Bill Pruitt Checks In

SZoner, Bill Pruitt checked in with the cool photo above and this... Hi Craig, Today I got to meet the stunt coordinator for "Rambo First Blood II," Diamond Farnsworth. Ironically, I was working on a new "John Rambo" piece at Universal Citywalk when he happened to be up there. He couldn't have been nicer and was very impressed that I knew who he was. (I've only seen him in Rambo II photos when Sly is doing bow and arrow target practice.) He said he taught Sly how to shoot the bow and arrow. Bill
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That's Diamond on the left and Bill on the right. Click HERE if you'd like a closer look at Bill's new Rambo painting! Thanks to Bill for sharing. Check out his site HERE. - Craig

"Behind the Scenes" from Russia

A Russian fan sent in these two behind-the-scenes pics from John Rambo. You can see larger versions HERE and HERE. Cool stuff! Thanks to our fan in Russia! - Craig

Sly by Adam Shippee

SZoner, Adam Shippee is back with a new painting! This time he's taken on Sly in the classic Joe Weider pose. Adam's e-mail is ashippee1@cox.net if you'd like to drop him a line. - Craig

Sly Night

Last night the Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball team, hosted Sly Night. Here's how they advertised it:

SLY NIGHT: On July 28th, the Cyclones will celebrate Sylvester Stallone -- one of the most iconic Hollywood stars of our generation -- on "Sly Night" at KeySpan Park.

Stallone has created some of the most long-lasting and legendary characters in pop-culture history, from Rocky Balboa to John Rambo, to Lincoln Hawk, to Marion Cobretti, to Snaps Provolone, to Ray Tango, and more.

The Academy Award winner's turn as the underdog fighter from the mean streets of Philly immortalized him to millions. On Saturday, July 28th, the Cyclones will pay tribute to him in a number of ways:

The team will show a variety of Stallone-themed entertainment throughout the night.

Fans are invited to dress up as their favorite Stallone character, with the winning costume receiving a prize pack.

Anyone named "Sylvester" will be admitted to the ballpark at no charge.

In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the 1987 movie Over The Top (in which Stallone plays a struggling trucker competing in a Las Vegas Arm Wrestling Championship, and sporting a New York City Arm Wrestling T-shirt), the New York Arm Wrestling Association (NYAWA) will host over 100 men and women competing that day for the 25th Annual White Castle 'Kingsboro' Golden Arm Wrestling titles, featuring a championship match taking place on the dugout during that night's game!

Anyone who participates in the arm wrestling competition will receive a Cyclones ticket to that night's game. For more information on participating, contact Gene Camp at NYAWA@aol.com.

In addition to all the Sly festivities, the first 1,250 kids that night will receive Thunderstix!

So join in on the fun, and help the Cyclones pay tribute to the Itallian Stallion on July 28th!
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It would have been cool to have been there for the festivities! - Craig

Sly and MGM Chairman

From the Associated Press AP - Mon Jul 23, 9:15 PM ET Sylvester Stallone and MGM Chairman and CEO Harry Sloan at the Los Angeles Team Mentoring (LATM) 9th annual Summer Soiree event. (PRNewsFoto/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., Eric Charbonneau)

Ringo's Jack Carter

Mike Wieringo's drawing of Jack Carter is one of my favorite pieces from this year's Heroes Con. I not only love the look and attitude of the piece, but I was able to watch Mike sketch it!

Mike was selling his latest sketch book and if you bought a copy, Mike threw in a head sketch for free! Talk about a great deal. I was worried that because Stallone isn't a character that Mike had drawn repeatedly, it might be more difficult and therefore he might decline my request. Boy, was I wrong. Mike proceeded to sketch it out in no time and like I said, he really captured the look and attitude of Sly as Jack Carter.

In my previous post, I suggested you check out Mike's Blog. I should have remembered to tell you about where you can buy Mike Wieringo original art. Now you have all the facts and links you need. Enjoy!

Ringo's Rocky

Mike Wieringo is one of the nicest and most talented artists you could ever meet. Soft spoken and humble, but oh man, what an artist!

Mike did this drawing of Rocky Balboa for his blog [which I read daily and suggest you do as well]. Mike knew about my Stallone art collection and told me it was mine for the asking when I commented about it.

