Caffeinated Clint
And I thought the best news of the day was discovering my coffee card was up to the ‘free coffee’ section on the stamp grid!?
No, no, this might just beat that!
Sylvester Stallone is reprising Rocky Balboa for a seventh film, only it’s not so much a seventh “Rocky” film as it is a spin-off fixing on the grandchild of Rocky’s old sparring partner Apollo Creed. Smartly titled “Creed”, it’s a passion project from “Fruitvale station” duo Michael B.Jordan, who’d play the lead, and Ryan Coogler, who’d direct.
The good smell coming from the goods can be attributed to the fact that it’s Coogler and Jordan’s idea, not the studio’s. When Coogler signed on with WME, they asked him where he’d like to take his career next, and he apparently mentioned his personal passion project, the ‘Creed’ story.
One thing lead to another, and suddenly the project was a go – with Stallone agreeing to co-star and produce the film, alongside most of the other original “Rocky” troupe, including win Winkler and Robert Chartoff.
Deadline, who broke the news on the project, say :
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 Apollo 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 jock culture.
Gotta get those rights back to “Living in America” by James Brown, hey?!
