Marcos Melendez is an entertainment journalist who has been active since 2017. His past work can be read on Collider, Escapist, ScreenRant, CBR, and Full Circle Cinema. He is currently a News Editor for MovieWeb.
Sylvester Stallone may not be reprising his iconic role as Rocky Balboa anytime soon, but an upcoming biopic will depict the development of the classic 1967 film. An up-and-coming actor will portray Stallone in the role that catapulted him into stardom, and fans should be relieved to learn that he certainly fits the part in an early preview of the project.
Amazon MGM Studios has unveiled the first look at Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky. Ippolito, best known for playing a young Al Pacino in Paramount+’s The Offer, takes on the biggest role of his career thus far in the latest real-life drama. As revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, an eager Ippolito sent an unsolicited audition tape to the producers. His ambitious nature immediately turned heads, as the filmmakers saw a resemblance to Stallone’s own resilience making Rocky. You can check out the image below.
Oscar-winning director Peter Farrelly helms I Play Rocky based on a script written by Peter Gamble (Office Uprising). He previously described Gamble’s work as “one of the best scripts” he had ever read, which covers the uphill battle Stallone fought to make Rocky on his own terms. Stallone famously rejected major studio deals in order to star in the movie as the titular character, despite a deteriorating personal financial situation and limited filmography.
“It’s one of the best scripts I’ve ever read. The guy who wrote it, Peter Gamble, came out of the blue. The guy teaches at USC. Toby Emmerich gave it to me, he’s a producer on it, and he said, ‘Hey, read this script. I think it’s special.’ It’s about the making of Rocky, and there’s a lot that I didn’t know. Stallone was homeless when he wrote that script, he was living in Penn Station, and he was doing softcore p*rn. He was broke. He had to sell his dog.”
What Is ‘I Play Rocky’ About?
More to come.