13:02
A memoir is available now wherever you get your books. The man who's put it out there. We are greatly appreciative of this legend. Joining us back on the Rich Eisen Show, Sylvester Stallone. How are you, Sly? I'm doing good. Thank you very much. So, what uh what led you to want to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? Sly, what? Well, I had been asked for a long time. I wanted to write a book. And I thought, you know, my life pretty much after Rocky has been an open book. I mean, it's been pretty well documented. The good things,
bad things. It's so it's not anything informative. But I thought the one thing that most people don't know and that could be the most instructive is how it all happened. you know, the trials and tribulations, the ups and downs, and what it took to like overcome some pretty sizable odds. And that is basically going from the late60s 1969 arriving right uh on the scene to just start your career and find your way pick and choose and you know pick your way to getting what you wanted which was uh to be a filmmaker and a writer and an actor. Correct. I get that right? Pretty much so. Yes. Absolutely. So um I never had illusions about being some wonderful star and you know romantic
lead because I realized I didn't have the attributes for that and I had too many like idiosyncrasies for to be kind of like mainstream. I just wanted to find a niche, a place. And it just seemed that um because of the way I spoke and the way I looked, there's a certain stereotype that I fit in. And obviously uh so did the people that were cast. So whatever small minimal jobs I would get, it would always be the mugger. I was always mugging Jack Clemon or Woody Allen or David Keredine. I was never the good guy. I was always the bad guy. And I kept going, why is that? And sometimes you don't realize what your exterior persona is giving out. And so I finally came to the conclusions I have to focus on
really what God gave me and what I have to work with. And I realized that you're not going to make it really as a successful actor. So you should pivot and do something that you can do that's inexpensive. And I go, okay, maybe you learn how to write. And that was the beginning of my life really. And the thing that you know impresses me or was impressed upon me here um is you know the jobs that you would take to make ends meet but never stop writing never you know following the ultimate goal even though you're I mean just uh to name obviously working in a deli is one thing you know when you hear about a struggling actor if you will but you clean lion cages in the Central Park Zoo right I mean that's what you
were when you're riding on the side. It sounds comical, but it's a brutal and a sad job. It really is. It's But it paid the bills for a couple of weeks and the bills weren't that much. But the deli, the deli was almost a surreal situation cuz I would do the night shift and you would get some pretty interesting characters coming in there like gypsy gangs and tough guys and people on drugs, people wanting to rob you. It was something else. So that provided a lot of color. The thing is, Rich, I think all these jobs, good and bad, just provided a tapestry and of building knowledge built. And I've always been um fascinated by odd characters, people that just stood out. Even as a child, I go, what was my favorite football player? Like Bronco Nurserki. No one
ever heard of him, but I just thought the name Bronco Negi, look at that. He was a wrestler. He's an odd boy. He's an outcast. and just I'm always attracted to those kinds of source, you know, individuals that are so out of sorts with the mainstream. Well, I finally realized that working at a deli getting into trouble, this is the where am I going to learn a craft? And though it sounds ludicrous, I said if you really want to learn about films, why don't you go to where the films are? And that's when I got a job as an usher. And people said, "Boy, you really hit rock bottom." They go, "See, that's the point, guys. You automatically assume an usher is a nonhuman being like a waiter.
