SLYFECTA

The October 26th issue of Entertainment Weekly contains three Sly items!

#1 Sly Schemes Rocky may be down, but don’t count him out: MGM KO’d plans for Rocky 6 – the studio would only commit $10 million to the sequel – but franchise creator and star Sylvester Stallone is shopping other Italian Stallion-inspired projects. He’s pitching the networks a sitcom about a boxing priest: Father Lefty, which Stallone would produce but not star in, features a tough but loving man of the cloth. “It’s about a very eccentric priest who has his thumb on the pulse,” says the 55-year-old actor. “A real character who’s not far from Rocky.” He also thinks Rocky: The Musical could be a Broadway box office champ. “It would be very similar to the movie, but of course with songs,” says Stallone. “I’ll probably write the book.” Would Rocky belt out Survivor‘s “Eye of the Tiger“? “Absolutely Do-do, doo, doo,”Sly sings. “It’s the thrill of the fight.”

#2 Expecting Stop! Or my wife will deliver. Sylvester Stallone, 55, and model spouse Jennifer Flavin, 33, are expecting their third child. (A due date was not announced.) Daughters Sophia and Sistine are 5 and 3, respectively. Stallone also has two sons, Sage, 25, and Seargeoh, 22, from his first marriage.

#3 In the Encore section there is the above pic and an article about the birth of Planet Hollywood ten years ago.

-Craig Zablo
(October 20, 2001)

SLY: START YOUR ENGINES!

The October 19th issue of Entertainment Weekly contains a bit of Sly news in the On the Air column by Lynette Rice: And so on… 

Gentleman, start your engines! Hoping that racing fans will go along for the joyride, NBC is developing two NASCAR-themed dramas for fall 2002. Sources say Sylvester Stallone is teaming with Brad Grey Television to produce a spin-off of his motion picture Driven, while Regency Television is developing a series about two NASCAR drivers and their families. Why the interest in fast cars? Consider the recent appeal of NASCAR on NBC and TNT: Ratings are not only up 20 percent over last year, but the sport has begun to pique the interest of the advertiser-friendly 18-49 demographic – many of whom turned out to see this summer’s drag-racing drama The Fast and the Furious

– Craig Zablo (October 20, 2001)

Jay Leno’s Harley Auction Raised $360,200 for 9/11 Victims!

The Harley Davidson celebrity-autographed motorcycle (and matching truck) put up for auction by Jay Leno raised $360,200.00! All proceeds will benefit 9/11 victims from the attacks on the World Trade Center. The winning bidder will appear on ”The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” to collect his Harley.

The Harley contains celebrity autographs by Sly Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Denzel Washington, Nicole Kidman, Nicolas Cage, Salma Hayek, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie, Heather Graham, Kevin Spacey, Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Allen and, of course, Jay Leno.

  • Craig Zablo (October 20, 2001)

SYLVESTER STALLONE’S “THE PRIEST” in DEVELOPMENT

“Stallone, Glenn Catch CBS’ Eye with ’02 Dramas” was the headline of Nellie Andreeva’s article in The Hollywood Reporter.  Here’s what Andreeva had to say about Sly’s project…

The network is finalizing a deal with Brad Grey Television for a project tentatively titled “The Priest,” which is based on an idea by Sylvester Stallone.

“The Priest” centers on a nonconformist priest in a big city, who helps both homeless and rich people with their problems, while struggling with personal problems of his own, including fidelity. The project is expected to get a premium script deal from CBS.

Brad Grey is in conversations with writer Cynthia Cidre (“The Mambo Kings”) to come on board and co-create the show with Stallone. Stallone will executive produce the project, and Jimmy Veres, who runs the television division of the actor’s Sylvester Stallone Co., will produce.

Stallone has been very active in television lately. He recently sold a NASCAR-themed pitch to NBC.

Stallone, who most recently co-starred in “Driven,” and his company are repped by ICM and Brillstein-Grey. Cidre is repped by WMA.

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Craig Zablo (October 6, 2001)

SLY SIGNS FOR FANS


Recently I received an e-mail with the photo above and the message below:

This pic was taken on April 26, 2001 outside the David Letterman show.  Sly stopped before the show to sign autographs for everyone.  All the best,  Christine Eschenauer  (ps the photo is from my personal collection of Sly pics)

Christine 
was born and lives in Brooklyn. She’s been a major Sly fan for 20 years now!!  She’s a director of marketing at a law firm. Funny story: each time she’s met Sly, she’s had a Rocky towel with her that he sees – she calls it the lucky towel and thinks she will go down as the “crazy towel girl” to the people at David Letterman!!!  Thanks to Christine for sharing! – Craig Zablo (September 3, 2001)

Sylvester Stallone on “Headliners & Legends”

TUES, May 1, 10 p.m. ET – SYLVESTER STALLONE, Rambo and Rocky are two of the more enduring movie characters of the 1980s. SYLVESTER STALLONE burst on the scene as a muscled movie star, but did typecasting hurt his later career? The actor goes back to his roots this month, starring in the racing movie “Driven.”

About ‘Headliners & Legends’ MATT LAUER
MSNBC
’s daily hour-long documentary show, hosted by MATT LAUER, the popular co-host of the ‘Today’ show. Airs Monday-Thursday. – Craig Zablo