Random 'Rocky' Series Was More Intense Behind Scenes Than A Swift Punch To Jaw (18 items)

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  (#1) When Stallone Wrote 'Rocky,' He Had $106 In The Bank

  Nowadays, people tend to see Sylvester Stallone as one of the most successful actors of all time. He's been the face of massively successful franchises like Rocky and Rambo and continues to beat the hell out of people who could be his grandchildren in the wildly entertaining Expendables films.

  But that's where he is now. In 1975, Stallone had $106 sitting in his bank account. Stallone basically was Rocky, but instead of punching hanging meat into submission, he beat his typewriter until it spit out an Oscar-nominated script.
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  (#2) Stallone Wrote The Whole Script In Less Than Four Days

  With only $106 in the bank, Stallone was looking to profit off his script immediately. He wrote the Rocky script in 3.5 days, which explains why the rewrites for the film were so extensive.

  Stallone estimates the studio only kept about 10% of what he originally wrote. The original script would be unrecognizable to even the most passionate Rocky fans because there were monumental changes between the first draft and what we see on screen. Still, 10% was enough to get Stallone where he is today.
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  (#3) Mickey Was Originally Racist, And Apollo Creed Was Meant To Be Jamaican

  When Sylvester Stallone wrote the original script for Rocky, he wanted certain characters to be more vile and less endearing. Perhaps Stallone wished to depict the problems prevalent in society, rather than prioritizing inspirational qualities. Whatever the case, Stallone's first version of Mickey was a petulant racist.

  It's a good thing the studio made Stallone change Mickey into someone more sympathetic because it sure would have undercut Rocky III if Rocky were crying over a dying racist.

  There was also a plan in place to make Apollo Creed Jamaican, which would have added an interesting facet to Creed's character.
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  (#4) Stallone Wanted Queen's 'Another One Bites The Dust,' But Got 'Eye Of The Tiger' Instead

  When editing Rocky III, Sylvester Stallone wanted to use Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" during the intro. It had the feel Stallone wanted, and he liked how the lyrics fit with Rocky's character development. Unfortunately, Queen refused to let him use the song.

  So, scrambling, Stallone reached out to the band Survivor and asked them to write something similar to "Another One Bites the Dust." The lead guitarist plugged in a little amp, watched a snippet of the film, and tried to put chord hits in time with the punches in the scene. Then, he heard one of the characters say, "Hey, Rocky, you're losing the eye of the tiger," and like that, "Eye of the Tiger" was born.
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  (#5) The Producers Offered Free Chicken To Anybody Who Came To The Final Fight

  Rocky's budget wasn't high, so sometimes the film's producers had to get creative. They didn't have money to hire a bunch of extras, so instead they put out an advertisement for a free chicken dinner to anybody willing to be in the crowd during the final fight.

  The gamble worked out. In the end, 4,000 people showed up to get free chicken, watch a fake boxing match, and help create cinematic history.
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  (#6) The Original Ending Had Rocky Throw The Fight And Open Up A Pet Store

  If the studio had kept Sylvester Stallone's original script, there probably wouldn't have been another Rocky movie - not because that script was terrible, but because Rocky would have retired from boxing at the end of the film. Not only does he lose the fight like in the final script, but Rocky also throws it on purpose so he can make extra cash.

  Why does he intentionally lose? So he can pay to open up a pet store for Adrian. Not exactly the most thrilling end to a dramatic boxing film.
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  (#7) That Training Run In 'Rocky II' Would Have Been More Than 30 Miles

  The training montage is one of the most memorable parts of any Rocky movie. They tend to feature the best songs, and they almost convince viewers to get off the couch themselves.

  The running sequence in Rocky II specifically stands out as one of the greatest. Rocky runs through the streets of Philadelphia, eliciting cheers from onlookers and even inspiring kids to run alongside him.

  Astute journalists noticed that for Rocky to run past all the landmarks in the montage, he would need to jog more than 30 miles. That's right, a single day of training for Rocky apparently means running a marathon with an extra 4 miles thrown in as a cool-down.
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  (#8) 'Rocky' Was Made For Under $1 Million, But Grossed $225 Million

  Most successful movies these days require a massive upfront cost to make. For example, the average Marvel film costs just under $200 million per film. Rocky's budget was less than $1 million total.

  That's why it was so surprising to see the movie gross over $225 million from just the box office alone. Audiences didn't care that the film didn't look as sharp as some others at the time; they were inspired by the story and told all their friends about the exciting movie.
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  (#9) Stallone Pocketed 10% Of The First Film's Gross

  The biggest winner in Rocky's $225 million jackpot at the box office was Sylvester Stallone himself. Despite being the writer and star of the movie, Stallone was only paid $20,000 upfront and about $350 per day during filming.

