Peter Farrelly is ready to eat lightning and crap thunder for a unique project focusing on Sylvester Stallone‘s beloved Rocky franchise. I Play Rocky finds Farrelly directing a film about Stallone’s journey to play the Italian Stallion on the silver screen. Toby Emmerich is producing, with Peter Gamble penning the script.
Here’s the official blurb for I Play Rocky:
A struggling actor with a partially paralyzed face and a speech impediment writes a script that a big movie studio wants to buy, but he refuses to sell it unless he gets to play the lead. Turning down an offer of life-changing money, he instead works for pennies to get the movie made with himself in the starring role. The movie becomes the biggest box office hit of 1976, notching ten Oscar nominations and winning Best Picture. The true story of the making of the iconic movie Rocky.
I Play Rocky is sure to become one of the hottest items selling at Cannes next week, with studios tripping over themselves to present Stallone’s inspiring story to eager fans.
“I’ve been a fan of Peter Farrelly as both a filmmaker and a person since getting to work with him on the music for Dumb and Dumber,” Emmerich said. “But it was Green Book that made me think of Pete for this inspiring screenplay. Christian Baha and I feel blessed to have Pete at the helm for this movie. And like the unknown Stallone starring in Rocky, Pete will be conducting a worldwide search to discover another actor who just needs one shot — in I Play Rocky — to show the world what he can do.”
Baha added: “When I first read Peter Gamble’s energetic and poignant script, I knew it captured something very special. The story of I Play Rocky is as unique as Sylvester Stallone himself, a seeming Everyman with an undeniable gift who needs to share it with the world and refuses to take “no” for an answer. And like the hero of our film, Baha Productions needed grit and determination as we fought for years to make this project into a reality. We are so fortunate to have teamed up with Toby Emmerich and Peter Farrelly, two legendary talents who not only share but enhance our vision of the film.”
Okay, here’s the big question: Who in the world do you get to play Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky? Will Farrelly and his team bring a big name aboard the project or search far and wide for an unknown actor? Is there someone who could undergo an impressive transformation to play the famed actor and action star? If you have any suggestions, we’d love to see them in the comments section below.