"I'm in the hope business," Sylvester Stallone says in the trailer for the upcoming documentary about his life, "Sly." It's an apt description of his career, not only for the movies he makes but the story behind them.
The prosperous career of Stallone began with a struggle to break into the industry — a struggle characterized by an unfathomable number of rejections. As Stallone tried to advance in the acting field, he was thrown out of agency offices in New York over 1,500 times.
With his crown jewel, "Rocky," he had to fight to get the film made the way he'd envisioned. Producers dismissed his screenplay outright when they learned Stallone — who boasted merely one acting credit in an independent film — would only sell "Rocky" if he could play the titular role.
They offered him $180,000 to sit out. He declined, despite having all of $108 to his name. The producers upped the ante to $360,000. Stallone refused again.
''I told my wife that I'd rather bury it in the backyard and let the caterpillars play 'Rocky.' I would have hated myself for selling out, the way we hate most people for selling out. My wife agreed, and said she'd be willing to move to a trailer in the middle of a swamp if need be,'" he told the New York Times after the premiere.
Stallone's unwavering tenacity will be explored in "Sly," which is set to premiere November 3 on Netflix. But the film promises to explore the downside of this tenacity: namely, the blinders his work ethic held up against a neglected family.
The official description of the doc reads: "For nearly 50 years Sylvester Stallone has entertained millions with iconic characters and blockbuster franchises, from Rocky to Rambo to The Expendables. This retrospective documentary offers an intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor-writer-director-producer, paralleling his inspirational underdog-story with the indelible characters he has brought to life."
The biography features interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Talia Shire, Henry Winkler and Frank Stallone Jr. "Sly" originally premiered September 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival, and so far, eight critics have given it a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
