Rocky (film)/Trivia

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• Beam Me Up, Scotty: Rocky's signature colors are black and gold, not red, white, and blue. Apollo lent him the American flag trunks for his rematch with Clubber, and Rocky wore them against Drago because he was representing his country. This led to some people being confused when Rocky showed up at the fight in Balboa wearing black and gold instead of "his normal colors".
• Defictionalization:
  • The fight scene in Rocky Balboa? According to an interview, it happened right after an actual boxing event, so people who were there for a pay-per-view match got to see the ending scene to Rocky Balboa, original ending and all! It helps that this was Stallone's choice so he can make the fight as realistic as possible by actually taking and giving hits.
  • The infamous Rocky statue in Philadelphia. It's still there today!
  • Rocky himself treated as one of the icons of Philadelphia sports, to the point of building statues of him (the same statue from the movies). This may have something to do with real-life Philadelphia sports being the collective Butt Monkey of professional athletics, at least up till the Phillies won the World Series in 2008. Also, Stallone has all but been adopted as a native son of Philly.
  • Adrian Balboa has a real grave in Philly.
• Enforced Method Acting: One of the reasons for Talia Shire's shy and reserved performance in the first film is due to the fact that she was suffering from the flu at the time of filming.
• Executive Meddling: The original script and filmmakers had intended the final fight with Gunn to actually end with Rocky's defeat and death, bringing the entire series to a conclusion and sending him out as he came in - the underdog, the everyman, and ultimately the loser. United Artists decided otherwise, and we got what we got.
• Hey, It's That Guy!: Rocky II features an appearance by then-CBS sportscaster Brent Musberger. CBS-TV New York Sportscaster Warner Wolf appears briefly in Rocky III.
  • And Balboa goes full ESPN/HBO, with appearances by Woody Paige and Skip Bayless in First And Ten, Sportscenter anchors Brian Kenny and Dana Jacobson, and ringside commentary by Jim Lampley, Larry Merchant, and Max Kellerman.
  • The adult Rocky Jr. is played by Milo Ventimiglia, aka Peter Petrelli.
  • Don't forget Hulk Hogan as Thunderlips.
  • George O'Hanlon (from The Jetsons) makes a brief cameo in the first movie as a sportscaster.
  • Rocky's trainer and mentor was once a foe of the Caped Crusader as well as the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust.
  • Who knew that Adrian was once part of the Corleones?
  • Apollo Creed once battled in the jungle alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger once. Needless to say, it didn't end well.
  • Who knew that Dolph Lundgren would show up in another of Sly's movies years later?
  • Clubber Lang, believe or not, has a fear of flying.
  • Drago's wife once battled alongside Schwarzenegger as Red Sonja and dated Flava Flav in real life, I shit you not.
• Reality Subtext: The unexpected success of the first movie, which made a star out of Stallone, mirrors the actual plot of the movie and subsequently winning the Best Oscar.
  • Also, Rocky Balboa centers around a retired Rocky who still wants to fight but is simply laughed at by most people due to his age and is called "overrated" by an analyst. He has to fight to get his license, and when he actually gets in his last fight and starts to kick a little ass his son says "Everyone thought this was a joke, including me. Now nobody's laughing". This could be seen to mirror Stallone's own troubles in his character, as he's grown old and become something of a joke for his cheesy movies to many people who may have forgotten that he once made a great movie. Rocky's struggle to get his license mirrors Stallone's struggles to get the movie made, and his attempt at making another Rocky movie was seen as a joke by most people until they saw the movie and (mostly) realized it was a good movie.
  • Stallone's son not playing Robert Jr. as he had in Rocky IV was done to avert this trope. Robert Jr. makes a big deal about how he's only ever had a career because he's Rocky's son, and nobody looks at him as anything else. Stallone did not want audiences to think this of his son, and refused to let him reprise the role.
  • Rocky III opens with Rocky becoming a rich and famous celebrity, appearing on magazine covers, doing commercials, meeting presidents and going on The Muppet Show(!), just like Stallone in real life.
    • In fact, the Muppet Show clip shown was actual footage from Stallone's own guest appearance on that series. Jim Henson redubbed Kermit's voice to say Rocky's name instead of Stallone's.
    • Much of the merchandise shown in the opening montage was in fact available in real life, most notably the pinball machine bearing Rocky's name.
  • Stallone has generally said that every film was written to parallel some period of his life, just with acting switched out for boxing.
  • Rocky II features the comedown from his moral victory. He quickly burns through his money and he has nothing to fall back on. In the end he is forced to go back to one sure thing he has, which could possibly cripple him. This mirror's Stallone's inability to maintain the momentum from the first movie and develop a stable career outside of Rocky, leading to him creating a sequel.
• Real Life Relative: Sage Stallone plays Rocky's son in V.
• Throw It In: Several genuine prop mistakes in the first movie, such as Rocky's robe being too big and the colors of his shorts being inverted on a poster were referenced in the dialogue to look like intentional mistakes. The former is even mentioned in the second movie.
  • While preparing for Rocky II, Stallone tore his right pectoral muscle which had to be operated on. This necessitated a change in the script where Rocky switched from fighting "southpaw" to fighting right-handed through most of the fight and using his left hand to jab.
• What Could Have Been: A handful of these ahead.
  • Sylvester Stallone originally wanted to use "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen for Rocky III' but couldn't get the rights. Instead he contacted the band Survivor to write a new song which became "Eye Of The Tiger". It's safe to say it turned out better than Stallone could have hoped.
  • One version of the script for Rocky Balboa had Mr. T reprising his role as Clubber Lang as a commentator for the Balboa/Dixon fight.
  • Carl Weathers wanted to have a cameo in Rocky Balboa as Apollo Creed. This would have removed his death in Rocky IV from continuity. Stallone didn't agree, and Weathers refused permission to use any footage of him in the opening montage.