An image from I Play Rocky reveals the first official look at the uncanny actor playing Sylvester Stallone in an iconic scene. Directed by Peter Farrelly (Green Book), the upcoming film follows the tumultuous making of the classic 1976 film, Rocky, with Anthony Ippolito starring a young Sylvester Stallone.
Now, Amazon MGM Studios has revealed the first official look at Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky. Check out the image below:
The image shows Anthony Ippolito’s Sylvester Stallone running on the beach with his dog, Butkus, Stallone’s bull mastiff who starred in Rocky. The image echoes an iconic scene from Rocky III (1982) as the тιтular boxer runs on the beach with his former rival turned trainer, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). However, Ippolito’s Stallone is wearing the character’s gray running outfit from the original Rocky.
On Instagram, the pH๏τo was captioned, “Production is underway for I PLAY ROCKY, starring Anthony Ippolito. The film tells the true story of Sylvester Stallone and his unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky, he was meant to be Rocky Balboa.”
The first official look arrives just a few days after the first set pH๏τos from I Play Rocky surfaced online showcasing Anthony Ippolito’s transformation as Sylvester Stallone. In addition to Ippolito, the cast includes Stephan James as Carl Weathers, AnnaSophia Robb as Stallone’s first wife Sasha Czack, and Matt Dillon as Stallone’s father, Frank Stallone Sr.
Anthony Ippolito previously played a young Al Pacino in The Offer, the Paramount+ series about the making of The Godfather.
Also starring are P.J. Byrne as Rocky producer Irwin Winkler, Toby Kebbell as Rocky producer Robert Chartoff, and Jay Duplᴀss as Rocky director John G. Avildsen. Sandy Letts is also playing a composite of several Hollywood studio executives.
With a script written by Peter Gamble, I Play Rocky will explore the history of how Stallone, a 29-year-old struggling actor, wrote the screenplay for Rocky in three and a half days but refused to sell it unless he was also cast as the lead. After rejecting multiple six-figure offers, he managed to get the film produced for less than $1 million.
I Play Rocky will explore the ultimate underdog tale of how Rocky went on to become the year’s highest-grossing film and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including winning for Best Picture. The movie had a mᴀssive impact on Hollywood and led to five sequels and the Creed spinoff series, which have grossed a total of $1.9 billion.
