Stallone's journey behind Rocky comes to life in new biopic

Thirty years old, juggling odd jobs, and struggling to make it as an actor after seven years spent mostly as an extra or in minor roles—with one notable exception, the softcore film The Party at Kitty and Stud's.

Everything changed for Sylvester Stallone in 1976 when, encouraged by his wife, he decided to write a screenplay about a story he wanted to star in himself. The result was the story of an underdog boxer who finally gets his chance at redemption, CE Report quotes ANSA.

Producers liked the script, but Stallone insisted on one non-negotiable condition: he had to play the lead role.

That remarkable true story is told by director Peter Farrelly (Green Book) in I Play Rocky (to be released in Italy as Rocky Sono Io), a biographical film exploring the creation of the classic movie Rocky and Stallone's rise to stardom. The actor is portrayed by 26-year-old rising star Anthony Ippolito.

Produced by Amazon MGM Studios, the biopic will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival before opening in U.S. theaters in November, exactly 50 years after John G. Avildsen's Rocky debuted in cinemas. The original film went on to win three Academy Awards in 1977, including Best Picture.

The recently released trailer highlights the striking resemblance between Ippolito and the young Stallone, as well as the filmmakers' careful recreation of iconic scenes from Rocky.

The cast also includes Matt Dillon as Stallone's father, Frank Stallone Sr.; AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone's first wife, actress Sasha Czack; Kiki Seto as Talia Shire; Stephan James as Carl Weathers; P.J. Byrne as producer Irwin Winkler; along with Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, and Jay Duplass.

To prepare for the role, Ippolito—who began acting as a child and most recently appeared in Purple Hearts—said he first had to gain weight because "Stallone was much more muscular, while I was a bit slimmer."

Beyond the physical transformation, he immersed himself in Stallone's early career.

"I watched as much of his filmography as I could. Before Rocky, he made a film called The Lords of Flatbush. I watched old videos and interviews, trying to absorb everything," he explained earlier this year at CinemaCon.

Farrelly described the screenplay for I Play Rocky as "the best script I've ever read."

"With this film, we didn't want to remake Rocky, because that's impossible. We wanted to tell the story behind how Rocky came to be. As part of that story, we recreated about five to seven minutes of scenes identical to the original film. You won't be able to tell the difference," he said.

Kiki Seto said portraying Talia Shire was especially meaningful.

"I started by doing a lot of research and watching her interviews. I even bought an e-book called Everything You Should Know About Talia Shire. Later, I had the chance to speak with her personally. She called me one evening and told me about that period of her life, how she approached the role of Adrian, what the character meant to her, and how much she admired Stallone. It was an incredible experience."

Photo: Instagram