SZ Exclusive: Photos & Report from Screening

Craig / / 2010, Expendables

SZoner, SlyStalloneFan checked in with this exclusive report on the special screening of The Expendables.

I had the pleasure of attending a special screening of THE EXPENDABLES at Camp Pendleton, California. It is a Marine Base and so the majority of the audience were Marines and their families.  I was very lucky to be part of this wonderful event and to have the honor and pleasure of seeing my idol Sylvester Stallone again. Randy Couture, Terry Crews and Steve Austin also were at the event.

I arrived around 1 PM. The movie was scheduled to start at 6 pm.  Sly, Randy, Steve and Terry showed up around 5pm.  They signed autographs for the fans and a lot of people were able to take pictures of all four stars. After all that, everyone was seated in the theater.


They welcomed Sly and everyone else. The moment Sly entered the theater, they whole audience stood up and gave him one warm welcome marine style.  It felt like an earth quake. That is how loud it was.  Sly talked a bit about the movie and Terry also talked for a bit about how great it is to work with Sly. And then we all watched the movie


I can’t believe that I have actually seen it.  I loved it and the crowd was cheering and applauding the whole time. The energy was electric. Anyways, I just thought I share this story with you and hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed attending it.
Your fellow Stallone Zoner, SLYSTALLONEFAN

Congrats and thanks for sharing your comments and photos! – Craig

Arnold Praises Sly

Craig / / 2010, Celebs

Arnold Schwarzenegger was recently quoted in The Los Angeles Times where he made the following comments about Sly:

“It is a great inspiration for people to see someone at his age still at the top of his game — acting, writing, directing, doing his own stunts and fight scenes — I mean, what an amazing talent. And for him to still be so athletic and be able to rip off his shirt and have a six-pack is just unbelievable.”

When Arnold speaks of “someone at his age” he should remember that he is just a year younger than Sly!  Maybe he meant to say “someone at our age”…

Top 10 Training Montages: Rocky Series Wins

Craig / / 2010, Honors, Rocky, Rocky 3, Rocky 4

When IGN.com decided to post their choices for The Top 10 Training Montages, you just knew that some from the Rocky series would make the cut.  I’m happy to say that Rocky, Rocky III and Rocky IV all made the top ten.  Both III and IV made the top five and IV came in at #1.  Here’s a bit of why…

10.  Rocky: The original and most iconic, Rocky demonstrated how powerful and popular a movie montage could be. Set to Bill Conti’s rousing ‘Gonna Fly Now’, the locals cheer on Rocky as he pounds the pavements of Philadelphia in preparation for his David vs. Goliath battle. The final shot of Rocky running up the 72 stone steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art became so culturally significant that it’s now a popular tourist destination, was re-named ‘Rocky Steps”‘ and has a bronze statue of Stallone by sculptor A. Thomas Schomberg at the foot of the building.

05.  Rocky III: It’s a given that any scene set to ‘Gonna Fly Now’ will be thoroughly enjoyable and writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone knew better than to tinker with greatness. The music may be the same but everything else is different; old foe Apollo Creed is now helping Rocky train, the ‘Rocky Steps’ have been replaced with a beach and the cheering children have been swapped for homoerotic slow-mo shots of Rocky and Apollo’s bulging thighs.

01.  Rocky IV: Rocky may have inspired the movie montage as we know it, but it’s Rocky IV’s fantastically ludicrous four-minute training sequence that gets the fan vote every time. With John Cafferty’s synth-tastic ‘Hearts On Fire’ blasting in the background, Rocky and his opponent Ivan Drago’s hardcore training sessions overlap throughout, allowing the audience to judge which is the most ridiculous. Whilst Rocky crumples photos of his opponent, lifts the weight of three people and does sit ups at an impossible angle, Drago trains the old fashioned way, with injections, a bank of hi-tech computers, and Brigitte Nielsen. It also has the distinction of the greatest end to a montage, with Rocky’s triumphant sprint up a mountain followed by a primal scream that says he’s ready to do battle. Endlessly watchable and ripped off by everyone from Family Guy to fans on YouTube, Rocky IV dealt a knock-out blow to the competition and remains the montage champ.

To see the full list, simply click here.