andhowRockyappears inthatearlypaintinggoes
wellbeyondwrinklesvs.nowrinkles.Ineventhemost
recentpaparazziphotos, theactor/writer/director
wearsthekindofcommanding,borderline-cocky
expressionthatonecanonlypulloffwhenone issure
ofone’sstatusasanAmerican institution,aspowerful
andenduringasJohnWayne.
Fortyyearsaftergoingthedistanceagainst
flamboyantheavyweightchampApolloCreed,Rocky
hasn’tslippedback intoanonymityanymorethan
Stallonehimself.Therehavebeenfivesequels,with
Rocky’sfortunesrisingalongwiththoseofhiscreator.
“Whenwecontinuedwiththefranchise, tosome
people italways looked likeamoneygrab,”Stallone
says.“Isaid, ‘Yeah, itkindof is,’butIthinkwe’rebeing
a littletoostridentandcriticalhere.They’vehad
showsontelevisionfollowingcharactersfor20years
thattheaudiencestillseemstobedrawnto.What is
lifeabout inallthedifferentperiodsofone’s life?SoI
alwaysthought, ‘MyGod,I’d liketofollowthischarac-
tertotheend.’”
AsfarasStallonewasconcerned,2006’s
Rocky
Balboa
wastobethefinalchapter intheboxer’ssaga.
Inthatfilm,Rocky isawidower,runninganeighbor-
hoodrestaurantcalledAdrian’s inhonorofhis late
wife.ThenESPNbroadcastsacomputermatchup
betweenhimselfandthereigningheavyweightchamp,
which leadstoareal-lifeexhibitionboutbetweenthe
two.“Whenwefinishedour lastdayoffilmingonthe
steps inPhiladelphia,”Stallonerecalls,“Ithoughtthat,
well, ifnothingelse, this isaperfectendingat least in
mymind,becauseIdidn’thaveanotherwaytocontin-
uewithRockyasafighter.AndRockytherestaurant
owner— ‘Here’sthedailyspecial!’— isn’tgoingto
exactlyfillthetheaters.”
Sometimeafter
RockyBalboa
wrapped,Stallone
agreedtotakeameetingwitharecentfilm-school
gradcalledRyanCoogler,whopitchedhimamovie in
whichthe lateApolloCreed’ssonseeksoutRockyto
trainhimforamake-or-breakbout.
StallonehadwritteneveryRockyscreenplay,and
he’ddirectedfourofthesequels.Cooglerwouldbe
takingoverbothofthosedutiesthistimearound.
TheItalianStallionwouldbeasupportingplayer in
thewould-beproject;Creed’ssonwouldbethemain
character.Nevertheless, thepitchheld itsappeal.“I
thought, ‘This isacrazy idea,’”Stallonesays.“I liked
the ideaofApolloCreedbeingreborn inthisparticular
character.”Notenoughtopullthetrigger, though.“I
thankedRyan,”Stallonesays,“andsaid, ‘Good luck
withyourcareer.’”
Cooglerwentontowriteanddirect
Fruitvale
Station
,whichdramatizedthe lastday inthe lifeof
OscarGrantIII, the22-year-oldAfrican-American
whowasfatallyshot inthebackbyaBayAreatransit
policeofficeronNewYear’sDay2009.
Fruitvale
Station
wontheaudienceawardandgrand-juryprize
atthe2013SundanceFilmFestivalanddidover$17
millionattheboxoffice,astrongshowingforasmall
independentfilmwithabudgetof$900,000.
Cooglerstillwantedtomakehismovieabout
ApolloCreed’ssonandsoughtoutasecondmeeting
withRocky’screator,whotooka littlemoreconvinc-
ingbeforeheconsented.“Ryan’sstorygetsdeepand
inareasthatIthoughtRockywasn’treallyequipped
48
NOVEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
CLOCKWISE
FROM
LEFT
:
Rocky IV
(1985),
Rocky III
(1982;
co-starringMr.Tas
ClubberLang) and the
original
Rocky
(1976),
whichwonBestPicture
at theAcademyAwards
PHOTOS
MGM/UA /PHOTOFEST; MGM/PHOTOFEST; UNITED ARTI STS/PHOTOFEST
