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SYLVESTER STALLONE:
“Rocky is a very unusual case in film. The country was a little more sedate, at least in the way they released films, in the Seventies. Rocky came out on two screens, so it was out there for almost a year and it burnt its way into the American consciousness.“
MILO VENTIMIGLIA (Robert J Balboa):
“I was ‘negative One’ when the first Rocky came out. I’ve always enjoyed all the movies. I thought they were great, entertaining and I really got into the underdog story and how, if your mind is in the right direction and your heart is full of the right kind of stuff, then you’ll triumph over adversity.”
GERALDINE HUGHESGERALDINE HUGHES (Marie, who in the first Rocky was an insolent child):
“I was wondering if I would have to say, ‘Screw you Creepo,’ which she said in the original movie, but I didn’t. I went back and watched the first film over and over, because when I read the script I very much felt the same sensibility of the first one on so many levels.”
ANTONIO TARVER on being in the ring with Stallone:
“Sylvester had some disadvantages, but he’s a real tough guy. He was in great shape. I was really in awe of his physique, his strength, his energy. It just goes to show you what hard work can do, and I hope when I’m pushing sixty I can look half as good as Sylvester Stallone.”
STALLONE:
“The training for this film was extremely difficult and riddled with a lot of injuries, things that worked 30 years ago are a little rusty. I felt like the Tin Man before he got his can of oil, very stiff, but with the help of Advil every morning I got through it. Antonio broke his knuckle sparring with me, and I broke my foot, so I’m in a cast hobbling around the ring – we looked like two mummies.”
HUGHES:
“I grew up in Belfast in the seventies, which was a pretty tough time. Boxing is a huge sport over there, and every young boy in my neighborhood was so moved by Rocky. Sylvester’s posters are still up on everybody’s walls, so to be a part of that now is overwhelming.”
TARVER:
“I love Rocky. It changed sport’s films forever. Apollo Creed was one of my favorite characters. He had that bravado that I think I had in my own personal career. I rooted for Apollo in the beginning, but I’ve been rooting for Rocky ever since.”
STALLONE:
“Rocky has become the legacy that defines determination, even though you’re hurt, you don’t have the greatest skill in the world, if you play with voracity you sometimes overwhelm your opponent. In the real world of Rocky’s, they mostly get knocked out. Luckily, I’m writing it, so he still loses, but he loses cool.”
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THE CONCEPT:
