Thanks to Wes for the tip. – Craig

Gerardo Moreno’s Rocky and Rambo DVD Packages!

Craig / / 2006, First Blood, Rambo 2, Rambo 3, Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4, Rocky 5, Sly Fan

Gerardo Moreno checked in to the SZ with pics of his design work for a Rocky and Rambo dvd packages sold
overseas.

If you’d like to see more of Gerardo’s work; he specializes in illustrations [traditional and digital], graphic design,  as well as sculpture and photography; then check out his website and tell him I sent you! – Craig

“Rocky” USA Weekends’ Best Sports Movie

Craig / / 2006, Honors, Rocky

Rocky Balboa Teaser Hits the Net

The March 3-5, 2006 issue of USA Weekend contained an article called “Our Oscars go to…” USA Weekend opened the article with: “We asked our experts for their picks for Best Movie in the categories that you really care about, from sport and food to romance and pets.” As you’d probably guess, “Rocky” won for Best Sports Movie. Here’s what was said:

BEST SPORTS MOVIE
Rocky (1976)
The Judge: Jorge Cruise, FitSmart

OK, this one might seem a little cliche. But I think there’s a reason Rocky won for best picture: Everyone can relate! It’s about personal struggle, being the underdog and fighting the odds, which is how many people feel when they’re trying to lose weight or get fit. The fact that he doesn’t win makes it even more relatable.

Rocky makes another “Best Movie” list thirty years after it’s release! – Craig

Action Figure Digest: Rocky and Rambo!

Craig / / 2006, Rambo, Rocky, Rocky 2, Rocky 3, Rocky 4, Rocky 5

The March 2006 issue of Tomart’s Action Figure Digest features early prototypes of the new Rocky figures on the cover as well as a two page spread featuring over 20 images of the additional characters and items which will be offered.

Here are some highlights:

* Approximately 40 to 50 figures will be produced
* All of the lead characters will be featured with figures from each film
* Key secondary and tertiary characters from all films will also get a figure [even the robot from Rocky IV!]
* A new series will be issued every one to two months starting in October 2006

This issue also features a pic of the Sideshow Collectables HALO Rambo!
The mag is well worth the price of admission and can be found on newstands now.

– Craig

 

New “Rocky” Figures Coming

Craig / / 2006, Rocky

Jeremy Padawer [Vice President of Boy’s Entertainment Marketing at Jakks Pacific, the 3rd largest toy company in the US, behind Mattel and Hasbro] has posted some photos of the new Rocky figures which will be released later this year and in 2007. The faces are covered because these are just prototypes.

Here’s more from Jeremy: “When I say we’re doing Rocky, I mean we’re going ALL OUT. We’re going to create R.A. style figures for the entire Rocky series – Rocky I through Rocky Balboa (VI). In total, I estimate that we will develop and release approximately 45-55 figures. The goal will be to not only celebrate the most important characters in the Rocky series (Clubber Lang, Apollo Creed, Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago and about 15-20 more that fit into the obvious category), but we will also recreate key secondary and tertiary characters!”

I think it’s cool that Jeremy is a long time fan of the Rocky series and that we’re going to see figures from all of the movies. Jakks is a major player in the action figure market [my youngest son must have hundreds of the wrestling figures] and I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

For the full report, click HERE.

– Craig

“Rocky” the Most Glaring Omission

Craig / / 2006, Rocky

Each year, since 1989, the National Film Registry has selected 25 “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant films” for preservation in the Library of Congress. Phil Villarreal, in an article for the Arizona Daily Star, takes a look at the films that haven’t yet made it. Here are a couple of excepts.

Even more intriguing than the list of preserved films is the number of movies that haven’t yet made the cut. This Web site lists the films that have been named to the registry, and reading through it is enough to enrage any movie lover.

The most glaring omission, especially after the entry of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” is plain ol’ “Rocky” (1976), not only a best-picture Oscar winner, but the inspiration for countless sports films and basically any movie with a training montage. Guess those contributions, along with the launch of the career of Sylvester Stallone, an enduring action icon, wasn’t “significant” enough for the registry.

For the full article, click [HERE]. – Craig

More Praise for Sly, “Rocky” & “Rocky III”

Craig / / 2005, Honors, Rocky, Rocky 3

The November 25th issue of Entertainment Weekly contains an article rating the top 30 sports movie dvds and stars.

Sly Stallone, Rocky and Rocky III all earned top spots.

Here’s what they had to say:

4. Rocky [PG, 119 mins., 1976; MGM]
HERE’S WHY: Hard enough to take a 15-round beating from Apollo Creed [Carl Weathers], soft enough to give Adrian [Talia Shire] the bed the night before the big fight, the Philly southpaw is more character than most. With one shot to prove he’s not just another bum from the hood, Sylvester Stallone faces the champ and does the unthinkable, by Hollywood standards: He loses. But wins our hearts by going the distance [and remembering Adrian’s hat].
DID YOU KNOW? The Italian Stallion’s blow-by-blow of the bout weighed in at 32 pages. EXTRAS The 2001 special edition features commentaries detailing every decision made in the making of this Best Picture.
FINAL SCORE:  We’d all like to eat lightning and crap thunder for Mickey [Burgess Meredith]. – Mandi Bierly

24. Rocky III [PG, 100 mins., 1982; MGM]
HERE’S WHY: Because it perfected the formula. Why have one nigh-invulnerable black heavyweight when you can have two? Why have one viscerally adrenalized fight when you can have three? The story of the Italian Stallion’s defeat at the hands of and subsequent victory over Clubber Lang – the only actually scary performance of Mr. T’s career – packs all the inspirational triumph you look for in a Rocky flick [and a touch of casual racism that you don’t], but Rocky III‘s true gift to sports cinema is the anatomically fetishized, borderline homoerotic training sequence. That, and “The Eye of the Tiger.”
EXTRAS:  We pity the DVD fools who included nothing but a measly trailer. If we find them, our prediction for the encounter? Pain.
FINAL SCORE: Twenty notches below the first Rocky on our list, but the most fun installment in the whole series. – Marc Bernardin

SYLVESTER STALLONE Rocky [1976] Rocky Balboa may be an outclassed palooka, but he has the heart of a champ, a virtue that Stallone portrays so convincingly that he transformed his Philly underdog into an indellible and enduring pop-culture hero. [See #4]

– The pic above is different than the one with the article. – Craig

Sly’s Bike

Craig / / 2005, Celebs, Rocky

I received the pic above and the following e-mail from Klein: Sly’s motorcycle and
Rocky stuff can be found at the Celebrity Hotel in downtown Deadwood, South Dakota.
The bike has been there for some 14 years now.

You can also see:

Clint Eastwood‘s Trans Am from Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, his gun from Dirty Harry,
his rifle from The Outlaw Josey Wales, his rifle both him and Morgan Freeman used in
Unforgiven and even his outfit he wore in Joe Kidd, they also have the batmobile from
Batman Returns, Peter Fonda‘s Harley from Easy Rider, John Wayne stuff, the car
from Smokey and the Bandit, Arnold‘s leather coat from T-2 and much more…

We look forward to more pics of the Rocky props! – Craig