It was a cool winter evening in Orange County, California when Rich and Linda Wilcox decided to load up Little eight year old Dave, his older brother Dennis and a cooler full of soda and head off to the Orange Drive-In in the City of Orange.  I had my Mickey Mouse pillow and I was ready to roll. My parents were not Boxing fans, but my dad knew of this unknown actor that made a Boxing movie and he was intrigued by it.
Later on he would tell me that he saw the star of this little movie in “The Lords of Flatbush” and thought this Italian actor was great in that movie.  My dad was a huge Godfather fan, so anything Italian he loved.  He figured he would take a chance and take the family to see what would turn out to be my personal favorite movie of All-time.  Not only was it my favorite movie, but at the risk of being too over dramatic, the movie actually changed my life.  The movie of course was “Rocky” and the actor was Sylvester Stallone.

I sat in the back of my parents yellow VW bug watching this movie and didn’t make a sound for about 2 hours.  I was totally mesmerized by it. Even though I was only eight years old, I remember it like it was yesterday. The fight scene at the end felt real to me. I was going wild and cheering when Balboa landed the big left hook that put Creed down in the first.  As the fight progressed, I was closing my eyes because I couldn’t bear to watch my new hero take such a horrific beating at the hands of the great Apollo Creed. 

To my surprise, Rocky fought back and had Creed on the verge of a TKO due to the tremendous punishment Creed had taken to the body. Swollen face and busted ribs was not the norm for “The Master of Disaster.”  In the end, Rocky Balboa went the distance but lost a decision to Creed. After hearing the decision, I was outraged!  How could the judges deny Balboa his much deserved victory?  I threw my popcorn at the 1968 Ford Falcon wagon next to us and demanded an explanation from my dad on why Creed got the nod.  Of course good old Rich had no answer for me. That wonderful night in 1976 was the start of my love of Boxing. It was also the first time I spend way too much time bitching and moaning about scorecards.  I have perfected that art now.

With all of the sequels to the original movie, the character had been part of my life up until the last chapter of the saga came out in 1990.  Rocky 5 was not the best of the series to put it kindly.  After watching that one, I kind of figured that was the end of my man Rocky Balboa.  I figured I would spend the rest of my days watching my VHS copies of the movies. I guess I was wrong!

Fast forward to December 2005. I was on the computer as I’m prone to do from time to time. I went to the forum section on Boxingscene.com and saw an advertisement for a company called “beinamovie.com.” They were looking for extras for the filming of Rocky 6. That’s right, Rocky six was in production.  I had heard rumors for years that Stallone wanted to make another chapter to the Rocky franchise, but I honestly didn’t think it would ever happen.  Come to think of it, initially I thought it was a bad idea. “Rocky can’t fight at the age of sixty!” I thought to myself.  Well, common sense left and the kid in me came back.  There was no way I was going to miss this.  I called the company, signed up to be an extra and they told me to be on the set the following Tuesday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.  Las Vegas in a five hour drive from my house, so I set the alarm for 3:30 am and knew it wouldn’t be long until I was a freaking movie star!

I arrived at the Mandalay Bay and they led us sheep……..err extras to the Arena where just the previous Saturday night Jermaine Taylor defended his Title against Bernard Hopkins.  They told us today was the big day of filming. The fight scenes were to be shot. The last round was the main focus on this day of my Hollywood discovery.  They put me ringside with some others and we waited for the filming to begin.  There were a lot of people there to be extras, but not enough to fill the arena, so the movie crew had dummies in many of the seats to give the look of a full house. So remember, when you do see the movie, look for a dummy in the crowd. (I was wearing a blue Hawaiian shirt)  Also don’t forget to look for the other dummies.

It was really a crazy day. The crowd was similar to one at a rock concert. There were not only Boxing fans there, but a lot of Stallone groupies as well.  The Rocky chants started before Stallone even showed his face.  I went to bed that night with “Rocky, Rocky, Rocky” ringing in my ears.  After about an hour of sitting there doing nothing, the cast started to appear.  First was Tony Burton. He of course is Apollo Creed’s original trainer Duke. Who could ever forget his classic line from Rocky II?  “You beat this man like nobody has ever been beat before, and the man kept coming at you.” 

