Sylvester Stallone interview: Rocky Balboa

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By Anthony Pearson Feb 4, 2007, 13:57 GMT

Several weeks ago in London for the preem of 'Rocky Balboa,' Sylvester Stallone sat with a small group of reporters to discuss the filming of the last in his "Rocky" franchise. 01/16/2007 - Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa Movie Premiere in London - The Vue West End Leicester Square - London, England © Photorazzi

01/16/2007 - Sylvester Stallone - Rocky Balboa Movie Premiere in London - The Vue West End Leicester Square - London, England © PhotorazziMonster and Critics very own Anthony Pearson was there. The following is an edited version of the interview:Moderator (M): Please Welcome Sylvester StalloneSylvester Stallone (SS): Thank youM: Let me start – dive in right away. Its incredible really. Could you imagine 30 years after creating this character you would be sitting here talking about him after five sequels?SS: It’s kind of like a cinematic freak of nature. It really is. M: Do you regret any of the sequels in between?SS: I do, I do. I’m not trying to be contrary. I feel that some of them were too focused on the fight. A bit too manipulative, the montages, the music – they moved a bit from the Bill Conti music to something more trendy. Maybe 90 percent of the first movie was non-action which went over well with the audience.M: Who was the best fighter you have ever seen? SS: Without a doubt the greatest boxer that ever lived was Sugar Ray Robinson. Mohamed Ali helped the first Rocky happen. I have to give him that credit especially today, his birthday. While researching the movie I saw many but there is no question that this man was the best – modeled a lot of the character moves on him.M: But fight on screen - When you are choreographing as well as directing how do you show the different styles of boxing?SS: You are right it is difficult to show. But I have seen fights - researched fights and knew what to do. On the other hand, in Rocky Balboa, I pretty much had everything blocked out in my head. On this one, I did not want to be so choreographed. So when we were sparing, there was a small accident - I said why don’t we make it up as we go along? That is why there is no boxing choreography credit. I said I have an idea of what I want in the way of moves, the movement I knew this corner, that corner there – the beauty of working with a real fighter is that he knows what is possible to do and he was able to counterpunch and do things that I could never do. I had to move/maneuver. M: You encompassed some resistance to the original Rocky. Was there similar resistance thirty years later? Were there problems?SS: The irony is it was much more difficult coming back to it even though I am well known. The business has changed so much – the character was considered passé – I was considered passé – that’s just reality. You know time moves on – the studio was very up-front about that. They did not pull any punches.The first time it was because I was an unknown but it was done at such an inexpensive level they could take a chance. But those days are gone. Now there is no risk taking. They don’t take chances. The people in the studios that really green light films today are Marketing Department people. Can they sell the film?Can they sell the film of a 59 year old has-bin boxer? Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence - sound like something that gives them a lot of confidence. But you know what? I said, everyone feels like a has-bin when they are not. That is the whole point. That is the whole premise of the story. That we all still have this thing burning in-side of us and if we nurture it, it can revitalize us.This time it almost didn’t happen. It was almost an accident. They had turned it down for nearly seven years and then the studio head was replaced. The new studio head happened to walk into a small Mexican restaurant at a few minutes to midnight on New Years Eve in Mexico when he bumped into me at a table. “Hi Sylvester, how're you doing?” – "Oh, Hi Joe. I’m finishing up Rocky Balboa.” "Can I see it?" So I’m like hallucinating, you know. He takes it home. His wife reads it – she cries and the movie was green-lit. So don’t ever underestimate women in boxing.M: Explain a little about making it.SS: I shot four cinematic fights. For this one, I used (the real setting) what HBO, Showtime use in America to shoot the fight. We approached the Bernard Hopkins fight organizers in Las Vegas to film – their crowd, their weigh in everything.Fear was the main chorus for me that night. If the movie had not worked, I would have been reminded of it everyday. One of the finest moments for me was when my daughters were in the ring with me – they never knew what I did. I think that picture ran in Britain. They were told I always played golf or worked in the garden. This way I was able to show them what I really do.M: What attracted you to Geraldine Hughes - how did you know that she was the right actress for the part of Marie?SS: You know I had read many, many actresses and they were putting on airs or getting “streety” because it was Philadelphia. But you just know as soon as they walk into the room. For Talia Shire, I would hire immediately. For Geraldine Hughes, her hair was stringy - just hanging down, she had the look and I thought, “Oh man if she can only act.” And then she read. And there was horrible noise outside. There were phones ringing Xerox machines running. But she was perfect. And I said this just doesn’t happen. But she just got better and better and prettier and prettier.For Antonio Tarver, after that