Rocky MiniMates

Here's something that should appeal to "Rocky" / Sylvester Stallone fans... from the Diamond Previews Select Release write-up:

The Rocky 1 Minimates Box Set is an Art Asylum design and sculpt. Celebrating the triumphant return of Rocky Balboa to theaters, this Rocky box set brings Minimates into the ring and promises that they will never be the same again! Featuring Workout Rocky, Mickey, Adrian and the quintessesntial Boxing Gear Rocky! Designed and sculpted by Art Asylum, be sure to add this knockout to your collection! Scheduled to ship in June 2007.
*****

- Craig

"Rocky Balboa" Available for Pre-Order

"Rocky Balboa" will be released on March 19, 2007. It is now available for pre-order by clicking HERE.

The dvd will feature: commentary by Sylvester Stallone; deleted scenes including an alternate ending; boxing bloopers, three featurettes ["Skill vs Will: The Making of Rocky Balbao"; "Reality in the Ring: Filming Rocky's Final Fight"; and "Virtual Champion: Creating the Computer Fight"] and more! - Craig

Another Stallone Super-Fan

SZoner, Kevin Libal is a HUGE Sly fan. Kevin has been collecting Sly merchandise since he was 7. These are a few pictures of his collection. Thanks to Kevin for sharing! - Craig

PS - I noticed Kevin has one of the great Schomberg Rocky statues! We will be running an interview with Mr. Schomberg in a few weeks. You still have time to get in questions if you post them HERE.

New Bill Pruitt Painting

SZoner, Bill Pruitt has created another painting that fans are going to love! Here's what he has to say:

Hi Craig,
I wanted to submit this new oil painting from Rocky V. I re-did an old painting and made it much better by combining the 2 photos below. Look for the hidden name "SLY" in it somewhere.

Bill
p.s. also prints are available of it and others on ebay.

******Check out my web site with brand new works****** http://www.billpruitt.com

Put Yourself in the Ad

SZoner, Hein, sent in the two pics and this:

Hello Craig,

I am a Sylvester Stallone fan from the Netherlands and a few weeks ago I was on holiday in Portugal. In a shopping mall in Guia there was a cinema and I checked for the Rocky Balboa movie. To my surprise I saw this big Rocky Balboa promotion board with Mike Tyson and Stallone. They made a hole in the board in which you could stand for yourself, really cool.

Look in the pictures which I have attached.

Keep up the good work for the website, it's great!

Bye,
Hein
*****
It's interesting that Mike Tyson made the ad and Antonio Tarver's face was cut out. Thanks to Hein for sharing! - Craig

Rocky Spots

SZoner, Peter Gaifort Hansen recently went on a tour of Philadelphia hitting all of the spots from "Rocky Balboa." He sent in some pics to show us how things really look. - Craig

Sly in Make-Up Artist

SZoner, Bill Pruitt, e-mailed to make sure fans know that Sly appears in the current issue of a magazine called Makeup Artist. There's an article about the makeup artist of "Rocky Balboa" with pics. Thanks to Bill for sharing! - Craig

Sly @ the Spectrum

SZoner, Joy aka Jacy checked in with the shot of Sly above which was taken at the Philadelphoa Spectrum on September 9, 2006. The photo below is a shot of Joy and fellow Stallone fan, Judy. - Craig

Rocky Balboa Fan Art

SZoner, Matt Arnold sent in a drawing that he did. It's his first piece on the SZ and we hope to see more in the future! - Craig

Sly Takes a Break

The picture above was taken on February 18, 2007 when Sly was in Australia taking a break from promoting "Rocky Balboa." The pictures come from Justjared.com and there are more there! - Craig

Sly Thanks

This weekend I received the above card in the mail as thanks for working on the blog. You can imagine that it made my day! - Craig

Sly Detained in Sydney

Sly arrived in Sydney at about 11pm the night before the Australian premiere of "Rocky Balboa." The 1200 tickets to the premiere showing had sold out in a record 27 minutes earlier this month. Things seemed to be off to a fantasic start. Unfortunately Australian Customs officers detained Sly and his entourage after routine x-rays of their luggage revealed several unnamed prohibited items. Unconfirmed reports initially indicated that the items were banned body building drugs.

