‘I Play Rocky’ Trailer: Unknown Actor Wants To Star In Movie He Wrote, But Studios Aren’t Having It
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- Peter Farrelly directed "I Play Rocky," starring Anthony Ippolito as a young Sylvester Stallone who writes a Rocky screenplay and insists on playing the lead — mirroring how the real Stallone actually pushed the original 1976 film through Hollywood.
- Amazon MGM Studios set an awards-season limited opening, with "I Play Rocky" hitting select theaters on November 6.
- Peter Gamble wrote the screenplay; the ensemble cast includes Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, and Stephan James.
- The first footage debuted for exhibitors at CinemaCon in April before Tuesday's public trailer release.
- The article underscores the real-life stakes: the original Rocky earned 10 Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Picture over Network, All the President's Men, Taxi Driver, and Bound for Glory.
Why it matters: By positioning the film as a meta retelling of Hollywood's most famous underdog story, Amazon MGM is stacking its November 6 awards-season limited release with built-in prestige — the real Rocky beat Network, All the President's Men, Taxi Driver, and Bound for Glory for Best Picture, giving the new film a reference point Oscar voters already recognize.
