Everything you need to know about Rocky
When the script for Rocky III was being written, Sylvester Stallone had a clear vision of he wanted the Rocky Statue to portray. He wanted people to look at the statue and remember the hero, which is why the statue is posed with his gloves raised over his head in victory. To get exactly what he wanted, Sylvester Stallone contacted A. Thomas Schomberg from Colorado to begin his masterpiece. Once the work on the statue had begun, the artist decided he wanted the most realistic facial expression he could get, so he told Sylvester that it was necessary to plaster his face.
During the filming of the movie in 1982, a scene in the film called for a large crowd to attend the ceremony at the Philadelphia Museum of Art to honor the heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Balboa. Since this point on, visiting the Rocky Statue, running up the steps and taking a picture at the top is a must when you visit the Philadelphia area. The Rocky Statue measures in at eight feet six inches and is entirely made out of bronze, weighing in at 2,000 pounds. The statue is dressed in traditional style boxing shorts where the name Rocky is engraved in script.
After his masterpiece was reviled, Schomberg gained the rights to create three identical ones. The first one is the one still standing on the top on the Art Museums Steps in Philadelphia, the second statue is located in San Diego, California on display in the San Diego Hall of Champions Sports Museum and as on 2015 the third statue is available for purchase for over one million dollars.
When the filming for Rocky 3 was finished the bronze boxer, Sylvester Stallone left the statue in place as a gift to the city of Philadelphia. The City’s Commerce Director, Dick Doran was quoted saying that “Stallone had done more for the city’s image than anyone since Ben Franklin.” However, the museum was horrified. In their eyes, though the statue was beautifully created, they thought it was merely an unattractive movie prop. Soon after the public started flooding the newspapers with opinion, some saying to leave the statue where it is and others saying to movie it or even throw it away. However, in the end it was decided that it would be moved to the Wachovia Spectrum. This real life arena was the location of Rocky and Apollo’s fictional first film when Rocky invites Adrian to a basketball game.
Later, during the late 1980’s the statue was filmed in the movies Mannequin and then again a few years later in Tom Hanks’ Philadelphia. For both movies, the statue was moved back to its original spot on the steps. Then again the battle came up in 1990 when the statue was moved back to the top of the steps for Rocky V. and then again for Rocky Balboa. After negotiations between the Mayor of Philadelphia at the time and the Philadelphia Museum of art, it was announced that the statue would make a comeback to the Museum on September 8, 2006. At the unveiling ceremony there was live music, and a debt of the first trailer for Rocky Balboa and a screening of the original Rocky, Sylvester Stallone was there himself and became the city’s favorite adopted son. At the Ceremony Stallone gave his moving speech: “Thats was Rocky was about. Having the opportunity. Not to win. Not to set records. Not someday to be made into a statue. But just the opportunity to run the race and see if you can finish.” The Rocky Statue, Sly said. “is not about me. It’s about you. Because inside everyone one of you, there’s a real Rocky.”
Today, the Rocky Statue is visited by millions each year who stop by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to enjoy the artwork within the building, or to run up the Rocky Steps in glory, imitating their hero.
