Creed (film)

"Rocky VII" redirects here. For the third album by 't Hof van Commerce, see Rocky 7. For other uses, see Creed (disambiguation).

Creed

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by Ryan Coogler
Based on Characters 
by Sylvester Stallone
Starring
Music by Ludwig Göransson
Cinematography Maryse Alberti
Edited by
  • Michael P. Shawver
  • Claudia Castello
Production
company
Distributed by
Release dates
Running time
 133 minutes[2]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $35 million[3]
Box office $173.6 million[4]

Creed is a 2015 American sports drama film, directed by Ryan Coogler and co-written by Coogler and Aaron Covington. A spin-off and sequel to the Rocky film series,[5][6][7] the film stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Johnson Creed, Apollo's son, with Sylvester Stallone reprising the role of Rocky Balboa. It also features Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashād, Tony Bellew, and Graham McTavish. The film reunites Jordan with Fruitvale Station writer/director Coogler, and Wood Harris, with whom Jordan worked on The Wire.

Filming began on January 19, 2015 in Liverpool, and later also took place in Philadelphia, Rocky's hometown. Creed was released in the United States on November 25, 2015, the fortieth anniversary of the date of the opening scene in 1976's Rocky. The seventh installment of the series and sequel to 2006's Rocky Balboa, the film received acclaim from critics, who called it the best Rocky film in many years. For his performance, Stallone was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, his first Oscar nomination since the original film. He won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor, Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture, his first Golden Globe.

Plot

In 1998, Adonis "Donnie" Johnson, the son of an extramarital lover of former heavyweight champion Apollo Creed, is serving time in a Los Angeles youth facility when Creed's widow, Mary Anne, pays him a visit and offers to take him in.

Seventeen years later, Donnie walks away from his job at a securities firm to pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Mary Anne vehemently opposes this, remembering how her husband was killed in the ring 30 years earlier against Ivan Drago. He tries to get a slot at Los Angeles' elite Delphi Boxing Academy, but is turned down. Undaunted, Donnie travels to Philadelphia in hopes of getting in touch with his father's old friend and rival, former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa.

Donnie tracks down Rocky at Rocky's Italian restaurant, Adrian's, named in honor of his deceased wife, and asks Rocky to become his trainer. Rocky is reluctant to get back into boxing, having already made a one-off comeback at a very advanced age despite having suffered brain trauma during his career as a fighter. However, he eventually agrees. Donnie trains at the Front Street Gym, with several of Rocky's longtime friends as cornermen, and also finds a love interest in Bianca, an up-and-coming singer and songwriter.

Donnie, now known as "Hollywood Donnie," defeats a local fighter, and word gets out that he is Creed's illegitimate son. Rocky gets a call from the handlers of world light heavyweight champion "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, who is due to be forced into retirement by an impending prison term. He offers to make Donnie his final challenger—provided that he change his name to Adonis "Hollywood Donnie" Creed. Donnie balks at first, wanting to forge his own legacy. However, he eventually agrees.

While helping Donnie train, Rocky learns he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He is unwilling to undergo chemotherapy, remembering that it was not enough to save Adrian when she had ovarian cancer. His diagnosis and the fact that his best friend and brother-in-law Paulie Pennino—Adrian's brother—has now passed away in addition to Adrian, Apollo and his old trainer Mickey Goldmill further force him to confront his own mortality. Seeing Rocky shaken, Donnie urges him to seek treatment.

Donnie fights Conlan in Conlan's hometown of Liverpool, and many parallels emerge between the bout that ensues and Apollo and Rocky's first fight 40 years earlier. First, before going into the ring, Donnie receives a present from Mary Anne — new American flag trunks similar to the ones Apollo and later Rocky wore. Additionally, to the surprise of nearly everyone, Donnie goes the distance after giving Conlan all he can handle. Conlan wins on a split decision (just as Apollo retained his title by split decision against Rocky), but Donnie has won the respect of Conlan and the crowd. As Max Kellerman puts it while calling the fight for HBO, "Conlan won the fight, but Creed won the night." Conlan tells Donnie that he is the future of the light heavyweight division.

