54
NOVEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
STALLONE IDENTIFIED MORE THAN
A LITTLE WITH HIS HERO,
DISREGARDED AND COUNTED OUT.
Lundgren.Thoughat leastaheadandahalfshorter
andadecadeolderthanthisforbiddingrival,Rocky
endsupclobberinghim, intheprocesswinningovera
stadiumfullofRussiancommunistsas ifhe’d justtorn
downametaphoricalBerlinWall.
Similarly,JohnRambo,Stallone’sothergreat
alter-ego,goesfrombattlingsadistic,bumblingsher-
iff’sdeputies inhis1982filmdebuttorefightingand
practicallywinningtheVietnamWar in
Rambo:First
BloodPartII,
asequelreleasedonlythreeyears later—
as invincibleasthetoga-cladSteveReevesofStallone’s
boyhood.“Actually, themoviemadeagreatdealof
money,but itwasn’ttruthful,”Stallonesays.“Itwas
amanifestationofasuperhero,wherethecharacter
becameHerculean.”
In
RockyBalboa
,and in
Creed
aswell,Stallone’s
boxerhasshrunkbackdowntoactualsize,hisdaysof
glorywellbehindhim.Stallonehimselfseemstohave
very little incommonwiththisRocky intwilight, in
partbecausehiscareerasanactionstarhasproved
moredurablethaneventhe longest-reigningheavy-
weightchampion inmoviehistory,andbecausehis
personal lifehasbeenmorecomplicated.
WhiletheboxerstuckwithAdriantotheend,
Stallone’sfirstmarriageended indivorce,asdidhis
tumultuoussecondone, toactressandfuturereality
starBrigitteNielsen.Withhisthirdwife, formermod-
elJenniferFlavin,he’sraisingthreeyoungdaughters.
Rockycannomorerealisticallydeliveraknockout
punch inthering,butthroughhisExpendablesfran-
chise,Stallonehascontinuedblithelybreakingbad
guys inhalf.
Rightnow,Stallonesayshe’smullingoverwhether
he’sgotonemoreExpendablesorFirstBloodsequel
inhim.He’salsosettostar inabiopicaboutGregory
Scarpa, theColombocrime-familyhitmanwhokilled
at least50people,servedasagovernment informant
anddied inafederalprisonhospital fromAIDS-
relatedcomplications.ThescriptforScarpa isby
Goodfellas
screenwriterNicholasPileggi.
Ofcourse, throughdecadesofactionfilms,Stallone
haspiledupscoresmorebodiesthanScarpaeverdid.
Nevertheless,Iaskhimwhetherhe’severportrayeda
character likeScarpa,someonewhowasthat…
“Thathorrible?”Stallonefinishesmyquestion,
laughing.“Naw,notreally,andI’mnotevensure if it’s
therightthingtodo,but it’s intriguing.”
HehasbeenapassionateEdgarAllanPoefansince
his20sandhasoftentalkedaboutputtingthepoetand
short-storywriter’s lifeonfilm.However,evenwith
thebox-officerecordofSylvesterStallone,abiopic
aboutthe19th-centurymasterofhorrorhasevidently
notbeenaneasysell.Stalloneendsourconversation
makingseveralgoodargumentsforbringingPoe’s life
tothescreen,butnoneareasremotelycompellingas
anItalianStalliontie-inthatstrikeshim inamoment
of inspiration.
“RockygetshitsohardhebecomesEdgarAllan
Poe.Nowthere’saconcept,”Stallonesays.“Yeah,I’llgo
likethis: ‘Yo,Poe!Howyadoin’?How’syourraven?’”
EDLEIBOWITZ
is awriter based inLosAngeles.His profileof
JadaPinkett Smith appeared in theAugust issueof
American
Way
.
PHOTO
BR IAN BOWEN SMITH/WARNER BROS . ENTERTAINMENT