They don't exist. They have no soul. You don't understand that. You know, if you really study the business, if you really go there and try to take something out of it, then I see a purpose in it." So going I learned more about film making than in you know I went to college for a couple years and would study film. Nothing compared to what I learned at a theater a movie theater dressed in an usher outfit. It changed my life. Sylvester Stallone here on the Rich Eisen show the steps a memoir is available wherever you get your books. And you know, I cover the NFL draft for the NFL Network, and that the draft one year uh in Philadelphia, the draft
hall was a makeshift draft hall on the steps of that Philadelphia Art Museum. Oh, really? Yeah. And off to the side was the stat was, you know, they had her move the statue for just a few days and they moved the statue to the side of the stage. And the number of people that were lined up to take a photograph with that statue rather than the actual NFL draft stage in the Ben Franklin, you know, parkway that was behind it. It's amazing, you know, and so it's an indelible film that you made that you're obviously, you know, chronicling your leadup to it, but when was the first time you started putting pen to paper about Rocky Balboa, Sylvester? Uh, I had written probably
about 10 screenplays that were pretty mediocre, but again, it's it's a skill set that takes a lot of work. And it's all about reduction, rich. In other words, you take a sentence that's 25 words. Anyone can do that. That's just typing and then you reduce it to 10. And those 10 words got to make sense with the next 10 words. It becomes uh kind of like literary math. All the words have to add up to telling a story. Well, that takes a lot of practice. So, when I went to California, I finally figured I couldn't stay in New York anymore. I pretty much bombed out as much as I could and I made a couple of dollars uh um doing Lords of Flatbush and you know bought a car, went to California and
then I found a place in the valley was really rough and for like you know 250 bucks a week and that's when I said I got to keep writing. I have to you have to constantly keep going to the gym of the brain. uh otherwise it'll become dormant. So my whole philosophy was I could not have any social life that there you couldn't have that and have absolute 100% discipline dedication to the fight that's coming up. It's kind of like what Marvin Haggler would go to the mountains to train as opposed to training in Vegas and then going to a casino. It was absolute isolation. Well, so I wrote this screenplay, Paradise Alley, which is pretty good, but I was so broke I optioned that I gave it away for 100 bucks.
And I felt as though God there's this one producer that showed a little spark of interest. I said, I got to do something. A lot of people think that it was based on Chuck Wetner. It wasn't. I always was fascinated with Rocky Marciana because we're like exactly the same size. So it was feasible that a guy like me could in you know in um inhabit that kind of character but nobody knew Rocky Marciano because that was the 50s and right then the weapon of fight came on and I used that I went to the producers I said see this is actually feasible that a nobody of them could go the distance with the greatest I want to write this green play said yeah sure whatever and I went back there and I literally
I said, "God, please, man, do something like give it to me." And I didn't stop for 72 hours writing longhand. First draft wasn't very good, but it was at least it was there. Rocky was not a very savory guy. And then I added Adrian and the love and actually he wasn't even a boxer. I added that. And then we now had Apollo Creed and Mickey and all these other characters that inhabited the story that gave it life and relatability. And that's when the journey really started about do you sell out? Do you stay true to it or you sell out because you know you're never going to have this opportunity again. You literally wrote a story that no one would ever give you. You're never going to come across it as designed for all
your assets and cover all your flaws. It's like made for me. So when the price got up to this absurd amount and I needed the money badly, it was, you know, pregnant wife and afford a dog and like $80 left. And I was sweating that they were going to say, "We're done. We don't want you anywhere. deals off, then I was in big trouble. But I knew and I told my wife, I said, "If I sell this, we'll have some money, but you'll have a broken husband. I will never be able to forgive myself for not going the distance, at least trying. I've been doing this for six years. I got to ride it out because I'm never going to have this opportunity again." And then good fortune struck.
