THE SCRIPT EVERYONE WANTED. THE ACTOR NO ONE LIKED. THE SUPERSTAR THEY STILL DENY!

I PLAY ROCKY–WITHOUT STALLONE–IS SET TO PREMIERE

Imagine having $100 in your bank account, a pregnant wife, and a script Hollywood is desperate to buy—on the condition that they replace you.

I Play Rocky, takes audiences inside the high-stakes, real-life drama of Sylvester Stallone, (played by Anthony Ippolito) before the fame.  Facing down studio executives who demanded an A-list headliner, passing on tons of cash to give up the script, Stallone bet everything on himself, delivering an ultimatum that would either launch his career or ruin his life. MGM/Amazon tells a portion of the untold fight to bring a cinematic icon to life, and the man who refused to sell his soul to do it.

However, what the movie misses is the fight Stallone is still in to regain control over his iconic masterpiece. Despite creating, writing, and starring in the franchise that generated billions, Stallone was never given an ownership stake in the original films—a business decision that would haunt him for decades. Today, having effectively walked away from the franchise after being shut out of the creative control of the Creed spin-offs, Stallone continues his public and painful battle with producer Irwin Winkler for a slice of the rights. While I Play Rocky celebrates the historic birth of a legend, it also stands as a bittersweet reminder of a creator who fought to play the character, but ultimately lost the rights to own him.