Sylvester Stallone verbally attacked veteran producer Irwin Winkler over the Rocky films, describing Winkler as “untalented and parasitic” for not being granted any part of the rights to the boxing film series Stallone created for the original characters and wrote and directed several entries.
Stallone posted an offensive cartoon of Winkler On social media, I write: “I would really like to have at least what’s left of my rights – I think that would be a fair gesture from this 93-year-old man.”
Noting that Winkler’s rights will likely pass to his children, including rocky Balboa producers Charles and David Winkler, Stallone, added: “This is a painful subject that eats my soul, because I wanted to leave a bit of Rocky to my children.”
Stallone also published the cover of a novel by David Winkler (producer on all three Creed films as well as Rocky Balboa), describing him as “painfully untalented… the son of the untalented and remarkably childlike.” [Irwin Winkler]’, and that ‘this crew is the worst competent man’ [sic] beings I met in the film industry.” He also suggested that, “Without Winkler, there would have been at least three other Rockies.”
The Rocky series currently consists of six films. The first five, all written by Stallone, and three directed by him, were released between 1976 and 1990; Stallone also wrote and directed Rocky Balboa, which was released in 2006. Stallone was a producer on the spin-off Creed films: Nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the 2015 release Creed, and he is a certified writer on Creed II, which was released in 2018. The third Creed film is set to It arrives in November 2022.
In an interview with Variety in 2019Stallone had complained about not owning a stake in the franchise, saying, “It was such a horrible thing that it never happened, but I was told, ‘Hey, I’ve been paid, so what are you complaining about?'” “I was angry.”
Winkler representatives have been contacted for a response.
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