I Play Rocky Retells How Sylvester Stallone Wrote and Starred in Rocky

Anthony Ippolito stars in I Play Rocky, a film about the little-known actor who wrote and starred in Rocky, the 1976 blockbuster. Deadline published its interview with Ippolito on 14 November 2026.

The story begins with a actor who had not yet become a star. Ippolito told Deadline that he spent months studying Sylvester Stallone's experience, and he also trained in fighting and physical conditioning. He spoke to Stallone himself about a month before filming began.

Peter Farrelly directed the film, and Peter Gamble wrote it. Gamble told Deadline that he wrote the first draft in about two weeks. He also described how Stallone wrote the original Rocky screenplay in a three-day marathon.

The making of the new film was not smooth. According to Deadline, it took a year and a half to make and fell apart three times during development. It was then shot in 34 days. The original Rocky was shot in 28 days, so the new production had six more days to work with.

Ippolito, Farrelly and Gamble appeared together on a panel at Deadline's Contenders Film Los Angeles event, where they discussed the project. Contenders is a yearly gathering that brings awards-season films and their makers in front of industry audiences.

What makes this stand out is the way the film looks back at a famous story from the inside. Stallone's three-day writing push and the film's own long road to the screen are both about people working against deadlines and doubts. The new film carries that thread forward, with its own team and its own schedule.