Rocky

On this date in 1976, "Rocky" was released.

Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for "Rocky" in three and a half days, shortly after watching the championship match between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner that took place at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio on March 24, 1975. Wepner was TKO'd in the 15th round of the match by Ali, with few expecting him to last as long as he did. Despite the fact that the match motivated Stallone to begin work on "Rocky," he has subsequently denied that Wepner provided any inspiration for the script. Other possible inspirations for the film may have included characteristics of real-life boxers Rocky Marciano and Joe Frazier, as well as Rocky Graziano's autobiography "Somebody Up There Likes Me" and the 1956 movie of the same name. Wepner filed a lawsuit which was eventually settled with Stallone for an undisclosed amount.

At the time, Stallone was represented by Film Artists Management Enterprises (FAME), which was a joint venture between Hollywood talent agents, Craig T. Rumar and Larry Kubik. Stallone submitted the script to Rumar and Kubik, who immediately saw the potential for the script to be made into a motion picture. Rumar and Kubik shopped the script to various producers and studios in Hollywood but were repeatedly rejected because Stallone insisted that he be cast in the lead role. Eventually, Rumar and Kubik secured a meeting with Winkler-Chartoff productions. After repeated negotiations with Rumar and Kubik, Winkler-Chartoff agreed to a contract for Stallone to be the writer and also star in the lead role for "Rocky."

United Artists liked Stallone's script, and viewed it as a possible vehicle for a well-established star such as Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. Rumar and Kubik insisted that Stallone portray the title character, to the point of issuing an ultimatum. Stallone later said that he would never have forgiven himself, had the film become a success with somebody else in the lead. He also knew that producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff's contract with the studio enabled them to "greenlight" a project if the budget was kept low enough. The producers also collateralized any possible losses with their big-budget 1977 entry, "New York, New York" (whose eventual losses were covered by "Rocky"'s success).

The first date between Rocky and Adrian, in which Rocky bribes a janitor to allow them to skate after closing hours in a deserted ice skating rink, was shot that way only because of budgetary pressures. This scene was originally scheduled to be shot in a skating rink during regular business hours. However, the producers decided that they could not afford to hire the hundreds of extras that would have been necessary for that scene.

Inventor/operator Garrett Brown's new Steadicam was used to accomplish smooth photography while running alongside Rocky during the film's Philadelphia street jogging/training sequences and the run up the Art Museum's flight of stairs, now colloquially known as the Rocky Steps. It was also used for some of the shots in the fight scenes and can be seen at the ringside during some wide shots of the final fight. Rocky is often erroneously cited as the first film to use the Steadicam, although it was actually the third, after "Bound for Glory" (1976) and "Marathon Man" (1976).