"Rocky" #1 Again!

SZoner, Cameron Taylor wrote in to say that Moviefone selected "Rocky" as their #1 Sports Movie of All Time. Here's what they had to say:

#1 "Rocky" The fist-pumping score, the charismatic turn by Sly Stallone, the glorious training montage, the pitch-perfect ending in which Rocky shows the champ what "showtime at the Apollo" really means ... All these make it the gold standard by which all sports flicks are measured. Yo, if there's a more deserving No. 1 movie, punch us in the face.

Here's a link to the entire list. Thanks to Cameron for sharing! - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" Japanese Premiere

SZoner, Hideo Kanda sent in the following:

Here is the "ROCKY BALBOA" Japanese premiere mpeg. Please look. I believe you will like it!!

Thanks to Hideo for the link! - Craig

Rocky Balboa Prop Auction

Want to get a chance to bid on some props used in "Rocky Balboa"? The York Drive-In Theatre will auction off authentic props to benefit a local church program. The items are expected to be posted on ebay.com on April 22. For more details click HERE! It'd be cool if some SZoners could win! - Craig

IGN's "Rocky Balba" Review

SZoner, REMwatch sent in THIS LINK to IGN's review of "Rocky Balboa" and the DVD. Of course they loved the movie summarizing it by saying: "Stallone's fight-film finale redeems the Rocky franchise with classic, compelling storytelling and some bad*** boxing footage." IGN also posted up some nice pics from the movie. - Craig

John Rambo: First Photos!

SZoner, Alberto Almengrali sent in THIS LINK to the first shots from "John Rambo" posted by Flynetonline.com. Thanks to Alberto for the link! - Craig

Frank Stallone & SZoner

Frank Stallone and SZoner, Stephen Isaia taken on 9/9/06 at "The Hero Thrill Show" in Philadelphia. Stephen also made it in two scenes at Mandalay Bay filming in Las Vegas. - Craig

Maxim: Rocky's 10 Toughest Opponents

Maxim.com takes a look [with tongue in cheek] at Rocky's Ten Toughest Opponents. And you can too, by clicking HERE. Before you go, please be aware that the site may not be appropriate for all ages! - Craig

Rocky Fan Art

SZoner, Sherry Hutchinson sent in her latest piece. She asks that any comments be sent to sherry_hutchison@yahoo.com - Craig

Rambo Fan Art

SZoner, Adam Shippee sent in this nice pencil drawing of Sly as Rambo! - Craig

Gonna Fly Now

SZoner, Joshua Vance sent in a pic of his "Gonna Fly Now" painting. Here's what Josh had to say:

I finished it about a month after Balboa came out, it's titled "Gonna Fly Now" naturally heh heh. It's acrylic medium and the canvas is 24 X 36 I believe. I'd have to check again.

Love the website, have been visiting a long time and just registered.

Keep it up Craig! - Joshua

***
Great work Josh! Thanks for sharing it with us! - Craig

Rocky Statue Ink

SZoner, Mike from South Philly...home of Rocky and the Rocky statue...sendt in a copy of "a little art work" he had done on his arm! No doubt that Mike is a loyal Rocky fan! - Craig

EW's Review of "Rocky Balboa" DVD

The March 23, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly contains a review of the "Rocky Balboa" dvd by Clark Collis who gives it a "B-." It's obvious from the review that Collis is not a Stallone fan. Still, even Collis has to admit "it's undeniably moving to see filmdom's famous fighter grieve over his now-dead Adrian or simply lumber up those damn steps one (hopefully) final time.

It's sad that Collis couldn't judge the film on it's own merits and sadder still, that he just didn't get it. Oh well, a B- is still above average. - Craig

New Pruitt Rocky Painting

SZoner, Bill Pruitt checked in with the painting above and the message below:

Hi Craig,
Here is another oil painting I recently completed. It is 18"x27". Prints are available. Also, look for the name "SLY" hidden in the work as usual.

Bill

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

Thanks to Bill for sharing! - Craig

Rocky Fan Art

SZoner, Sherry Hutchinson sent in the photo above of her Rocky painting. She welcomes comments to Sherry_Hutchison@yahoo.com. Thanks to Sherry for sharing! - Craig

Imran's Rambo

SZoner, Imran is a huge Stallone fan. About ten years ago he drew this with a biro pen and the results surprised him! Thanks to Imran for sharing! - Craig

SZoner's Philly Photos!