Sure did, man. And before we get to the Oscar night, which is the end of your book here. Um, what is which scene are you most proud of from Rocky? Whether it's one you acted in or one you wrote and act you obviously you wrote it all, but is which one? Oh, that's a good question. There's there's two of them. The most pivotal scene is the one I wrote about in the book that it was cancelled. I said, "We have to do this scene. This is the key to the whole movie." And they go, "No, we have no time. We're quote pulling the plug." And I always thought that was a, you know, euphemism for a joke. No, they pulled the plug. So all the lights went out and this
really, we're down in a bowy and that, you know, Rocky's little den there. It was horrible. And I and it's the first time I actually lost my composure. And I went to the producer. I said, "You got to let me have one take. Please, I'm begging you. One take because this is the take." And I've never heard this before where a man knows he's going to get terribly punished. He's going to get beaten. He knows he cannot win. But his interpretation of what victory is so personal that in itself is a victory in a championship. And he goes, "Okay, you got one take." So they put the lights back on and the camera starts to move in. I'm getting nervous because it's a long scene. If I stumble, they're going to pull the plug. We got to go. But that's
the scene when Rocky says, "I can't win. He's better than me. I've been out walking around. I can't win. And she says, which is perfect, not you can do it, Rocky. Or just try your best. She goes, "What are we going to do?" I go, "I don't know, but it doesn't really matter." If he opens my head and then Rocky lays out for the first time that it's not about the victory that other people see. We all have our own goal that we consider a world championship and that was something that everyone could relate to because I'm going to lose but it's how I lose that's important and I felt that was the key scene. So the next day the producers come out of the screening room go whoa that's the most important thing. I know
I told you that's the whole plot. So that's it. And the other scene which was when Mickey comes up to the apartment. Nobody wanted to know me. I was a pariah. I was a loser. And then he wants to get involved because he sees an opportunity to try to salvage some of his life on Rocky's back. But he was never there when I needed him. And it's that venting. And what I loved about that scene, he couldn't do it to the old man's face. He just didn't have that cool streak. But he just rambled on and rambled on. And that was very um biographical from my own life. And what was so funny was just so that thing really took it out of me. And the sound man goes, "Were we rolling, what?"
He goes, "Well, just do it again." I go, "Let me tell you about a fact of life. You cannot add lib and add lib." And that li is a oneoff, you know what I mean? So, you have to go down and dig something else out. And I was Oh, man. I was so exhausted because if you saw that scene, it's one of those you pull out all the stops. But luckily, that character was such a blessing for me and I felt so much for that character of Mickey Burgess Mara, his brilliant energy that it came out very very well. And I thought that was the real that was such an act of forgiveness. It's almost like a father and son coming back. I forgive you for ignoring me and like degrading me my whole life. Now I love you. Let's let's do it together. So
that scene was to me very valuable for the continuity and the soul. I love it. And um last one for you on this here. Um you're gonna eat lightning and you're gonna crap thunder. Is that your writing or was that Burgess Meredith ad living? That's me. Where'd that come from? You heard it somewhere or you just No, it's an old um you know I try to go for all these euphemisms from the past like you know uh you know women weaken legs and all that kind of stuff. And these were fighters would say, you know, what does it say? Knock pull up your sock to knock that guy's jock off or women weak in legs or you got to eat thunder and you got to crap lightning
and crap light. These are old terms from the 20s. Mhm. So I would go back and I try to, you know, rework them because that's where Mickey's brain was. Love it. I love it. Um before I let you go, if you don't mind, we have a game called Celebrity. True or false about um filmography and things uh from uh a career with somebody as vast uh a filmography as you. Arnold's played it, so he survived it. If you don't mind, we got a few for you for other projects outside of the one that's in your book, The Steps, a memoir. Sylvester Stallone.
Celebrity True or false? Hit it, please. Hit it. Here we go. Celebrity. True or false? You can't handle the truth. That's our production value. We're just trying to show off for you. Sylvester Stallone. Am I supposed to guess who that is? No. You know who that is. I mean, that's Jack. You know. Do you ever work with Jack? No. I wish, but I, you know, I know him socially. He's a very brilliant guy. I bet. So, uh, all right. So, we have a few questions. Celebrity, true or false?
Sylvester Stallone. Uh, true or false? Um, in the Rocky sequel, um, you and Dolph Lungrend once filmed a boxing scene that sent you to the hospital. Is that true? Very unfortunately. Yeah. What happened? I had seen the Havler and Hearns fight. And these guys hated each other so much. They absolutely threw caution to the wind and came out like two angry amateurs and just blasted each other. I said, "Dol, we hate each other. our character so much. I want you to come out and for the first 20 seconds, try to knock me cold. I sort of know what
you're gonna do, but just rip it. So, I say this to the 6'5, 245 lb former world kickboxing champion, and he blasts me in the chest. And I thought my ribs caved in, but I said, "Okay, I'll get over it." That night, my blood pressure went close to 200, like 260. They put me on a lowaltitude flight to St. John's emergency room. Next thing you know, I was in I ICU surrounded by four nuns walking around in a circle. He said, "Oh my god, I'm really checking out." And I was there for like eight days and they said, "Uh, your perocardial sack got swollen." Usually we see that in car accidents. I was hit by a truck, trust me. Wow. Okay. So that is true story. Oh yeah.
