Farewell to a Rock of ages

Jan 18 2007 Cinema

Alison Jones hears Sly Stallone explain how he fought for a sixth and final round as the Italian Stallion

When Rocky was released in 1976 it delivered an emotional gut punch with its story of the underdog who went the distance against the champ.

And the fighter's success was paralleled by that of his creator, Sylvester Stallone, who was vindicated in his belief that only he could play the role when the film was nominated for ten Oscars, winning three, including best picture.

Thirty years later Sylvester or Sly, found himself once again battling against popular opinion and cinematic commercial sense when he insisted that, at nearly 60, both he and his boxing alter ego had one more fight left in him.

And again he has proved the naysayers wrong with a last round that has touched a chord with both the public and critics and provided a more fitting conclusion to the series than the increasingly weak and unworthy sequels.

"The character was considered passe and I was considered passe," admits Sylvester, who is still clearly coming down from the high of the previous night's UK premiere.

"That is just reality. Time moves on. The studio was very upfront about it. The first time it was tough to get it made because I was an unknown. But it was done at such an inexpensive price they could afford to take a chance. Those days are gone. There is no risk taking.

"The people who really green light films today are the marketing department. Can they sell a film about a 59-year-old has-been boxer?"

For seven years the answer was no. The studio felt that Rocky's time had passed and to try and revive the franchise now would potentially make them a laughing stock.

However, it was this that was the nub of Stallone's story. What becomes of people once the glory days have passed. The world's focus may have moved on but they are still there, needing to prove they still matter.

"I said 'I bet you everyone feels like a has-been when they are not' that is the whole premise of the story. That we all still have this thing burning inside of us and if we just nurture it it can revitalise us."

Tellingly Sly wanted to get back on set and in the ring if only to prove to daughters Sophia, Sistine and Scarlett (by his third wife Jennifer Flavin, he also has two grown-up sons by his first wife Sasha) that he had once been a box office contender.

"The girls have no idea what I do for a living . I wanted, just for one one day, to let them see what their father used to do.

"They think I just play golf. Do things in the yard."

The irony didn't escape Sly that even though he'd been one of the world's biggest stars in his action hey-day, he no longer had the clout to get the film made.

But fortune smiled when the head of the studio was replaced and his successor came across the actor in a Mexican restaurant one New Year's Eve.

"I was sitting at a table feeling all sorry for myself and he says 'What's up?' and I go 'Well I wrote this thing Rocky Balboa...'

"He goes 'Can I see it'. He takes it home and his wife reads it. She cries and the movie is green lit...So don't ever underestimate women in boxing."

The movie will is undeniably touching, for the love story that had been at the series' core, the butterfly flowering of