“40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic” will delve into the role that made the Hollywood actor a star, while recalling his experience working on the original film “Rocky”.
Written and produced by Derek Wayne Johnson, the behind the scenes documentary offers an “emotional” and “intimate” look at the realization of the sports drama, four decades after the release of the first episode in 1976.
Stallone, who is now 73, was a relatively unknown actor when he wrote the original script for “Rocky” and played the lead role in the film, boxer Robert “Rocky” Balboa.
“You’re a very lucky person when you can find out that the best friend you’ve ever had is a character who just came out of your mind, someone who was always there when things got tough and never left me,” says Stallone in the documentary trailer.
Johnson, who previously profiled the film’s director in “John G. Avildsen: King of the Underdogs”, described the project as a “golden nugget” for “Rocky” fans.
The documentary, he promised, “will give the audience an intimate and sometimes emotional experience.”
“We are proud of the film,” he said in a note, “and audiences can expect new stories and new footage they have never seen before in a mixture of director John Avildsen’s home movies, rehearsal footage, and behind-the-scenes scenes from the final movie for losers. “
“40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic” will be released digitally on iTunes / AppleTV and Amazon on June 9th.
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