Category: Uncategorized

This weekend I received the above card in the mail as thanks for working on the blog. You can imagine that it made my day! – Craig

SZoner, Patrick FLEURIT, checked in with a shot of how he and Planet Hollywood looked for the French premiere of the film! Thanks to Patrick for the photos! – Craig

SZoner, Miguel asked me to get word out to all “Rocky Balboa” / Sylvester Stallone fans. He forwarded several cool card files to showcase his upcoming Rocky Balboa Binder set — Some of these images will be making their worldwide debut on the StalloneZone!!

I’ve seen mock-ups for the cards and binders and they are awesome. Don’t believe me? That’s one posted above. Yeah, nizzze! Here’s another, and another, and yet one more!

Actor Sylvester Stallone (L) poses with Melbourne boxer Sam Soliman as he arrives at the Australian premiere for his latest film, Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)

Actor Sylvester Stallone (C) arrives at the Australian premiere of his latest movie Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)

Sylvester Stallone fans display a flag before the Australian premiere of Sylvester Stallone’s latest movie Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)

Sly arrived in Sydney at about 11pm the night before the Australian premiere of “Rocky Balboa.” The 1200 tickets to the premiere showing had sold out in a record 27 minutes earlier this month. Things seemed to be off to a fantasic start. Unfortunately Australian Customs officers detained Sly and his entourage after routine x-rays of their luggage revealed several unnamed prohibited items. Unconfirmed reports initially indicated that the items were banned body building drugs.

Sly and his group were held up for about two hours before being allowed to leave. “Customs can confirm Mr Stallone arrived at Sydney airport on Friday evening. Richard Janeczko, national manager of investigations for Australian Customs, was quoted as saying: “His party was subject to normal customs and quarantine processes. During an X-ray of the group’s baggage, several prohibited items were located. The items are being held by customs… Mr Stallone’s party was fully co-operative with customs and was allowed to leave the airport after a short delay. Customs investigations are continuing and accordingly we can’t say any more at this time.”

When Sly exited the airport after his long flight from LA [made longer by the hold up], loyal fans and media were still waiting. Many, if not most stars, would have made a beeline for their limos, but Sly stopped to sign autographs for fans.

At the premiere of “Rocky Balboa” Sly was asked about the incident at the airport. He was quoted as saying, “That was a misunderstanding. Customs is doing a great job.” When asked what was in his luggage, he joked with one reporter by saying “My wife” and told another reporter it was a “giant cheetah.”

Sly was allowed to leave the country, but not before his jet was searched. Despite rumours that the items in question were steroids, Sly was quoted as saying that they are not, and the incident was caused due to a clerical error.

Although many people will jump to conclusions, I believe that it’s important to remember that at this point it’s not clear what the banned items were or who’s baggage they were found in. Australia prohibits the unlicensed importation of not only steroids but a wide range of “performance-enhancing substances”. Perhaps Sly just had some Instone products! – Craig

Florin “FLOReNZIO” Ungur is a SZoner from Romania who sent in the cover scan and the following:

Dear Craig,
Here is a scan of the January issue of the French “Premiere” magazine. There are several pages dedicated to “Rocky Balboa” and a substantial interview with Sly. He speaks about his working attempts with Quentin Tarantino, in “Inglorious Bastards” (which still can happen) and “Grindhouse” (he had to refuse due to his comitments to “Rocky Balboa” and “Rambo IV”). A lot of interesting stuff…
What I didn’t know till now is that he turned down roles in “Se7en” (1996) and “Witness” (1985), which still regrets to these days. Well, David Fincher’s movie is one of my very favourites and I wish he would sign for it.
I’m from Romania and over here “Rocky Balboa” opens on February 16th. I could have got the pirated movie on disc, but I prefer to pay for it and see it on the big screen. I’m looking forward to it! Also, I’m very happy for Sly that this movie had such a success worldwide and got positive reviews from most film critics.
Keep on punchin’!
Kind regards,
Florin “FLOReNZIO” Ungur
(Romania)
*****
Thanks to “FLOReNZIO” for sharing! I also appreciate the fact that “FLOReNZIO” decided to avoid the pirated bootleg. That’s the sign of a true fan! – Craig

Marcus Troy contacted me because they have now gone live with a POPUPSHOP of the Official Rocky X Marc Ecko Collection. This online store will only be up on a temporary basis.