It was also acknowledged as a critical success, earning ten Academy Award nominations, winning three including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing. The film was a stunning commercial success earning more that 225 times its production cost of $1.1 million, which led to an amazing franchise of six films.
#BUTKUS ROCKY SONG MOVIE#
The movie was filmed on a shoestring budget in just 28 days, and exceeded its budget by $100,000 dollars, forcing both producers to take out second mortgages on their homes! Little did they know that their expectations would be met beyond their wildest imagination. Supporting Stallone in the titular role would be Talia Shire as Adrianna “Adrian” Pennino, Burt Young as Paulie Pennino, Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed, and Burgess Meredith as Mickey Goldmill. Avildsen was tasked with directing the film. Studio executives baulked, but when Stallone refused to blink, they acquiesced, but with a severely reduced budget of $1 million. United Artist producers Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler loved the script and bought the film rights, with Stallone leveraging its sale with the stipulation that he would star. Entwined within the narrative is a surprisingly tender love story, which served to endear Rocky to audiences as a relatable and fallible hero, one of the common folk whose story informs us that anything is possible. This is a classic underdog narrative, where we bear witness to a determined man, who through perseverance, guile and sheer force of will, overcomes all obstacles to achieve greatness. Over three nights Stallone wrote a quintessential American rags-to-riches story about a down-and-out boxer named Rocky Balboa. Seeking inspiration, Stallone found it in a famous match between heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali and underdog no-hoper Chuck Wepner, who somehow managed to take the legendary Ali to fifteen rounds. Ending up on the street was a looming possibility, which focused his resolve to engineer the big career break he needed. Despite having appeared in a few movies – including The Lords of Flatbush, Farewell My Lovely, and Death Race 2000 – he had only $100 in the bank, and was seeking to sell his dog Butkus because he could not afford to feed it. Three weeks later, Conti walked in the door with music under his arm. Bill Conti shook everyone’s hand (at the initial consultation) and walked out the door. I only wished the music could come from inside me, but I was born with ears of stone. I wanted a symphony of powerful men, of lonely women, of thick-necked losers, of human ships that crash in the night.
"When I wrote the script for Rocky, I wanted passion music. The first Rocky is still the best, with classic cues like "Going the Distance," "Fanfare for Rocky," the "Final Bell" and "Gonna Fly Now" – the latter was actually a hit single – eschewing the myriad of questionable AOR songs that would end up cluttering future installments. Conti composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced this album, his first big break that launched his legendary career as a film composer.Ĭomposer Bill Conti's iconic score for Sylvester Stallone's tale of over-the-hill Philadelphia boxer Rocky Balboa ranks as one of the most memorable and instantly recognizable pieces of film music ever applied to celluloid. Featured in a pivotal scene in the film, the American Film Institute includes the inspirational theme at number 58 on its list of the 100 greatest motion picture songs. Bill Conti's soundtrack to the film Rocky includes one of the most iconic movie songs ever composed, the number one single and Oscar nominated hit Gonna Fly Now.