Sly Stallone: My Rivalry With Arnie, Being An Outsider & Hating Steven Seagal

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2:21Masculine leaning but unisex Womo has notes of fresh violet leaf, aromatic sage, green vetiver, and mineral salt. Shop holiday gifts at Macy's.com. Hello and welcome to this special episode of The Rest Is Entertainment with me, Marina Hyde. It is my great honor to be sitting here with Sylvester Stallone, someone I have spent countless hours watching and re-watching. Regular viewers and listeners of this podcast will know I'm an action movie nut, but you are so much more than an action movie star. In fact, in lots of ways, you never really fit the mould as an actor, most particularly because you've been a writer too. Right. You are writer and star of the iconic Rocky, so iconic that a very buzzy movie about your struggle to make it is soon to come out.

3:15Oh, that's very interesting. Your book, The Steps, it takes us with incredible candour into your very difficult childhood and beyond and onto your stellar career. And we are about to be given season four of your starring turn in Taylor Sheridan's Tulsa King series. So you stay a very busy man. I do. It's not like by design. It's just I'm restless. You are very restless. I want to say to you today that all the questions today come from our viewers and listeners. So if they jump around and are a little bit restless too, don't worry about it. Let me start with something from Helena McGeough, who says, A few years ago, I had a new music artist performing on The Graham Norton Show. And we asked if we could meet Sylvester Stallone, who was also on the show.

3:58Sylvester was such a delight and so gracious with his time. I wondered when he was starting out, was there anybody wonderful that was kind to Sylvester when he was getting rocky off the ground? Not really. People treat you like rubbish. Actually, most, like I said hello to a couple of stars, ones like Henry Fonda. He goes, don't be rude. Okay. It's that kind of a thing. So I get it. Of course, it was in a men's room, so he probably didn't like that. It was a bad choice of timing. You meet Henry Fonda where you meet Henry Fonda. Things like that. But I didn't get to meet that many people. I met Ali before I wrote Rocky, and ironically, I ended up using him as Apollo Creed. And then in Rocky III, I used his house.

4:46So I saw him every day. Did you? Yeah, I have. Which is the house in Rocky III? Rocky III is a big white house. That's where Rocky's living now. Yes. When he's lost sight of what made him great. Right. Yeah. With Trouble Lang. Okay, we won't go into all the books. Very good. Believe me, I've watched it so many times. Okay, Kaylee Ann Ross has a question. She says, I'm so excited for I Play Rocky to come out in cinemas. The Rocky myth grows and grows, and I'm sure the film won't harm that. When did you first realize that your life story was picking up its own steam? I had heard there was a script circulating. I had nothing to do with it. And then one day I met Peter Farrelly, who ended up directing it. He goes,

5:30it's like, do you want to be involved? It looks like some fashion thing or what, you know, what is the word I'm looking for? Some ego massaging kind of vehicle. I said, no, because the thing is, Rocky is fiction. And it's wonderful. But your story is like a movie. And it's real. So I said, well, I have at it. And then they showed me the fellow who was going to play me. And I thought it was me. It's unbelievable. I thought I would. And then my daughter said, really, check this out. She goes, oh, my God. It's the most phenomenal impression. A guy called Antonio Pulito plays you in it. He gained weight. I mean, he looked the real deal. It's extraordinary. It is. Does it feel strange that someone was dramatizing just that tiny period of your life?

6:24Or do you think that there was something even in the writing of it that is part of the Rocky myth? It is, but it would have taken too long. So I think they did it correctly because obviously it took years and they condensed it in a way that I think is very commercial. And also, I think life life-affirming. Yeah, very much so. Now, Daniel Hernandez says, this podcast is slightly obsessed with Glenn Powell, I admit this, who you hired for Expendables 3. Now, at every chance, Glenn Powell always talks about the advice you guys gave him, saying that, you know, oh, the world is totally different now, movie stardom's not the same as it was. Do you have confidence for young stars starting out in this industry?