Check out Mike's Blog when you have some time to spend. You'll be amazed and impressed with the amount that he's posted [but his insightful comments will also be part of what brings you back]. - Craig

Rocky by Andy Smith

My buddy, Andy Smith whipped up this cool rendition of Rocky Balboa. Andy is mostly known for his penciling and inking work for DC and Cross Gen comics. But I like to tell people is that when it comes to dynamic drawing, Andy wrote the book. You see, he truly did. Really! You can check it out HERE! You can also check out Andy's site by clicking HERE. - Craig

Balboa Band vs Red Elite

Sly Stallone and Rocky Balboa have provided inspiration to people around the world... and now they've inspired a band...called Balboa.

Here's what their press release says... At a combined weight of 1083 lbs., Balboa is a 6-man team of rock and roll warriors. With unfaltering determination, they play your favorite songs from the Rocky soundtracks. Songs included in the audio/visual spectacle will be "Eye of the Tiger", "Living in America", "No Easy Way Out", "Burning Heart", "Gonna Fly Now" and other training montage classics. The night of August 3rd, 2007 marks the band's live debut when they perform at The El Mocambo in Toronto, Ontario. Believe it or not, appearing with [against?] them is a band called The Red Elite [not Drago?].

Learn more about the Balboa Band at their myspace page. Any SZoners who can make the show should mention that they learned about it through the StalloneZone. Who knows, maybe they'll give you a break on the cover charge. - Craig

Rambo's Gonna Knock You

SZoner, Alain from France, sent in a link to Hollywood.com's article titled "Stallone: "Fourth 'Rambo' Will Be Goriest Yet.'" Sly is quoted as saying, "If you thought other movies were extreme. John Rambo's gonna knock you for six." For the full article, please click HERE. - Craig

ComingSoon Scores

ComingSoon.net scored these two new pics from "John Rambo." You can see them in high rez at ComingSoon.net. - Craig

Sly's Tattoo

Sly recently got his first tattoo from Mike Devries. Here's what Mike had to say:

Artist: Mike DeVries
Studio: Mike DeVries Tattoos Encino, CA (818) 266-9445
Image name: Jennifer Flavin
Placement: Arm Comments: A portrait of Jennifer Flavin, Sylvester Stallone's wife that i did on Sly's arm. Including three roses for there three girls that have rose for there middle names. We have about 14 hours into it already and his arm is pretty much done except we are still going to continue the piece onto his a chest a little bit.

Click HERE to see a close-up of Sly's tat and to check out Mike's site. - Craig

SZoner and his Rocky Statue

That's a photo of Patrick Guennoc, from the region called, Britain, in France. You can see from the photo that Patrick is a huge Stallone fan as he proudly displays his Rocky replica sculpture created by Thomas Schomberg.

Rambo Fan Art

SZoner, Jim Miskell had this to say: I love all the fan art people are sending in it's inspiring. I have created my own in Adobe Illustrator. Man I can't wait for John Rambo to come out! I will send more hopefully if I have some free time to complete them.
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Thanks for sharing! - Craig

Fan Art

SZoner, Terrance Kennon wrote in to say that his xbox was broken and so for the first time in about four years he decided to to pick up a pen and paper. The result is the drawing above. Not bad for his first effort in years! - Craig

Sly a Top 10 Action Star

Fandango.com came up with their list of the Top Ten Modern Day [post 1980] Action Stars. Guess who came in third? Here's what they had to say about Sly:

3. Sylvester Stallone
Classic Action Movies: Rocky, First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Nighthawks, Cliffhanger
Kicking Butt Next in: John Rambo

Stallone, like all the vets on our action hero list, has weathered the good, the bad and the ugly of the Hollywood limelight. But it's a testament to Stallone's legacy that his umpteenth comeback movie Rocky Balboa garnered some decent reviews and box office coin, and that someone actually greenlit the upcoming John Rambo. Love him or hate him, everyone knows him. And without the trail he blazed (see the acclaimed cop thriller Nighthawks, too), action epics of the last 20+ years would have been different, for better or worse. You wanted to see Rocky Balboa club the crap out of some bigger thug, just like you wanted to see Rambo live out an action fantasy armed with his designer battle scars and 2% body fat. It was all utterly outrageous, and for fans of the genre, 100% grade A action
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Here's the full list: 1] Arnold Schwarzenegger 2] Harrison Ford 3] Sylvester Stallone 4] Kurt Russell 5] Bruce Willis 6] Mel Gibson 7] The Rocky 8] Keanu Reeves 9] Daniel Craig 10] Christian Bale and for the full article click HERE. - Craig

Rocky Balboa by Andrew Robinson

Rocky Balboa by Andrew Robinson. Andrew Robinson is an artist's artist. When he starts to draw or paint, other artists gather round. I met Andrew years ago through my good buddy, John Beatty. It was obvious then how much talent Andrew possessed... and he just keeps getting better and better. Andrew will have an art book coming out soon. Save some coin, because it's a "must have" item. Until then, here's a link to his site to hold you over!

