What stands out is how the action seems to dictate changes to the script. The announcers drop lines of play-by-play that are too much of a mouthful (like the 80% line), then embellish at other times. The dialogue on the page for the announcers gives a strong sense of what's really happening, but most of it had to change, and most of what's on screen is both more natural and flows much better. It's exactly the sort of dialogue you should be especially happy to see changed as necessary, I think.

I actually had a question about this film. I saw on ESPN last night "The Real Rocky" where apparently Stallone got the idea for Rocky by watching Chuck Wepner take down Muhammad Ali. I guess there was a lawsuit where Wepner said Stallone pretty much stole Wepner's life and made a movie from it. My question is, what are the rules/laws on making a biopic on someone? Is that why a lot of biopic's come from books, they just need to rights to the book and not the person's life?

Tim, I'm not a lawyer so consider the source. My understanding is that a person who is in the public eye -- whatever that means -- falls into some sort of 'public domain' category. Perhaps the specifics of the Wepner v. Ali fight were such that there was legitimate cause for a law suit. Or it was just a nuisance suit. Do you what happened? Did they settle out of court? That's my guess, Stallone made so much $$ off Rocky, he cut a check to Chuck and that was that. If you are using someone's life story for a script, you would be wise to approach them about obtaining life-rights. If there's a book involved (bio), option that, too. It's not only about you being able to use that content in a script, it's also about establishing control over the IP when you try to sell to a studio. Again I'm not a lawyer...

Totally agree, Amos. The announcer VO in the script take the place of action lines to tell the reader what is going on, but on film, you don't need them to tell us exactly what we're seeing. The lines get trimmed and more color comes thru. It just works. Also liked the addition of the bar scenes. Gives a nice cut-away from the arena and we get to see Rocky's fans -- the folks too broke to buy a ticket.

Those bar scenes are not just about providing a sense of scope of the event. They also help the editor in cutting the action in the boxing ring, providing a jump in time.