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Bob Tourtellotte of Reuters reports…
If film studio MGM has its way, “Rocky: the Musical” may just be Broadway’s next big hit, rivaling (Mel) BROOKS’ current smash ”The Producers” as the hottest ticket in town.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. said on Wednesday it has launched a new initiative under long-time business and legal executive Darcie Denkert to develop new products, starting with Broadway shows, from its huge library of old films.
Thursday January 24 1:04 PM ET
Stallone would love to bring back “Rambo” and “Rocky'”
LONDON (Reuters) Sylvester Stallone would love to bring Rocky and Rambo back to the silver screen — but at the age of 55, the Hollywood star fears his chances are slim.
“It’s unlikely either my Rocky or my Rambo picture will get made,” he told Britain’s Mirror newspaper.
Stallone confirmed he had approached Hollywood studios about reviving his military superhero Rambo and said: “What I did suggest was to have Rambo go into Afghanistan and rescue five girls.”
“It would have been too much to have Rambo go in and kill Osama bin Laden, I suppose. It would be an insult to every military guy. This time, I don’t see Rambo going it alone.”
His other great ambition is to film a “Rocky 6” about the gritty boxer he immortalized in a string of hit films.
“I would love to have one more shot at getting that right, even if people say I am a little old for it, and I know I’d have fun trying,” he told the tabloid.
Reuters/Variety
– Craig Zablo (01/27/02)
Sly Stallone would love to bring Rocky and Rambo back to the big screen, but due to his age (55) doesn’t think much of his chances. Sly told Britain’s Mirror newspaper…
‘It’s unlikely either my Rocky or my Rambo picture will get made.’
On another note, Sly and Jen have announced that their new baby’s name will be Scarlett Stallone – Craig (01/27/02)
Entertainment Weekly’s January 11th issue looks at “The 100 Must-See DVDs.” Rocky is picked as a dvd in “the perfect collection.” Sly makes the cover and in a small pic in the article (as Rocky).
Rocky, 1976 MGM, PG, $19.98 The franchise it spawned quickly lapsed into self-parody, but writer-star Sylvester Stallone‘s parable of redemption remains not only the sports-film paragon but one of the most successful low-budget movies ever. Why? In a decade of war, scandal, and economic decay, the Best Picture winner was, simply, the right film at the right time.
– Craig Zablo (January 5, 2002)
Most Sly Stallone fans are aware that there is going to be some new Rambo collector figures released later this year.
Many fans have wished for some new Rocky collector figures to be released as well. Perhaps our wait is coming to and end! Click [HERE – Link no longer works.] to see what could be very cool! Thanks to SZ friend “Magic” Gary for the tip! – Craig Zablo (July 22, 2001)
Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes found the pics and info for this post in the July 2001 issue of Empire.
Thanks to Jazzman for sharing! – Craig Zablo (July 15, 2001)
Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes found the pics and info above in the July 2001 issue of Empire.
Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes returns with yet another SZ NEWS item. The pics and text can be found in the June issue of TOTAL FILM.
ROCKY: SPECIAL EDITION
The Film: The only real knockout in the Rocky series has aged pretty well. Grittier and nastier (well, relatively) than the four sequels, the dingy look, solid performances and triumphantly teary ending make it easy to understand how this bagged itself nine Oscar nominations and three statuettes (including Best Film).
The extras: Audio commentary with cast and crew, video commentary with Sylvester Stallone, behind the scenes featurette with director John Alvidsen, tribute to Burgess Meredith, tribute to James Crabe, trailers.
The verdict: Not exactly championship material but still able to go the distance,
this is an enjoyable, well-assembled package. The video commentary
(basically a glorified interview with
Mr. Sly) is entertaining stuff, especially if you never realized just how
much of a shoestring affair making the film was (dodging
in and around Philadelphia
trying not to get nabbed by
the authorities, grabbing shots wherever they could ). Also
look out for John Alvidsen‘s
8 mm behind – the – scenes footage (an amusing peek at how the fight was assembled) and the genuinely touching tributes to Burgess Meredith and James Crabe. Completists will be glad to know that the Special Edition is also available as part of the Rocky Anthology box set, but, let’s face it, this is the only one worth owning.