7:08Oh, I do. I do because they're tech savvy. They get it. If I had my mentality the way I came up today, I'd live in a cave. I'm so primitive. We're back to like hand cranking movies. But Glenn Powell, you know, he was very energetic. He had something. He had real confidence and bravado. And even my daughters, they just know so much about current media. It really is the bombarding aspect of it. So I think the stars today, these guys, they're absolutely reflective of the culture. You know what I mean? They're different. They're not like us. They look different. Like in the 70s, that was a whole other. If you look at those characters, if you tried to make the godfather today, you couldn't do it.

7:59Because those actors don't exist. You know what I mean? So it's time sensitive to have a career to be in the mainstream at that time. Because right now, Rocky would never be made. You think so? I know so. Because no one's going to take a chance on an unknown in a boxing movie, which has notoriously been underwhelming. You know, it's just everything about it was lucky because back then studios, every now and then, would just fly by the seat of their pants. They didn't talk to, for example, the publicity department. Can we sell this? Or how many followers does it have? They have zero followers. And they go, okay, let's try it. Yeah, I can't imagine your Instagram during those years. It would have been very, yeah. But is there a sense that Glenn's

8:50right to some degree? And I do think there's something quite elegiac about the way he talks about the generation, your generation in particular of like eighties and nineties stars, that you can never go back to that and movie stars can never be that big again. He said that. Yes, I think so. And I think that people think that movie stars can never be that big again. He said that. Yes, I think so. And I think that people think that movie stars can never be that big again. Do you think that? No, there's a possibility. Of course, people can explode. You've got Timothee Chalamet, you've got him. But here's the problem. They're not making that many films. When I came in, they were doing 120 films a year.

9:22Now they're doing 20. Yeah. And it's a crap shoot. Do you have hope for more in a month? I do. I'm a big believer in it's a cycle, and they go through it, and then eventually it comes back. The whole thing is, can theaters create something? And I'm talking about a safe space, a quiet space, where people can actually watch films. A lot of these theaters, it's nerve wracking. It's loud. It's expensive to drive there. It's a big deal. You see what I mean? It's real effort to get there. So I think you need something that attracts them. Like, for example, in Vegas, they have the Sphere. And people will fly across the country because of the immersive experience. So I think technology is going to have to step in,

10:08and then people will want to go, oh, yeah, I can never see this at home. Do you still go to the cinema ever? I don't think I've been in like 20 years. Really? Do you have one in your house? Well, yes. Not a cinema, but I have a big… A nice room. Yeah, right. A media room. Yeah, right. That's right. A media room. Yeah, I can imagine. I can't go to the theater because people are like interrupting and the people around me are going, hey, shut up. Okay. Can we talk about one of the stars that was always seen as one of your big rivals? John Pike says, did your rivalry with Arnold Schwarzenegger shape your career or did it make you take more risks? Yeah, you know, we were very confrontational. Tell me about it.

10:55Well, because you have two people arriving at the beginning of a different genre and we both want to be in charge of that genre. I never wanted to be an action guy but i did first blood and it i said this is interesting because action films if done right is modern mythology it's like what they used to do you know iliad and the odyssey and hercules and achilles so i see this guy and i can tell right away he's going to be a problem you know i just we were at the golden globe awards and he's sitting there and he's eyeballing me. And the guy said, no. He said, we call that stink eye. I said, okay. All right. I got it, pal. And then he wins. What did he win for that year? He wins best newcomer. I went, give me a break.

11:40For what? For like Conan or something? For Pumping Iron. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. Pumping Iron. Oh, really? Yeah. Okay. Pumping iron. And I went, okay. And then we went for Rocky and he's looking at me like, and I throw flowers on him, like a bowl of flowers. It's like, I made like I was celebrating, like, yay, like that. Great. And the gauntlet was thrown and it was on. And how did it develop? well it developed because right then you knew we were both going to be antagonistic because that's who he is you know he likes to challenge I like to challenge and we're both physical and now who's going to be like the vanguard the leader in that genre? So I do Rambo. He does command. So I do this. And we went back and forth, back and forth,

12:31on and off screen. It was very contentious, trust me, which I enjoyed. Yeah. Because the matter I made him, the matter made me, the way we fought to make the next action film, bigger knife, louder gun, more body count, this and that, better location. It just kept elevating. And you talked about each other to your agents, to people all the time. Oh, well, definitely. I wanted to do a movie because it was so bombastic, the confrontation, that a guy named John Hughes wanted to do a movie that we were next door neighbors. I went, oh boy, that would be great. And we couldn't get together on that. We just, kind of a thing. And then we were in Planet Hollywood together. I was going to say, for people who don't know, this was a restaurant chain that you guys

