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Sylvester Stallone is throwing some punches.<\/p>\n
The actor, 79, revealed that while playing his iconic role as Rocky Balboa in the 1976 sports action film, \u201cRocky,\u201d one memorable moment was conjured up on the spot.<\/p>\n
While talking to Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday\u2019s episode of \u201cThe Tonight Show,\u201d Stallone revealed, \u201cWhen I got to Philadelphia and did the movie\u00a0\u2018Rocky,\u2019 I wasn\u2019t even thinking about the steps. We didn\u2019t have any money to shoot there. We didn\u2019t have the license.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just got out of the car, I said, \u2018Let me just run up the steps, get a shot of it and we\u2019ll get out of here before the police come.’\u201d<\/p>\n The crew shot more footage, but played around a few times to get it right.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first take, I said, \u2018Let me carry my dog up the steps.\u2019 My dog is a buffalo; it\u2019s a 130 lb. bull mastiff. I get halfway up, my knees buckle,\u201d the actor recalled. \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018Dog, out. Back in the car, pal.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n \u201cAnyway, we did it and it became a very famous scene<\/a>, but I thought it\u2019s also a great name for a biography about the steps you make in your life to arrive. Because guys, trust me, I had zero going\u2026 the thing is, you\u2019ve got to get to a point like, \u2018Am I going to win or is life going to win?\u2019 \u201d Stallone continued.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a battle. It\u2019s a punch-out,\u201d the \u201cTulsa King\u201d actor said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not easy because you\u2019re always under the gun. No one ever really gets ahead of it, but it\u2019s the fight you put up that gets you where you want to go. So, you just got to keep punching.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans will get an inside look into even more behind the scenes details in Stallone\u2019s upcoming memoir, \u201cThe Steps,\u201d which hits shelves <\/a>in May 2026.<\/p>\n In 2022, the star opened up about not owning the rights<\/a> to the \u201cRocky\u201d movie franchise, which include \u201cRocky II\u201d (1979), \u201cRocky IV\u201d (1985), \u201cRocky V\u201d (1990), \u201cRocky Balboa\u201d\u00a0(2006), and its spin-offs, \u201cCreed\u201d\u00a0(2015),\u00a0\u201cCreed II\u201d (2018) and \u201cCreed III\u201d (2023).<\/p>\n While on SiriusXM\u2019s \u201cPop Culture Spotlight with Jessica Shaw,\u201d<\/a> the host asked Stallone if there was any chance of \u201cmaking peace\u201d with Irwin Winkler, the 94-year-old who owns the rights to the movies in both the \u201cRocky\u201d and \u201cCreed\u201d franchise.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t make peace with someone who\u2019s been so, so nefarious in my, in my opinion,\u201d\u00a0Stallone replied.<\/p>\n The \u201cRambo\u201d alum noted that \u201ceveryone made out well,\u201d but no one was supposed to do better than anyone else.<\/p>\n Stallone also expressed that Stephen Spielberg doesn\u2019t even own the rights to \u201cJaws.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, Universal Pictures owns the rights.<\/p>\n The actor said he and his family would never own the rights to the \u201cRocky\u201d franchise, which has garnered\u00a0over $1.7 billion<\/a>,\u00a0including its\u00a0spin-offs.<\/p>\n The \u201cExpendables\u201d alum labeled the situation a \u201crough emotional ride,\u201d and said he would never watch \u201cCreed III,\u201d<\/a> which was released in March 2023.<\/p>\n At the time, Stallone said that since no bad blood with \u201cCreed\u201d star Michael B. Jordan, he would sign on for \u201cCreed IV\u201d as long as Winkler and his son, David, are not involved. However, Winkler later announced<\/a> that a fourth film is in the works. <\/p>\n While Stallone is likely not heading back to his old stomping grounds, Variety reported<\/a> the New York City native was paid $75,000 for his original screenplay and acting fees, plus 10 net points, which earned him at least $2.5 million on the first film.<\/p>\n The original \u201cRocky\u201d raked in $225 million globally.<\/p>\n In 1983, Winkler shared his side of the story.<\/p>\n \u201cOur commitment to him was that he could star in it,\u201d he told\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe convinced United Artists to give us the money to make it,\u201d the director added. \u201cThey would only give us a limited amount of money, and they said that we had to put up our houses as collateral. We really mortgaged ourselves to make sure that we brought it in on time, and we did.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n