Sylvester Stallone came out swinging with messages on social media criticizing Irwin Winkler, producer of the Rocky and Creed franchises, and his son David Winkler, who also produced the Creed films.
Stallone took to Instagram on Saturday to criticize David’s recently published memoir The Arrangement: A Love Story, calling it the “worst” book he’s ever read. Stallone went on to write that “the insufferable useless filth was written by the painfully untalented David Winkler,” before the actor referred to David’s father, Irwin Winkler, as the “remarkably untalented and parasitic producer of Rocky and Creed.”
The star went on to post that she “respects and LOVES” Irwin’s producing partner, Robert Chartoff, who also produced the Rocky franchise and was a producer on the first Creed film before his death in 2015.
“If it wasn’t for Winkler, there would have been at least three more Rockies, that would have been wonderful,” Stallone added. “Honestly, this crew is the worst inhuman beings I have ever encountered in the film industry. I will forever love the loyal fans and keep on hitting.!!! REMEMBER IT FEELS GOOD TO CLEAN YOUR HEART.”
The next day, Stallone wrote in a follow-up post that he was upset about an ownership dispute surrounding the franchise. “I would really like to [to] to take back at least a little of what’s REMAINING of my RIGHTS before handing it over to YOUR CHILDREN ONLY – I believe that would be an HONEST gesture,” Stallone wrote. Calling it a “sick topic,” he posted that the situation “eats my soul because I wanted to leave something of Rocky for my kids.”
Released in 1976, Rocky won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and Stallone was nominated for Best Actor for his lead role as Rocky Balboa, in addition to earning a nomination for writing the screenplay. Stallone was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his reprise of Rocky in the second 2015 film, Creed.
Irwin Winkler and Chartoff are credited as the sole producers of the first five Rocky films. Rocky Balboa, the 2006 film that revived the franchise, credited six producers, including David Winkler and Irwin’s other son, Charles Winkler.
Stallone has produced all of the Creed films, including the upcoming Creed III, as well as Irwin, David and Charles Winkler, in addition to others. The Creed franchise stars Michael B. Jordan as the son of the late Apollo Creed, portrayed in the Rocky films by Carl Weathers.
Jordan, who directed Creed III, has stated that Stallone will not appear in the film, which is slated for a November 23 release.
Stallone told Metro last month that he had “opted out” of his role in Creed III and that the film was taking the story in a “different direction” but that he wished the film well.
Stallone created the character of Rocky Balboa in 1976 (known for writing a 90-page script in three days) and made it part of the deal to star him in the film as the boxer. In 2019, Stallone complained to Variety that he had “zero ownership of Rocky”. At the time, he explained: “It was shocking that it never happened, but I was told, ‘Hey, they paid you, so what are you complaining about?’ I was furious.
“Our commitment to him was that he could be in it,” Winkler told The Hollywood Reporter in 1983, marking the making of the first Rocky with producer Chartoff. “We convinced United Artists to give us the money to do it. They only gave us a limited amount of money and said we had to provide our houses as collateral. We really mortgaged ourselves to make sure we got it in on time, and we did.
Representatives for Irwin Winkler and Stallone did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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