Wow. Um couple more for you. Um listen, we you we've talked before on this show that you know Rocky's more maybe a love story than a sports movie, but there's no question that Victory is a sports movie. That's one of my favorite sports movies, Sylvester. Thank you. It and it's also obviously very reminiscent of The Great Escape, which is a terrific movie in its own right. Uh, true referrals ple personally helped choreograph the soccer action for victory. Ple himself he did and he taught me a painful lesson. I thought like how hard can this really be? Now there were they're using World War II shoes which are steel
tipped and the ball which is like a cannonball. So I go, you know, this is it can't be that hard. He goes, I want you to stand in the net. I'm going to kick it exactly right here. You stand right there and there's not a thing you can do about it. Oh, come on. He kicked the ball. It came by. It broke my finger. Oh, that one right there. Yeah. Gone. Con snap. L went and then it was a kind of a dry rotted net because it was World War II. It tortured the net and it smashed the windows of the prisoner's bunker. Okay. And this is a guy who is friendly to me. Hey, he's ple man. He's ple. He only knows one speed. Uh, last two for you.
True or false? You hated the original three-hour cut of First Blood so much you try to buy the movie and destroy the negative. I'm embarrassed to say it's true. Um it was they the character stayed in the woods for over an hour and 15 minutes just running around. And I go, this is becoming a little redundant and can we move on? And also they the character Rambo was talking too much. And I felt that the mystique would be he doesn't talk. He's withdrawn. Everybody talks about him, but he doesn't talk about himself. And they said, "Oh, mind your own business and whatever." So they screened
it and it was a disaster. I said, "Can I buy it back?" They said, "No." I said, "Well, at least can I try to edit it?" And so we edited it down to 91 minutes and the rest is history. It worked. Is it true that the last one is that you were supposed to die in the original ending of First Blood, but you convinced everybody to shoot an alternate ending on the fly? Well, here's what we're Yes, I was supposed to die and then I started doing a lot of research with vets. I go, I can't do this. Th this is not the message I want to send out to all these Vietnam vets. So I wrote this monologue
where uh Rambo has a nervous breakdown. It's the first time he's really spoken. So everything is coming out just jumbled up and confused but truly impassioned. And I finished it. And then you know the colonel comes over. He embraces me and we walk outside and the director goes that's not the way it's got to be. I go that's the way it's got to be. It has to be that way. I He shouldn't die. He doesn't deserve to die. He goes, "He's going to die." I said, "He's not going to die." So now we're having this argument. Die, die, not die, die. And he flips out and starts destroying the office. He throws a moose head through the window. He flips over the desk. He takes the guns
off the rack. He smashes over chairs. Literally, it was a storm that went around me. The entire set was gone. And he goes, "You're going to do it." I said, "I'm not going to do it." And I, you know, said, "Thank you very much. I had a Vietnam bet on the set." I said, "Did I do okay?" He goes, "Yes." And I went home and then they sued me and brought me back five months later and I was totally different shape, hair was different, everything. I didn't have that fural look, you know. I was just, you know, I, you know, backed up to the fat hose, you So it's just like okay and uh I so he shoots me in the stomach like in the book and so they screen it and it was oh it was met with blues and jeers
and so they put back the one where you see in the film now and it worked out. It sort of worked out. It sort of worked out for sure. Uh what a pleasure. Thanks for the time. Um, Sylvester Stallone. Uh, The Steps, a memoir is again, it's all about the journey, but The Destination is unbelievable. I mean, the li the list of movies you beat out in 1977 is truly a hall of fame list. All the President's Men Network, Bound for Glory, and Scorsese's Taxi Driver. My gosh, that's a hell of an Oscar you have there, sir. Thank you, Rocky. Yes. Thanks again. The steps of memoir is available now wherever you get your book. Sylvester Stallone here on the Rich Eisen Show.
