“I Play Rocky” had its world premiere Saturday night at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Peter Farrelly’s biopic received repeated applause during a Special Presentations screening at the Princess of Wales Theatre, according to Variety.
The film stars Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone and follows the struggling actor’s determination to write and play Rocky Balboa, despite studios seeking an established star for the role. Peter Gamble wrote the screenplay, with Farrelly directing.
“I Play Rocky” recreates key moments from the making of the 1976 film “Rocky,” which became that year’s highest-grossing movie, earned 10 Oscar nominations and won three awards, including best picture, Variety reported.
Farrelly told the festival audience that Ippolito won the role after filming three scenes from the script in his grandmother’s basement. The 27-year-old Long Island native previously played George Wright in Netflix’s “Grand Army” and a young Al Pacino in Paramount+’s “The Offer.”
The premiere places the film early in the conversation around TIFF’s People’s Choice Award, an audience prize that Farrelly’s “Green Book” won eight years ago before it went on to receive the best picture Oscar. For awards-focused entertainment audiences, that connection makes “I Play Rocky” a notable festival debut, though Variety’s report does not establish its eventual awards prospects.
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