Sunday, January 20, 2008
Sly Speaks
Peter Howell writes about Rambo's Return for TheStar.com. Here's some of what he had to say:* [Sly] "in 1976, was hailed as the new Marlon Brando, Oscar-nominated for both writing and acting in Rocky, that year's Best Picture winner."
* Stallone returned to his Rocky character last year for the well-received comeback picture Rocky Balboa, which even the Razzies couldn't fault.
* Sly: "You have careers of peaks and valleys and you harken back to things that you're known for. Every actor would like to say they're Daniel Day-Lewis and they have this incredible palette, but quite often you're known for certain things."
* [Sly] had no trouble at all slipping back into character. "I love it," he says, and the smile is proof of sincerity.
* When a journalist suggests Rambo is one of the most violent movies going – even more than the blood-soaked Sweeney Todd – Stallone interrupts him.
"Not one of the most. The most. I tried very hard for this."
He had to argue his case before the censors of the Motion Picture Association of America,which wanted to give Rambo the audience-limiting NC-17 rating. He managed to persuade the MPAA to give it the more accommodating "R" rating.
Stallone believes it's important to show people the truth about "the most brutal regime on the planet," even if the truth hurts.
* [Sly] starts talking about what he might do next. Maybe something with his muscle-bound peers Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.
He's seen Space Cowboys, the 2000 actioner that teamed Clint Eastwood, Tommy Lee Jones, James Garner and Donald Sutherland as aging astronauts who hit the skies one more time.
"I have a very, very bizarre idea," he says, teasing his press audience.
"It's probably absurd. It's got a formula to it. But if I told you I was gonna do one about a 61-year-boxer you'd go, `Yeah, sure.' If you can find the right formula, almost anything is feasible. It's just coming in there and having the audience go, `Okay, that's possible.' It's weird, but feasible. Space Cowboys, hello? It worked!"
For the full article, click HERE. - Craig
80's Tough Guys
The January 18, 2008 Sydney Morning Herald ran the following:Sylvester Stallone thinks he is tougher than modern action stars.
The 61-year-old Rambo actor believes he and his 80s "peers", Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis, are far more "physical" than today's "hands-off and intellectual" Hollywood heroes.
He said: "I think that some young actors will look at me as this archaic, prehistoric creature because now we've become much more scientific, less personal.
"Most of my peers were very physical. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis - they were just more hands-on. I think that a lot more actors today are hands-off and they're more intellectual."
Stallone believes Rambo would wipe the floor with Matt Damon's Bourne Ultimatum character Jason Bourne in a fight.
He joked: "Rambo would murder Jason Bourne. I'm kidding. Maybe the one in The Transporter though - Jason Statham."
Stallone also revealed he is now "best buddies" with his former big screen rival Schwarzenegger.
He added in an interview with Britain's The Sun newspaper: "I see him every Saturday at Cafe Roma in Beverly Hills.
"It's funny because we used to be so competitive in the '80s and now we're the best buddies in the world."
Rambo, the fourth film featuring Stallone's formidable ex-soldier John Rambo, is due to hit cinema screens next month.
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You can read the full piece HERE. - Craig






