Editing Rocky (section)

===Pre-production===
Although Chartoff and Irwin Winkler were enthusiastic about the script and the idea of Stallone playing the lead character, they were hesitant about having an unknown headline the film. The producers also had trouble casting other major characters in the story, with Apollo Creed and Adrian cast unusually late by the production standards.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}} Real-life boxer [[Ken Norton]] was initially sought for the role of [[Apollo Creed]], but he pulled out and the role was ultimately given to [[Carl Weathers]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Vellin|first1=Bob|title=Former heavyweight champion Ken Norton dies at 70|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2013/09/18/former-heavywegith-champion-ken-norton-die/2834521/|website=[[USA Today]]|publisher=[[Gannett Company]]|access-date=December 2, 2015|date=September 19, 2013|archive-date=December 2, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151202175026/http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2013/09/18/former-heavywegith-champion-ken-norton-die/2834521/|url-status=live}}</ref> Norton, upon whom Creed was loosely based, fought Muhammad Ali three times. According to ''The Rocky Scrapbook'', [[Carrie Snodgress]] was originally chosen to play Adrian, but a money dispute forced the producers to look elsewhere. [[Susan Sarandon]] and [[Cher]] auditioned for the role but Sarandon was deemed too pretty for the character and Cher too expensive. After [[Talia Shire]]'s ensuing audition, Chartoff and Winkler, and director [[John G. Avildsen|John Avildsen]],<ref name="Rocky"/> insisted that she play the part.{{Citation needed|date=April 2007}}

Philadelphia-based boxer [[Joe Frazier]] has a [[cameo appearance]] in the film. Outspoken boxer [[Muhammad Ali]], who fought Frazier three times, influenced the character of Apollo Creed. During the [[49th Academy Awards]] ceremony in 1977, Ali and Stallone staged a brief comic confrontation to show the film did not offend Ali. Frazier has claimed that some of the plot's most memorable moments—Rocky's carcass-punching scenes and Rocky running up the steps of the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]] as part of his training regimen—are taken without credit from his own real-life exploits.<ref name="Joe Frazier Inspiration">{{cite news|title=Still smokin' over Ali but there's no time for hatred now|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/nov/11/sportinterviews-boxing|work=[[The Guardian]]|first=Donald|last=McRae|date=November 11, 2008|access-date=October 3, 2010|location=London|archive-date=December 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201171407/http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/nov/11/sportinterviews-boxing|url-status=live}}</ref>

Because of the film's comparatively low budget, members of Stallone's family played minor roles. His father rings the bell to signal the start and end of a round; his brother [[Frank Stallone|Frank]] plays a street corner singer, and his first wife, Sasha, was [[Unit still photographer|stills photographer]].<ref name="Stalone's wife Rocky photographer">{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038664/bio |website=Internet Movie Database |title=Czack, Sasha |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803215916/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038664/bio |url-status=live }}</ref> Other cameos include former Philadelphia and then Los Angeles television [[Sports commentator|sportscaster]] [[Stu Nahan]] playing himself, alongside radio and TV broadcaster Bill Baldwin; and [[Lloyd Kaufman]], founder of the independent film company [[Troma Entertainment|Troma]], appearing as a drunk. Diana Lewis, then a news anchor in Los Angeles and later in Detroit, has a minor scene as a TV news reporter. [[Tony Burton]] appears as Apollo Creed's trainer, [[Tony "Duke" Evers]], a role he would reprise throughout the entire ''Rocky'' series, though the character is not named until ''Rocky&nbsp;II''. [[Michael Dorn]], who would later gain fame as the [[Klingon]] [[Worf]] in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', made his acting debut, albeit uncredited, as Creed's bodyguard.<ref name=Trek>{{cite web |url=http://www.startrek.com/database_article/dorn |title=Star Trek Database – Dorn, Michael |work=Star Trek Database |publisher=CBS Entertainment |access-date=December 10, 2011 |archive-date=December 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111216113008/http://www.startrek.com/database_article/dorn |url-status=live }}</ref>