13:22were the faces of. We had 40,000 people in London. Yeah. For the opening. It was crazy. It was, it was, it's very hard to explain what an enormous deal this was. It was a phenomenon at the time. And he was part of it. I was part of it, Bruce Willis. And we couldn't get on the same stage together to make a presentation or a speech. I always thought you'd put it to bed by then, but no. Oh, no, no, no. It wasn't put to bed until like 20 years later. I always thought you'd put it to bed by then, but no. Oh, no, no, no. It wasn't put to bed until like 20 years later. Tell me when it was put to bed. When he decided to run for governor. Yeah. Yeah, we went to the same cigar place. He was there. I said, you know, enough of this.

13:57We're not in competition. He's not doing movies anymore. All right. Thank you very much for, you know, waking me up, lighting a fire under me. And he felt the same way. God. I know. Did you have a cigar together? Oh, many, many, many. We actually did a cigar magazine together. Oh, of course. Of course you would commercialize it. Are you still friends? Yeah, very much so. You know, we're always going to be competitive. There's just no coming. That's the nature of the beast. And I enjoy it. I really do. But we're not as financially competitive anymore because, like, your movie, my movie. Yeah. Yeah, that's the long haul. Did you literally used to compare box offices and things like that? All the time.

14:42He would do things like this. I hope he doesn't mind like if i what my film didn't perform he go oh sylvester had a movie opening this weekend oh that's 40 what they predicted oh maybe better luck next time i went oh brother said, you're dancing on my grave here. And then I would come back. So it was almost humorous. It's something that'll never happen again, where you have two actors in the same genre literally going for it, on screen, off screen. And was there something about that era, the 80s and the 90s, that is so plugged into your own box office as a way of keeping score, which we don't see so much nowadays. No, no, no. It's the old ways are the better. Okay, well, Johnny Bart has one question to finish up this little section

15:35and says, if you had to be in one of Arnie's films instead of Arnie, which one would you choose and why? I'd like to play the predator impression. Or the guy in Terminator 2 chasing you. That kind of thing, yeah. Someone will sadly go back and make this now with AR. No, I'm kidding. Now, Francesca Young has a question. She says, what is the sliding doors moment in your career that still breaks your heart? Something that almost could have happened but then didn't. Oh, there's a few films that got away, like Harrison Ford did. Which ones did that Harrison did? It was called Witness. Oh, with Kelly McGillis. No, it was a big stupid mistake that I didn't do it. You turned it down? Yeah, I did. It was like dumb and it was a really good director.

16:24And then there was a thing called Coming Home that John Voight won the Oscar for. And that was right after Rocky and I didn't think I could pull it off, which was a big mistake. You could have pulled it off. You could have pulled it off. Now, I'm very sorry, but if you come to the UK, you have to have a few UK-specific questions. And we can't let escape to victory pass. How much about football did you know? Zero. You surprised me. I learned the hard way. Pelé broke my finger. Oh my god. Did Pelé do that to you? Yeah, he did. I was sort of, oh, this doesn't look so hard. And World War II, the balls were like bowling. They're smaller, thick, brown leather. And it was steel toe shoes. Can you imagine?

17:11Yeah. Steel toe. And so you got to say, why don't you get into the goal? I'm going to tell you exactly where I'm going to hit. Like right there, you stand there, and you won't even see it. I go, Pasha, try your best. And he goes back and he kicks it. And I hear a sound like, and I put my hands up. God damn. And then, wait a minute. And there was an old World War II net. So it tears through the net. And we have prisoner of war bunkers with a metal grate over the window. Bang, broke the windows. That's the power of his free kick. Like a mule. Yeah. And like an idiot. Your body bears the scars. That's how good he was. Yeah. I mean, yeah, he was extremely good at football. Yes. Now, you got married in the Dorchester Hotel here in London.