Next coming to the ring was young newcomer Milo Ventimiglia. He was cast as Rocky Jr.  I couldn’t help but wonder how Sage Stallone felt about being fired as Sly’s son. It must have been an interesting Thanksgiving dinner at the Stallone estate.  Then the current Light Heavyweight Champion of the world made his way to the ring. The crowd went wild when Antonio Tarver walked towards the ring with his entourage.  I had my reservations about Tarver being cast as the Heavyweight Champ, Mason “The Line” Dixon.  Those reservations would soon turn into excitement as the day went on.

A few minutes went by until the next cast member showed his face. That next face would be the one of Burt Young. Burt Young will be reprising his role of everyone’s favorite brother-in-law, Paulie.  With goofy hat on his head and his customary cigar in mouth, Burt Young was given a huge ovation and the chants of “Pualie” went on for ten minutes.  Once the cheering died down, it was now time for Rocky himself to come on down. Stallone made his way to the ring and the crowd went absolutely wild!  Once to the ring he immediately went into movie making mode.

One thing I learned about Stallone that day was that he is very determined and focused to prove many people wrong about this project. “It is very important that this movie is good and realistic” Stallone told the crowd. “We have Antonio Tarver here to help make the fight scenes more believable” he said.  Stallone and Tarver went through there choreography for a few minutes and then it was time to start filming. 

Once the cameras rolled, Tarver and Stallone put on quite a show. The scenes looked both exciting and believable. On one occasion, Tarver got a little excited and blasted Sly on the ear with a big right hand. Stallone took it well, but as soon as they said cut, Stallone was wobbly and the blood had to be wiped from his ear. You can say what you want about Stallone, but he is a fighter at heart and obviously works hard to be in shape and make himself look like a real fighter. At 60 years old, he is in incredible physical condition and won’t embarrass himself in this movie.

Although they filmed the final round of the fight, I’m not quite sure what the outcome will be. They informed me that three different endings will be filmed and the actual ending will be decided after test screenings are done. The ending I saw was an exciting one for sure.  I was sworn to secrecy and had to sign a waiver that I wouldn’t give out details of the script. I will say that from what I saw, the fight will be the best yet.

Info that has already been released on the storyline is that Rocky Balboa is widowed and broke. His wife Adrian has passed away and to pass time he starts fighting exhibition bouts to raise money for a Children’s foundation. Stallone said he took the idea from the true life playbook of Big George Foreman. During his run of exhibitions, Heavyweight Champ Mason “The Line” Dixon is looking for an easy payday and offers Balboa a real fight. What happens from there is still a secret…kind of.

During the day of filming I learned that Sylvester Stallone is passionate about his alter ego and this time will do everything needed to make this installment a memorable one. I for one can’t wait to see it.  I like to think of the Rocky movies as a guilty pleasure and I’m willing to admit I’ll be first in line for the opening. Maybe after my stunning performance as “row 5 fan” and my cameo as “guy walking to his seat during the introductions” Stallone will invite me to the premiere. My performance is Oscar worthy I’m sure.

The filming ended about 8:30 that night and I hopped in the old pick up truck to head home. Of course by the time I got home, I just had to put in my VHS copy of the Original Rocky as I laid down to dream of my impending Hollywood stardom.

A fun day was had by all. For twelve hours I was the eight year old in the back of Rich and Linda’s VW bug again. Thanks to the Cast and Crew for day I will remember for a long time, but most of all thanks to my parents. Just think if they took me to see Cabaret instead. I would probably be a dancer or singer instead of a Boxing fanatic. You don’t see many 220 pound ballet dancers.

Random Rocky notes:

-After about the tenth take on a particular scene, it was obvious Burt Young was getting a little irritated. I told him that it should only be about ten more until Stallone was happy with the scene. His response was “I’m so tired of this damn business and I’m too old for this crap.” He was the hit of the day. He signed autographs throughout the filming even though he wasn’t supposed to and he mingled with the people all day as filming dragged on.

-Antonio Tarver seemed to have a great time and was very much focused. I’m sure it was tough for a real fighter to pull punches, but he was very committed and worked hard all day. He didn’t “big time” anyone. He did get in a few real shots on Stallone, so I’m sure that helped him pass the time.

-The targeted opening date of the movie is late in 2006. Just in time for an early Christmas present for us.

-on a side note, I was very impressed with myself. For the first time in my life I went to Vegas and not one drop of alcohol crossed my lips and I didn’t get lost once while arriving or leaving Sin City. Maybe the booze intake was related to me getting lost all the time?  I think I’m on to something here.