Anthony Ippolito is set to star in I Play Rocky, with Peter Farrelly directing for Amazon MGM Studios. The film will be released in theaters. Toby Emmerich and Christian Baha will produce. Peter Gamble wrote the script.
Ippolito will star as a young Sylvester Stallone in the film which follows the actor before he came a mega star. His unshakable belief that he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky—he was meant to be Rocky Balboa. Told “no” at every turn, Stallone bets everything on himself, holding the line on playing the lead against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.
The Rocky franchise, distributed by United Artists and later MGM, has become one of the most iconic and financially successful sports film franchises of all time, grossing over $1.7 billion globally, including the Creed spin-offs. Created by and starring Sylvester Stallone as underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, the franchise launched in 1976 with the original film winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Stallone’s performance and creative vision turned Rocky into a cultural touchstone and established him as a Hollywood legend.
Ippolito is best known for playing Al Pacino’ in the Paramount+ limited series The Offer. He also appeared in the Netflix’s hit film Purple Hearts. He is represented by Gersh, Untitled Entertainment, and Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to break the news.
