Editing Rocky (section)

===Development and writing===
[[Sylvester Stallone]] wrote the screenplay for ''Rocky'' in three and a half days, shortly after watching the [[Muhammad Ali vs. Chuck Wepner|championship match]] between [[Muhammad Ali]] and [[Chuck Wepner]] that took place at [[Richfield Coliseum]] in [[Richfield, Ohio]], on March 24, 1975. Wepner was [[Technical knockout|TKO'd]] in the 15th&nbsp;round of the match by Ali, with few expecting him to last as long as he did. Despite the match motivating Stallone to begin work on ''Rocky'',<ref>{{cite news|title='Rocky Isn't Based on Me,' Says Stallone, 'But We Both Went the Distance'|url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/rocky-ar.html|access-date=December 1, 2015|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 1, 1976|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201172004/https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/rocky-ar.html|archive-date=December 1, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> he has denied Wepner provided any inspiration for the script.<ref name="ESPN Wepner Recognized">{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/page/IamChuckWepner/chuck-wepner-recognized-rocky-fame |title=Chuck Wepner finally recognized for 'Rocky' fame |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=October 25, 2011 |access-date=November 20, 2012 |archive-date=September 13, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913001228/http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/page/IamChuckWepner/chuck-wepner-recognized-rocky-fame |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="The Real Rocky">{{cite video|people=Feuerzeig, Jeff (Director)|date=October 25, 2011|title=The Real Rocky|medium=Motion picture|publisher=ESPN Films}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Tom |title=The Amazing Story Of The Making Of 'Rocky' |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomward/2017/08/29/the-amazing-story-of-the-making-of-rocky/ |access-date=2023-05-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref> Other inspiration for the film may have included characteristics of real-life boxers [[Rocky Marciano]] and [[Joe Frazier]],<ref>{{cite web|last1=Struby|first1=Tim|title=Marciano's career mark unique but flawed?|url=https://www.espn.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2165594|publisher=[[ESPN]]|access-date=December 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201171638/http://espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2165594|archive-date=December 1, 2015|url-status=live|date=September 21, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=McRae|first1=Donald|title=Still smokin' over Ali but there's no time for hatred now|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/nov/11/sportinterviews-boxing|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=December 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201171407/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/nov/11/sportinterviews-boxing|archive-date=December 1, 2015|date=November 10, 2008}}</ref> as well as [[Rocky Graziano]]'s autobiography ''Somebody Up There Likes Me'' and [[Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956 film)|the movie of the same name]]. Wepner sued Stallone, and eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.<ref name="The Real Rocky" />

[[Henry Winkler]], Stallone's co-star in ''[[The Lords of Flatbush]]'' who then broke out as [[Arthur Fonzarelli]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[Happy Days]]'', said he had taken the script to executives at the network. They expressed interest in turning it into a made-for-television movie and actually bought the script but insisted that someone else rewrite it. Upon hearing the news, Stallone begged Winkler not to let ABC change writers, so Winkler went back to the executives and offered to return the money in exchange for the rights. While ABC refused at first, Winkler said he was able to use his status as one of its biggest stars at the time to convince them to sell the rights back.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metv.com/stories/henry-winkler-revealed-how-the-fonz-saved-rocky|title=Henry Winkler revealed how The Fonz saved Rocky|access-date=27 June 2022|website=MeTV}}</ref>

At the time, Film Artists Management Enterprises (FAME), a joint venture between Hollywood talent agents Craig T. Rumar and Larry Kubik, represented Stallone. He submitted his script to Rumar and Kubik, who immediately saw the potential for it to be made into a motion picture. They shopped the script to various producers and studios in Hollywood but were repeatedly rejected because Stallone insisted that he be cast in the lead role. Eventually, they secured a meeting with Winkler-Chartoff productions (no relation to Henry Winkler). After repeated negotiations with Rumar and Kubik, Winkler-Chartoff agreed to a contract for Stallone to be the writer and also star in the lead role for ''Rocky''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 6, 2020 |author=Phil Jay |url=https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2020/06/01/sylvester-stallone-rocky-negotiations/ |title=Exclusive: Sylvester Stallone negotiations for Rocky movie uncovered |website=World Boxing News |access-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-date=June 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610050316/https://www.worldboxingnews.net/2020/06/01/sylvester-stallone-rocky-negotiations/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[United Artists]] liked Stallone's script and viewed it as a vehicle for a well-established star like [[Robert Redford]], [[Ryan O'Neal]], [[Burt Reynolds]], or [[James Caan]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Weisman|first1=Aly|title=Dirt-Poor Sylvester Stallone Turned Down $300,000 In 1976 To Ensure He Could Play 'Rocky'|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/sylvester-stallone-made-rocky-against-all-odds-2014-4|website=[[Business Insider]]|publisher=[[Axel Springer SE]]|access-date=December 1, 2015|date=April 2, 2014|archive-date=December 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201172339/http://www.businessinsider.com/sylvester-stallone-made-rocky-against-all-odds-2014-4|url-status=live}}</ref> United Artist initially thought the project was going to be a disaster.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-11-ca-26975-story.html</ref> Stallone's agents insisted that Stallone portray the title character, to the point of issuing an ultimatum. Stallone later said that he would never have forgiven himself had the film become a success with somebody else in the lead.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomward/2017/08/29/the-amazing-story-of-the-making-of-rocky/?sh=6bc46fb2560b|title=The Amazing Story Of The Making Of 'Rocky'|first=Tom|last=Ward|date=August 29, 2017|access-date=October 31, 2022|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/movies/bestpictures/rocky-ar.html | title=The New York Times: Best Pictures }}</ref> He also knew that producers [[Irwin Winkler]] and [[Robert Chartoff]]'s contract with the studio enabled them to "greenlight" a project if the budget was kept low enough. The producers also collateralized any possible losses with their big-budget entry, ''[[New York, New York (1977 film)|New York, New York]]'' (whose eventual losses were covered by ''Rocky''{{'s}} success).<ref name="Nashawaty">{{cite magazine |title=EW: The Right Hook: How Rocky Nabbed Best Picture |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=February 19, 2002 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |pages=3 |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/02/19/how-rocky-nabbed-best-picture/ |url-status=live |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105222608/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,203553,00.html |access-date=May 4, 2020 }}</ref><ref>[[Neal Gabler]], ''ReelThirteen'', from [http://thirteen.org/ WNET] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140617155123/http://www.thirteen.org/ |date=June 17, 2014 }}, February 22, 2014.</ref> The film's production budget ended up being $1,075,000, with a further $100,000 spent on producers' fees and $4.2&nbsp;million on advertising costs.<ref name="BlockWilson583">{{cite book |editor1-last=Block|editor1-first=Alex Ben|editor2-last=Wilson|editor2-first=Lucy Autrey|year=2010|title=George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success|publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|isbn=978-0-06-177889-6|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vpbuSXSSqdkC&pg=PA583 583]|quote=The budget was $1,075,000 plus producer's fees of $100,000 ... The advertising costs were $4.2 million, slightly higher than the $4 million UA spent on ads for ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' in 1975.}}</ref>