Round #11 - Stallone continues winning our collective hearts!

Hey folks, Harry here - just blew out the 35 candles on my birthday cake and now it's time to post the eleventh chapter of Stallone's epic AICN Q&A. Here you go...

1. Dear Mr. Stallone, First I would like to thank you for just the opportunity to ask you a question, not many stars do this and I think it is fantastic. My question is a two-parter, out of your vast library of films: a. who was your favorite leading lady? b. which costar, male or female, has impressed you the most with their acting ability? Thanks, Michael in Nashville

Without a doubt Talia Shire is my favorite leading lady. Not that I haven’t had other good ones, but Talia provided the spark plug that drove the success of ROCKY. I call that the “Adrian factor”. She gave the film the opportunity to display heart. Also, I enjoyed working with Darlanne Fluegel from LOCK UP, Janine Turner in CLIFFHANGER and definitely Sharon Stone, who is a good buddy.

2. As we know you're going to produce Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye in the northern region of Thailand close to the Burmese boarder. And as we also know all the Rambo movies before have been very violent, of course, otherwise it wouldn't be a Rambo movie :). But the Thai Government is concerned that too much violence in the new movie could reflect the agressivity from the Burmese people and tribes which isn't actually present. How are you going to handle this? Do we have to expect not to see a violent movie like before? Thank you! Enrico (C.Mai., Thailand)

The Thai government has read the script and vetoed out all the action, which of course contains violence, but the violence is merely a reflection of the reality of that region. This will be a very difficult shoot because we’re blending fact with fiction, which is always a volatile mixture.

3. Yo, Sly... Is it true that you once saw a ghost during your time in Switzerland? And how about any recent encounters with the supernatural? Frightfully yours, Dennis in Westwood, Ca

I definitely saw something that I would interpret as supernatural. I was in this old building that now served as a college dorm. But before that it was a clinic that specialized in people suffering with tuberculosis. The clinic was called a Solarium. One night, while engaged in intense nose-to-nose conversation with a female student, out of the corner of my eye I saw what appeared to be a shadow slide across the empty hallway and disappear beneath the door. I was sober at the time and believe me, though I may have a fancy for imagination, this definitely qualified to be a grand prizewinner in the “too real” category.

4. Hey Sly, I was just wondering if showering with Kurt Russell has been the highlight of your career up to this point. Alvin Vancouver, British Columbia

I gotta admit, showering with a fellow member of the same sex makes me repulsed and very uncomfortable, but the fact that we continued to make jokes about each other’s dangling members helped alleviate the tension. But if you noticed, who was the first one to drop the soap… not that I’m pointing fingers by any means. Just kidding. If we were dinosaurs we would definitely be labeled as members of the Tyrannosaurus sex species.

5. Sly, In all the Rocky movies, the training montages are our favorite scenes. When putting these together, do you film the scenes and then find the music, or do you already know the music and does the music inspire the scenes? Also, my brother and I just purchased a case of Sly Glacial Water, which is fantastic. How did you get involved in that business, your idea or did they approach you? Thanks so much for everything. Craig and Jon Finkel Hermosa Beach, CA

No, the training montages were put together by just compiling a series of physical exercises, indoor contrasted with outdoor endeavors to create a visual mixture that would provide the composer with different stimulation. I will admit, the lst temporary song I used for the ROCKY montage was a tune written by Hall & Oats called “Grounds for Separation”. This provided a direction for Bill Conti to go. After that, all the other ROCKYS followed a similar pattern except for the montage in ROCKY IV, “No Easy Way Out,” which was shot to the song which already existed

6. who suffers more: jesus in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST or rocky in the six ROCKY films combined? is it okay to cry? if so, how often? if they were going to make a movie about your life, who would you want to play you in the movie about your life? Yello Sly Thanks, jeff

Without a doubt…Christ. What are you crazy? Rocky takes pain and channels it into desire and the anger to retaliate. All of us, every one of you understand the real meaning of pain, which is just the process of meandering through this volatile concep called life. The pounding you see Rocky receiving is just a metaphor for the body shots that everyday people take everyday. As far as who I think should play me: I’m flipping a coin between Danny Devito and Leo Gorcey of The Dead End Kids. But, let’s not eliminate the possibility of Rondo Hatton AKA “The Oxford Creeper” playing the young Stallone.

7. Why was the decision made not to release Rocky Balboa simultaneously worldwide? Surely, that would get rid of unwanted piracy and spoilers? Luckily the timing's good for me, i'm meeting a really perfect girl from Glasgow called Adrian, and our first date will be watching Rocky Balboa in February! Wish me luck! From Luke Gray Oxfordshire, England

That would be an excellent idea. Unfortunately ROCKY BALBOA didn’t have the necessary horsepower to move other films off their pre-arranged dates. So we take what we can get. I believe the film will have opened throughout Europe by mid-February. I suggested once that studios, this is back in 1980; pirate their own films since someone’s going to do it anyway. But that was met with a resounding thud.

8. Dear Sly, I recently had the chance to see a short film call "Your Studio and You" by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. It features many famous Hollywood celebrities including you doing your Rocky Balboa voice and all. Not many people know that this film exists so I was wondering how your involvement came about to do your short cameo role and if your role was written when you got to the set. You have some of the best parts and your lines ending the short are classic. Joey D Astoria, New York City

These young men came down when I was living in Miami and I believe we did the filming there. It was all their creation and I think the film was to either commemorate a studio anniversary or the birth of Matt Damon.

9. Dear Mr. Stallone, how much does 'Rocky Balboa' echo the first Rocky? Also, which Rocky flick had the best training sequence (in your opinion)? Thank you for your time, Ravi

Rocky Balboa is what I believe to be the best twin companion for the first one. If they were bookends these two would match up perfectly. My fantasy edit would be to have ROCKY end as it does, and as the music dies down and it fades on Rocky and Adrian hugging, the screen would go to black and up would come the quote “30 years later,” and we’d open up on ROCKY BALBOA at Adrian’s grave sight to show how life can rip your guts out when you least expect it. Without a doubt, the training sequence for ROCKY IV was by far the most difficult and special.

10. We still fondly remember your brother Frank Stallones song “Take You Back” from Rocky, as well as his contribution to First Blood Part 2. Is he involved in either Rocky Balboa or the next Rambo?

If I didn’t use my Brother, I’d never hear the end of it, plus, what are brothers for? They’re there to love each other and drive each other insane. But through it all, he did provide a great song in “Take You Back,” and I feature it in the opening credits, which I believe instantaneously transports the audience back in time.