Yo! Adrian! by Kyle Baker

Rocky Balboa by Kyle Baker. Kyle Baker is an amazing talent with a wicked sense of humor, mad drawing skills, storytelling that just sucks you in... let's simplify life and call him a genius. Check out Kyle's site and you'll get a taste of what I'm talking about.

Cosmo Carboni by Robin Mitchell

Cosmo Carboni by Robin Mitchell. I discovered Robin through Alberto's site and Robin's blog. I dug his art enough to pick up his first art book and was thrilled to get an original sketch from him. Robin has a second art book out and you can get both HERE.

Rambo by Megan Ruiz

Rambo by Megan Ruiz. Can you believe that Megan just turned 14 and she can already draw like that? Of course her dad is Alberto Ruiz so we know where she gets her talent. Not only can the young lady draw, but she is one of the nicest and most polite people you'll ever meet. It was a true pleasure to get a drawing from her.

Sly by Rick Remender

Sly Stallone by Rick Remender. I've been a fan of Rick's work for years. He's that rare talent that can write and draw and he does both very well. Check out his bio and you'll be amazed at all of the cool things that he's worked on. Check out his site and you'll become a fan [if you're not already]. Now if Rick could just find time to get around to The Last Days of American Crime!

Frank Stallone: Goodwill Ambassador

Frank Stallone is a huge fan of boxing. More than just a former amateur boxer, with 23 fights to his credit, Frank Stallone is also a boxing historian and collector of boxing memorabilia. Frank even served as the original casting director for "The Contender" series. Now he's about to go even deeper into the sport as the Goodwill Ambassador for the First State Fighter Series, which starts Friday, July 13th at the Police Athletic League in Hockessin, Delaware.

Frank is waiting for the sport of boxing to make a comeback. "Boxing used to be in the headlines. Now, you don't see it... I watch all the fights, but I'm waiting for something to happen. The heavyweight division can't get any worse. You have guys talking in the third person, with earrings, talking smack and calling people names. Talking big-mouth stuff."

Frank hopes that events like the First State Fighter Series will help bring boxing back into a positive spotlight and attract more kids to take up the sport. For the full article, click HERE. - Craig

Sly On Muhammad Ali

On Wednesday, Muhammad Ali turned 65. Sly was quoted for an article celebrating the champ and here's what he had to say:

"What makes him the greatest fighter is that he simply had skills that exceeded anyone’s expectations," Sylvester Stallone, who created and starred in the epic "Rocky" films, told Reuters. Stallone’s Rocky character was based on a 1975 opponent of Ali’s, journeyman Chuck Wepner, a liquor salesman who lost a technical knockout to the champion in the 15th round. "He was the fastest, the best, the most positive and they’ll never see the likes of him ever again," Stallone said of Ali. "Maybe the greatest athlete of all time."

For the full article click HERE. - Craig

Robledo's Hurtin' Bombs

SZoner, Ron Robledo, checked in with his cool art that he calls "Hurtin' Bombs". Ron created it Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. This is Ron's first piece at the SZ, but we hope it won't be his last. - Craig

Shippee's New Rambo

SZoner, Adam Shippee is back with, you guessed it, another Rambo piece! Adam's new e-mail is ashippee1@cox.net if you'd like to drop him a line. - Craig

Happy Birthday, Sly!

Sylvester Stallone is 61 today! Happy Birthday, Sly!

[To keep Sly's birthday in perspective, this year...

* Arnold Schwarzenneger is 60... Robert DeNiro is 64... * Harrison Ford is 65... Al Pacino is 67... and Sean Connery is 77...

Did you know that Sly shares the exact same birthday with President George W. Bush? They are both 61 today.

Rambo in August Empire

SZoner, Walker posted the picture above which comes from the August 2007 issue of Empire.

French Rambo Pictures

SZoner, Col.Trautman posted the above three photos that he found in a French magazine! - Craig

Rambo Fan Animation

Andre Duchesne is a new SZoner. He sent in a couple examples of work he's done on some Rambo animations. He takes actual dialogue from Rambo movies and creates scenes. I've seen a brief example and he's very good. Andre promises to send us a link once he's completed it! - Craig