| Revolution
Studios, who will co-produce and finance the film, released
a statement on October 14, 2005 stating that the sixth Rocky
movie will bring fans back to the days of the
original. Dan
Taylor, president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is
co-producing the film, said the movie focuses less on boxing
and more on character. "It's about self-examination, an
opportunity to see what kind of person he is and act on
it," Taylor said.
Shooting commences at the
beginning of December and some aspects of production are
already underway including animation sequences and artwork.
OFFICIAL
FILM TITLE: "Rocky
Balboa"
PRODUCTION
DATES: Scheduled to be a
38-day-shoot. December 3, 2005 (Las
Vegas); December 10, 2005 (Los Angeles); January 9, 2006 (Philadelphia)
WRITTEN
& DIRECTED BY: Sylvester Stallone
PRODUCED
BY: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
and Revolution
Studios
BUDGET:
$24 Million
THEATRICAL
RELEASE:
December, 2006
SPECIAL
EFFECTS:
Rocky fan John
Romanelli, whose cousin is currently at work on the animated
computer fight between Rocky Balboa & Mason Dixon,
reported the following on ign.com:
"Blur Studios (Oscar
Nominees for the animated short "Gopher Broke")
will do the animation of the computer fight. It is
apparently going to be ESPN that "broadcasts" the
fight. My info, though, says Rocky loses, and that's what
prompts him to start fighting again. I don't know if that is
accurate - I haven't seen a script.
"At any rate, last
Thursday [11/3/05], Sly and Tarver did their motion capture
work at Blur in Venice, CA. My first cousin is the animator
that did the work, so I got a first-hand account!
"By the way, he said
Stallone is only 5' 9" but is in incredible shape and
could take someone's head clean off with a punch - he's
really learned how to fight "correctly" after all
of these Rocky movies."
SYNOPSIS:
Rocky Balboa will be a tragic widower in the
forthcoming film Rocky VI following the death of his wife Adrian.
In an effort to fight off his loneliness, Rocky decides to
return to the ring.
When a reigning heavyweight champion, Mason
Dixon, hears of Balboa's return, he offers him a big pay off
if he'll return to the ring for the fight of all fights.
"We'll try to capture the essence of the first
couple of films," Sly says. "There's a computer fight between the reigning world
champion and Balboa, and Balboa wins. The champion's
management says 'let's do this for real, for charity'.
"Rocky says 'no' but decides to be true to himself even
though he's going to be berated by everyone. Just to
compete, not to win."
"Rocky Balboa is about everybody who feels they want to
participate in the race of life, rather than be a bystander.
You're never too old to climb a mountain, if that's your
desire."
CAST:
Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa); Talia Shire (Adrian
Balboa); Burt Young (Paulie); Tony
Burton (Tony Duke); Milo Ventimiglia (Rocky
Balboa, Jr.); Geraldine Hughes (Marie); Mr. T (Clubber Lang)
Mr. T has
reported that he is penciled in to reprise his role - this
time as a boxing commentator.
 Sage Stallone will not be
reprising his role as Rocky Balboa, Jr. Rumors
are flying as to why, but no official statement has been
released. In Sage's stead, 28-year-old
actor Milo Ventimiglia has been cast as the new Rocky
Jr. Ventimiglia has been acting since childhood and
has appeared in several films and television programs
including 1999's She's All That and WB's The
Gilmore Girls. The handsome Milo certainly looks
like a good choice for the young Balboa!
Boxing champion Antonio Tarver
has been confirmed to star opposite Stallone as
Mason Dixon. In early November, Tarver described
his first few days on the job: "I'll tell you what,
there's a whole lot more to it than action and cut. It's
like preparing for a fight, you've got to put in months of
hard work for one big night. Sylvester Stallone is a
brilliant writer and he's a superb director. I think this is
going to be another one of his masterpieces when all is said
and done. Mason Dixon, believe it or not, is a character
much like myself. I think bringing Mason to life will not be
that hard once I understand how he wants Mason to be
portrayed. We did wardrobe last week and I can tell you that
Mason will be a real fly character in this movie. I can't
wait."
According to a recent script
review, a surprise cameo will be made by one of the
characters from the original Rocky.
ADRIAN?
According to the screenplay thus far, the film opens at
Adrian's graveside. "In
the script, she did pass away, but it's unsure whether she
might appear in a flashback or in older footage," says
Suart Herriot, a
spokesman with Revolution Studios.
"It's too early in the production to tell."
[11/26/05] According to an
extensive article just released, Talia Shire WILL be
reprising her role as Adrian. Her sequences will be
shot in flashback.
RUMOR:
According to gossip, actor Dolph Lundgren
was supposedly meant to make a short appearance
in Rocky Balboa when Rocky visits the hospital where Ivan
Drago is dying of AIDS. Lundgren recently confirmed
that this is indeed untrue saying: "He's [Drago]
still up in the Siberian gulag I think. Actually, I'm
working on another Russian-themed project, and I've been
thinking back about the Ivan Drago character a little
bit”.
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