last fight, I said to him that he should consider acting. He just put on too much weight. He’s up to 230 lbs. I saw him at the premier. He’s doing the fight again. He thinks he’s going to fight Hopkins again or a rematch. But I don’t think he’ll ever get down to 175 lbs again.He’ll have to fight cruiser weight. But I think he’s definitely going to fight. M: You talked about where your family thinks you are in your career – you are writing, directing, acting. Was there ever a suggestion that someone else should direct it?SS: There were a lot of suggestions. Why don’t you settle back ? - I forgot about this, I’m in a restaurant about two weeks before the filming and John Avildsen, walks in who directed the first film - comes in and says “Why don’t you let me direct it?” Just like that. “Your acting is good, your writings ok and all but why don’t you let me direct it?”I said “John, no. If it doesn’t work, I want to be responsible. If you direct it and it doesn’t work out we'll kill you.” (laughs) No, I’m only kidding. But the whole process was to just try to keep it one vision, one process.But yes it was suggested a lot. You know it is very physically exhausting, a boxing film and all. But you know what? It was the best time of my life. And last night was the crowning point of my professional career. I just wanted to savor it all. You know Rocky was amazing and that whole journey and all that, but to have one more shot and to see an audience and people on the street yelling for an old man – its like WOW! That was really vindication that – I was so touched I was crying. I said, “Damn, it was worth it."M: Why does cinema lend itself so well to boxing? What boxing movies do you admire?The reason boxing lends itself so well is it’s always a morality play, good against evil you know, fear strikes out against an opponent so the audience gets caught up in the drama.Like to try and do a wrestling exhibition you know its good guy against bad guy.And it is sensual, you know a man in shorts, sweating – it is very primal. I think subliminally we do two things. Life is a fight – a struggle. We understand that from our early, early ancestors. And life is a race. That’s why we like the race, horse race, car race. Will I cross the finish line? So its those two things that I think we are really in touch with on a very primal level.There aren’t many fight films like Rocky. Rocky is kind of a fantasy in many ways. This one here is the most realistic, I think. The other ones tend to be more fantasy but most fight films like ‘Fat City’ by John Huston are really good fight films. But you know the stories - the subject is rather sad/depressing – because you know most fighters have these horrible lives.But you know there are some great ones like, James Cagney who did, “The Champion’ (editor’s note James Cagney never played in a movie called The Champion – maybe he meant ‘Winner Take All’ – 1932?) ‘Raging Bull’ was fantastic.M: In Philadelphia, how much was it you walking around or the character Rocky?SS: In Philadelphia Rocky is real! He exists. They say “Hey Rocky – there’s a good restaurant over here.” “Rocky – Hey Roc.” There are no Sylvesters there.Even the mayor said, “It’s good to have Rocky here today.” It was amazing. I knew it was over when I went to the Senate, I was in the Senate building when Ted Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy introduced me and said, “I’d like to introduce, Rocky, Rocky Balboa.” Oh my god – you know. M: What was the training like this time around?SS: Training was pretty grueling because this time, you know, I’m not exactly a spring chicken and you know everything you touch breaks a part of your body (laughs). I wanted to try and emphasize what you saw in the film was for real. You know train heavy and body building was grueling. That’s the actual gym we trained in. That kind of training develops a certain kind of body that is more ponderous more thick like a beast of burden. But the injuries between myself and Antonio, every day, I broke two toes, he broke his knuckle. But, it paid off in the end... And then someone says, did you CGI your body, and I said, “I wish!”Audience question: Not wanting to be rude but did you ever think of retiring from acting?SS: Well, I signed up for to do Rambo almost a year and a half before this film. Otherwise I never would have done Rambo and Rocky together. You know the idea of Rambo was kind of intriguing as a final closing chapter, like this film. You see, when you shoot a film as a sequel to another film, it’s a whole 'nother tone. But when it’s a closing chapter, you have to put in there as much emotion and understanding and closure as you can. Ok so I’m going to do John Rambo I have to do it so I’ll make the best of it and I’ll bring out the really dark character as opposed to the lighter Rocky character.So I’m gonna do that and I have very little aspirations about acting – I think the best things have come and gone. I would like to focus on writing and directing. I wouldn’t turn down a good Mafioso part, you know, but it’s not like I have to work. I love to work.But I love to write and like some of you know, writing can be incredibly painful and lonely – I get great satisfaction from doing it.M: Alison finally. (question not audible)SS: What you saw in the film is the relationship I have with my son. That’s why I think it rings true. I don’t know if that bridge will ever be connected. That’s the truth. But you know when you are younger and you are putting the all into building your career, the people you are closest to are the ones that get hurt the most when you away all the time. M: Sylvester, thank you!