Sly and his group were held up for about two hours before being allowed to leave. "Customs can confirm Mr Stallone arrived at Sydney airport on Friday evening. Richard Janeczko, national manager of investigations for Australian Customs, was quoted as saying: "His party was subject to normal customs and quarantine processes. During an X-ray of the group's baggage, several prohibited items were located. The items are being held by customs... Mr Stallone's party was fully co-operative with customs and was allowed to leave the airport after a short delay. Customs investigations are continuing and accordingly we can't say any more at this time."



When Sly exited the airport after his long flight from LA [made longer by the hold up], loyal fans and media were still waiting. Many, if not most stars, would have made a beeline for their limos, but Sly stopped to sign autographs for fans.

At the premiere of "Rocky Balboa" Sly was asked about the incident at the airport. He was quoted as saying, "That was a misunderstanding. Customs is doing a great job." When asked what was in his luggage, he joked with one reporter by saying "My wife" and told another reporter it was a "giant cheetah."



Sly was allowed to leave the country, but not before his jet was searched. Despite rumours that the items in question were steroids, Sly was quoted as saying that they are not, and the incident was caused due to a clerical error.

Although many people will jump to conclusions, I believe that it's important to remember that at this point it's not clear what the banned items were or who's baggage they were found in. Australia prohibits the unlicensed importation of not only steroids but a wide range of "performance-enhancing substances". Perhaps Sly just had some Instone products! - Craig

Sly in Australia

Actor Sylvester Stallone (C) arrives at the Australian premiere of his latest movie Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)



Sylvester Stallone fans display a flag before the Australian premiere of Sylvester Stallone's latest movie Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)

Sly and Sam Soliman

Actor Sylvester Stallone (L) poses with Melbourne boxer Sam Soliman as he arrives at the Australian premiere for his latest film, Rocky Balboa in Sydney February 17, 2007. REUTERS/Will Burgess (AUSTRALIA)

Vanity Fair: "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die,"

Every year, for the last thirteen, Vanity Fair pulls together the top stars in Hollywood for a stylish photo shoot. This year they created their most ambitious shoot yet. "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die," is an amazing 33-page portfolio in the tradition of the great noir films of the past.

Created by Annie Leibovitz and Michael Roberts it features Amy Adams, Ben Affleck, Jessica Alba, Pedro Almodóvar, Alec Baldwin, Adam Beach, Jessica Biel, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Connelly, Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Kirsten Dunst, Aaron Eckhart, James Franco, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Hudson, Anjelica Huston, Rinko Kikuchi, Diane Lane, Derek Luke, Tobey Maguire, James McAvoy, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Jack Nicholson, Bill Nighy, Ed Norton, Peter O'Toole, Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Kerry Washington, Naomi Watts, Forest Whitaker, Bruce Willis, Patrick Wilson, Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood.

The March 2007 issue of Vanity Fair is on stands now. If you go to the Vanity Fair website, you'll find some great behind the scenes videos of the making of "Killers Kill, Dead Men Die," as well as a video presentation with narration of the portfolio. - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" Binder Sets

SZoner, Miguel asked me to get word out to all "Rocky Balboa" / Sylvester Stallone fans. He forwarded several cool card files to showcase his upcoming Rocky Balboa Binder set -- Some of these images will be making their worldwide debut on the StalloneZone!!

Miguel is now offering an unbelievable Pre-Order price that will save everyone 20%!



I've seen mock-ups for the cards and binders and they are awesome. Don't believe me? That's one posted above. Yeah, nizzze! Here's another, and another, and yet one more!

