The unauthorized film is the latest battleground in Stallone’s decades-long feud with “Rocky” producer Irwin Winkler.
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Many fans were surprised this week to learn that MGM is developing a new “Creed” spinoff titled “Drago” about Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago and his son, played by Florian Munteanu. This group includes Sylvester Stallone, who is not in the film and claims he had no knowledge of it.
Stallone took to Instagram on Saturday night to express his shock and disgust at the film, which he says has been mounted behind his back by his longtime nemesis Irwin Winkler and his sons. He reserved some praise for Lundgren, but also feels personally betrayed by the fact that his former colleague did not inform him about the project.
“Another heartbreaker…” Stallone wrote. “I just found out…MORE this PATHETIC 94 year old PRODUCER and HIS MORONIC USELESS VULTURE SONS Charles and David are once again cleaning THE BONES off another wonderful character I created without even saying- i… DEMO APOLOGIZE to the FANS, I never wanted the ROCKY characters to be exploited by these parasites… By the way, I have nothing but respect for Dolph, but I wish he would have told me what was going on behind my back… Keep your REAL friends close.”
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This is far from the first time Stallone has aired his complaints about Irwin Winkler. The actor has long held a grudge over the fact that he doesn’t own any of the rights to the “Rocky” characters despite creating the entire franchise. Stallone’s contract for the first “Rocky” film paid him a flat fee to write and star in the film, as well as a percentage of the box office gross, but no ownership of the intellectual property. This has led to a strained working relationship with the Winkler family over the years, as Stallone was forced to continue working with them if he wanted to continue portraying the iconic character despite frequent creative and business disagreements.
In 2019, Stallone recalled his unsuccessful attempts to ask the Winklers for equity in the franchise: “When I finally confronted them, I said, ‘Do you mind that I wrote every word, I choreographed it?’ I’ve been faithful to you, I’ve promoted it, directed it and I don’t have 1% that I could leave to my children?’ And the quote was, “You’ve been paid.” And that was the end of the conversation.”
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