The Man Who Inspired Stallone To Write Rocky

The Man Who Inspired Stallone To Write Rocky

Before the success of the Rocky Saga, Silverster Stallone battled his way to Hollywood, facing rejections after rejections. He was so broke that he had no choice but to sell his best friend, his dog, for 25$, just to survive. He wasn’t able to pay for heat in his appartment, living with his wife who wouldn’t understand why he wouldn’t go get a job. His reasoning was that if he’d get a job he’d never keep the hunger to keep pushing to realize his dreams, he’d simply settle for a normal life that wasn’t nearly close to what he aspired to have. At the time where no one would give him a role, one night completely turned his life around.

It was in 1975 that he watched a boxing fight featuring the great Muhammad Ali versus Chuck Wepner. The two heavyweight fighters went at it for fifteen rounds. And at the surprise of the crowd, Chuck was holding his ground. He even managed to knock down Ali following a right hook to the ribs. This moment defined Chuck as a real underdog legend, and although he fell seconds short of completing the fifteenth round, losing by KO out of fatigue, he will remain a hero in the heart of many, including Stallone. Witnessing one of the greatest moments in the history of boxing, Stallone felt inspired by Chuck’s willingness to stand up for himself, to never give up and give all he has. It was at this exact moment that Stallone came up with what would become one of the biggest success in movie theaters, ‘Rocky’. After the fight, Stallone started writing the story of an underdog fighter who would stop at nothing to become a champion. He identified himself as the hero of that story, he could relate to Chuck because of all the struggle he was going through at the time. Nobody believed in him, he felt as if life was trying to knock him out constantly, Chuck vs Ali was like a representation of his own fight against life’s obstacles.

After spending 3 days writing the script for ‘Rocky’, he went out and pitched it to producers. The producers weren’t interested in the script, calling it ‘Sappy and predictable’, but somehow they still made him an offer. They offered him 250 000$ for the script, but the condition was that the main character would have to be Ryan O'Neil, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. Stallone turned down the offer, insisting on the fact that he wanted to be the main character of his own movie. After some negotiations, Stallone’s stubbornness paid off, but much less than what he was hoping for. The producers ended up offering 35 000$, accepting to take the risk of having him as the main character, the legendary ‘Rocky Balboa’. The movie ended up generating 200 Millions of dollars at the box office, and became a classic that inspired and continue to inspire many until this day. The ‘Rocky’ saga was so popular that decades later, producers decided to give a continuation to the series with ‘Creed’, featuring Michael B. Jordan as the son of ‘Apollo Creed’ training to avenge and honor his dad’s death on the ring. The first thing that Stallone did as he cashed his 35 000$ at the time was not to buy champagne and celebrate in a club, or buy expensive clothes, nor changing his apartment, he simply went looking for his dog’s buyer and offered to buy him back.

Stallone’s journey was as inspiring as his Rocky’s script, a lesson to never give up and keep chasing your dreams, no matter what ambush is raised against you. And while some may find it cheesy, only those who struggled enough can relate to the feeling of being underappreciated, rejected and perceived as a loser. We all have hopes and aspirations that for most of us remain unfulfilled, this is why a part of us always feel connected to the anti-hero. This part of us is the kid in us who wanted to become a champion and somehow got disconnected from his true-self as life’s responsibilities took over as a grown-up. This is why somehow, watching the unsuccessful doing the unexpected and win wakes up something inside of us, a fire that we should have never let extinguished in the first place.

If you want to know more about Charles aka Chuck Wepner, a film retracing his career named ‘Chuck’ has been released in 2016, don’t hesitate to check it out if you want to watch his inspiring story.

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Music: Mani Lobo Beats

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