Rocky
His whole life was a million-to-one shot.
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$1 100 000
Box office
$225 000 000
Director
Actors
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David, Joe Spinell, Jimmy Gambina, Bill Baldwin, Al Silvani
All actors and roles (10)
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Gene Kirkwood
Camera operator
Composer
Bill Conti
Artist
William J. Cassidy
Audition
Caro Jones
Editing
Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad
Whole Team (34)
Whole Team (34)
Short description
An uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark is given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight against the world heavyweight boxing champion.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was shot in 28 days.
- Despite the producers' protests, Stallone insisted that a scene be filmed in which Rocky confesses his fears and doubts to Adrian (Talia Shire) on the eve of the decisive fight. In the end, Stallone was allowed to do only one take, and he was so nervous before filming that he got drunk.
- The filmmakers planned for all former world heavyweight champions to appear on screen in the scene preceding the fight between Rocky and Apollo. However, only one of them – Joe Frazier – showed up for the shoot on the appointed day. This turned out to be very opportune, as Frazier was a resident of Philadelphia, where the film is set and where filming took place.
- Bette Midler turned down the role of Adrian.
- When the producers received the script, they didn't yet know who Stallone was. Someone showed them a group photo from the film "The Lords of Flatbush" (1974), and they immediately became enthusiastic about making the film. They were just confused as to why a man named Stallone was a blonde with blue eyes. It later turned out that they had mistaken Stallone for his co-star in the film, Perry King. When the producers were shown the real Stallone, they were ready to abandon the project immediately.
- The role of Rocky was offered to James Caan.
- Stallone's father and younger brother appeared in small roles. Both are named Frank.
- The actor who played Gazzo had an asthma attack during filming and had to urgently use his inhaler. The scene was decided not to be reshot, as it looked quite natural.
- A Bulmastiff named Stallone appeared in the film. He can be seen in the credits under the name Batkas Stallone.
- Stallone wrote the screenplay after watching a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and a little-known Chuck Wepner. However, unlike Rocky, Wepner was unable to continue the fight, as a technical knockout was declared in the fifteenth round.
- Filming took place from January 9th to March 5th, 1976.
- The film was shot primarily in various parts of Philadelphia, with a few scenes filmed in Los Angeles.
- Sylvester Stallone sold the rights to produce this film on the condition that he play the lead role. The producers, however, offered him $150,000 to allow them to give the role to Ryan O’Neal. The studio ultimately agreed to Stallone’s condition, as the film’s budget initially did not exceed one million dollars (the producers even had to mortgage their homes to make the film).
- The boxing match scene was filmed starting with the fifteenth round, as Stallone and his partner Carl Weathers had to be heavily made up in this episode. The course of the fight was filmed in reverse chronological order, meaning that less and less makeup was applied to the actors’ faces. The film received an “Oscar” in the “Best Editing” category for this technical trick.
- Stallone became the third actor in history at that time to be nominated for an "Oscar" simultaneously for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Previously, only Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles had received such an honor.
- During filming, Stallone genuinely punched frozen meat with his fists. As a result, the knuckles of his fingers became almost flat and remained that way.
- John G. Avildsen wanted to title the film "Rocky, a Simple Guy from the Working-Class Streets."
- Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for the film while sitting in a windowless room and continuously smoking cheap "Tramp" cigarettes.
- Sylvester Stallone sold the production rights to the film on the condition that he play the lead role. The producers offered him $150,000 to give the role to Ryan O'Neal instead. Ultimately, the studio agreed to Stallone's condition, as the film's budget initially did not exceed one million dollars (the producers even had to mortgage their own homes to finance the production).
- Despite the producers' objections, Stallone insisted on filming a scene in which Rocky confesses his fears and doubts to Adrian (Talia Shire) on the eve of the decisive fight. In the end, Stallone was allowed only one take; he had been so nervous before the shoot that he got drunk.
- The boxing match scene was filmed starting from the fifteenth round, as Stallone and his partner Carl Weathers required heavy makeup for this episode. The fight was filmed in reverse chronological order, meaning the makeup on the actors' faces became progressively lighter. The film won an Oscar for Best Film Editing for this technical approach.
- At the time, Stallone became only the third actor in history to be nominated for an Oscar for both Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay simultaneously. Previously, Charlie Chaplin and Orson Welles had achieved this honor.
- The filmmakers planned for all former heavyweight world champions to appear on screen in the scene preceding the fight between Rocky and Apollo. However, on the appointed day, only one of them—Joe Frazier—showed up. This turned out to be quite fitting, as Frazier is a resident of Philadelphia, where the movie is set and where the filming took place.
- When the producers first received the script, they didn't know who Stallone was. Someone showed them a group photo from the movie 'The Lords of Flatbush' (1974), and they were immediately excited about the idea of making the film. The only thing they couldn't understand was why a man named Stallone was a blue-eyed blonde. It later emerged that they had mistaken Stallone for his co-star Perry King. When the producers were finally shown the real Stallone, they were ready to drop the project immediately.
- During filming, Stallone actually punched frozen meat. As a result, his knuckles became practically flat and remained that way.
- Stallone's father and younger brother appeared in small cameos. Both are named Frank.
- The actor playing Gazzo had an asthma attack during filming and had to use an inhaler urgently. It was decided not to reshoot the scene because it looked completely natural.
- John G. Avildsen wanted to call the movie 'Rocky, an Ordinary Guy from the Working Streets'.
- Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for the movie while sitting in a windowless room, continuously smoking cheap "Tramps" cigarettes.
- Stallone's Bullmastiff dog appeared in the film. In the credits, he can be seen under the name Butkus Stallone.
- Stallone wrote the script after watching a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and the relatively unknown Chuck Wepner. However, unlike Rocky, Wepner was unable to continue the fight, as a technical knockout was declared in the fifteenth round.
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
