From the Associated Press
Sat, Apr 24, 2004
ESSEN, Germany - Sylvester
Stallone, the star of the five "Rocky"
movies, says he's hoping to draw people who don't like boxing
to his latest on-screen venture — a reality television
show featuring young fighters.
Stallone,
57, is the executive producer of "The Contender,"
slated to start next year, finding and grooming would-be boxers.
"All these 16 fighters must
have a very good story and an interesting background,"
Stallone said Saturday at a fitness fair in Germany.
"You'll get to know their wives and children, their mothers.
It's very emotional."
"What I really want is for
people, especially women, who don't like boxing, to watch this
show because it's a drama," he added.
The winner of the NBC
series is to get $1 million and the chance to become
a professional prize fighter. The boxers will fight one
another in a weekly elimination process similar to other reality
shows.
Stallone, in Essen
to promote his nutritional products company, Instone, said he
likely would no longer be tempted by a major movie role that
would take him away from his family for months.
"I had my high point
30 years ago," he said. "I had a very unusual career.
It was too good — how do you top that?"
- Craig
