The #1 Sylvester Stallone Fan Site in the World!
Last night Arnold Schwarzenegger presented Sly the Arnold Schwarzenegger Lifetime Achievement Award during one of the award ceremonies at The Arnold Classic.
Click here to see a couple of photos of Sly and Arnold during the presentation.
Click here to see the video presentation.
Congrats to Sly!
On March 7, 2010, MusicRooms.net posted a piece on Sly called Sylvester Stallone Blames His Career Nosedive on ‘Movie Star Syndrome.'” The piece quotes from an article about Sly that appeared in Empire magazine. Here’s a taste:
“I think the thing that got into me was Movie Star Syndrome, which is being incredibly pampered… Well, I’ve been on both sides of the fence and the softer you are, the worse you are as an actor…”
“I went into Rocky Balboa as my final film… The greatest privilege is to go out on your own terms, and that’s what I wanted with Rocky. Little did I know that afterwards it would be, ‘Hey, wanna make another Rambo?’ ”
On March 7, 2010, Ron Kantowski of the Las Vegas Review-Journal posted his choice for The Top 10 Inspirational Movies. Coming in at #1, you guessed it, Rocky.
NO. 1: “ROCKY” (1976) — In the immortal words of Rocky Balboa, this Academy Award winner for best picture “fills gaps” in the pantheon of exemplary sports movies and became the model upon which all inspirational imitators are based. Yo, Adrian: When they cue that powerful “Rocky” music, you’re gonna eat lightning and … well, you remember what his trainer, Mickey, said.
On March 7, 2010, NewsOfTheWorld.co.uk wrote an nice profile piece on the city of Philadelphia. The article says that although the Declaration of Independence was written in Philadelphia, as was the U.S. Constitution, and Philadelphia was the home of Benjamin Franklin and has of one of America’s largest museums of art, it is Rocky that made the city famous.
It’s hard to argue with the facts. To read the complete article “Rocky’s City Really Packs a Punch” click here.
MarketWatch.com listed 10 Oscar Movies You Must Have in Your DVD Collection. Rocky made the list at #6 and here is what they had to say:
“Rocky” is the only film to make both Hunt’s and Galbraith’s 10-best lists. “It’s just a very human story,” Hunt said. “It proves that you can tell a really great story about a guy who just wants to go 10 rounds with the champ.”
“It’s funny to think about it now, but back in 1976 when this was first released serious film critics regarded Sylvester Stallone’s performance to be on a level with Marlon Brando at his peak, from the time of ‘On the Waterfront’ and ‘A Streetcar Named Desire,'” Galbraith said.
Stephen Ripley yesterday in the Chatham Daily News noted that…
in 81 years only 10 sports-themed films (12 if you consider horse racing and billiards to be sports) have been nominated for best picture…
Mr. Ripley went on to rate them and Rocky came in at #2. Here’s what he had to say:
2. Rocky (1976)
After five sequels, it’s easy to forget what a great film the original Rocky was when it hit theatres in 1976. The tale of a journeyman boxer who makes the most of his shot at the title was written by struggling actor Sylvester Stallone, who also starred in the title role. The film received 10 noms, earning the judges’ decision for best picture, best director and best editing.
The Patriot-Ledger also posted their own Oscar & Sports Article. Rocky , Sly, Talia Shire, and Burgess Meredith all got nods…
On March 5, 2010, Stuff.co.nz posted a piece titled, “Sylvester Stallone Feels the Strain.” Sly is quoted about how rough The Expendables shoot was…
“I’ve never been so happy to wrap a film in my life,” he told Empire magazine. “I swear, if you took all the Rambos together, it wouldn’t equal four weeks of that shoot. It was unbelievable. Everything was difficult.
“I’ve just had my throat operated on. I had to have my neck fused. There are three screws in my spinal cord – I had to have a cadaver bone put in my neck! I had my leg operated on too. I had my whole calf pulled up. That was brutal. That hurt. And I need both rotator cuffs done in three weeks. It’s a b***h.”
The article also runs one of the x-ray photos that Sly sent to the StalloneZone. To check out the full article, simply click here.
Metro.co.uk posted their Top Five Most Bizarre Moments in Academy Award History. Coming in at #3:
Sylvester Stallone fights Muhammad Ali
In 1976 Sylvester Stallone, aka Rocky Balboa, prepared to present an award when boxer Muhammad Ali snuck up behind him.The pair got into a pretend argument which spilled into a mock fight. Ali won, of course.
With the 2010 Oscar winners almost ready to be announced, Tom Chivers was inspired to come up with his list of “The Ten Worst Injustices in Academy Award History.” Coming in at #4 was Rocky. Here’s what Mr. Chivers had to say:
4. Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone(above), is actually an underrated film. It isn’t helped by its endless sequels (we forget whether it’s Rocky IV or Rocky V that has the robot butler, and the bit at the end of IV where Rocky’s incoherent post-fight rambling seems to bring about the end of the Cold War is particularly ludicrous), but it’s touching, unpretentious fare, and Stallone does well in the role he built for himself. Still, it’s a bit of a stretch that it beat Scorsese’s Taxi Driver to the 1976 Oscar for Best Picture.
While I think it’s great that Mr. Chivers believes that Rocky is underrated, I’m surprised that he thinks it’s a “bit of a stretch” that Rocky beat Taxi Driver. I think the real injustice for Rocky is that Sly didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Mr. Chivers also says that Rocky wasn’t helped by it’s endless sequels. Perhaps he forgot that Rocky was judged on it’s own merits. At the time of the 1976 Oscars, there had been no sequels. And while it’s clear that Mr. Chivers may have been confused [Rocky IV has the robot not V] or allowed his opinion of Rocky to drop due to the sequels, the Oscar judges didn’t have to face that problem.
It’s interesting that if you take out Mr. Chivers references to the sequels you end up with:
4. Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone(above), is actually an underrated film… it’s touching, unpretentious fare, and Stallone does well in the role he built for himself. Still, it’s a bit of a stretch that it beat Scorsese’s Taxi Driver to the 1976 Oscar for Best Picture.
What you end up with is Mr. Chivers opinion that Rocky [a film he has nothing but praise for] should have lost to Taxi Driver. Okay. That’s his opinion and he’s entitled to it.
Mark Podolski, who covers sports for the News-Herald.com just turn 40. That inspired him to write “The Top 40 Things That I’ve Learned in 40 Years.” Coming in at #32:
32. Sylvester Stallone is the American dream. “Rocky” should be required viewing for this country’s youth — today and beyond.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Mark. Hey, and hope ya had a happy birthday.