Here's a behind the scenes shot of Sly taken during the filming of "Rocky Balboa."

This picture and the one below are of props in Adrian's for the filming of "Rocky Balboa."



The abvove photo is of SZoners who got together for the Rocky statue rededication in Philly! Pictured are Stephen from New York, Joy from Pennsylvania, John from Indiana and Joe from Florida. Thanks to Joy for sharing! - Craig

Rocky Ink

SZoner, Matt Fransen visited Hardcore Tattoo in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and got himself a "Rocky" tat. Talk about a love of Rocky! - Craig

Moreno's "The Reason is You"

SZoner, Gerardo Moreno sent in another great digital piece! Thanks to Gerardo for sharing - Craig

Sly and SZoner

SZoner, Aitor Santiago sent in this candid taken with Sly. - Craig

Sly Charged

On March 13th in Sydney, Australia, Sly was formally charged with attempting to bring 48 vials of a muscle-building hormone into the country. Sly’s lawyers represented him in court where he faces one charge of importing a banned substance. Sly was not required to attend the hearing.

The prosecution presented documents which stated that Sly had marked "No" on a customs declaration card indicating that he was not bringing into Australia any restricted or prohibited goods "such as medicines, steroids, firearms, weapons, or any kind of illicit drugs." An X-ray of bags among his entourage led to a search that found the 48 vials of the human growth hormone product. Human Growth Hormone is officially considered a performance enhancing drug in Australia and cannot be brought into the country without a permit from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

The case has been adjourned until April 24th. At that time Sly’s lawyers will enter a plea on his behalf. The maximum penalty could be a fine up to $86,000 and five years in prison, but according to all reports Sly is unlikely to face the maximum penalty and no prison time. For more details click HERE or HERE. - Craig

Fan Art!

Here's a drawing sent in by SZoner, Wookieswarrior. - Craig

The Rocky Guide to Life

The Rocky Guide to Life by Jennifer Leczkowski is probably a book that most Rocky / Sylvester Stallone fans will want to add to their collections, despite the somewhat misleading title. See, The Rocky Guide to Life is not really a guide to life, it's a book of quotes. Author Jennifer Leczkowski has taken quotes from all six Rocky movies and matched them with pictures from the films. It's an interesting idea and a nice package [but not really a guide to life]. Still, I'm glad I've added it to the collection, and my guess is that most fans will be as well! - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" DVD Ad

The March 16, 2007 issue of Entertainment Weekly contains this nearly half page ad for the dvd release of "Rocky Balboa." - Craig

Sly Mentioned in Flex

Ernest "Jazzman" Resendes checked in with some news about Sly. Here's what he had to say:

Sly and Rocky are mentioned in 2 articles about the 2 biggest bodybuilders in the world in the current issue (Mar. 2007) of FLEX.

From: BACK to WORK by Greg Merritt

Coleman was a journeyman loser - now 39 times! - who became the ultimate winner, with a record-tying eight Olympias and a record-setting 26 pro wins. Like Rocky Balboa, we revere him more for overcoming the losses than for racking up the victories.


From: WEEKEND AT JAY'S Day 1 by Allan Donnelly

On one of the walls is a list of celebrities and athletes who have trained at Gold's. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hulk Hogan. Sylvester Stallone. Marcus Allen. Andrew Dice Clay.


Peace,
Jazz
http://www.theartofjazzman.com

Sly's Choice

Paul Salfen of the South Bend Tribune wanted to find out "Which Love Songs Move Celebrities?" So he tracked down folks such as Sylvester Stallone, Al Green, Jennifer Hudson and others.

Sly's choice? "Ooh Baby Baby" by Smokey Robinson. For the full report, click HERE! - Craig

"Rocky Balboa" Billboard

John Beatty sent us this cool shot of a huge billboard promoting the premiere of "Rocky Balboa" in the Philippines. Hard to believe that we'll have it on dvd before folks there get to see it for the first time! Thanks to Big John Beatty for sending it along! - Craig