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Rocky II
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Rocky
Rocky III
Rocky III
Cobra
The Rock
Rocky IV
Film credit
Carl Weathers
Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 9
- Movies in this archive
- 8
Rewatchables episodes featuring Carl Weathers’s films
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey
Aired May 20, 2025
Happy Gilmore
1996 film
Bill Simmons · Sean Fennessey · Josh Safdie · Benny Safdie
Aired December 10, 2019
Creed
2015 film
Bill Simmons · Wesley Morris · Sean Fennessey · K. Austin Collins
Aired March 14, 2018
Displaying all 9 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:40Read transcript
- Carl Weathers is selected because his comedy, action work, athleticism, and dramatic range should have produced a larger career.
- The group objects to how often his characters die to motivate other heroes. — Van Lathan
- A sitcom-style career turn is suggested as another path he could have taken. — Van Lathan
What’s Aged the Best?
The zoo callback, reckless spending spree, fuller arena, Tony’s pep talk, New Jersey gas service, Rocky lore inherited by Creed, and Carl Weathers
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:46Read transcript
- The zoo callback to the driver in the first film is praised. — Bill Simmons
- Rocky rejecting condominiums and characters going on a visibly doomed spending spree are praised as period storytelling. — Bill Simmons
- The arena being filled with actual extras improves on the first film’s cost-cutting. — Chris Ryan
- Tony’s monotone locker-room encouragement of Apollo is praised. — Chris Ryan
- Tony’s pep talk prompts a joking comparison to Ben Johnson coaching Caleb Williams. — Chris Ryan
- The line about pumping gas in New Jersey still works because drivers there cannot pump their own gas. — Van Lathan
- A story about teasing Charlemagne for using full-service gas leads to discussion of regional gas-station customs and their argumentative friendship. — Van Lathan
- The Rocky lore and visual template inherited by Creed, especially the running and training material, are praised. — Van Lathan
- Carl Weathers’s athleticism, acting, and range are praised. — Van Lathan
The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance
Carl Weathers — memorial choice
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:33:32Read transcript
- Carl Weathers receives the award as a memorial choice for his brief appearance. — Bill Simmons
Casting What-Ifs
Caan/Reynolds/O’Neal/Redford; Norton; Keitel; Snodgress; Strasberg
In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:29Read transcript
- United Artists reportedly wanted Redford, Ryan O’Neal, Burt Reynolds or James Caan; this is defended as plausible studio thinking rather than ideal casting. — Bill Simmons
- O’Neal is rejected as too handsome and WASPy. — Bill Simmons
- Caan as Rocky with Keitel or Cazale as Paulie is imagined. — Chris Ryan
- Caan and Reynolds are challenged as too established; the unknown Stallone makes the audience root for the real performer too. — Bill Simmons
- Ken Norton reportedly withdrew from Apollo before Carl Weathers took the role. — Bill Simmons
- Stallone reportedly wanted Harvey Keitel for Paulie. — Bill Simmons
- Carrie Snodgress reportedly left Adrian over money; Cher and Susan Sarandon auditioned, with Sarandon judged too pretty. — Bill Simmons
- Lee Strasberg reportedly wanted too much money to play Mickey.
Apex Mountain
Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Survivor, Stu Nahan, and LeRoy Neiman
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. — Bill Simmons
- Burt Young receives a positive verdict for balancing comedy, menace, and pathos, despite later contenders. — Bill Simmons
- Talia Shire is moved to the first Rocky after The Godfather Part II. — Bill Simmons
- For Mr. T, the verdict is “not till a team.” — Bill Simmons
- Carl Weathers receives a positive verdict because he is in this movie more than in any other Rocky movie. — Bill Simmons
- Hulk Hogan is rejected because later wrestling celebrity surpasses Thunderlips. — Bill Simmons
- The Rocky statue is judged close but still behind the Statue of Liberty. — Bill Simmons
- Survivor receives a positive verdict while its Rocky IV work is also praised. — Bill Simmons
- Stu Nehan receives a yes. — Bill Simmons
- LeRoy Neiman receives a positive verdict because he appears in a scene and his painting closes the film. — Bill Simmons
- Burgess Meredith is moved to the first Rocky or his Penguin role. — Bill Simmons
What’s Aged the Best?
The score, Thunderlips, Eye of the Tiger, Clubber Lang, Apollo, the pinball machine, Adrian, the supporting announcers, and key Mickey dialogue
In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:42:09Read transcript
- The recurring fight overture still signals that Rocky’s comeback is beginning.
- Thunderlips holds up because the wrestling is authentic and Hogan performs moves absent from much of his later career. — Bill Simmons
- Eye of the Tiger remains culturally durable and was central to Hogan’s early crowd response. — Bill Simmons
- Clubber Lang remains one of the strongest sports-movie villains because his spare presentation and verbal performance create menace.
