‘I Would Become Very Bitter for Having Sold Out’: 46 Years Before Ongoing Ownership Rights Dispute, Sylvester Stallone Was Offered a Large Sum to Step Away From ‘Rocky’

Having made a permanent presence in every fan’s mind, ‘Rocky’ is one of the most beloved sports drama movies. Very few know that Sylvester Stallone had a troubled past that complicated the making of the movie. A video of an old interview of Stallone with BBC has resurfaced online again, where the legendary actor shared that he was offered a hefty amount of money to sell his Rocky ownership right before the movie was made.

However, this was not the only time he faced trouble with ‘Rocky’. Recently, the real ‘Rocky’ has faced some issues of rights with ‘Creed’, which is a sequel to the ‘Rocky’ franchise. However, the video has irked fans. 

Sylvester Stallone was offered a hefty amount of money for ‘Rocky’

Throughout the video, Sylvester Stallone reveals a lot about the ‘Rocky’ movie. Very few know that producers offered Stallone a huge sum of money to buy the script. At the time, Stallone hadn’t seen much of a financial success. However, it was his dedication and passion towards his creation due to which he decided not to take the offers.

In the video, reminding Stallone about the hardships, the BBC reporter asked, “But after when you first went along with your script, I mean they liked the script, but they were so desperate not to have you, that they kept offering you increasingly large sums of money to go away, didn’t it?”

On the note, the ‘Italian Stallion’ answered, “It went up to about $2,56,000, not to appear in the film right, to stay away, to get off my lawn boy. But what they didn’t count on is, when a person hasn’t had that type of money, you really don’t miss it.” He further added, “In other words, if you haven’t ridden Rolls Royce, you don’t mind bouncing around a Volkswagen, you don’t have that frame of reference, but more than that I knew that if I sold it even for $500k after the money was gone, I would become very bitter for having sold out. Because my one love was, to at least fail on my own terms.” 

It is safe to say that Sly also wanted to act in his creation. Which certainly contributed to the movie’s success. In recent times, Stallone made headlines following his dispute with the producers over ownership rights of ‘Creed’ movie.

Read more: ‘I Don’t Have 1% That I Could Leave for My Children’: Disappointed Sylvester Stallone Confronted ‘Rocky’ & ‘Creed’ Producers Over Ownership Rights Dispute

Sylvester Stallone’s recent dispute with producers of ‘Creed’

‘Creed 3’, the ‘Rocky’ spin-off franchise’s third movie will hit theatres on March 3, 2023. However, there was a dispute between him and producer Irwin Winkler about the ownership rights to the movie. As Stallone explained, he didn’t even have 1% of the film. In an hours-long interview with Variety, Stallone talks about the time he confronted the producers. He said, “When I finally confronted them [just before “Rocky IV” in 1985], I said, ‘Does it bother you guys that I’ve written every word, I’ve choreographed it, I’ve been loyal to you, I’ve promoted it, directed it and I don’t have 1% that I could leave for my children?'”

A fan would argue that ‘Rocky’ would never be the same without Sylvester Stallone’s contribution to the franchise. Nevertheless, every fan would be thankful to him for creating a timely piece of work.

Watch this story: Creed 2 is the least favorite movie of Sylvester Stallone in which he acted