The film ends with Donnie and a frail but improving Rocky climbing the "Rocky Steps" at the entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Cast

  • Alex Henderson as young Adonis Johnson

Liev Schreiber voices an HBO 24/7 announcer, while Michael Buffer cameos as himself serving as ring announcer. Other sports media personalities who appear include ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon (Pardon the Interruption), Hannah Storm (SportsCenter), HBO Sports boxing announcer Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman of HBO Sports (HBO Boxing) and ESPN (SportsNation/Max and Marcellus).

Production

Development

Stallone, Thompson, and Jordan promoting the film atop the Rocky Steps in November 2015.

On July 24, 2013, it was announced that MGM had signed on with Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler to direct a spin-off of Rocky, a seventh film in the Rocky series, which Coogler would also co-write with Aaron Covington.[17] Sylvester Stallone also has been working on the screenplay for the seventh film.[18][19][20] The film would focus on a man following in the footsteps of his late father, Apollo Creed, and getting a mentor in the now-retired Rocky Balboa. Michael B. Jordan was set for the role of Creed's son, Adonis Creed,[21] and Stallone was set to reprise his character of Rocky.[17] Original producers Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff would produce, along with Stallone and Kevin King-Templeton.[17] On April 25, 2014, while talking to THR, Coogler stated that he had sent his latest draft to the studio, and confirmed the involvement of Jordan and Stallone.[8]

Casting

On November 10, real-life boxers Tony Bellew and Andre Ward joined the film, with Bellew to play a fighter, "Pretty" Ricky Conlan, the main opponent for Creed. Shooting was set to begin in January 2015, in Las Vegas and Philadelphia.[12] On December 16, Tessa Thompson was added to the cast as the female lead.[9] On January 8, 2015, Phylicia Rashad reportedly joined the film to play Mary Anne Creed, Apollo's widow.[11] On January 21, Graham McTavish tweeted about his involvement in the film.[13]

Filming

Principal photography began on January 19, 2015 in England, with the first scene shot taking place during a football match between Everton F.C. (of which Stallone and Bellew are avid fans) and West Bromwich Albion F.C. at Goodison Park in Liverpool.[22][23]

Filming also took place in Philadelphia.[24][25] In early February, an empty store in Philadelphia was converted into a boxing gym, where some training scenes were shot.[26][27]

On February 13, the crew was spotted filming in The Victor Cafe.[28] The cafe was transformed into the Adrian's Restaurant, and crew were again spotted filming there on February 16.[29] Stallone and Jordan were also spotted on the set of the film on February 18.[30] From February 24–27 and then on March 3, filming took place at Sun Center Studios in Aston Township.[31]

Music

Main article: Creed (soundtrack)

The musical score for Creed was written by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who is only the third composer in the history of the Rocky series, following Bill Conti (Rocky I, II, III, V, and Balboa) and Vince DiCola (Rocky IV). Creed also features a soundtrack that consists mostly of music new to the series, including hip hop tracks by artists such as Future, Meek Mill, and White Dave.[32] Both a score and a soundtrack album were released on November 20, 2015 by WaterTower Music and Atlantic Records, respectively.[33] One tribute to Conti's original soundtrack is included - the track "You're a Creed" uses both "Gonna Fly Now" and "Going The Distance".

Release

On February 3, 2015, Warner Bros. slated the film to be released domestically on November 25, 2015. This date coincides with the 40th anniversary of the opening scene in the original film, where Rocky fights Spider Rico.[34]

Piracy

On December 20, 2015, screener copies of numerous Oscar contenders were leaked. The FBI has linked the case to co-CEO Andrew Kosove of Alcon Entertainment. Kosove claimed that he had "never seen this DVD", and that "it never touched his hands." [35]

Reception

Box office

Creed grossed $109.8 million in North America and $63.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $173.6 million, against a budget of $35 million.[4]

