I Play Rocky will tell the story of how Stallone made one of the most iconic sports movies of all time.
Green Book and Ricky Stanicky director Peter Farrelly is set to take audiences behind the scenes of one of the most iconic movies of all time. According to The Wrap, Farrelly has signed on to direct I Play Rocky, a Sylvester Stallone biopic that will tell the story of the making of Rocky. Farrelly will direct from a script written by Peter Gamble. He is also set to produce, along with former Warner Bros. studio chief Toby Emmerich and Christian Baha. Casting for the biopic is currently underway.
Here’s how I Play Rocky is described: “A struggling actor with a partially paralyzed face and a speech impediment writes a script that a big movie studio wants to buy, but he refuses to sell it unless he gets to play the lead. Turning down an offer of life-changing money, he instead works for pennies to get the movie made with himself in the starring role. The movie becomes the biggest box office hit of 1976, garnering 10 Academy Award nominations and winning Best Picture.”
“I’ve been a fan of Peter Farrelly as both a filmmaker and a person since getting to work with him on the music for Dumb and Dumber,” Emmerich said in a statement. “But it was Green Book that made me think of Pete for this inspiring screenplay. Christian Baha and I feel blessed to have Pete at the helm for this movie. And like the unknown Stallone starring in Rocky, Pete will be conducting a worldwide search to discover another actor who just needs one shot — in I Play Rocky — to show the world what he can do.”
Baha added: “When I first read Peter Gamble’s energetic and poignant script, I knew it captured something very special. The story of I Play Rocky is as unique as Sylvester Stallone himself, a seeming Everyman with an undeniable gift who needs to share it with the world and refuses to take ‘No’ for an answer. And like the hero of our film, Baha Productions needed grit and determination as we fought for years to make this project into a reality. We are so fortunate to have teamed up with Toby Emmerich and Peter Farrelly, two legendary talents who not only share but enhance our vision of the film.”
What is Rocky About?
Released in 1976, Rocky is a sports drama that tells the story of Rocky Balboa, a small-time club fighter and loan shark debt collector in Philadelphia who gets a shot at the world heavyweight boxing championship held by Apollo Creed. The film stars Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. The film was a massive success and is considered by many as one of the greatest films of all time. It went on to start a full franchise which includes sequels Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, and Rocky Balboa, as well as the Creed series, Creed, Creed II, and Creed III. Creed IV was confirmed to be in the works last November.