  But in addition to that low initial payout, he also walked away with 10% of the total gross from the film, or about $22 million.
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  (#10) Dolph Lundgren And Sly Stallone Really Fought – And Things Ended In The Hospital

  Throughout the series, Sylvester Stallone was hurt several times on set. During the filming of Rocky II, Stallone tore his pec muscles so badly, he needed 160 stitches, but that wasn't even the worst of it.

  The worst damage done to Stallone's body happened during the filming of Rocky IV. Stallone thought it'd be more realistic to have Dolph Lundgren (who played Ivan Drago) actually fight him for 20 seconds or so. Stallone wanted it to feel unhinged, so he told Lundgren he should feel free to punch for real. That's exactly what Lundgren did.

  After the third take or so, Stallone felt a burning in his chest that he ignored - right up until later that night, when he woke up unable to breathe and with his blood pressure spiked to over 200. He was rushed to the emergency room and stayed in intensive care for eight days. According to Stallone:

  What had happened is he struck me so hard in the chest that my heart slammed against my breastbone and began to swell, so the beating became labored, and without medical attention, the heart would've continued to swell until it stopped.
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  (#11) The Inspirations For Rocky's Character Felt Cheated

  As much as Sylvester Stallone might want audiences to think Rocky is a wholly original character, it's pretty clear he borrowed large elements of Rocky's story from two real-life boxers: Joe Frazier and Chuck Wepner.

  Frazier used to train by punching meat and running up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But the only thing Stallone ever paid him for was a small cameo part.

  Similarly, Chuck Wepner was once a low-level boxer who fought Muhammad Ali and lived to tell the tale. He was so upset over Rocky that he eventually sued Stallone; the case settled out of court.
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  (#12) 'You're The Best Around' Was Written For 'Rocky III,' But Stallone Rejected It

  One of the defining anthems of the '80s, Joe Esposito's "You're the Best Around," was supposed to be in Rocky III. Like Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," "You're the Best Around" was written for the film.

  But Stallone ultimately decided he didn't want it, so the song got shopped around until it landed in The Karate Kid, becoming an instant classic.
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  (#13) The Studio Wanted A Different Actor To Play Rocky

  Even though Sylvester Stallone was the writer of Rocky, nobody wanted him to star in the film. In fact, United Artists offered Stallone $340,000 if he'd sell the script without starring in it. Eventually, the film's budget dropped so low, they couldn't afford that price anymore, so they changed their mind and allowed Stallone to star.

  Before Stallone, the studio considered James Caan, Burt Reynolds, and Ryan O'Neal, who were all much bigger stars at the time.
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  (#14) Rocky Was Not Supposed To Make It Out Of 'Rocky V'

  By the time Rocky V rolled around, the series had been around for nearly 15 years. Sylvester Stallone was getting older, and he thought it might finally be time to retire - or more specifically, kill off - the character he'd spent so long writing and portraying.

  Stallone was so emotional writing the film that he cried during Rocky's death scene. Unfortunately, those tears were for naught, as a studio executive told Stallone that Rocky, like Batman, could never leave the world of the living. So Stallone kept him alive and ended up writing one of the worst films in the series, which managed to bury the franchise for the next 16 years.
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  (#15) The Production Saved Money By Living On Pizza

  For Sylvester Stallone, Rocky needed to be set in Philadelphia, but producers were worried there wouldn't be enough money in the budget to film on location. They tried convincing Stallone and the crew to film in Los Angeles exclusively, but they weren't having it.

  So during the Philly shoots, they needed to save money however they could. One way they did that was by eating pizza, burgers, or cheesesteaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They didn't even have a caterer.
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  (#16) 'Rocky Balboa' Was The First Film In The Series To Use Real Punching Sounds

  One would think a film series centered around boxers would use real punches for designing the sound effects. But, apparently, there are plenty of appropriate sounds that can substitute for hand-to-hand violence.

  Until Rocky Balboa, the Rocky films used the sounds of shotgun blasts, broken bottles, chains, and baseball bat hits to score every punch.
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  (#17) Rocky Jogs Around The Ice Rink Because Stallone Couldn't Skate

  The script's first draft included a date scene in a bustling ice-skating rink, but the producers feared the extras would make the scene too expensive. To get around this, they decided to make the date one-on-one. Unfortunately, there was still a significant problem: Sylvester Stallone couldn't ice-skate.

  To make sure the film stayed under budget, they used the rink after-hours. And to make sure Stallone didn't hurt himself, they had him jog along on the ice, which did strangely fit the character.
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  (#18) Ryan Coogler Wrote 'Creed' Inspired By His Family's Battles With Illness

  Creed is a phenomenal film and a stellar addition to the Rocky series. Ryan Coogler re-teamed with his Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan to show a young Adonis Creed fighting to break out from his father's immense shadow.

  Coogler grew up watching Rocky films with his father, something that was already a family tradition. His father watched the movies with his own mother during her battle with breast cancer. Later, his father's fight against his illness inspired Coogler's idea for Creed.

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