I Play Rocky, the true story of how a broke, unknown Sylvester Stallone refused to let anyone else play Rocky Balboa, had its Los Angeles premiere on Saturday at AFI Fest, where it screened as one of the festival’s red carpet premieres at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
Director Peter Farrelly walked the carpet with his cast, led by Anthony Ippolito as the young Stallone. AnnaSophia Robb plays Sasha Czack, Stallone’s first wife and the film’s female lead, and she was there alongside Stephan James, who plays Carl Weathers, Kiki Seto, who plays Talia Shire, and Matt Dillon, who plays Stallone’s father, Frank Stallone Sr. P.J. Byrne, who plays producer Irwin Winkler, was also on hand.
The Los Angeles premiere follows the film’s world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where audiences made it the first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. The premiere also lands in a milestone year for the franchise: the original Rocky opened in 1976 and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the story behind it is now being retold 50 years later.
Farrelly directs from a script by Peter Gamble, following Stallone as he turns down bigger and bigger offers rather than hand his screenplay to a studio that wanted an established name in the gloves. TDN readers got their first look at Ippolito in the role earlier this month, and the film’s second trailer leans hard into that gamble.
Fans in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia do not have long to wait: early access screenings are set for November 1 and 4, with tickets on sale now. I Play Rocky opens in select theaters November 6 and in theaters everywhere November 20. The film is rated PG-13.
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