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Rocky III poster
Rocky III

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

Rocky III The Rewatchables

There is no tomorrow, you can’t win, I pity the fool, pain, and dead meat form the short list.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:54Read transcript
  • There is no tomorrow is offered first as a favorite.
  • You can’t win is another central candidate.
  • I pity the fool is another proposed favorite.
  • Pain is another proposed favorite.
  • Dead meat is another proposed favorite.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Rocky III The Rewatchables

Tony Burton’s Duke is the main answer, with Jim Hill, Stu Nahan, Eddie Smith, and Stallone’s wife also discussed.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:57Read transcript
  • Duke is favored because viewers knew the performer by that character for years.
  • Jim Hill is proposed for supplying an authentic Los Angeles sportscaster presence.
  • Stu Nahan is recalled from the Rocky films, Spicoli’s dream, and a Globetrotters episode of Gilligan’s Island.
  • Clubber’s cornerman Eddie Smith had a long career of brief television roles.
  • Stallone’s wife appears briefly as the groupie who kisses Rocky.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Recasting Couch

Rocky III The Rewatchables

Morgan Freeman is placed as Clubber’s trainer, Kevin Harlan as a fight announcer, and a young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed for the rabbi.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:02:53Read transcript
  • Morgan Freeman is proposed as Clubber’s trainer despite the need to deliver instructions quickly.
  • Kevin Harlan is proposed for the second fight’s play-by-play.
  • A young Mel Gibson is jokingly proposed as the rabbi at Mickey’s funeral.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Half-Assed Internet Research

Rocky III The Rewatchables

Research covers Stallone’s extreme diet, the Rocky statue, Mr. T’s mother, a discarded death plan, Ali’s house, and the film’s demo version of Eye of the Tiger.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:43Read transcript
  • Stallone claimed 2.6 percent body fat, a 155-pound weight, ten egg whites and toast, fruit every third day, and several kinds of daily training.
  • Three Rocky statues were made, and Philadelphia officials moved one away from the museum steps after deciding it was a movie prop rather than art.
  • Mr. T claimed his mother walked out of the movie after criticizing the way Clubber spoke to Adrian.
  • Stallone told Roger Ebert in 1979 that a possible third film would stage a Coliseum fight and might end with Rocky’s death.
  • The movie’s exterior house is reported to have belonged to the boxer in Chicago.
  • The film uses an unreleased demo of Eye of the Tiger rather than the later commercial version.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Apex Mountain

Rocky III The Rewatchables

The panel places Stallone’s peak at First Blood, gives positive verdicts to Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Survivor, Stu Nahan, and LeRoy Neiman, and rejects or redirects several others.

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:40Read transcript
  • Stallone is moved to First Blood because the two 1982 hits gave him maximum ability to create later films.
  • Burt Young receives a positive verdict for balancing comedy, menace, and pathos, despite later contenders.
  • Talia Shire is moved to the first Rocky after The Godfather Part II.
  • For Mr. T, the verdict is “not till a team.”
  • Carl Weathers receives a positive verdict because he is in this movie more than in any other Rocky movie.
  • Hulk Hogan is rejected because later wrestling celebrity surpasses Thunderlips.
  • The Rocky statue is judged close but still behind the Statue of Liberty.
  • Survivor receives a positive verdict while its Rocky IV work is also praised.
  • Stu Nehan receives a yes.
  • LeRoy Neiman receives a positive verdict because he appears in a scene and his painting closes the film.
  • Burgess Meredith is moved to the first Rocky or his Penguin role.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Picking Nits

Rocky III The Rewatchables

The panel questions Thunderlips’s size and police assault, the selected opponents, the trainer’s medical care, missing Clubber material, fight logistics, and several training or timing details.

In the discussion (13)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:43Read transcript
  • Joe Sack and Big Yank Ball are singled out as opponent names that do not make sense.
  • Thunderlips’s stated 390-pound weight seems implausible for his visible size.
  • The panel asks whether Thunderlips would be arrested for striking six apparent police officers.
  • Rocky should suspect the selected opponents are weak during ten easy title defenses.
  • Doctors say the trainer needs a hospital immediately but allow the fighter to delay while he dies.
  • The movie misses opportunities to show Clubber as champion through talk-show or celebrity scenes.
  • A third Rocky-Clubber fight would have been commercially and competitively plausible after the rematch.
  • Rocky’s go-for-it answer at the second stare-down is judged a weak comeback even if period-appropriate.
  • The final round may run longer than three minutes, although another timing produces two minutes fifty-eight seconds.
  • Rocky’s sudden beach-race victory appears from nowhere after struggling throughout training.
  • The trainer predicts seven or eight rounds despite Rocky being unable to skip, punch, swim, or enter the ring properly.
  • The speeding limousine behaves as if Rocky is driving even though a chauffeur emerges to open Adrian’s door.
  • Apollo persuades Rocky to return too easily given that Mickey’s death is the whole source of his resistance.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Rocky III The Rewatchables

Questions cover Clubber’s responsibility for Mickey, Mickey’s age, fight betting lines and location, Mickey’s last perception, the Rocky-Apollo friendship, performance-enhancing drugs, and the unseen private fight.

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:49Read transcript
  • The panel asks whether Clubber killed the trainer and predicts an involuntary-manslaughter case would fail because he already had heart problems.
  • The trainer says he is seventy-six in the first film and remains seventy-six on a tombstone three years later.
  • The first Clubber fight is estimated around Rocky minus 550 to minus 700 because public money would favor the established champion.
  • The rematch is estimated around Clubber minus 500 to minus 330, with Rocky’s popularity potentially shortening the line.
  • The second fight’s location is left ambiguous: the panel asks whether it is Vegas, Philly, L.A., Qatar, or Saudi Arabia.
  • A participant asks whether the dying trainer saw the beaten fighter’s face during his last brief opening of the eyes.
  • Rocky and Apollo are compared with famous friendships and partnerships, but the next film’s selfish Apollo behavior weakens the bromance case.
  • The panel asks whether Rocky used performance-enhancing drugs while rapidly adding ten knockouts during the early steroid era.
  • The result of the private Rocky-Apollo fight remains one of the story’s lasting unanswered questions.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Rocky III The Rewatchables

The choices are the Thunderlips-fight Polaroid, Rocky’s yellow beach shorts, and the original LeRoy Neiman painting, with the statue and other props considered.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:24:56Read transcript
  • The category opens with the pinball machine, painting, Apollo trunks, gym sign, limousine, and Rocky statue as possible objects.
  • The Thunderlips-fight Polaroid is one participant’s final choice.
  • The yellow beach-training shorts are another participant’s final choice.
  • The original LeRoy Neiman painting is the third final choice because it could hang as art in a home.
Rocky III poster
Rocky III

Who Won the Movie?

Rocky III The Rewatchables

Mr. T receives two winner ballots and Talia Shire one; Hulk Hogan is a strong alternate, while Stallone is recognized as indispensable but already established.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:27:37Read transcript
  • Mr. T wins one ballot because his life went from being a bouncer into the stratosphere through this movie.
  • Talia Shire wins another for transforming Adrian from a quiet earlier character into the forceful beach-scene partner.
  • Hulk Hogan is considered but judged likely to become a wrestling star even without the film.
  • Mr. T receives the final ballot because Clubber is called the best sports-movie villain and led immediately to his television role.
  • Stallone is acknowledged as essential, but his success was already secure before this film.
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Mr. T
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