Category: Rocky

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

“Rocky” Still the Standard!

Craig / / 2005, Honors, Rocky
Now that “Cinderella Man” is out and doing well, writers are creating their lists of the best boxing  movies ever. I’m happy to say that “Rocky” is always listed and usually at the top.

Joe Holleman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ranks “Rocky” at #2 and says, “Sylvester Stallone  reinvented the underdog film with this Best Picture Oscar winner.”

Louis B. Hobson of the Winnipeg Sun writes: Stallone deserves kudos for writing and starring in a simple, time-honoured story told with style, heart and passion. Stallone made Rocky Balboa a symbol of the extraordinary things ordinary people can achieve if they have a dream and the passion to pursue it.

Nearly 30 years later, “Rocky” is still the standard! – Craig

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Sly Talk and Rumors

Craig / / 2005, Rambo, Rocky, Rumors

Lately there’s been quite a bit of talk on the internet that Sly is working on bringing back Rocky and Rambo to the big screen. Of course SZoners have been hearing these rumors for years.

Still, the word is that Sly’s serious about bring back his cornerstone characters. Stallone promises fans a
Rambo IV says one site. Stallone to bring back Rambo says another. While “Rambo Lives!” cries a third. Not to be out done another site [using the same info as the others] posts “Stallone Promises Rocky VI!”

As always, I’ll believe it when I see it. [And I hope to soon!] – Craig

Rocky Legends

Craig / / 2004, Rocky

Ernest Jazzman Resendes sent in the following:

The latest Game Stop flyer has a cool ” coming soon” ad for the new Rocky Legends video game. Here’s a scan…

*****

Thanks to Jazz for the scan and quotes! – Craig

Rocky: One of the All Time Best

Craig / / 2004, Honors, Rocky

Dennis O’Connell’s Entertainment Column for October 15, 2004 at AskMen.com lists the Top Ten All Time Best Movie Characters. And you just know that Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky made the list. Coming in at #9, here is what was said:9. Rocky

Rocky Balboa has delivered some cheesy speeches in his lifetime (anyone remember Rocky IV, where Balboa single-handedly melted the Cold War?). Regardless, no one saw Rocky for its intricate plots or Oscar worthy acting. They did, however, watch the Rocky series for the macho and epic battles between man and his enemy. Rocky made you want to be a boxer, executed flawlessly by all-around class act, Sylvester Stallone.
– Craig