Rocky

Sylvester Stallone became a star playing Rocky Balboa, but did you know that United Artists wanted to buy Stallone’s script for Rocky and cast another actor in the title role? Before they finally agreed to let Stallone have the part, they tried to cast actors like Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, and James Caan. That’s just one of the facts crammed into the latest episode of You Think You Know Movies, which goes the distance on the original 1976 classic, Rocky.

Creed is not your father’s Rocky movie. The Michael B. Jordan-led boxing picture, set for a November 25 release, hails from the meanest streets of Philadelphia. Sly Stallone had to contend with his own self-doubt and his love for Adrian, but as the son of legendary boxer and Rocky Balboa’s frequent sparring partner Apollo Creed, Jordan has more street-wise concerns. This is a new Rocky, an urban Rocky, a defiantly and proudly black Rocky. The trailer played up the racially-transposed angle of the film, including shots of gang members leering at Jordan’s character as he jogs down the street in training. And of course, a fresh Rocky demands a fresh theme song.

If you’ve been putting off watching The Hunger Games, World War Z or the Rocky movies on Netflix, now would be the time to take advantage of them as the company’s deal with Epix is coming to an end. Netflix has opted out of renewing their contract with the premium cable service, just as they previously did with Starz. As a result, several major films will disappear from Netflix in September.

It's almost impossible to stay on topic when interviewing 'Weird Al'. He's a walking encyclopedia of popular culture knowledge and every answer leaves multiple alleyways to explore. Ahead, the topics covered include 'Star Wars,' 'UHF,' Charlie Kaufman, Malcolm Gladwell, Bruce Springsteen, 'The LEGO' Movie, his is favorite movie of all-time, Joe Piscopo, 'The Naked Gun,' 'Rocky' and a host of other topics that don't have much to do with one another.