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Sylvester Stallone is still as famous as he was back in the ‘80s. With a lengthy roster of movies under his belt, many of which were successful franchises, he particularly did not likeRambo: First Blood(1982).
Interestingly, the movie was a huge commercial and critical hit, which was a huge deal because it was his first non-Rockymovie that made it big at the box office.
Sylvester Stallone BelievedFirst BloodWould End His Acting Career
Speaking onThe Howard Stern Show, action legendSylvester Stalloneconfessed he hatedFirst Bloodand thought it was a bad movie. He even expected it would ruin his already-established career, all thanks toRocky.
“I looked at this, I’m going, ‘This is a career killer.’ This film, when we did it, it was so bad—at least I thought, and even my manager—we both went out, I think we both retched together in the alley. We tried to buy it back and burn the negative. First Blood, on my children, we tried to buy it back and burn the negative.”
Sylvester Stallone, Who Made $400M Fortune from Action Movies, Pissed at Hollywood: “When the time comes to give recognition, it’s dismissed”
The actor shared some scenes which he specifically found revolting, though nothing was more cringe-worthy than the character’s dialogues.
“Originally, it was three hours long. I stayed an hour and a half in the woods chasing guys. And plus, I was pontificating throughout the thing. For example, I shoot an owl, and then the owl drops, I go, ‘Take that, you mouse-munching mother [pauses].’ I said, ‘I can’t say this.’ And then there’d be lines like—the cop pulls me over, and he goes, ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ I go, ‘Did you ever see Easy Rider? Yeah? Well, I’m Easy Walker.”
Despite feeling loathsome about the film, Stallone knew they could still remedy it by removing his lines. In fact, many action stars are men of few words.
“I said, here’s a good idea: cut out all my dialogue. Every line. And have other people talk about you—which by the way is not a bad way to live in general. Other people fill in the blanks. Like the Greek chorus, you know, and I think that works really well.”
“Get that thing away from him”: Sylvester Stallone Was Ready to Put His Life on the Line to Snatch a Movie Away From Arnold Schwarzenegger
Stallone’s suggestion helped save the movie and himself from embarrassment. The first cut was three hours long and filled withcheesy lines, but having removed all the unnecessary ones, it was trimmed to a 90-minute film.
Sylvester Stallone Was Not The Top Choice For John Rambo
First Bloodgrossed over$125 millionagainst a meager production budget of $15 million. Initially, the studio did not want Stallone for the lead role. He said in the same interview with Howard Stern:
“I think they were going to lab animals before they got to me. They went through every actor in the system and they eventually said, ‘Ok, De Niro, Nick Nolte, Zippy the monkey, let’s go to Sly.”
“You don’t see Italians in space”: Sylvester Stallone Thought He’d Be The Pizza Guy in Star Wars After Being Asked To Audition For Han Solo
In the end, it was the famed action hero who brought theRambofranchise to the spotlight and made it one of the most iconic action films of all time.
Rambo: First Bloodis available to stream via Netflix.
Ariane Cruz
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3532
Ariane Cruz is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 3,000 articles published. Her love for pop culture and the creative arts fuels her passion to deliver engaging and informative stories. Her daily consumption of films, shows, and books keeps her energized for the day, along with her mission to serve as the bridge between fans and their favorite franchises.
