Sylvester Stallone has long been known for his iconic role as Rocky Balboa, the legendary boxer from the Rocky franchise. However, in recent years, Stallone has expressed his frustration over the exploitation of his beloved characters by the producers of the franchise.
‘Sly’s’ frustration stems from the fact that despite having written and directed the Rocky films, he no longer owns the rights to any of the characters. Reportedly, he sold the rights to Irwin Winkler in 1976 for just $350,000, a decision he made out of financial desperation. The film would go on to win the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’, and Stallone would become a household name. However, he did not see the financial returns he would have had, had he retained the rights to the characters.
In an Instagram post that was deleted, Stallone expressed his anger and disappointment towards the producers of the film. Moreover, he would even call them “parasites” for taking away the rights to his movies.
“Just found this out… ONCE AGAIN, IRWIN WINKLER, this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles And David, are once again picking clean THE BONES of another wonderful character I created without even telling me. I APOLOGIZE to the FANS. I never wanted ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites,” the post read.
However, despite this, the fans were not too keen on Stallone’s tantrums calling out the producers of the movies. Moreover, they were also quick to slam the 76-year-old actor for his comments as they reacted to this controversial statement.
Fans react to Sylvester Stallone calling out ‘Rocky’ producers
A user with a first name Ash claimed that Stallone was the problem and also gave some examples where he tried to take advantage of his co-stars. “He had an issue with Bruce Willis asking for more money, he has an issue with Dolph Lundgren, he has an issue with Michael B Jordan, he has an issue with the producers…. starting to think he’s the problem,” he wrote.
A user named Stewart stated that the deal between the two parties was made keeping in mind the values of the movie then. He added that this was only regret and not financially motivated as Stallone had a great career. “It was early on and probs a great deal at the time. A business is valued on what it’s worth at the time of purchase. Not what it could potentially be worth. I think it’s more regret on his part, he’s had a successful career,” he wrote.
Another user named Aaron claimed that ‘Sly’ would be furious if the producers made another spinoff. “He’ll be furious when they reboot the entire franchise and remake the originals,” he wrote.
Moreover, a user named Chris Smith revealed the real reason why Stallone was upset at the producers. “It’s because they can’t come up with anything original. Every good thing gets copied into a cheap remake,” he wrote.
Lastly, a user named Alan stated that the actor should have known who he was dealing with. He claimed that the Winkler family were businessmen and would do anything to get the best deal. “Irwin Winkler. One should know before any dealing with ‘winkler’ that he’s greasy and skates by from slimy behavior. Hashtag could spot from a mile away,” he wrote.
Fans of the franchise recently got to see the latest edition of the Creed movie and now another spinoff featuring Ivan and Viktor Drago is reportedly in the works. While this might be good news for fans, Stallone has expressed his disappointment with the project. It remains to be seen how the new Drago spinoff will be received by fans, but one thing is clear, Sylvester Stallone’s contributions to the Rocky franchise are immeasurable, and the franchise will certainly not be where it is today without him.