18:11Oh, yeah, I did. Yes. Yes. Do you love anything specific about the UK? Is there anything? Do you like coming back? Are you an Anglophile? I love it. Listen, I was here like the tramps with Johnny Gold in the 70s. So I was here like really as a young neophyte. I loved it. I had some amazing adventures here. Did you? Yeah. Only you can tell us about. No, I won't. You just buried them. No, those will die with me. Thank you anyway. But it was fantastic. And also there was a lot of actors that were going to the nightclubs and they were shooting The Shining or something like that. Rod Stewart would show up. All these guys. Actors had a better time then. Now they're all like up at 2.45 and doing workouts and praying

18:56and having showers and stuff like Mark Wahlberg. No, everyone was drunk, face down on an ashtray like this. Yeah. It sounded like it was a lot more fun. It was. It was freewheeling and nobody was concerned like there was no iPhones or this or that. No. The media was kind of like sleeping at the wheel, which is good. They weren't so vehement about like going after you. Do you think it was better for creativity, the fact that you could all mix and mingle and that you went out a lot? Yeah. Than it is now where it's incredibly businesslike. It was very important that, you know, certain actors, because quite often they're standoffish. Yeah. They are. It's just their nature to be solitary creatures as a rule.

19:36But when they're among themselves, things happen. Like I was with Andrew Garfield last night. I never thought we would hit it off, ever. And I thought, boy, I'd love to have him as a villain in Tulsa King because it would create a whole different dynamic. Instead of this big, lumbering villain, maybe it's thoughtful. Maybe it's AI-driven. Maybe it's something that I have no idea how to stop. I would love to see this. I know. Okay. Well, our next question from Matty T is about Tulsa King. Okay. Matty says, I'm obsessed with everything Taylor Sheridan touches. Likewise. What drew you to work with him on Tulsa King? We have a kind of an interesting relationship. He created it, but originally the character was very dark and violent,

20:25and he just went out to Oklahoma. I said, can we temper it a little bit, maybe put him in prison? He has a daughter, his wife leaves him, and then he's betrayed. So he's thrown in Oklahoma. It's like banishment. And he goes, I don't know. I said, yeah, I think it'll work. And then we added humor. Yeah, the humor's the key. So he goes, you're on your own. Take it away. Enjoy. And so I write my character, whatever scenes I'm in. Do you? Yeah, every one. And then Terry Winter kicks in. Yeah. And Taylor has his hands so full of all these other shows as though it works out perfectly. So what's your take on his sort of interpretation of America? All those shows are so popular and they speak to an audience that lots of that audience feel has been left around.

21:22It's very, very important because that audience was ignored for centuries, it seems, since John Wayne. And he really mined a consciousness like, oh, we forgot about that guy in the middle of America. They're always right about California and New York. But the middle of America, it's a different vibe. And so people were starving for it it's like a simpler world and more more um I'm just a confrontational a more masculine world slightly yeah that's been left but that's been I think it's really interesting we talked about Harrison Ford earlier and very few people get to kind of hit series where they kind of define something. And he had those great swashbucklers, Indiana Jones and Han Solo. But you also had two series.

22:13You had Rocky and you had Rambo that also said something about late 20th century masculinity that was much darker and grittier. Tell me about that. And also is kind of counterintuitive to the philosophy of Hollywood. They looked at those characters as being antagonistic. And I said, no, no, he's just... Rambo is like a broken soul. I saw him, this will be very obtuse, but James Dean was in east of eden he played one son that cain and abel kind of thing that he was completely dismissed by the father and i saw rampart's being completely dismissed by his country like i did what you asked and then they throw him onto the scrap heap and that's where i got the kind of the idea that people will sort of like him because he's just trying to like survive this you know like dismissal and loneliness

23:16and you know obsolescence so he wasn't really an action guy. He was actually running away from things. And it was different than these joyous, bombastic action films. It was a very dark kind of a film. And then I thought, wow. I never thought it would be a disaster. Because I was the 11th choice. Nobody wanted to make this movie. Really? Oh, yeah. Do you think when people find their screen persona and there's something about it and that you've played these outsiders, is there something in you that thinks, am I always an outsider because I play them so well? Yeah. When people ask me, do you have any advice on acting, my advice is you have to be a specialist. You cannot play comedy in Shakespeare and do this and do that.

