“It was foolish”: Sylvester Stallone Would Not Repeat the Same Mistake From Rocky 4 If He Remakes the Movie
Hollywood witnesses numerous blockbuster movies that eventually spawn franchises. Starring Sylvester Stallone, the Rocky movies are a part of one such franchise that is loved by all. Full of heart, strong characters and a moving storyline, the movies surpassed people’s expectations and surprised fans with such incredible work. Unlike other franchises, the Rocky movies are each better than the last as younger audiences keep finding the movies even today.
Also read: Sylvester Stallone Felt Suffocated After ‘Rocky’ Tore His Family Apart, Left His Brother Traumatized
Sylvester Stallone’s Regret With Rocky 4
Rocky is not just a successful franchise, it has also made way for spinoffs like the Creed movies that are indelibly connected to the Rocky universe. Introduced as Rocky’s adversary in the ring, Apollo Creed emerges as a worthy fighter with heavy punches to throw. The duo eventually become friends as in the Creed movies, Rocky trains Apollo’s son Adonis to fight like his father and keep their family name alive.
However, in the documentary The Making of Rocky vs. Drago by Sylvester Stallone outlining the making of Rocky movies, the lead actor Sylvester Stallone opens up about a regret he has about the fourth movie in the franchise. The plot follows Apollo Creed in the ring against Russian fighter Ivan Drogo. Creed is killed in the fight and Drogo emerges victorious, hence setting up the plot for the rest of the movie, bringing Rocky into the limelight. Stallone reveals that if he could do it all over again, he would not kill off Creed just yet.
“It was foolish. I thought I needed that kind of springboard to propel the drama on this really great velocity moving forward. Him in a wheelchair, he would’ve assumed the role of Mickey. And now, his physicality has been diminished, we would’ve seen a different side of Apollo. He could’ve opened up all these other things that we didn’t even know about. He would’ve been kind of a father figure, brother, mentor.”
According to the Rocky actor, the movies are not sports flicks with plain fight and action sequences, they are intrinsic drama movies with loads of emotions and overwhelming feelings. The story is very important to see character growth and how each character takes a fight head-on, not just in the ring, but in life as well.
What’s The Documentary About?
The documentary sheds light on the nuanced filmmaking process that demands patience and a wider sight to see things in perspective. Stallone offers insights into the minds of filmmakers who visualize a scene and then let it play out with the actors on screen. He even points out the mistakes they made while filming, basic details that they missed out on earlier.
The entire documentary is filmed on an iPhone so the quality is not the best, but it is available on YouTube for all budding filmmakers to watch and learn the backstage operations of a movie. Stallone also emphasizes how each individual shot becomes crucial to the overarching storytelling method. He feels pulled to the character and believes that he finds a new direction to the story every time he feels that they are done with the story.
