I Play Rocky Dramatizes Sylvester Stallone’s Underdog Fight to Make Rocky

Amazon MGM Studios opens I Play Rocky in limited release on November 6, going wide on November 20. The Green Book director Peter Farrelly tells the story behind Rocky, the 1976 underdog movie that became an underdog success story itself.

Anthony Ippolito stars as the young Sylvester Stallone, working from a screenplay by Peter Gamble.

The story

Before he was a star, Stallone was a struggling actor with a script about a Philly boxer and one non-negotiable condition: he had to play the part. The film follows his push to get Rocky made with producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff, through the shoot and on to the Best Picture win that changed his life.

The cast

• Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone;
• AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack;
• Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr.;
• Stephan James as Carl Weathers;
• Jay Duplass as John G. Avildsen;
• Toby Kebbell as Robert Chartoff;
• P.J. Byrne as Irwin Winkler;
• Robert Morgan as Burgess Meredith;
• Kiki Seto as Talia Shire;
• Tracy Letts as Sandy Maddox.

The production

Announced in May 2024, the film started shooting on October 15, 2025, across New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, with Sean Porter behind the camera, Sam Seig editing and Dave Palmer scoring. It runs 127 minutes.

The reviews

I Play Rocky premiered at TIFF on September 12 and finished first runner-up for the People’s Choice Award. It sits at 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and 62 on Metacritic. Variety’s Owen Gleiberman appreciated its grasp of the underdog parallels, while Screen Daily’s Robert Daniels found it a walking piece of pastiche.

Release

The film opens in select theaters November 6 and nationwide November 20.