Apart from being a film about boxing, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise gave importance to the inspirational human story of a sportsman who fights all odds to reach the top. It was this combination of action and emotion that connected audiences across the world to the titular protagonist Rocky Balboa portrayed with conviction by Stallone.
Having always been a sports enthusiast, the Cliffhanger actor also harbored interest in creating a narrative based on the highly popular and competitive field of Formula 1. Despite doing all the ground work and research for the script, Stallone was ultimately unable to get the project off the ground and instead, made his film Driven based on the CART Champ Car Series. Looking back, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Formula 1.
How Sylvester Stallone Saved Formula 1’s Reputation
In 2001, Sylvester Stallone wrote, produced, and starred in Driven, a sports drama based on the CART Champ Car series. The film had a lot of real-time visuals from races across various countries with the involvement of actual owners being incorporated into the narrative. Through this film, Stallone aimed to capture the emotion and passion behind sportsmen and the sport.
But the Rambo star’s original vision for the film was to work with CART’s significantly bigger and more popular cousin, Formula 1. With a massive world presence, huge money and sponsorship pouring in, and global superstars as brand ambassadors, Stallone’s dream was to capture the aura that surrounded the various aspects of the sport.
The Italian Stallion went neck-deep into the project by personally attending famous Grand Prix races in Europe while attempting to visit the pits to get sound bytes from the crew and drivers to understand what went into the sport beyond mere driving. Unfortunately, the film did not take off and Stallone’s dream for another Rocky-like sports drama was squashed.
The actor in a statement on February 9th, 2000 (via Grand Prix 247), revealed the hard realities behind the film failing to materialize. Elaborating on the difficulties of penetrating the walls of Formula 1, Stallone also indirectly took a dig at CEO Bernie Ecclestone for the failure of the sport to open its doors.
“I apologize to fans of F1, but there is a certain individual there who runs the sport and has his own agenda. F1 is very formal and it’s very difficult to get to know people,”
As it turned out, fate was extremely kind to Formula 1. Driven became one of the year’s biggest flops and earned the dubious distinction of being nominated for 7 Razzies. With Formula 1 earning a staggering $887 million in 2023 alone, it became abundantly clear that the sport did not need a Sylvester Stallone to elevate an already thriving model.
Who Was The Inspiration For Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky?
While Sylvester Stallone’s dream of making a Formula 1 film fell flat, his decision to use the CART Champ Series as the backdrop for Driven added further insult to injury. But the actor’s instincts for his iconic franchise Rocky, was in complete contrast to the aforementioned debacle. Stallone, who wrote the script for the first film, was inspired by real-life events that led to the creation of the evergreen hero.
While audiences are aware that The Expendables star used boxing legend Muhammed Ali’s fight as the foundation, it was Ali’s opponent Chuck Wepner’s courage that planted the seed for the story. Wepner, who was no match for the great Ali, was getting battered in the fight, but never gave up and even had moments of brilliance in which he challenged the legend and unbelievably dealt him a knockout blow. His dogged determination resulted in the eureka moment for Stallone who revealed to GQ,
“From nowhere, Wepner knocked down the immortal Ali. It was like a bolt of lightning from some Greek god in the sky, and, almost instantly, Wepner became the crowd favorite — in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, he went from being a complete joke to being somebody whom everybody watching could identify with—because everybody’s thinking, ‘Yes, I’d like to do that!’”
Chuck Wepner’s tenacity became the inspirational underdog fairytale that Sylvester Stallone was looking for. The rest as they say, is history. Thanks to the Demolition Man star’s moment of enlightenment, Rocky Balboa went on to become one of the most loved and admired characters on screen.
