Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, actor Sylvester Stallone remained a prominent action superstar in the entertainment industry thanks to his iconic films like Rocky (1976), Death Race 2000 (1975), and First Blood (1982). As Hollywood progressed, Stallone’s popularity as an action icon somewhat declined and he has something to blame for it.
The actor once claimed that science has taken over the cinema, resulting in less authentic action films that don’t focus on emotions. The actor pointed out that George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977) is to be blamed for this problem, which is funny because the actor himself was eager to be a part of the franchise, but was rejected.
Sylvester Stallone blamed 1977’s Star Wars for ruining action movies
In 1996, actor Sylvester Stallone appeared for an interview with Film Threat and explained that director George Lucas’ Star Wars completely changed action movies,
“With Star Wars, the industry began to revolutionize itself. Special effects and technology became extremely important and action films went from being Lawrence of Arabia to these extraordinary special effects events. It wasn’t really a prerequisite that he be a great actor anymore. The human emotion was being transformed into the technological explosion.”
On multiple occasions, the actor has pointed out that science has taken over action movies, and emotions are not valued enough now.
The actor thinks 1982’s First Blood was the last authentic action movie
Further in the interview, Stallone explained his point and stated that the first installment of his Rambo franchise, First Blood, was the last authentic action movie he starred in,
“Toward the end of making Judge Dredd, it really had nothing to do with me. It had to do with gimmickry,” adding, “At the end of the movie, you don’t walk out saying, ‘I was moved’ or ‘I was sad’ or ‘I cried,’ but ‘How’d they do that?’ You intellectualize but you don’t emotionalize. The last time I had done a film without this kind of gimmickry was First Blood in 1982. After that, my career began to move away from what I think I do best, into something… it was completely out of my hands and science took over. Now, I’m just trying to say, ‘Enough of science.'”
The actor feels like First Blood was “one of the first action films,” because “he relied on body acting” to tell the story.
Sylvester Stallone auditioned for a role in 1977’s Star Wars
Despite bashing Star Wars (1977) publicly, it was revealed that the actor screened for the role of Han Solo in the movie. The actor once recalled,
“Yes as a matter of fact, I did [audition for the movie] and it didn’t meet with much approval since when I stood in front of George Lucas he didn’t look at me once, obviously being very shy. Then I said ‘Well obviously I’m not the right type,’ but it all worked out for the best since I don’t look good in spandex holding a Ray gun.”
Unfortunately, the actor was rejected as Lucas felt like Stallone was not the best fit for the role. Even without a role in the Star Wars franchise, Stallone managed to become a worldwide sensation thanks to his blockbuster hits.
Source: Film Threat
