Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 14
I Play Rocky Ignites Oscar Buzz at TIFF as 27-Year-Old Anthony Ippolito Breaks Out
Updated
Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 14

I Play Rocky Ignites Oscar Buzz at TIFF as 27-Year-Old Anthony Ippolito Breaks Out

3 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Sep 14

Summary

  • Anthony Ippolito, 27, emerged as a best-actor contender after I Play Rocky drew mid-film applause and a lengthy standing ovation at its Toronto world premiere.
  • Peter Farrelly’s film about the inspiration for and making of 1976’s Rocky split critics but played strongly with festival audiences, echoing the TIFF path of his eventual best-picture winner Green Book.
  • Nov. 6 is when Amazon/MGM begins the U.S. rollout, with the film also boosting awards prospects for a broader cast that includes AnnaSophia Robb, Tracy Letts and Jay Duplass.
  • Sylvester Stallone, now 80, could still shape that campaign: Farrelly said he liked the finished film, but any public backlash over a project he was not directly involved in could hurt its Oscar chances.

Insights

Will the intense Oscar buzz for this behind-the-scenes Rocky biopic finally bring Sylvester Stallone's ultimate underdog story full circle?
How did a basement audition tape with no script turn an unknown actor into the ultimate Hollywood underdog?