'Fruitvale Station' writer/director and star to revive the 'Rocky' franchise?
Broddie
Members Posts: 11,750 ✭✭✭✭✭
Fruitvale Station’ Duo Ryan Coogler And Michael B. Jordan Team With Sly Stallone On MGM ‘Rocky’ Spinoff ‘Creed’
MGM is setting Ryan Coogler to direct Creed, and the studio is in early talks with Coogler’s Fruitvale Station star Michael B. Jordan to play the grandson of Apollo Creed in a continuation of the Rocky saga that Coogler is going to write with Aaron Covington. Sylvester Stallone will reprise Rocky Balboa as a retired fighter-turned-trainer. This comes in the wake of a strong summer platform opening for Fruitvale Station, the film that won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Awards at Sundance, and captured Prize Of The Future at the Cannes Film Festival, where Coogler and Jordan were the toast of the Croisette. Coogler intends for this to be his directorial follow-up to Fruitvale Station so the intention is to make it happen quickly.
Now, I know the knee-? reaction is to say it’s hard to get excited about what amounts to the seventh film in the Rocky series. This feels different to me, mostly because of how it came together. Much the same way that Coogler burned with the desire to tell the tragic story of Oscar Grant in his feature debut and begged Jordan to play the role in the $900,000 budget film, this whole idea also came from Coogler. When he signed with WME, Coogler identified Creed as a dream project. While Coogler already had the relationship with Jordan, the agency put him together with Stallone. Stallone, who is right now heavily involved in a stage musical transfer of his original Oscar-winning 1976 film Rocky, loved the idea and felt it was strong enough for him to bring back his signature screen character. Stallone and Coogler then approached MGM’s Gary Barber and Jon Glickman, and they flipped for it. The film will be produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, who produced the original, along with Stallone and Kevin King.
The intention is for Jordan to play the grandson of Apollo Creed (played in the early movies by Carl Weathers). Raised in an upper-crust home thanks to the ring riches earned by his grandfather, the young man doesn’t have to box and his family doesn’t want him to. Yet, he has the natural instinct and gifts and potential that made his grandfather the heavyweight champion until Rocky Balboa took his crown in 1979′s Rocky II. Creed’s grandson needs a mentor and turns to Balboa, who is out of boxing completely and not eager to return.
Balboa was Creed’s greatest opponent and later his best friend until that fateful moment when Balboa heeded Creed’s wishes and didn’t stop the fight against the Soviet fighter Drago (played by Dolph Lungdren in 1985′s Rocky IV) before the giant delivered what proved to be a fatal beating.
What is intriguing is how Coogler intends to plug back into the mythology of the first three Rocky films, which were the best ones, and then move the story forward. Jordan seems perfect for the role, given his charisma and intensity, and the fact he’s a natural athlete and was a most convincing quarterback in the final seasons of Friday Night Lights. Coogler played college football on a scholarship as a wide receiver, so he has a background in ? culture. The deal is being finalized by WME, which reps Coogler, Jordan and Stallone. Jordan is managed by The Schiff Company and lawyered by Gregory Slewett.
I don't know how to feel about this. On the one hand Rocky is such a great character I wouldn't mind seeing him on the screen again. On the other hand Rocky Balboa was the perfect moment of closure for this series. Plus the thought of the inevitable "HE DIED BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T THROW IN THE TOWEL!!!" scene kinda makes me cringe.
Comments
-
stop the madness Creed's grandson? come on joe get some real ideas...is he gonna fight mr t's grandson?
-
It could work
-
Probably would have worked better if the last couple Rocky movies didn't exist.
-
Hopefully Wallace doesn't die.................................................
-
Michael B. Jordan is a great actor, so I can see this film working. I like the spin their going with also. If everyone is on the same page this can be a great movie imo. Hollywood is really setting Jordan up to be the "next" black actor.
-
Hopefully Wallace doesn't die.................................................
Jordan has died in just about every film he has been involved in.
http://youtu.be/hor_gOBU_GU -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »Probably would have worked better if the last couple Rocky movies didn't exist.
?!? Rocky Balboa is considered one of the best entries in the franchise and the perfect bookend to the series by fans and critics alike.
Here's hoping Rocky is a better mentor than he was in Rocky V.
-
if they do it the boxing representation better be up to par because as inspirational and a study on the underdog and his triumph.. the boxing was cartoonish and did a great deal in shaping the drive by viewer notions on what was boxing..
-
playmaker88 wrote: »if they do it the boxing representation better be up to par because as inspirational and a study on the underdog and his triumph.. the boxing was cartoonish and did a great deal in shaping the drive by viewer notions on what was boxing..
This guy Coogler considers this a dream pet project so I'm guessing he'll try to be as authentic as he can be. I think the last movie was the only one to a do a good job with that. It was the closest they ever came to capturing the presentation of a boxing broadcast in terms of in ring action and the setting and commentating.
-
Dolph gonna ? this ? too
-
The next denzel/spike
-
The Lonious Monk wrote: »Probably would have worked better if the last couple Rocky movies didn't exist.
?!? Rocky Balboa is considered one of the best entries in the franchise and the perfect bookend to the series by fans and critics alike.
Here's hoping Rocky is a better mentor than he was in Rocky V.
That doesn't mean it's good as a predecessor for these new movies. -
Hopefully Wallace doesn't die.................................................
-
-
The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »Probably would have worked better if the last couple Rocky movies didn't exist.
?!? Rocky Balboa is considered one of the best entries in the franchise and the perfect bookend to the series by fans and critics alike.
Here's hoping Rocky is a better mentor than he was in Rocky V.
That doesn't mean it's good as a predecessor for these new movies.
What are you talking about? the story went from Rocky being trained by Mickey and later Apollo and Duke to making a comeback as an old man against all odds and then after proving he still has things to offer the boxing world becoming the Mickey/Apollo/Duke to Apollo's grandson. It brings things full circle.
-
Meh.. it would have to be gritty as ? ... could be a good step up to him playing T'Challa, especially if he puts on weight for this role.
-
it would of been better if this was a series detailing apollo creeds rise to the top before he fought rocky
-
The user and all related content has been deleted.
-
Im into this.
Could be good - especially since they thinking about the first three films...and Rocky Balboa wasn't that bad... -
sounds just like the one rocky with tommy gunn sub out the ? add in the brother
-
would you prefer rocky's son or apollo's son?
at least we have a ? boxing movie coming... quit ? .
act like stallone has failed us before...
he been consistent if you dont count rocky 5.
The kid from Christmas Story >>> Rocky's son -
The Lonious Monk wrote: »The Lonious Monk wrote: »Probably would have worked better if the last couple Rocky movies didn't exist.
?!? Rocky Balboa is considered one of the best entries in the franchise and the perfect bookend to the series by fans and critics alike.
Here's hoping Rocky is a better mentor than he was in Rocky V.
That doesn't mean it's good as a predecessor for these new movies.
What are you talking about? the story went from Rocky being trained by Mickey and later Apollo and Duke to making a comeback as an old man against all odds and then after proving he still has things to offer the boxing world becoming the Mickey/Apollo/Duke to Apollo's grandson. It brings things full circle.
Yeah, that sounds good when you conveniently leave the movie where he was a mentor and didn't do so well at it. -
dis betta be better than dem piece of ? rocky 5 & 6!
-
I'm actually looking forward to this, it's a good twist to the series IMO