Greg' s Preview Thoughts:

10/16/05 - Don' t call it a comeback, because it' s been here for years. And years. And years. I' m speaking of course, about the news today that Sony Picture' s three largest film divisions (Columbia, MGM and Revolution Studios) have come together to jointly get this project finally together and in front of cameras in just a few months. A new ' Rocky' boxing movie written and starring Sylvested Stallone has been one of those movies that' s been drifting around as an idea for so long that people often question its reality. Well, after over a decade, it' s finally an actual project, what with production money, a greenlight, all that stuff real movies have... not just listings on movie fan sites.

Back in 2002, MGM announced plans to develop it, but they put serious restrictions on Stallone' s budget, limiting him to $15 million, which might have made it look and feel as " indie" as the original was, but not necessarily in a good way. Now, it looks like Sylvester Stallone has finally gotten the sweet deal he' s been holding out for, and there' s even talk that this could lead to a ' Rambo' revival too. It looks to me like maybe Stallone has put on a few pounds in recent years (hey, the guy turns 60 next July), but you know, the way to look at that is ' Rocky' movies are famous for their training montages. So, if he' s got a few pounds to lose, he' ll probably do it in the montage. Yep, they' re gonna need a montage.

So yes, the classic boxing series is coming back. People used to disparage sequels, but you know, with remakes now being so common that there' s nearly a new one every week... I kind of miss sequels. At least with sequels, you get a new story, not the same old plot points you saw in a movie when you were a kid. Not that the " retired champ gets one last chance at a comeback" angle is entirely new in the sports genre (heck, it was kind of already done in ' Rocky IV' ), but... we haven' t seen it done costarring Roy Jones, Jr. yet! : ) (a remark that will of course seem really dated if Jones turns down the offer next week).