Burt Young will be greatly missed by Rocky fans all over the world. Young played into the nuances of the complex character of Paulie Pennino in Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky, even earning an Oscar nomination for the role.
However, Rocky V, one of the weakest entries in the franchise, did the character dirty. Young was so upset with the way things turned out in the film, that he didn’t speak with Stallone for a long time.
Sylvester Stallone’s fifth installment in the Rocky series was anything but smooth throughout the production. The creative differences over Stallone’s screenplay negatively impacted the outcome of the movie. Stallone himself later admitted that he had lost focus, and the film defeated the purpose of all the other Rocky films.
Burt Young Was Disappointed With Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky V Script
Fans unanimously agree that Rocky V stands as one of the worst films in the otherwise legendary franchise. Things went south right from the beginning of the film when there were creative differences over the dark and somber tone that Sylvester Stallone adopted for the script, which he intended to be the franchise’s last movie. The film’s treatment of Rocky Balboa’s character was heavily criticized, as it seemed to undo his character growth.
Burt Young’s character Paulie Pennino, who had a remarkable character development in the four previous films, became the reason for Rocky’s financial downfall in the film. Many fans, including Young himself, felt that the character had been poorly served by the script.
Young, in particular, was against Paulie being responsible for Rocky’s troubles, and he even talked to Stallone about it. However, unlike in previous films where he had heeded Young’s advice, this time the Demolition Man actor rejected it.
Young shared with the fan page, Total Rocky, that he was upset with The Expendables actor at the time and did not speak with him for quite some time. His disappointment was completely justified after the film failed to impress the audience. It took a while for the two of them to reconcile. Young shared with Total Rocky:
“So, for a short while we didn’t talk. But now he has this reality fight show [Mark Burnett’s The Contender], so they asked me if I would show up, you know? And I was pleased to hug him and forget the time lost.”
Given that Young was among the few who trusted Stallone’s script initially for Rocky, the Tulsa King actor should have listened to the late actor. However, the two resolved their differences as Young returned to reprise his role as Paulie one last time in the 2006 film, Rocky Balboa.
Sylvester Stallone Admitted He Made A Mistake With Rocky V
Sylvester Stallone later admitted that Rocky V fell short of the franchise’s standards. Although he had intended to make it the last, the movie did not do justice to the franchise and Stallone felt compelled to make one more movie.
However, this realization took time, with the sixth installment being released in 2006, almost 16 years after the previous film. About his failed fifth movie and why he made a sixth film, the Samaritan actor shared with MovieHole:
“Okay, uh, I have to admit, that I had this real beast in me, it’s been gnawing at me for ten, twelve years, how badly Rocky [V] fared, and I take all the blame for that, I think it was a reflection of my lack of focus at the time, and it just was translated on to film, it’s really interesting, it’s almost a CAT scan of where you are. And it really defeated all the other Rocky’s, and it bothered me, because the people that had been so loyal to it, so that beast was finally eliminated with this film.”
However, Stallone’s stint as Rocky did not end with Rocky Balboa. Stallone returned for the Rocky spin-off, Creed, but this time without Young. Paulie was depicted as having passed away in the film. A seventh mainline Rocky film is currently in development, and Stallone will sure miss Young by his side for the movie.
Rocky V and other films in the franchise are now available for streaming on MGM+.
