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Abstract

n character is Stallone. He puts his personal stories, feelings, pain, and love into the experiences of Rocky himself, but also into other characters.As the audience you can feel the authenticity seeping out of the films. I haven’t made films, but I know you can’t make that up out of nothing. The vulnerability behind the brick wall exterior of Rocky is Stallone’s own pain.It is an example of why we love certain celebrities and public figures, the ones through which we are made aware of our humanity.<h1 id="c3fd">2. Take the bullets you get and turn them into ammo</h1>Stallone said nobody wanted to cast him in any movie. He had physical attributes that directors didn’t want; “droopy eyes” and “a slur.” These people saw these imperfections as flaws.In school, none of his teachers ever liked his writing. There were shots in the documentary of notebooks he’d used to write screenplays. Total chaos. Seemingly illegible handwriting. Did that stop him? No, rather he slayed.When Rocky came out and was an immediate hit, Stallone instantly became famous, everyone wanted him. It was precisely the things that made him who he was that led to his success.<h1 id="1fa8">3. It’s not too late</h1>He was 30 when Rocky hit the box office. Prior to his life being turned upside down for the better, Stallone was a struggling artist wondering how he would pay his rent.At the premiere of Rocky, his brother said to him it could either be the best or the worst day of his life, and Stallone said if the film had bombed, that was it for him. Luckily it turned out.I wonder

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though if he would have really given up if it had, considering the drive and tenacity that seemed to be an inherent part of himself. Or maybe fate would have meant failing that was never an option.<h1 id="e782">4. When you become successful even those closest to you can feel threatened</h1>Stallone discusses several occasions when his father actively tried to bring him down off his high horse, literally.Polo was a space where this happened a few times. When he was a teenager, his dad, Frank Stallone Sr, went down to the pitch and threw him off his horse when he was playing well.When already successful, Stallone put together a polo match with him on one team and his father on the other. Caught on tape, his father whacked him in the back so hard with his mallet, the only “cheap shot” in the whole match, against his son.Stallone said he never wanted to play polo ever again, and the incident further cemented his belief that his father was jealous of him.Stallone said after Rocky his dad was talking about making a film called Sonny, based on the former. Frank Stallone Jr told him his brother had worked incredibly hard, and with no help from him, that it would have been totally unfair. The idea never eventuated.Although incredibly successful now, Stallone faced challenge after challenge both before and after becoming a well-known screenwriter, actor, and director.Through Sly, Stallone demonstrates that you should learn to trust yourself and your judgment; to lean into what stirs you, and to not let anything stop you from sharing that with the world.</article></body>

Four Lessons from the Documentary on Sylvester Stallone: ‘Sly’

A Rocky fan reborn

Sylvester Stallone. Photo: Anastasiya Fedorenko, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I don’t know why but I loved the Rocky series immediately. I think it’s probably because I’m a sucker for tearjerkers, and Rocky is most certainly that.

Maybe there’s a part of me that resonates deeply with the unjustified optimistic archetype, the feeling that it’s got to get better, the hard-slog, repressed, zero-to-hero mentality. Maybe that’s silly.

On the surface, me and Rocky are very different. He’s this tough schlep macho man from 1970s New York, and I’m (in public) a relatively chill young middle-class, I guess, woman from the other side of the world. It’s the heart that people so different from each other can connect with.

Sylvester Stallone has made a lot of other films along with the Rockys, and another character he is very famous for is of course Rambo. I personally haven’t watched many of the others, but it was interesting to get a feel for them in the new documentary about him on Netflix, Sly.

As I was watching, I realised everything he was saying was about lessons he’d learned throughout his career and life. There were many, but here are four to take away.

1. Channel your emotions into your work to make them art

One of the big reasons why the Rocky films are so great is because the main character is Stallone. He puts his personal stories, feelings, pain, and love into the experiences of Rocky himself, but also into other characters.

As the audience you can feel the authenticity seeping out of the films. I haven’t made films, but I know you can’t make that up out of nothing. The vulnerability behind the brick wall exterior of Rocky is Stallone’s own pain.

It is an example of why we love certain celebrities and public figures, the ones through which we are made aware of our humanity.

2. Take the bullets you get and turn them into ammo

Stallone said nobody wanted to cast him in any movie. He had physical attributes that directors didn’t want; “droopy eyes” and “a slur.” These people saw these imperfections as flaws.

In school, none of his teachers ever liked his writing. There were shots in the documentary of notebooks he’d used to write screenplays. Total chaos. Seemingly illegible handwriting. Did that stop him? No, rather he slayed.

When Rocky came out and was an immediate hit, Stallone instantly became famous, everyone wanted him. It was precisely the things that made him who he was that led to his success.

3. It’s not too late

He was 30 when Rocky hit the box office. Prior to his life being turned upside down for the better, Stallone was a struggling artist wondering how he would pay his rent.

At the premiere of Rocky, his brother said to him it could either be the best or the worst day of his life, and Stallone said if the film had bombed, that was it for him. Luckily it turned out.

I wonder though if he would have really given up if it had, considering the drive and tenacity that seemed to be an inherent part of himself. Or maybe fate would have meant failing that was never an option.

4. When you become successful even those closest to you can feel threatened

Stallone discusses several occasions when his father actively tried to bring him down off his high horse, literally.

Polo was a space where this happened a few times. When he was a teenager, his dad, Frank Stallone Sr, went down to the pitch and threw him off his horse when he was playing well.

When already successful, Stallone put together a polo match with him on one team and his father on the other. Caught on tape, his father whacked him in the back so hard with his mallet, the only “cheap shot” in the whole match, against his son.

Stallone said he never wanted to play polo ever again, and the incident further cemented his belief that his father was jealous of him.

Stallone said after Rocky his dad was talking about making a film called Sonny, based on the former. Frank Stallone Jr told him his brother had worked incredibly hard, and with no help from him, that it would have been totally unfair. The idea never eventuated.

Although incredibly successful now, Stallone faced challenge after challenge both before and after becoming a well-known screenwriter, actor, and director.

Through Sly, Stallone demonstrates that you should learn to trust yourself and your judgment; to lean into what stirs you, and to not let anything stop you from sharing that with the world.