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DiannaFeb 5th, 2007 - 00:01:52

Uh...The Champion starred Kirk Douglas & I'm sure that's the fight film Sly meant. He used to always talk about it thru the yrs.

WE LOVE YA, ROCK!!

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Iron-Pyrites MikeFeb 5th, 2007 - 01:39:49

Interesting interview, but it may be advisable to have someone transcribe it who speaks English as a first language.

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Movie EditorFeb 5th, 2007 - 05:28:57

Funny you should mention that the transcriber should speak English as a mother tongue.

I do - American English that is. I transcribed it and to be frank, I had great difficulty with the British English that was spoken - but besides, it is always difficult to transcribe a live broadcast or interview - sound quality, tone etc. all play a part.

To make matters worse, while the interview itself was only 20 minutes long - it took way over five hours to transcribe it.

What's your email address - we'll let you transcribe next time.

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Iron Pyrites MikeFeb 5th, 2007 - 09:19:15

Look, I wouldn't normally offer a response to this, and I understand that in a crowded press conference, volume levels etc. are somewhat iffy- but honestly, five hours to get down a twenty minute interview? I can only assume that it was recorded underwater and you were typing with your nose.

That however is beside the point. It's not the British moderator's words you screw up, it's Stallone's- or am I missing something? I had always assumed him to be American, given the accent and being draped in the stars and stripes in Rocky 2 etc. but perhaps that clever British swine has been fooling us all along and he's reverted back to the indecipherable accent of his home country. Or perhaps he's a better actor than I ever imagined. His words are the ones you so prodigiously befoul- Mohamed (Muhammad), sparing (sparring), a torrent of punctuation mistakes- I'm tempted to suggest that the entire article belongs in the recycle bin (you may know it as the 'has-bin').

Yes, I will transcribe for you next time, but not for free- it just wouldn't be cricket, as old Sly himself might say. It may be more economically viable for you to proofread before publishing.

I'm sorry to be pedantic, you obviously have a great deal of knowledge about your subject, but it's frustrating to have good content sullied by the omission of a simple publishing step.

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Movie EditorFeb 5th, 2007 - 10:17:40

Out of curiosity - were you at the interview? Have you ever heard Sly talk? I actually made a lot of what he said understandable.

If you have mega space in your e-mailbox I will gladly send you the interview for you to listen to.

Take my word mate, it was not easy.

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MickFeb 5th, 2007 - 15:39:58

It took me 15 minutes to read this confusing article. Are you punch drunk like Rock? FFS man.

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RoyFeb 5th, 2007 - 16:44:30

Some good answers there. But why a Rambo 4???

Roy

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JoeFeb 7th, 2007 - 13:09:54

Hey, Mick and Mike !!!!!

Stop being a pair of nit pickers.

Instead be appreciative that the interview was on the net for you to read in the first place.

A thanks from both of you would have been a more appropriate response.

As for you Mick, if it took you 15 minutes to read the interview, perhaps the problem is on your part.

I read the interview in less than 5 minutes and understood it perfectly. It was not exactly a highly complex piece of literature.

Thanks Movie Editor

Joe

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Shana Tweed 28 female Redding, CAFeb 7th, 2007 - 19:58:26

That was a great interview. It never fails every time I read Sly's
interviews I start laughing alot.I have been a fan of Sly's for 24 years now that has been since I was 4 when I saw ROCKY 3. I took one look at him and have been smitten with the man ever sice:)

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RetrosurferFeb 8th, 2007 - 20:25:23

Thanks
This was great interview. Ok, so some of the Queen's English gets lost in the translation. But reading this , I felt I was there, the essence of Stallone was preserved. Thanks for doing the hard work to bring it to us.

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Sylvester Stallone interview: Rocky Balboa

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