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Sylvester Stallone never thought Rocky was going to win.
The 79-year-old actor opened up about being warned by industry insiders that he had no shot at Best Picture at the 1977 Oscars. The piece marks the 50th anniversary of the iconic 1976 boxing film.
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The Warning Before the Oscars
“You’re new in this town. First of all, your screenplay is never going to win,” Stallone recalled being told ahead of the ceremony. “You’re not winning Best Picture either, because Network is going to win.”
Network, the Paddy Chayefsky media satire, was widely tipped as the Best Picture frontrunner. It won four Oscars that night, including Best Actor for the posthumously honored Peter Finch and Best Actress for Faye Dunaway. But the top prize went to Rocky, beating out Network, Taxi Driver, Bound for Glory, and All the President’s Men.
“When we won, I was so stunned, I just went, ‘Oh my god,'” Stallone exclaimed. “If I wasn’t holding onto the chair, I probably would’ve just done a back flip.”
Why It Hit
Stallone’s theory on why Rocky connected, post-Vietnam and post-Watergate: “People were looking for something life-affirming.”
The film was written in three days in March 1975, shot in 24 days in Philadelphia, and made on a budget of under $1 million. It grossed $225 million worldwide, the top-grossing film of 1976. Director John G. Avildsen also won Best Director.
Related: 1976 Classic Film Phenomenon was Written in ‘Just Three Days’
Stallone’s reaction to his sudden stratospheric rise was less straightforward than it looked from the outside. “The good news is, I’ve peaked, and the bad news is, I’ve peaked,” he said.
What’s Coming for the 50th
Rocky returns to theaters in a remastered 4K edition Nov. 7–11.
The Stallone biopic I Play Rocky, starring Anthony Ippolito and directed by Peter Farrelly, hits theaters Nov. 20, just before the film’s true 50th anniversary on Nov. 21.
Next: Sylvester Stallone Just Opened a ‘New Chapter’ for Rambo in the Most Surprising Way
