'I Play Rocky' biopic lands a knockout debut, sparks Oscar buzz
The biopic 'I Play Rocky,' starring newcomer Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to positive reception. The film chronicles Stallone's struggle to get his screenplay produced while insisting on playing the lead role himself.
Why it matters
The film's successful debut and the unique casting story have generated significant interest in the upcoming awards season.
Hear this story TORONTO − Of course, the movie about the making of “Rocky” is also an underdog “Rocky” tale.
At Toronto International Film Festival , newcomer Anthony Ippolito got a grand introduction to the cinema world – and perhaps the Oscar race – at the Sept. 12 world premiere of “I Play Rocky” (in select theaters Nov. 6). The 27-year-old New York native plays Sylvester Stallone in a biopic of sorts that follows Stallone as a struggling actor who couldn’t get a good part, so he wrote himself the lead role in the screenplay for “Rocky.”
When producers and the studio want to hire a name star, Stallone sticks to his guns ("I play Rocky," he tells them over and over) and forces them to cast him as boxer Rocky Balboa. He then navigates a stressful albeit successful production on a low budget.
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