24:11People get confused. But if you have a certain knack or, like, let's say you're villainous or you're heroic or you're muscular, focus on that and be the best at it because we have, for example, in Tulsa King, we have the character of Bodhi. He's a nerd. He says, but that's his career. And he's played that many, many times. And he's so good at it that no one can compete. So he didn't go all off and dye his hair and get a crew cut. He stayed with that image. And the way things are today, I don't know if actors are literally becoming specialists. In other words, they're trying to be very, very, what was it to say, versatile. But that's risky. do you still feel like an outsider yourself in life oh yeah it never leaves you well it's it served me well because I was never distracted

25:17and I felt coming up there's a window of time at at least in this business, to make an imprint. Usually by the time you're 25, if you haven't made something, it's doubtful. I was 29 and a half. I was like there. And I said, you cannot have a social life and a professional life. If you're trying to get the professional life, if you're trying to acquire a goal, you can't diversify. You can't splinter off your time and go out and party and then think you're going to come back the next day and have the same momentum you're not. So I thought about being very, very dedicated to my solitude because I just wanted to say, if I never made it, I left no stone unturned. Yeah. Shaq here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100% online and get it delivered to your door?

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28:06And Zatica asks, you've had a lot of hits, but also some box office failings. How did you feel during the opening weekends of Oscar or Stop or My Mom Will Shoot? Yeah, you know, I think the public blew it. I'm serious. I really do. I agree, idiot. I'm serious. That was a good film. No, I'm serious. Forget it. Just that was a good film. Everybody in it was good. It was based on a French classic, you know, but it wasn't right for America. French farce did not translate. And I thought it was fantastic. But the audience, no. But it was really a well-made film. I'll tell you, I've done some, like, turkeys. Which do you think are your worst? The worst of the worst? Like, Avenging Angelo. Oh, yeah, okay.

28:56Now, Sapa Mamamoo shoot. I like that. It's not bad. Yeah. But my favorite movie is the one where you take the biggest risk of all. And the audience is so mortified that you would go that far, left or right, off center. When I did the movie with Dolly Parton. Someone's asked about Rhinestone. By far the favorite movie of all time, besides Rocky. Why? Because here I am, Rambo. Here here I'm Rocky. And then I decide to play this complete lunatic taxi driver who's horrible at singing, who's completely out of his element, who goes to the deep South and he's talking uncle lug nut and dogs and donkeys. And I'm saying this is a career killer. This is, I'm enjoying it. And she, this is a career killer. I'm enjoying it.

29:45And she, she's a magical person. No, I'm telling you, she's a unicorn. And I enjoyed every second I spent with her in that film. And the fact that the audience didn't like it, to me, it's okay. Because I really worship that time of doing something incredible. Like, she's a great singer. So she goes, hey, let's sing live. I go, whoa, you do that. Let's get in a boxing ring and try that live. So she talked me into singing. She brought a studio into the studio. And I went, oh, I'm dead. It's like a croaking frog. But I went for it because she wanted me to. I liked it. I loved it. And did you develop a lifelong friendship from that? Oh, God, yeah. I'm talking type. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Like crazy type.

30:40Because she was a writer and artist, a cerebral. She was not what you think she is. That was a performance to entertain people. You'll never see that again, ever, in a zillion years. There won't be anyone like her again. No, God, no. Plus she's a philanthropist. Give me as if that wasn't books. Where are you going to see that? That's a different generation, you know. That is the passing of the old order, for sure. Yeah, it really is. I'm going to get on to reality TV now. Oh, thank you. Yes. Natalie says, me and my sister really enjoyed The Family Stallone. Likewise, I watched every episode. And we are sad that it won't return. But would you recommend doing reality TV to anyone? I should mention that during this

31:26your wife did attempt to divorce you but it the divorces it didn't happen no no no no what reality tv is stunningly difficult because quite often you have to make it up and my daughter is your hair and makeup for hours and And then this doesn't work. Come back and we'll do a bowling alley scene. And you get mad at your daughter. And then, you know, you spank the dog. I mean, you just keep making this stuff up. And they hated it. They found that to be so insincere and also so crime, let's say, brutal. Yeah. It really really was but what was it like for you to be in something that's a completely different medium from anything you have done before in your career i sort of enjoyed it did you yeah yeah because uh i just you know i had nothing i just felt like

