Farrelly's 'I Play Rocky' Surprises at London Film Festival — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Peter Farrelly introduced "I Play Rocky" as the London Film Festival's surprise Friday-night screening and said he's most proud that Sylvester Stallone himself loved the film.
- Anthony Ippolito, 27, landed the role of Stallone after tracking down the script and shooting three scenes in his grandmother's basement on Long Island — Farrelly called the self-submitted tape the end of what was supposed to be a "worldwide search."
- The cast includes AnnSophia Robb as Sasha Czack (Stallone's wife), Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., P.J. Byrne as producer Irwin Winkler, and Jay Duplass as director John G. Avildsen.
- The film first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, where it was up for the People's Choice Award.
- Variety chief film critic Owen Gleiberman called it a "cleverly-crafted crowd pleaser," writing that Ippolito's portrayal lets viewers believe "Sylvester Stallone is standing right in front of us."
- The film is set to open in U.S. and U.K. theaters on Nov. 6.
Why it matters: The film's Nov. 6 theatrical release gives Stallone's most loyal fanbase — the Rocky franchise's multi-generational audience — its first feature-length look at how the underdog origin story began, with Farrelly publicly anchoring the movie's credibility to Stallone's own approval rather than to box-office projections.
Ask SkimNews
