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Trivia / Rocky III

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  • B-Team Sequel: John G. Avildsen was approached to direct, but turned it down. Despite the fiasco of Stallone's Paradise Alley, Alvidsen encouraged Stallone to direct it
  • Billing Displacement: Mr. T, despite playing the main antagonist, isn’t billed on the poster.
  • Breakaway Pop Hit: "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
  • The Cameo: While footage from Slyvester Stalone's episode of The Muppet Show, Jim Henson was brought in to redub his performance so Kermit introduced Rocky Balboa.
  • Cast the Expert:
    • Pro wrestler Thunderlips is played by actual pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.
    • The referee of the bout between Rocky and Thunderlips was played by Johnny "Red Shoes" Dugan, a real life wrestling referee, and he wears his trademark shoes for the match.
  • Creator Couple: Sylvester Stallone's first wife Sasha was the blonde groupie who asked for and got a kiss from Rocky during his public training session for his first fight with Clubber Lang.
  • Creator's Favorite Episode: This is Carl Weathers' favourite entry in the series because of how well Apollo Creed is humanised in it.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: In the French dub, Rocky Balboa Jr. is voiced by Belgian voice actress Jackie Berger.
  • Defictionalization:
    • Played with; while a "Rocky" pinball machine does exist, it's not the one that Paulie smashes.
    • The famous Rocky statue in Philadelphia. It's still there today! Although, not at the top of the steps like in the films, but rather off to the side next to the base of the steps.
  • Directed by Cast Member: It was directed by Sylvester Stallone.
  • Dyeing for Your Art:
    • In preparation for film, Sylvester Stallone claims to have got his body fat percentage down to his all-time low of 2.8% and weighed 155 lbs. He stated that he ate only ten egg whites and a piece of toast a day, having a fruit every third day. His training consisted of a two-mile jog in the morning followed by a two-hour weight training, a nap during the afternoon followed by 18 rounds of sparring, another weight training and finishing the day with a swim.
    • In the match with Hulk Hogan, Stallone encouraged a man a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier to hit him for real. Pro-wrestling is all about pulling punches to make something look painful but isn't, and they had to find a middle ground. Stallone has always been known for being a little insane with realism in his action scenes, which contributes to multiple cases of an On-Set Injury.
  • Enforced Method Acting: During the rematch with Lang, you can see Rocky inadvertently spit on Paulie. His reaction is genuine.
  • The Foreign Subtitle: Brazil: Rocky III: O Desafio Supremo (The Supreme Challenge)
  • The Other Darrin: Rocky's son, who was played by Sylvester Stallone's real life son Seargeoh Stallone in the previous film, is now played by Ina Fried.
  • The Original Darrin: In the first Latin American Spanish dub, Rocky is voiced by Eduardo Liñán, who voiced him in the first movie's original dub and was replaced by Arturo Mercado during the second one.
  • Playing Against Type: Mr. T as Clubber Lang. Having him as an antagonist seems a bit weird, considering his more benevolent (albeit equally imposing) roles in The A-Team and Mister T during the same decade.
  • Reality Subtext:
    • As he had done with the first two films, writer Sylvester Stallone incorporated biographical elements from his own life into Rocky's story. In particular, he chose to focus on the 'unreal' aspects of Rocky's life, and how out of touch he has become with 'normality'. When making this film, Stallone was at the height of his fame, and much of the over-the-top celebrity exposure experienced by Rocky was based on experiences Stallone had had himself.
    • Much of the merchandise shown in the opening montage was in fact available in real life, most notably the pinball machine bearing Rocky's name.
  • Scully Box: While already a tall man in real life (especially then, as he's shrunken several inches in his old age due to his career), Hulk Hogan is obviously using this in his scenes in order for Thunderlips to tower over Rocky.
  • Star-Making Role:
    • This film, combined with the following year's The A-Team, brought Mr. T to stardom.
    • Prior to this film, Hulk Hogan wasn't very well-known outside of the pro wrestling fandom. This film gave him quite a lot of exposure that not only kicked off Hulkamania and his own modest film career, but can be viewed as the push needed for pro wrestling to go mainstream. In turn this broke ground for the likes of Dwayne Johnson and Dave Bautista.
  • What Could Have Been:
    • Morgan Freeman auditioned for the role of Clubber Lang's trainer.
    • Sylvester Stallone originally wanted to use "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen, but couldn't get the rights. Instead, he contacted the band Survivor to write a new song, which became "Eye of the Tiger". It's safe to say it turned out better than Stallone could have hoped.
    • "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito was supposed to be the theme song, but it wasn't used. It was the theme song for The Karate Kid (1984).
    • At different points early in production; real-life boxers Earnie Shavers and Joe Frazier were considered for the role of Clubber Lang before being declined for different reasons note  Shavers was turned down to his voice not sounding menacing enough; while Smokin' Joe Frazier struggled to read the lines without strugglingnote 
  • Word of God: According to Sylvester Stallone, Clubber Lang later became a born-again Christian and a ringside announcer, paralleling the life of George Foreman, the boxer who was a partial inspiration for Lang (as well as Lang's own actor, as Mr. T himself is also a born-again Christian).
  • Written by Cast Member: Sylvester Stallone wrote the script.

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