32:18we had a very animated family and it would be fun to see it because what you saw is exactly the way we live. It's like everyone's got a comment. It's a very noisy family. Yeah, it really is. But it's, I don't know how the Kardashians, I really don't know. Really, it's a lifestyle. You give up any sense of privacy or sanctity. I mean, people in your bathroom, you're washing, brushing your teeth. It's really intrusive. It becomes a lifestyle of voyeurism. It must have been hard for you with your outsider thing. Yes, it was. But I was trying to do it like, I thought, oh, let's do a family thing. This will be the ultimate family album. I don't know. I think we did two seasons. Maybe that was it.

33:03Yes. Was it two or three? I can't remember, but yes. I suppose, speaking of other newish mediums, Jay Lewis says, have you been approached by people about taking your likeness for AR use in the future? Yeah, I hope they do. You hope they do? Yeah. What am I going to do with it? Do you want a paycheck now? Yeah. Why not? I'm serious. The jury's out on how intrusive it can be in the arts. Right now, for example, it's a tremendous lifesaver and economically for young filmmakers because literally you could turn this into the ocean like this cheap. Lately, I don't know if you've been seeing, it's so overwhelming, on the internet, on Instagram, there must be a hundred videos of me, age-appropriate, doing these stunts,

33:56like flying off the roof on an ostrich. And we're going, that's unbelievable. Like, how do you create all that on a laptop? When I'm directing a film and I just want to do a crowd scene, it takes six weeks and there's a meticulous movement and, you know, oh, my God. So I can't imagine what's coming down the pipeline. One thing that isn't coming down the pipeline is your role in the Trump administration, which you just found out from watching. You were watching TV. Is that right? And you were being announced as a Hollywood envoy. Don't get me in trouble here. You're right. But that's what happens. So I'm watching TV and he goes, President Trump has appointed Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and John Voight ambassadors to Hollywood.

34:42I go, that's news. I'm sitting there in my underwear going, okay, let's head to California. And I had to say, this won't work. Well, Anthony Scaramucci, who also does a podcast for our company, also found out that he was taking a job by watching, by seeing it announced on the news. Yeah. But he ended up giving 11 incredible days public service to the United States federal government. Now, Harry Slade says you turned down that special advisor role, but how would you, with almost 60 years in the industry, try to save the town from itself now? It's almost impossible. That's what I was telling them, that we have moved so much production overseas. First they moved it to the East Coast, New York, New Jersey.

35:30Now it's in Ireland and Greece. Here. A big time here. That's not turning around so soon. That would take years and years. So it's sad because California is not, when I went there, I thought it was the ultimate. I thought I was in Nirvana. This is it, palm tree, sun. So if you're going to suffer, this is the place to be. Suffer with a tan, it's great. But it's different. Now it's sad. Do you think that Hollywood is making films for that Taylor Sheridan audience? No. But the beauty of streaming is they're fast and they're nimble and they can literally put a show on the air in a matter of weeks. It really is that fast. And now they're designing them for viewing pleasure, extended stories, and I love it.

36:26I mean, if you're going to make mistakes, you can, like, for example, in the first season of Tulsa Kingdom, there's a few things I didn't like. You can fix it. Third season, second, you know, it goes on and on. Can't do that with a feature. No, it's gone forever. Now, speaking of interesting pathways, Neil Tuddle asks, I would like to ask this too because I'm obsessed with Steven Seagal, who turned down the Expendables, right? Please. You never asked him. He tells everyone he turned it down. Please. I want to know so much more about this. No, let's just say he was not invited to that party. Okay. Now, when was the first and last time you spoke? My God, really? He turned us down. Yeah. How about I tell you he was begging to be in the show?

