The Life of Hollywood Action Hero Sylvester Stallone

From 2019 into 2022, Stallone became increasingly public about his frustration over the Rocky rights. He criticized longtime producer Irwin Winkler and said he had “zero ownership” of the character, despite creating Rocky Balboa and building so much of his life around him.

The dispute gave a complicated edge to one of Hollywood’s greatest underdog stories. Rocky had made Stallone famous, but he felt the business side had left him without control over his own creation. Even after all those years, the fight around Rocky was not over.