Sylvester Stallone is synonymous with the film franchise Rocky. But what many of us don’t know is that he doesn’t own a single bit of it himself! The legendary actor almost single-handedly created the iconic character of Rocky Balboa. He wrote, directed, and starred in the very first Rocky film, which then went on to become one of the most influential franchises in the history of Hollywood.
The Ownership Debacle
Stallone starred in six Rocky films, making it one of the greatest roles in his acting career and one of the most popular and successful franchises. But a few years ago, the actor admitted that he may have created the legendary character, but he still doesn’t own even a single piece of his creation. The actor also made his desire public to own even a small percentage of the franchise, but the possibilities seem bleak.
The Reason
Stallone was relatively unknown in the industry when he came up with Rocky. So to make the movie, he basically had to go for anything and everything the studio wanted him to do. The actor later revealed the deal was done unbeknownst to him by people who gave away any share of rights he could have had. At that time he was naïve enough to think of them as his friends and was too excited to understand the business and see the future potential of his character.
Coming to an End
Rocky Balboa has returned on screen in two installments of the recent Creed film franchise, and Stallone announced that he was done playing the role officially in Creed II. Rocky has become a cultural touchstone and an iconic franchise over the years, but the current owners still seem unwilling to give any share to Stallone. The actor has indeed made a fortune from this role. But he doesn’t simply want to be part of the world anymore, for which he never got the value of a creator.
A New Guinness Book of World Record of Half Marathon Set By Father and Daughter Duo
In the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 21, 2022, Marie-Ange Burmelot and her father Nicolas Burmelot set a new world record, for the fastest combined running time of a father-daughter running a half marathon. The title for this unique and slightly unusual record was set at 2:58:35 by Jonathan Scott and Claire Bovill of the United Kingdom on March 8, 2020.
The Previous Records
Elite-runner Marie-Ange has a record of representing France in the 2020 half marathon world championship. She also scored 20th on the Women’s overall Chicago Marathon 2020. Her father Nicolas Bermalot also comes from an athletic background, running numerous marathons and ultra-marathons. When Marie-Ange’s husband discovered this unique parent and child marathon record, he knew it was perfect for the duo.
The Training
The father-daughter duo began training right away. Her father was ecstatic at the proposal and dove right into it. The father and daughter duo had a completely different schedule as well as conditions. The 29-year-old Marie-Ange was in the Catskills while her 60-year-old father was training from Paris. But with social media and apps like Strava, they managed to keep track of each other’s training.
On the Day of the Race
The day of the race was hot and humid. The weather and the course were unknown to Nicolas; he moved aside in the beginning to let the other runners go first and then ran at his pace. When Nicolas crossed the finish line, Marie-Ange hugged him, seeing her own and his time in excitement. Their individual timings were 1:13:46 and 1:31:46 respectively, and combined they were enough to beat the previous world record by over 13 minutes. Their whole family was present to cheer them along. As for whether the father-daughter duo will run again, it depends on whether somebody beats their record.