37:14Oh, my God, I'm so here for it. Begging, begging. Yeah, begging. I can imagine. Okay. But when was the first and last time you spoke to him? I shouldn't get involved with it. No, don't get involved. He's involved with it. He lives in Russia now. Why lie like him. I shouldn't get involved with it. No, don't get involved. He's involved with it. He lives in Russia now. Why lie like that? I don't know. I guess he wants to be in demand with people other than autocrats. But, you know, I'm not sure how you run the franchise. Yeah, no. Listen, I got nothing against Steve. We've had our moments. Please tell me. Tell me about our moments. And he had a real interesting thing going, and then he took his life in that direction.

37:48And I don't even know if he does action films anymore. I think he lives in Russia. I saw one where he was having a fight with someone, but he was sitting in a chair while he was doing it. So I think there's that. Is that what you heard? He was on a sort of throne, and he was fighting someone, but he was sitting down to do it. I've got to try that. Yeah. I mean, it's a look. It is a look. It's a nice perk. I think you get to a certain stage in your career. It's a bit like when you see Mariah Carey being carried onto stage and she just does the whole song off of Shays Long, which some men are carrying. It's a bit like that. I think he sort of sits in the throne and fights like that. It's a, you know, tastemaker.

38:24I like it. Yeah, he occasionally loses at judo to Putin. Now, can I ask you a few questions about writing? Because it's so interesting. Yeah, writing is a very fascinating profession. Well, Chloe Templeton says that Rocky and Adrian's relationship is so awkward and tender. I really do think this. It's not really replicated. It's so unusual. It doesn't feel like a conventional movie romance. How did you find the rhythm between those two? I studied the character. You see, there's a certain way that Talia Shire, Adrian, talks and moves and moves her hands and gestures in her eyes. And I said, I have to write according to this kind of like body english so it all flowed like she would be able she'd be looking down and she would say dialogue on the way

39:13up and then finish it on the way down so what i mean and i like writing for women i really do it's kind of weird but i do because i'm so used to writing for like alpha dogs. To me, it's a great challenge to try to get into the female mind, which I've been very unsuccessful at. But the challenge is still there. And I thought, okay, she's so gentle and nice. It's kind of an easier approach. But that kind of love story, it had to be awkward. Yeah. You know, you have two totally broken people, but they're magnetically pulled together somehow. The wounded helping the wounded. So I loved it. She's great. Maxine C, I suppose this is about kind of passion projects, impossible projects. Is it true that you've had a script about Edgar Allan Poe from the 1970s that's still

40:11in pre-production and why did it never get made? Okay. This is interesting you bring this up because it still bothers me. The script is like 53 years old. So I rewrote it two weeks ago. Yes, I did. No way. When did you first write it? I wrote it in 1971. And you're rewriting it? Okay. That's a writer. Yeah, I can't give it up. But the culture has changed so much that I'm not sure that it would make a feature anymore. I don't know if the audience, first of all, did they even know Poe and his works. So I thought, you know, I've got to rewrite it for a gothic comic. Take the comic, and if that works, then you move it to like Sin City. You get a guy, a partner like Frank Miller. Oh, I see. So you're doing it like a graphic novel.

41:06Yeah. That's cool. See what I mean? All is changing the format. Yeah. Why not? Shapeshift. Yeah, you have certainly shapeshifted many times. So I'm going to finish with our final question from Oli Best. He says, what's the one thing that people think they know about Sylvester Stallone that's completely wrong? Oh. People think that, and it's always been a bone of contention, that because of the characters I played, that I was shallow and not very bright. And there's nothing that triggers me more than the word stupid. You know, I grew up hearing that. And the thing is, I consider myself very, very cerebral. I really do. I'm not like, okay, let's go out and hunt deer. Let's go fight a bear. I'm like at the library reading, getting involved in other people's adventures. That's been my key.

42:15So being taken as shallow, let's just say, is something that people think, and that's a real gross interpretation. Well, I also believe you could fight a bear. Right. I want to thank you. I thank you so much. It's been such a privilege to talk to you. I've been a fan as long as I can remember. Thanks so much. You're very good at your job. Appreciate it. Hi, I'm Jen, your friend and jeweler at Shane Company. As your gift insider, here are my top fine jewelry picks to give this holiday. Our tennis bracelets and diamond studs feature the prettiest hand-picked hand-matched diamonds. We have beautiful 14-carat gold chains that make great gifts for both men and women. You can personalize a piece too. Add an engraving,

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