Rocky : The trigger for Sylvester Stallone
Published in 1977, Rocky it is the film that revealed Sylvester Stallone, and allowed him to relaunch his career at a time when he was thinking of giving it all up. A film for which the actor himself wrote the screenplay, but which he could not have made. In fact, initially the producers did not want to cast this unknown character for the main role, but rather a star of the time Robert Redford or Burt Reynolds. Stallone fortunately didn’t give up, but agreed to lower his salary and reduce the budget to ensure he got the lead role. A profitable choice as the film raised money upon its release more than $117 million in revenuefor a budget of just 1 million, before winning three Oscars including best film.
Since then it has been difficult to separate Sylvester Stallone from Rocky. And this success is not only due to the actor. In fact, in addition to the financial concessions, the actor and screenwriter had to revise his script before starting. Because without the comments of a friend, Stallone would have proposed a different film, probably less attractive and with a less likeable character.
A character who was initially too cruel
This is what Sylvester Stallone says the Netflix documentary Cunning, in which he talks about his childhood, his family and his relationship with cinema as an escape, before landing his first small roles. Within this broad portrait of the actor, a part is logically dedicated to the production of Rocky. Stallone then tells how a friend of his, who was writing his screenplay on a typewriter, made it change the character of the hero and it’s even the origin of the character of Adrianplayed by Talia Shire.
I wrote something inspired by Mean Streets. I wanted to play a debt collector. That kind of thing. (…) It is taking shape. That works. But Rocky has a certain brutality. At that moment, my friend who was writing the script started crying. He told me, “I hate Rocky. He’s cruel. He beats people.” I said, “What if he doesn’t? He can, but he doesn’t.” It would be good. I said, “What if he had a girlfriend?” Yes, it’s cute. So I rewrote.
With this change, Sylvester Stallone made Rocky”a normal boy“. And that’s what people like about it. Its simplicity, which allows the middle class to identify with it. Furthermore, What would Rocky be without Adrian? We wouldn’t have had the same ending where the hero screams his partner’s name anyway.
The documentary Cunning is currently available on Netflix.
Rocky: The huge challenge behind the cult march scene
Source: Cine Serie
Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.
