‘You can’t make peace with someone so nefarious’: Sylvester Stallone Confirms Peace Was Never an Option With Irwin Winkler Over ‘Rocky’ Franchise Rights
Sylvester Stallone was introduced as the boxer, Rocky Balboa, in the 1976 film Rocky. The Hollywood star not only achieved his greatest critical and commercial success as a writer but also as a screenwriter. The First Blood star wrote the story of Rocky after he watched a boxing match between Muhammad Ali and a boxer named Chuck Wepner. After completing his script for Rocky, the Rambo star made it clear that he would be the one starring in the film. Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff showed interest in the script and agreed to star the American actor as the lead. Stallone reprised his role in several films in the franchise.
However, in 2019 the actor revealed that he has zero ownership of Rocky. He shared that he made significant profits by writing and starring in the 1976 film. But he had no ownership in the following films under the franchise. The Samaritan star has finally made it clear that he has no intentions of resolving his issues with the producer Irwin Winkler.
Sylvester Stallone Has No Intention of Making Peace with Irwin Winkler
Sylvester Stallone opened up about not owing rights to the Rocky franchise. The actor talked about his conflicts with producer Irwin Winkler. He was asked if there was any possibility of making peace with Irwin Winkler. The Expandables star straight-off disagreed with such a possibility. “You can’t make peace with someone who’s been so, so nefarious in my, in my opinion,” Stallone said.
The Cobra actor also said that it’s not about the money for him. Sylvester Stallone wanted to leave something from Rocky for his family once he was gone. He said, “I wrote it. I thought it would be nice to say, ‘Here’s the gesture darling here. Beautiful children, beautiful wife. When I’m long gone, this is you. This is what I made for you.’”
The Escape Plan star also mentioned that he would never watch Creed 3, which is set to release in March 2023. He does not share any beef with the Creed star Michael B Jordan. The Cliffhanger star said that he would watch Creed 4 as long as Winkler and his son are not involved with the film.
Irwin Winkler’s son David Winkler has been producing the films under the franchise since 2006’s Rocky Balboa. According to a report from Variety, The Rocky star was paid $75,000 for his original screenplay and acting fees. It also included 10 net points, which earned him at least $2.5 million on the first film.
Why Sylvester Stallone Does Not Have Any Rocky Rights?
In his interview with Variety in 2019, Sylvester Stallone expressed that he would like to have what’s left of his rights in Rocky. The Hollywood star also blamed Winkler for withholding the rights to the franchise and called out for a fair gesture from the producer.
However, soon it was revealed that the Cop Land star was never written into Rocky ownership. Variety reported that Stallone claimed ownership following the release of Rocky II and Rocky III. Both follow-up movies made even larger dividends than the first film.
But Stallone’s attorney Jake Bloom advised him not to go further with the claim. He insisted that the studio would deny his claims and he was in a pretty weak position to say anything.
Sylvester Stallone is currently starring in the upcoming crime TV series, Tulsa King. He plays the lead Dwight “The General” Manfredi in the series.
Tulsa King is set to premiere on Paramount+ on 13 November 2022.
Source: NYPost