- Apollo’s training role is praised as one of Carl Weathers’s fullest performances in the series. — Bill Simmons
- The rare Rocky pinball machine remains desirable and is said to sell for about nine thousand dollars. — Bill Simmons
- The ten selected title-defense opponents have absurdly specific credited names that the panel enjoys reciting. — Bill Simmons
- Clubber’s slow look into the camera became an iconic Mr. T image. — Bill Simmons
- Rocky’s affluent house visually captures how far the family has risen. — Bill Simmons
- Adrian’s appearance and confidence plausibly reflect the family’s new wealth while preserving the gradual change from the first two films.
- Mickey’s warning that Rocky cannot win establishes the template later reused in Rocky IV.
- Bill Baldwin and Stu Nahan are both said to have aged nicely.
Recasting Couch
Markie Post in Brigitte Nielsen's role; Carl Weathers in Reni Santoni's role; Adrian in Brigitte Nielsen's role
In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:39Read transcript
- Answer A is that the movie is perfect and should not be touched; Answer B asks whether someone better than Brigitte could have played the part. — Bill Simmons
- Marky Post, recently deceased and underrated, from Night Court and The Fall Guy, is offered for Brigitte's role, though the proposer is unsure she would have made it scarier. — Bill Simmons
- As a joke, Bull from Night Court could be the Night Slasher. — Bill Simmons
- A serious recast gets the band back together: Dolf Lundgren as the Night Slasher, bigger and scarier, with Bert Young as the partner. — Kyle Brandt
- The reply is that Dolph would overshadow the role, which needs a new face. — Bill Simmons
- Carl Weathers as the sidekick in the Reni Santoni role and Adrian in Brigitte's role, killed by the Night Slasher, would both have been enjoyed. — Bill Simmons
Recasting Couch
Ving Rhames; Phil Hartman as the Alcatraz guide; Delroy Lindo; John Cusack; Danny Trejo; Josh Hamilton as White House Chief of Staff
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:19Read transcript
- No better era-specific actor than Tony Todd comes to mind; Carl Weathers is too old, so a mid-90s Carl Weathers, with Ving Rames possibly overqualified but a fit. — Bill Simmons
- Bring back Phil Hartman's Alcatraz guide from So I Married an Axe Murderer as the Alcatraz guide. — Bill Simmons
- Delroy Lindo is suggested and welcomed. — Mina Kimes
- John Cusack, from Con Air, could have done interesting things with the role, though Cage is loved in it. — Mina Kimes
- Danny Treo as a mercenary and Josh Hamilton as the White House Chief of Staff. — Chris Ryan
In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:49Read transcript
- Predator was distinguished as the apex of Arnold’s films, while Terminator 2 remained his personal apex.
- Carl Weathers was assessed separately as an apex case. — Chris Ryan
- Jesse Ventura was assessed as an apex case for his movie career.
- Sunny Landham was assessed as an apex case.
- Helicopter insertions were assessed as an apex action-movie device. — Chris Ryan
- Aliens in jungles were assessed as an apex premise. — Chris Ryan
- Body butter on action stars was assessed as an apex styling choice. — Chris Ryan
- Rocky IV beat Predator for Carl Weathers’s apex death scene. — Chris Ryan
- Alabama ticks were jokingly declared an apex.
- Billy’s final stand and Bruce Willis in Armageddon were compared as self-sacrifice peaks.
- The smiling character-credit sequence was celebrated as an apex closing-credit device.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:39Read transcript
- Carl Weathers was praised for playing an unfamiliar compromised, physically vulnerable version of his Apollo persona.
- Sunny Landham was the passionate early pick.
- Jesse Ventura fit the classic low-minute heat-check definition.
- The group’s final spoken choice was Carl Weathers.
Half-Assed Internet Research
Research covered real punches and injuries, the Weathers–Lundgren dispute, Italian dubbing, shooting locations, and Tony Burton’s chess strength.
In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:19Read transcript
- Stallone and Lundgren agreed to hit each other for real. — Bill Simmons
- Lundgren’s chest punch caused Stallone’s heart to swell against his breastbone. — Bill Simmons
- Stallone’s blood pressure exceeded 200 and he was airlifted from Canada to a Santa Monica hospital. — Cousin Sal
- Carl Weathers nearly left after Lundgren threw him too hard. — Cousin Sal
- Filming stopped for four days while Stallone brokered a reconciliation. — Bill Simmons
- The Italian “I break you in two” translation became a common phrase. — Bill Simmons
- The Russia training scenes were filmed in Wyoming.
- The Moscow fight was filmed at Vancouver’s PNE Agrodome. — Bill Simmons
- Tony Burton was a strong chess player who reportedly beat Stanley Kubrick on The Shining set. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:10Read transcript
- Weathers was praised for dialing up every scene before Apollo’s death. — Bill Simmons
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 18 in total
Films in the archive
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
Creed
2015
Happy Gilmore
1996
Predator
1987
Rocky
1976
Rocky II
1979
Rocky III
1982
Rocky IV
1985