Believe it or not, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa character is actually based on a real person – former New Jersey boxer and booze peddler Chuck Wepner. Now Chuck is getting his own film.
Directed by Philippe Falardeau, the biopic shows us Chuck’s extraordinary life as a boxer who went fifteen rounds with Muhammad Ali and once fought a bear. The oddball character is playing by Liev Schreiber and also stars Elisabeth Moss, Ron Perlman, Naomi Watts, Jim Gaffigan, Michael Rapaport, Pooch Hall and Morgan Spector.
He was the pride of Bayonne, New Jersey, a man who went fifteen rounds in the ring with Muhammad Ali, and the real-life inspiration for Rocky Balboa. But before all that, Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber) was a liquor salesman and father with a modest prizefighting career whose life changed overnight when, in 1975, he was chosen to take on The Greatest in a highly publicised title match. It’s the beginning of a wild ride through the exhilarating highs and humbling lows of sudden fame—but what happens when your fifteen minutes in the spotlight are up? Driven by a committed performance from Liev Schreiber, Chuck is a refreshingly human tale of resilience and redemption.
Man, this looks VERY promising!!!!