He walked off the screen and into people's consciousness." "Rocky became something I never intended," says Stallone. Politicians behind in the polls invoke him. Coaches losing at halftime quote him for inspiration. A quintessential film hero, Rocky Balboa has become more real than real people. Many may never even have seen another fighter.
By now probably more people have watched Rocky than any other boxer in history, and most of them have never even been to a prizefight. Fourteen years have passed since Stallone, 5'10" and now 44 years old, sent the conquistador out to fight the sun god in the original Rocky. So it is that America's best-loved heavyweight is older than George Foreman, less dented than Joe Frazier and at least an inch shorter than Mike Tyson. Just as Stallone stumbled toward the timeworn Rocky formula, Balboa needed a guide to find the ocean he would discover. The Wepner character drew his name from Rocky Marciano and the Spanish explorer Vasco Nú‚Äö√†√∂¬¨¬±ez de Balboa. Stallone turned Ali into a cartoon named Apollo Creed. He assembled a cast of lovable caricatures from half a century of American cinema: Adrian, the shy, mousy pet-shop girlfriend Paulie, her mooching brother Mickey, the crusty trainer. His new script was a South Philly fairy tale with heart and purity and just enough cruelty for resonance.
Stallone's first draft had been dark and cynical and full of profanity.