I Play Rocky

Straight from its premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival where it was nominated for the People’s Choice Award, Academy Award-winning director Peter Farrelly’s (Green Book) biographical drama I PLAY ROCKY, follows the ultimate underdog story of actor Sylvester Stallone creating the legendary movie, Rocky. A struggling actor with a partially paralysed face and a speech impediment writes a script that a big movie studio wants to buy, but he refuses to sell it unless he gets to play the lead. Turning down an offer of life-changing money, he instead works for pennies to get the movie made with himself in the starring role. After its release, the movie known now as Rocky, becomes the biggest box office hit of 1976, notching ten Oscar nominations and winning Best Picture. Featuring an all-star cast including, AnnaSophia Robb, Kiki Seto and Matt Dillion alongside Anthony Ippolito as Stallone, I PLAY ROCKY deftly captures the painstaking journey to create something with meaning, even when you're struggling to figure out what that meaning is in the moment. Anthony Ippolito completely disappears into his role, with his performance feeling more like an otherworldly possession than an impersonation, harnessing Stallone’s spirit without simply trying to replicate it. I PLAY ROCKY turns Stallone’s incredible journey into one of the most enjoyable rags-to-riches stories in recent memory.