Cerl Thomas
Film: ****
Disc: ****
During rehearsals Rocky director John Alvidsen shot cheap 8mm films of his stars prancing around the ring. He talks us through it on the Special Edition disc…
“When the time came to rehearse, what I wanted to rehearse more than anything was the fighting ‘cos I knew that the film wasn’t going to look good unless the fighting looked good. A couple of weeks before we started shooting I got Sylvester and Carl Weathers into the ring to see what it was going to look like. Well they got into the ring and one guy said: “I’m gonna do this” and the other guy said: “I’m gonna do that!” I realized that we weren’t gonna get anywhere.So I suggested to Sylvester: “Why don’t you go home and write this thing out? A left and a right, an uppercut, you fall down, he falls down. Whatever you want, write it out and bring it back and we’ll learn it like a ballet. It’ll be choreographed and we’ll do the same thing in the ring day after day until we really get it down. So when you do this, he does that and we put a big whack on the soundtrack and people will believe it.
So Sylvester liked the idea and the next day he came back with 32 pages of lefts and rights and that’s what we learned.”
Thanks, Jazz! – Craig Zablo (June 21, 2001)
SLY STALLONE is on the cover and in the feature article of the June issue of Valley.
“In the Driver’s Seat with Sylvester Stallone” is the title of the interview by Bonnie Steele. SLY talks about “Driven,” racing, his career, advice to young actors, the 25th anniversary of “Rocky,” and “Avenging Angelo” and more.
This is not to be missed! Special thanks to SZoner Joe “Hummer” Tanto for the gratis copy!
– Craig Zablo
Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes returns with yet another SZ NEWS item. The pics and text can be found in the June issue of Total Film.
Rocky Special Edition
The Film: The only real knockout in the Rocky series has aged pretty well. Grittier and nastier [well, relatively] than the four sequels, the dingy look, solid performances and triumphantly teary ending make it easy to understand how this bagged itself nine Oscar nominations and three statuettes [including Best Film].
The extras: Audio commentary with cast and crew, video commentary with SYLVESTER STALLONE , behind the scenes featurette with director JOHN ALVIDSEN, tribute to BURGESS MEREDITH, tribute to JAMES CRABE, trailers.
The verdict: Not exactly championship material but still able to go the distance, this is an enjoyable, well-assembled package. The video commentary [basically a glorified interview with Mr. SLY] is entertaining stuff, especially if you never realized just how much of a shoestring affair making the film was [dodging
in and around Philadelphia trying not to get nabbed by the authorities, grabbing shots wherever they could ]. Also look out for JOHN ALVIDSEN‘s 8 mm behind – the – scenes footage [an amusing peek at how the fight was assembled] and the genuinely touching tributes to BURGESS MEREDITH and JAMES CRABBE. Completists will be glad to know that the Special Edition is also available as part of the Rocky Anthology box set, but, let’s face it, this is the only one worth owning.
Cerl Thomas Film: **** Disc: ****
During rehearsals Rocky director JOHN ALVIDSEN shot cheap 8mm films of his stars prancing around the ring. He talks us through it on the Special Edition disc…
“When the time came to rehearse, what I wanted to rehearse more than anything was the fighting ‘cos I knew that the film wasn’t going to look good unless the fighting looked good. A couple of weeks before we started shooting I got SYLVESTER and CARL WEATHERS into the ring to see what it was going to look like. Well they got into the ring and one guy said: “I’m gonna do this” and the other guy said: “I’m gonna do that!” I realized that we weren’t gonna get anywhere.So I suggested to SYLVESTER : “Why don’t you go home and write this thing out? A left and a right, an uppercut, you fall down, he falls down. Whatever you want, write it out and bring it back and we’ll learn it like a ballet. It’ll be choreographed and we’ll do the same thing in the ring day after day until we really get it down. So when you do this, he does that and we put a big whack on the soundtrack and people will believe it.
So SYLVESTER liked the idea and the next day he came back with 32 pages of lefts and rights and that’s what we learned.”
– Craig