The Real Rocky

The Real Rocky

2011 "Millions watched a movie. One man lived it."
The Real Rocky
The Real Rocky

The Real Rocky

7.1 | en | Documentary

Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.

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7.1 | en | Documentary | More Info
Released: October. 25,2011 | Released Producted By: ESPN Films , Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.

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Cast

Sylvester Stallone , Sonny Liston , Muhammad Ali

Director

Jeff Feuerzeig

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ESPN Films ,

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Reviews

johncranberry-67292 It is frustrating to see people say Stallone doesn't want to give credit to Wepner for his inspiration. He gave Wepner heaps of credit over the years and he even offered him a chance to be in Rocky 2 and Wepner blew it. He even asked him if he wanted a role in Lock Up, and Wepner said no. Wepner has no right in extorting Stallone for money. He asked him for 15 million! Screw you Wepner. People get inspired by all sorts of things in life. Stallone is a doer, and he is the one who wrote Rocky based on something he was inspired by. I don't fee sorry for Wepner at all. He gambled and snorted cocaine and his life away and then thought....oh, you know what Sly owes me millions. Why? No one owes you nothing in life. You have to work hard and Sly has. This is such a bias documentary. Wepner owes Stallone gratitude for bringing his life into the light and also, to make one last point, why was it ok for Wepner to be going around for years using the film Rocky to promote himself and his business and make money off it?
samsonovajl I would like to see this documentary, but I can not find it anywhere the Internet .Film removed for copyright infringement really want to see this movie, can someone help how to do it? someone help how to do it? I would like to see this documentary, but I can not find it anywhere the Internet .Film removed for copyright infringement really want to see this movie, can someone help how to do it? someone help how to do it?I would like to see this documentary, but I can not find it anywhere the Internet .Film removed for copyright infringement really want to see this movie, can someone help how to do it? someone help how to do it?
MartinHafer This installment of "30 for 30" concerns the boxer Chuck Wepner--who, according to many, was the inspiration for the character "Rocky". About the only one in the show who felt this was NOT the case was Sylvester Stallone--who eventually was sued by Wepner for part of the film royalties. This is odd, as there is quite a bit of evidence Wepner WAS Stallone's inspiration--especially since they show footage of Stallone himself back in the 1970s saying how he was inspired by the famous fight between Wepner and Muhammad Ali. However, this is NOT the sole focus of the documentary. Instead, it told the story of Wepner's career before and after this very famous 15-round fight. It's all rather interesting--especially since Wepner himself spends most of the film narrating his underdog story. Not among the very best of the series but still quite good--and very interesting.
Michael_Elliott Real Rocky, The (2011) *** 1/2 (out of 4)Extremely good documentary about Chuck Wepner, a man whose name most people probably won't know but he was the main inspiration for Sylvester Stallone and ROCKY. For years Stallone kept using Wepner's life in a number of his movies but when Wepner tried to get paid for what he had done, Stallone then claimed that the boxer had not been an inspiration. The thing would eventually be settled out of court but this documentary really gives the viewer no doubt that the ROCKY series owed a lot to Wepner. The amazing thing is that it wasn't just the ROCKY movies that Stallone borrowed from. This documentary is a very entertaining piece and especially for those who don't know the full story of Wepner. I had only vaguely heard of him but after viewing this there's no doubt in my mind that Stallone really owed this guy a lot and it's a shame that it took so long for Wepner to get some credit. The most obvious example is when Ali offered a "nobody" a chance at the title. This led to a Heaveyweight bout where Wepner was able to go fifteen-rounds with the champ, which is something no one expect. All the stock footage leading up to the fight was incredibly entertaining and somewhat shocking when Ali wanted to turn this into a race fight to try and gather more attention. The film does a pretty good job at showing the comparisons of Wepner's life and not only the Rocky character but a few others from Stallone's movies.