How Will Sly End ROCKY BALBOA??

I just found this extremely damning item on-line, regarding Stallone's attendance at this year's ShowEast / NATO Convention, at which the entire feature of ROCKY BALBOA was screened:

Sly's Rocky Road   
by Richard Horgan / FilmStew

"Lookit me --  I'm an awtoor!"

Sylvester Stallone’s December 20th holiday release Rocky Balboa represents a new level of sheer audacity. For here is a man who, at an age (60) when he should simply be making questionable Academy member voting choices, has essentially gone ahead instead with a carbon copy of his very own Best Picture triumph. And save for a surname, he is barely trying to disguise the new film’s 1976 lineage.Had Stallone cast himself as say a gym owner or aging hard luck trainer, Rocky Balboa might have had hope, rather than being a geriatric retread.

At October’s ShowEast gathering in Orlando, Stallone was the star attraction, there to accept the National Association of Theater Owners’ “ICON Award.” But shortly after Sly stepped inside a fake boxing ring at the World Marriott Center with his glass trophy in hand, he dropped it. Maybe he should take that as an omen.

Because no matter what the theater owners say, Sly’s iconic days are behind him. Sure, Rocky VI and Rambo IV are going to put a lot of large-popcorn-bucket-eating butts in the seats the first weekend, but whatever is gained in aggregate box office dollars will be lost in artistic integrity. It’s a de facto TKO, with Stallone willingly whoring his signature twin franchises.

Sly had the inkling of a good idea in trying to fill the Mr.T-Dolph Lundgren shoes in Rocky Balboa with a real fighter, Antonio Tarver (he plays Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon). But he should have had the wherewithal to realize that there is absolutely no point in remaking a thirty-year-old classic. Instead, had he instead cast fellow shredded pop culture figure Tyson as his big bad protégé, Stallone could have turned Round 6 into a sly commentary about what aging brute specimens are willing to do for cold hard cash. That is, besides sullying their Oscar legacies. 

Copyright © 2006 FilmStew Inc.  All Rights Reserved. 

Way back in February, worstpreviews.com, who usually does a fair job predicting how movies will perform at the box office, forecast a $24 million opening weekend and a total $72 million domestic gross for this movie. That is pretty much in line with what some of us here envision.

The single biggest mistake Stallone may have made was pushing this film up for early release. Typically, the competition is less formidable in February, and I don't think there are serious Oscar possibilities here, except possibly in Stallone's mind.

Response from Head RAZZberry: ROCKY BALBOA was originally scheduled for release in February of next year. The reasons for its release being moved to December, according to a studio exec I spoke with at a party last summer, were:

1) The studio wanted to play up the "30th anniversary of the original ROCKY" angle in promoting the film (which I haven't seen them doing -- at least not blatantly) and... 

 2) The studio was afraid that, given an extra 60 daze with the film finished and not yet released, bad pre-release word-of-mouth might start building and kill what little chance the film had of making its money back... 

I read the ENTIRE Ain't it Cool "interview" linked above. Not sure if I agree with Stallone as to his "worst movie," (though the one he chose was excruciating to sit through!). I was also struck by the fact that, despite many of Sly's Razzie-nominated and Razzie "winning" films being discussed, the subject of the Razzies themselves, and Stallone's reaction to them, never came up. Which left me wondering: Is that because, out of some 40,000 questions Ain't It Cool claims were submitted, not one mentioned our Awards...was it because Ain't It Cool specifically culled out any Razzie-related questions...or was it because Stallone himself made it clear he would not answer any Razzie-related questions??  Interesting conundrum to conjecture on, no?

Response from Head RAZZberry: In general, Stallone has alwaze refused to discuss The RAZZIES. In fact, the only time I ever remember the subject even being broached with him publicly was in a San Diego Union Tribune article about our nominees for 2001, when DRIVEN (and Stallone's "performance" in it) were among those nominated. When Stallone's spokesperson was asked for a reaction, they said (and we quote): "Sorry, Mr. Stallone is not going to comment on the awards, and he will not be attending the event." For those interested in reading the entire Union Tribune article, complete with quotes from handlers for Mariah Carey and Tom Green, here's a LINK to it from our old web site... 

If it's not one of the choices listed in the poll (and not one #1 Sly Fan would have chosen) then I assume Rocky doesn't win -- YAY!  Don't tell me, though, if he just loses...or dies of a broken heart  ...

Response from Head RAZZberry: Out of consideration for other Forum visitors who may wish to see ROCKY BALBOA, I want to discourage anyone from giving away the actual ending, if they know it. I'd also like to thank #1 Sly Fan, who is clearly no friend of the RAZZIES, for not giving away what his Net search revealed...

NEWSWEEK just published an extensive article on Rocky Balboa, which reads as a rave review for the movie. Here's a LINK to check it out on-line. GO, ROCKY!!! 

Response from Head RAZZberry: Yes, the article was indeed flattering to the film, and suggested that movie-goers may indeed be pleasantly surprised by what Duh Sly Guy has come up with this time. But I noticed that the by-line was not Newsweek's usual film critic, David Ansen, and that in the next article in the published version of the magazine, which had Ansen listing his Best Bets for Holiday Entertainment of 2006, ROCKY BALBOA was not even mentioned...

As of this posting (Dec 15th, 2006 at 7:36pm Pacific Time) Rocky Balboa is sitting at 80% at RT...Now before you go spill your Egg Nog In Stallone like jubilation #1 Sly Fan, just let me point out 2 things...

1) The positive reviews do not read "flattering" as you would expect about the star or the character, it's like the reviewer clicked the mouse over the wrong choice by mistake or just felt sympathy for how desperate Stallone is.

2) I have seen a 80% positive score quickly dip into the 30% to 40%, especially after the first 3 days of release.

However, I will give Stallone some credit for having the balls to let the critics review it before opening day. That does show that someone (Whether Stallone or the Studio) has a little faith in its performance.

I will also be posting my review in this forum as well on Dec 22nd (As I am sure you know it is now opening Dec 20th, I am sure to try to take advantage of the Christmas Holidays). As I have said several times before I will not pay full price to see a Stallone movie (especially since they closed the markdown theater down near me), but since I received a free movie ticket to see "Rocky Balboa" when I purchased the 2-disc special edition of the original "Rocky" I am going to see and review in all fairness when I get my voting ballot (It should be real shortly).

Stay Tuned!!!!

At the end of the day, if the question of whether or not Sly ends up winning a career Razzie is put before the membership, Rocky Balboa isn't going to influence my opinion in the least. Even if the movie turns out to be a least tolerable (or even good) it won't erase the blackboard.

You have here a lengthy career of howling dogs, and easily one of the five least deserving Oscar Best Picture winners in history on his resume.