Peter Farrelly has made such iconic comedies as There’s Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and countless others. He also won two Oscars including Best Picture for Green Book and now is generating more Oscar buzz for his latest, I Play Rocky, which is all about the origin and making of the Oscar-winning Best Picture of 1976, Rocky. He joins me for this week’s edition of my Deadline video series Behind the Lens to talk about the new film and so much more in his remarkable career that keeps going at full speed.
Farrelly tells me that despite all his success, he still finds it so hard to get a movie made, and I Play Rocky was no different, even though he considers Peter Gamble’s screenplay the best he has ever read. He also talks about the casting of Anthony Ippolito in the lead role of Sylvester Stallone, who held out against all odds to star in the film despite the fact he was a complete unknown who had written a very hot script. Ippolito was the first actor they saw, and the planned worldwide search was called off. It was that easy. He also talks about his conversations with Stallone before he would agree to making the film. He insisted on getting Sly’s blessing, and Stallone had only one request, which Farrelly shares here.
In addition to all things I Play Rocky, Farrelly talks about other movies including casting Jim Carrey after everyone else had passed to be in Dumb and Dumber, plus the incredible pay disparity between Carrey and co-star Jeff Daniels. And speaking of Daniels, Farrelly names the one movie that has been the most influential for him as a director and writer, and it happened to star none other than Jeff Daniels. He also explains that of all his films the one he returns to if he wants to laugh is The Three Stooges. Plus, find out about the conversation he had with Steven Spielberg that changed everything for Green Book and the confession Spielberg made to him about the Oscars.
To watch our conversation, just click on the link above. Join me every Monday this Oscar season for a new episode of Behind the Lens and every Wednesday for a new edition of The Actor’s Side.
