"Creed" Hopes To Knock Out Box Office Competition
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – If you enjoy the movies after Thanksgiving dinner, there are plenty of choices including the latest from Sylvester Stallone titled "Creed."
In the film, iconic boxer Rocky Balboa, played by Sylvester Stallone, comes out of retirement to coach and mentor Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
The original "Rocky", released in 1976, broke box office records. It also put Sylvester Stallone on the map.
After the 6th installment of the franchise, Stallone said it was time to retire the gloves. That was until director Ryan Coogler came calling with a new film; "Creed."
In the lead role, actor Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis. CBS4's Lisa Petrillo recently sat down with Jordan to talk about the film.
"Sly Stallone was on my wall as a kid, he was the coolest," said Petrillo. "Did you go back and look at that movie and marvel over what he did at that time?"
Jordan replied, "Exactly yes! I didn't get opportunity to see Rocky in theaters and fall in love with it for first time. Just to be a part of that world and be a part of these familiar characters it was pretty special experience for me. What Sly did at the time was incredible to write direct and star in any movie let alone a boxing film."
In "Creed", Adonis never knew his famous dad who died in the ring, but he reaches out to the former "Italian Stallion" to be his coach.
"We wanted to give Adonis a chip on in his shoulder," explained Jordan. "I wanted him to be a character who didn't know who his dad was, I think Adonis uses his dad as a measuring stick to figure out what kind of man he is and what man he wants to be."
When asked what the toughest part of the movie was, he answered, "Diet. I love to eat food and training and learning to be a boxer and that healthy fear of looking like a fraud you see a lot of bad boxing films, a lot of bad boxers, so you don't want to be that. You want to do your best so you have no doubts and no regrets, so that's how I approached it."
Jordan also explained that he learned a lot from Stallone.
"I learned so much. He's a smart guy, great actor and he transforms into this intelligent guy to that vernacular .He sounds different, breaths different, walks different, he slumps over. This guy really transforms which is amazing to watch. From that aspect, I'm a sponge and try to pick up as much as I can."
"Creed" is hoping to knock the out the box office when it opens in theatres on Wednesday. It's rated PG.