Sylvester Stallone:The Original Critic's Bane Brendan Brown COM 329: Contemporary Film Key Note Presentation 2

Born in Hell's Kitchen, he had facial nerve severed while being delivered, resulting in his slurred speech and drooping lip Initially a small time actor, he found success after writing the script for Rocky, but refused to sell it unless he could star in it. During this time he has living in his car. While widely known as an actor, he has written numerous screenplays and directed a number of films Never finished College, but was awarded an honorary degree in 1999 by the University of Miami Beginnings and Background

Roles as an Actor 1970: The Party at Kitty and Stud's as Stud 1972: No Place to Hide as Jerry Savage 1974: The Lords of Flatbush as Stanley Rosiello 1975: Capone as Frank Nitti 1975: Death Race 2000 as Machine Gun Joe Viterbo 1976: Rocky as Rocky Balboa * 1978: F.I.S.T. as Johnny D. Kovak * 1978: Paradise Alley as Cosmo Carboni * 1979: Rocky II as Rocky Balboa * 1981: Nighthawks as Deke DaSilva

Roles as an Actor : Escape to Victory as Captain Robert Hatch 1982: Rocky III as Rocky Balboa * 1982: First Blood as John Rambo * 1983: Staying Alive as Man on Street * 1984: Rhinestone as Nick Martinelli 1985: Rambo: First Blood Part II as John Rambo * 1985: Rocky IV as Rocky Balboa * 1986: Cobra as Marion "Cobra" Cobretti * 1987: Over the Top as Lincoln Hawk 1988: Rambo III as John Rambo * 1989: Lock Up as Frank Leone

Roles as an Actor III 1989: Tango & Cash as Ray Tango 1990: Rocky V as Rocky Balboa * 1991: Oscar as Angelo 'Snaps' Provolone 1992: Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot as Sgt. Joe Bomowski 1993: Cliffhanger as Gabe Walker * 1993: Demolition Man as John Spartan 1994: The Specialist as Ray Quick 1995: Judge Dredd as Judge Dredd 1995: Assassins as Robert Rath 1996: Daylight as Kit Latura 1997: Cop Land as Sheriff Freddy Heflin

Roles as an Actor IV 1998: Antz as Weaver (voice) 1999: D-Tox as Jake Malloy 2000: Get Carter as Jack Carter 2001: Driven as Joe Tanto * 2002: Avenging Angelo as Frankie Delano 2003: Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over as The Toymaker 2004: Shade as Dean 'The Dean' Stevens 2006: Rocky Balboa as Rocky Balboa * 2008: Rambo as John Rambo * 2009: Kambakkht Ishq as Himself 2010: The Expendables as Barney Ross *

Roles as an Actor V 2011: Zookeeper as Joe the Lion (voice) 2012: The Expendables 2 as Barney Ross * 2012: Bullet to the Head as Jimmy Bobo 2013: Escape Plan as Ray Breslin 2013: Grudge Match as Henry 'Razor' Sharp 2014: The Expendables 3 as Barney Ross * 2014: Reach Me as Gerald 2015: Rambo: Last Blood as John Rambo * * = Denotes writing credit

Paradise Alley (1978) Drama Three Brothers in Hell's Kitchen struggle to make ends meet in the 1940s Stallone's directorial debut, he also starred in, wrote the screenplay, sung the theme song, and wrote the novelization Written prior to Rocky, it wasn't Green lit til after its success Currently Holds a 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a gross of only $7 Million Trailer

Rocky II (1979) Drama/ Sport Rocky struggles to make a life outside of the ring, while Apollo pushes for a rematch In addition to directing, Stallone wrote the novelization and screenplay, while staring as the titular Rocky While not as success as the first Rocky, it currently holds a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed over $200 Million Trailer

Rocky III (1982) Drama/ Sports Rocky has become the champion, but learns all his opponents have been hand picked, and challenges someone out of his league Stallone again Stars as lead actor, director, and writer While critics disliked it more than Rocky II, it currently holds a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed over $270 Million worldwide Trailer

Staying Alive (1983) Drama/ Music Sequel to Saturday Night Fever, Tony now tries to make it on Broadway Only film Stallone directed and did not star in, other than a cameo Currently holds a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned $64 Million Dollars John Travolta stated after filming Stallone was his favorite director to work with Trailer

Rocky IV (1985) Drama/ Sports After the death of Apollo Creed, Rocky heads to Russia to train and take down Ivan Drago, a hulking Russian boxer Stallone once again stars in, directs, and wrote the film Considered a Cold War film, with Rocky and Drago being metaphors for their respective countries, and in the end both countries have good people who can change Currently holds a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, it is the highest grossing film in the Rocky franchise at $300 Million Trailer

Rambo III (1988) Adventure/ Thriller Rambo heads to Afghanistan to help rebels fight against the oppressive Soviet Union Another Stallone Cold War film, by the time of it's release the Cold war was over While not directed by Stallone, he did star in it Considered to be the most violent film of all time upon its release Currently holds a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes, it earned $189 Million Trailer

Rocky Balboa (2006) Drama/ Sport Rocky, now an old man, comes out of retirement for an exhibition match against the current champ Stallone returned to his most famous role after a decade of flops Stallone once again directs, writes, and stars in this film Currently holds a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a worldwide gross of $156 Million Trailer

Rambo (2008) Action/ Thriller/ War Rambo teams up with a group of mercenaries to rescue a group of Christian Aid workers in Bruma Stallone Writes/ directs/ stars in it Currently holds a 37% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was a modest hit grossing $113 Million Stallone recently announced Rambo: Last Blood is in production Trailer

Expendables (2010) Action/ Thriller A group of old mercenaries are rounded up to take out a Latin dictator Written/ directed/ stars Stallone This film was intended to give aging action stars who hadn't had much luck a second chance, like Stallone had received with Rocky Balboa and Rambo (2008) The film grossed $278 million and opened at Number one, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 41% Trailer

Sources of Information IMDB Wikipedia Box Office Mojo lone.htm lone.htm Rotten Tomatoes