Movie Title: Rocky
Director: John G. Avildsen
Writer: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith
Review: Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), a small-time boxer from working-class Philadelphia, is arbitrarily chosen to take on the reigning world heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), when the undefeated fighter's scheduled opponent is injured. While training with feisty former bantamweight contender Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith), Rocky tentatively begins a relationship with Adrian (Talia Shire), the wallflower sister of his meat-packer pal Paulie (Burt Young). Rocky is a true classic underdog story complete with a captivating plot, adrenaline-filled training montages, and heartwarming romance. In my opinion, the greatest thing about Rocky is its uncanny ability to capture the human spirit. Rocky Balboa goes through it all. He has to overcome odds through hard work and dedication to simply not get embarrassed by Apollo Creed. He falls for the love of his life, and has to navigate those feelings as well. All the while, he must do odd jobs to make ends meet. This movie is relatable in so many ways, and I think that's why Rocky Balboa has endeared himself to people around the world for decades. This film is an inspiration, and arguably one of the most influential sports movies of all time. If you haven't seen Rocky, I recommend you watch this movie ASAP! And some inspirational words to live by: "Every champion was once a contender who refused to give up."
Fun Fact: After producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff became interested in the script, they offered Sylvester Stallone an unprecedented 350,000 dollars for the rights, but he refused to sell unless they agreed to allow him to star in the film (this despite the fact that he had only 106 dollars in the bank, no car and was trying to sell his dog because he couldn't afford to feed it). They agreed, but only on the condition that Stallone continue to work as a writer without a fee, and that he work as an actor for scale. After Winkler and Chartoff purchased the film, they took it to United Artists, who envisioned a budget of two million dollars, but that was on the basis of using an established star (they particularly wanted Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds or James Caan). United Artists didn't want Stallone to star, and when Winkler and Chartoff told them that the only way they could get him to sell the screenplay was to agree to cast him, United Artists cut the budget to one million dollars, and had Chartoff and Winkler sign agreements that if the film went over budget, they would be personally liable. The final cost of the film was 1.1 million dollars. The 0.1 million dollars came after Chartoff and Winkler mortgaged their houses, so as to complete the project.