I Play Rocky First Look Screening

Sylvester Stallone writes the screenplay for "Rocky," betting everything on himself to play the lead character against seemingly impossible odds. The result is the ultimate underdog story behind the ultimate underdog movie.

Join us and celebrate one of the biggest box office hits of 1976 in the First look Screening on Saturday, December 12, with $11 Rocky Ridge Beer, a complimentary slice of Siena's pizza on entry and music by RTRFM

Featuring a career-making performance from Anthony Ippolito, the latest from Oscar winner Peter Farrelly vividly recreates the story of how an unknown named Sylvester Stallone got Rocky produced — and became a superstar.

There is no greater movie about beating the odds through sheer determination than Rocky. But the story behind that box-office smash — which turned its unknown writer-star Sylvester Stallone into a phenomenon — is just as unlikely and inspiring. Helmed by Oscar winner Peter Farrelly (TIFF ’18 People’s Choice Award winner Green Book) and featuring a career-making performance from Anthony Ippolito, I Play Rocky vividly recreates a paradigm-shifting moment in Hollywood history and chronicles the meteoric rise of one of cinema's preeminent multihyphenates.

Sylvester (Ippolito) dreams of being an actor, but he grew up poor, shuttled from home to home, and at one point lived on the street. Now in his twenties, the closest he's come to the big screen is acting in a porno and working as an usher. Then he sees Muhammad Ali fight Chuck Wepner, and inspiration hits: in a few fevered days, he writes a screenplay about an underdog boxer who goes the distance. Studio executives love it — but they balk at Sylvester’s stipulation that he play the hero. The production of this ambitious indie film will prove more arduous than anyone could have imagined.