Sylvester Stallone is not going to give up in this fight over the “Rocky” series.
In an Instagram post on Saturday, July 30, the 76-year-old Golden Globe winner said he didn’t like the new Ivan Drago spinoff of his “Rocky” series. He also criticized returning producer Irvin Winkler and his longtime friend and former co-star Dolph Lundgren.
The Wrap said on Thursday, July 28, that Robert Lawton had been hired to write the screenplay for a Drago spin-off about the beginnings of Ivan Drago. Stallone responded with screenshots on Instagram, calling the news “another heartbreaker” in his ongoing fight for the rights to the “Rocky” franchise. Stallone has nothing to do with this spinoff. He has called Charles and David Winkler’s sons “moronic vulture children” and has nothing to do with them.
“ONCE AGAIN, IRWIN WINKLER, this PATHETIC 94-year-old PRODUCER, and HIS MORONIC VULTURE CHILDREN, Charles and David, are picking clean the bones of another great character I made without even telling me,” he wrote in the caption.
“I’M SORRY TO THE FANS, I never meant for these parasites to take advantage of the ROCKY characters…” Stallone continued. “By the way, I used to have nothing but respect for Dolph, but he never told me what was going on behind my back with the character I made for him!!! True friends are more valuable than gold.” The next post was a photo-shopped picture of Winkler as a vampire sucking Rocky’s blood and stabbing him in the back.
Stallone wrote, “After IRWIN WINKLER and FAMILY SUCKED ROCKY DRY! Thought to be Hollywood’s most hated, untalented, and old producer, and his cowardly kids have found their next meal… Drago? Throughout history, these “bloodsuckers” have hurt a lot of artists in every field, from recording to painting to writing. They have also hurt a lot of families by making money off of other people’s work.
Who are the sons of Irwin Winkler?
Winkler has three sons, Charles Winkler, David Winkler, and Adam Winkler. Charles is the oldest son. He is an American director and producer of TV shows and movies. Charles wrote and directed his first full-length movie, You Talkin’ to Me?, for United Artists in 1987. Two years later, he co-wrote and directed the movie “Disturbed,” which starred Malcolm McDowell. He has been in charge of a lot of movies, like “AIDS” and “Streets of Blood.” Charles lives in Los Angeles with his wife, actress Sandra Nelson, and their two children. David Winkler, Winkler’s other son, is also a film producer. He worked on the “Creed” series, “Rocky Balboa,” “The Mechanic,” “The Gambler,” and “The Arrangement: A Love Story.”
The Wrap published an article last week, which Stallone responded to, saying that Lundgreen will play the Russian boxer Ivan Drago in the upcoming spinoff. In 1985’s Rocky IV, Lundgren played the part for the first time. In 2018,’s Creed II, he played it again.
Stallone has fought in the past to own the character and story he made up. In 2019, he told Variety that he has “zero ownership” of the franchise. He was “very angry” and “furious” that he would never be able to leave any equity stake to his children, but he also regretted not pushing hard enough when negotiating the original film deal.