Paradise Alley

 On this date in 1978, "Paradise Alley" was released.

Sylvester Stallone wrote the story as a novel then a screenplay before he wrote "Rocky" (1976). He later recalled, "I was very broke and I optioned the screenplay of 'Paradise Alley' to a real...how should I say this...maggot, who put his hooks in so deep I could never get it away from him. So the first time I went in to meet ('Rocky' producers) (Robert) Chartoff and (Irwin) Winkler, I was there on an acting job. I didn't get it, but on the way out I said, 'I have this screenplay called 'Paradise Alley'.' They said to bring it over and I did. They wanted to make it, but the other cretin that I had optioned it to was so obnoxious, so overbearing, that the producers wanted nothing to do with me or the screenplay. So on the way out, they said, "If you have any ideas, we'd be happy to look at them." That night I went home - even a fire extinguisher couldn't cool the burning in my brain. The door of opportunity was wide open and I had nothing to carry over its threshold. That's when I started to write 'Rocky.' So thank God for the maggot; otherwise I never would've written the story of Mr. Balboa."

Once "Rocky" became a smash hit, producers were willing to look at the script, and Universal Pictures green-lit the production due to the overwhelming success of "Rocky."

Directing was such a new job to Stallone (making his directorial debut on this project) that several times, cast and crew were in position, ready to do their jobs, but they could not, because Stallone would forget to yell, "Action."

After this movie, all the other movies directed by Stallone would be sequels of other movies until "The Expendables" (2010). This is also the only movie he directed that isn't part of a series.