The pre-order price makes the deal even sweeter. These are going to go fast, SZoners. For more details check out Miguel's updated website. And if you're thinking of ordering a set, I wouldn't wait. I know I won't. - Craig

Planet Hollywood France

SZoner, Patrick FLEURIT, checked in with a shot of how he and Planet Hollywood looked for the French premiere of the film! Thanks to Patrick for the photos! - Craig

Sly in French Premiere

Florin "FLOReNZIO" Ungur is a SZoner from Romania who sent in the cover scan and the following:

Dear Craig,
Here is a scan of the January issue of the French "Premiere" magazine. There are several pages dedicated to "Rocky Balboa" and a substantial interview with Sly. He speaks about his working attempts with Quentin Tarantino, in "Inglorious Bastards" (which still can happen) and "Grindhouse" (he had to refuse due to his comitments to "Rocky Balboa" and "Rambo IV"). A lot of interesting stuff...
What I didn't know till now is that he turned down roles in "Se7en" (1996) and "Witness" (1985), which still regrets to these days. Well, David Fincher's movie is one of my very favourites and I wish he would sign for it.
I'm from Romania and over here "Rocky Balboa" opens on February 16th. I could have got the pirated movie on disc, but I prefer to pay for it and see it on the big screen. I'm looking forward to it! Also, I'm very happy for Sly that this movie had such a success worldwide and got positive reviews from most film critics.
Keep on punchin'!
Kind regards,
Florin "FLOReNZIO" Ungur
(Romania)
*****
Thanks to "FLOReNZIO" for sharing! I also appreciate the fact that "FLOReNZIO" decided to avoid the pirated bootleg. That's the sign of a true fan! - Craig

"Over the Top" Full Set / 2 Faced Rocky

SZoner, Paan, checked in with a photo of his very rare complete set of "Over the Top" figures and a photo showing two of 1983 Rocky figures made by Phoenix Toys with 2 different faces! Thanks to Paan for sharing! - Craig

A Rocky Valentine

SZoner, Jason Feather, found this Valentine's Day card at his local Target store. He was pretty sure that it would appeal to SZoners everywhere! I think that he's right!

Thanks to Jason for sharing! - Craig

German SZoner's Philly Trip!

SZoner, Timo Weingärtner, was able to attend the "Rocky Balboa" premiere in Philly! Timo made the trip from Germany just to be there. You can see more about Timo's trip at his webpage.

Thanks to Timo for being a super fan! - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" X Marc Ecko Collection

Marcus Troy contacted me because they have now gone live with a POPUPSHOP of the Official Rocky X Marc Ecko Collection. This online store will only be up on a temporary basis.

Check out the cool "Rocky Balboa" hoodies, jackets and t-shirts. I'm looking forward to getting some items and would imagine that most Stallone / Rocky fans will as well. - Craig

Sly's Overseas Promotion

SZoner, Michel, sent in the above pictures taken while Sly was promoting "Rocky Balboa" overseas! Thanks to Michel for sharing. - Craig

Moreno's "Carter Returns"

One of my favorite Sylvester Stallone characters was Jack from "Get Carter." Although we'll never see it, SZoner, Gerardo Moreno creates his take on a sequel poster. You can check out more of Gerardo's work at his site! - Craig Zablo

Sly's Invite

PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting firm employee Martha Ruiz holds an envelope addressed to actor Sylvester Stallone as she prepares to mail the final ballots for the 79th Academy Awards at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences headquarters in Beverly Hills, Calif.

SZoners' Mini-Standees

SZoner, Paan, sent in this e-mail and a picture of his custom standees. They are really cool. Hopefully Paan will give us more info on them, since I'm sure that others would like some for their collection. Here's what Paan had to say:

Hi Craig,

I have been looking at your site from the start. Your site is very cool, I like it a lot. ( keep checking every week). I have attached a picture of my collection. These are my custom standees that I display in my room. ( based on the original one from the left ) I hope you enjoy it. I'll send more pictures next time.

Best, PAAN

__________

Thanks to Paan for sharing! - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" Fan Poster

SZoner, Youssef EL Neklawi from Egypt checked in with a his fan poster for "Rocky Balboa." - Craig

Rocky Balboa UK Poster

SZoner, Steve Higgins aka "SouthPaw" sent in this scan of a full page advertisement that ran in the British tabloid newspaper The Daily Mirror. Thanks to Steve for sharing! - Craig

Sly in Paris, Part III

SZoner, Alex aka "LotofSly" sent in the above pics that he took during Sly's visit to Paris on January 15, 2007! Thanks to Alex for sharing. - Craig