There are so many memorable scenes in Rocky, such as when Apollo Creed beat the Philly underdog, or when he used sides of beef as punching bags during training. But we can’t forget about The Italian Stallion throwing his fists in the air on top of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Speaking of the famous stairs scene, Stallone told an interesting story surrounding that iconic moment that involved having to film that scene quickly, “before the police come.”
Before Rocky, Sylvester Stallone was a broke and unemployed 22-year-old until his boxing screenplay turned into a sleeper hit. His inspirational story was all the more reason why the Rambo actor promoted his memoir The Steps on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Not only did the Golden Globe winner talk about the symbolic steps of his successful career trajectory, but also the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps that are famous because of Rocky. However, Stallone also spoke about a relatable rookie mistake involving location rights:
When I got to Philadelphia and did the movie Rocky, I wasn't even thinking about the steps. We didn't have any money to shoot there. We didn't have the license.
Sylvester Stallone clearly didn’t know at the time that when you film on public property, you need a permit from the city or a local film commission before filming. That’s one of the reasons why a lot of films have sets built to avoid having to worry about securing a permit. But hey, you live and you learn.
Without a location permit, you would think one of the most motivational training scenes wasn’t going to happen. However, the New York City native found an unbelievable loophole that made movie magic happen:
I just got out of the car, I said, 'Let me just run up the steps, get a shot of it and we'll get out of here before the police come.'
Funnily enough, Sylvester Stallone originally planned to have his “buffalo”-sized dog Butkus up on the steps with him in his arms. But since the canine’s weight wasn’t doing wonders for the owner’s knees, the best sports movie’s lead had to do without Butkus on the stairs. Sure, Rocky Balboa holding his dog in his arms up the stairs would have been memorable, but seeing the boxer’s fists up in the air, jumping proudly at the top, was a more triumphant finish.
It’s a good thing the police didn’t stop Sylvester Stallone from filming the legendary 72 Steps scene, or Rocky wouldn’t have become the Philadelphia-set movie we know today. It would be easy to say that Balboa going against Apollo Creed was what made him the movie hero who makes you proud to be an American. However, it was actually being able to make that big climb despite his grueling training, ending with a triumphant cheer for the city to see.
Feel free to revisit the scene that almost wasn’t available on your Amazon Prime Video subscription. You can also find Sylvester Stallone's memoir, The Steps, on Amazon or at your local bookstore on May 5th.
