The iconic leather jacket worn by Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa in the Oscar-winning Rocky movies has been put up for auction
The famous leather jacket worn by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky has been put up for auction. In March 1975, struggling Italian-American actor Stallone watched a heavyweight boxing bout between little-known club boxer Chuck Wepner, and world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. After watching the fight Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rocky in 3 days, which he successfully shopped to producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff.
Released in winter 1976, Rocky became a sleeper-hit, grossing $225 million against a budget of a little under $1 million. It won Best Picture and Best Director at the 49th Academy Awards, as well as a Best Actor nomination for Stallone, who shot to fame after the film’s release. Following the success of Rocky, Stallone enjoyed a successful career as a Hollywood star in the '80s and '90s, starring in box office hits such as Rambo: First Blood Part II and Cobra. Through the decades, Stallone has revisited the character, and the franchise, with great success, and Rocky continues to be an American cultural icon.
As a throwback to the original movie, and the place where it all began, the leather jacket worn by Balboa in the film is now up for auction. According to Heritage Auctions, there are 4 days of bidding left on the item, and an opening bid has been lodged of $60,000! This iconic piece of movie memorabilia comes with the studio tag, and Stallone talked about the leather jacket, and how it was owned by him personally before the movies. Read the actor’s quotes about the jacket below:
"I remember when I bought this jacket. It was obviously quite a few years before I ever even thought about Rocky, before Rocky was even an idea. This is what I would wear in my everyday life. And when the time came to do the movie, we didn't have a budget where we could afford an original wardrobe so I thought, 'Why don't I just wear the things that I think Rocky would wear, clothes from my real life?'" So, I went in my closet, pulled out this jacket. It's one of those unique times where life imitates art, art imitates reality. This jacket was used in several of the films..."
Rocky tells the story of Rocky Balboa, a kind-hearted loan shark, and amateur Philadelphia club boxer who gets a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. The movie deals with many different themes, as well as working class America, the fairytale that sports can provide, the American Dream, and self-belief. Since its release there have been 7 sequels, and an eighth, Creed III, is due for release in 2022. There have been ongoing talks between Stallone and a number of sources about the possibility of making a Rocky prequel, based on Balboa's early years, and this could well be a possibility for the franchise in the future. There is no plot or title planned for this movie yet, and at the moment things are very much simply at the discussion stage.
Having written and/or directed all of the sequels, Stallone clearly likes to be involved in the stories and the spinoffs from this franchise he has created. And, whilst the 75-year-old has not closed the door on playing Rocky again, the actor has stated Rocky will not appear in Creed III, and this could mark the end of the character’s cinematic journey. Given that Rocky was very ill in the original Creed movie, the sequel could well feature a storyline in which the legendary boxer becomes sick again. Fans will be hoping that the Rocky franchise can continue past one more movie, but it remains to be seen what Stallone is planning.