In North America, Creed opened on Wednesday, November 25, 2015, alongside The Good Dinosaur and Victor Frankenstein, as well as the expanding wide releases of Brooklyn, Spotlight and Trumbo. The film was originally projected to gross $35 million from 3,404 theaters in its first five days, including $20 million in its opening weekend.[36] However, after grossing $1.4 million from its Tuesday night previews (a record for a Thanksgiving week release) and $6 million on its opening day, five-day projections were increased to $39–42 million. The film ended up grossing $42.6 million in its first five days, including $30.1 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office.[37]

Critical response

Creed has received critical acclaim.[38] Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, gave the film a rating of 94%, based on 242 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's consensus reads, "Creed brings the Rocky franchise off the mat for a surprisingly effective seventh round that extends the boxer's saga in interesting new directions while staying true to its classic predecessors' roots."[39] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[40] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[37]

A.V. Wire's Herman Dhaliwal gave the film a very positive review, writing, "I will say the film was everything I could have ever wanted and then some. It’s a film that could have gone so wrong in so many ways so easily, but the results show something that is genuine and inspired. It takes the smartest possible routes with the story it wants to tell and delivers in basically every way it needed to. Ryan Coogler cements himself as one of the best rising filmmakers working today, as he crafts an emotional, funny, compelling and uplifting film that is full of strong performances."[41] Andrew Barker of Variety stated that the film lives up to the expectation of its predecessors, while forging its own unique path. He also appreciated the performances of Stallone and Jordan, saying that Stallone deserves credit for taking a chance on young director Coogler, and that his trust has paid off. He concluded that the director "offered a smart, kinetic, exhilaratingly well-crafted piece of mainstream filmmaking".[42] IGN reviewer John Lasser gave the film an 8.5 out of 10, saying, "Creed is a mirror of Rocky's story and we have all been watching that unfold on the big screen for decades. Coogler's film does nothing to break the mold. Rather, it shows that the mold exists for a reason. Jordan delivers a knockout performance, and Stallone does as well. In the end, we can all only hope that we'll get to see Adonis on screen for just as long as we've seen Rocky."[43]

Accolades

Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [44]
African-American Film Critics Association Best Director Ryan Coogler Won
Best Supporting Actress Tessa Thompson Won
Breakout Performance Michael B. Jordan Won
Top Ten Films Won
Austin Film Critics Association Best Actor Michael B. Jordan Nominated [45][46][47]
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won
Boston Online Film Critics Association Best Actor Michael B. Jordan Won
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won
Ten Best Films of the Year Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Runner-up
Best Original Score Ludwig Göransson Runner-up
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [48]
Critic's Choice Awards Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [49]
Empire Awards Best Actor Michael B. Jordan Nominated [50]
Best Director Ryan Coogler Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [51]
Golden Raspberry Awards The Razzie Redeemer Award Sylvester Stallone Won
Houston Film Critics Society Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [52]
Indiana Film Journalists Association Best Film Nominated
Best Director Ryan Coogler Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [53]
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Ryan Coogler Nominated
Best Actor Michael B. Jordan Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [54]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association New Generation Award Ryan Coogler Won
MTV Movie Awards Movie of the Year Nominated [55]
Best Male Performance Michael B. Jordan Nominated
NAACP Image Award Outstanding Motion Picture Nominated
Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Michael B. Jordan Won
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Phylicia Rashad Won
Tessa Thompson Nominated
Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture Ryan Coogler Won
Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Ryan Coogler, Aaron Covington Won
National Board of Review Top Ten Films Won [56]
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [56]
New York Film Critics Online Best Director Ryan Coogler Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Best Actor Michael B. Jordan Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated
Phoenix Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [57]
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [58]
Satellite Awards Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [59]
Southeastern Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [60]
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Won [61]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated [62]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor Sylvester Stallone Nominated

Sequel

In January 2016, Sylvester Stallone and MGM CEO Gary Barber confirmed that a sequel to Creed is in development.[63] On January 11, 2016, it was reported that Creed 2's release date is tentatively set for November 2017.[64][65][66][67]

References

  1. ↑ "Creed". Warner Bros. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ "CREED (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ Pamela McClintock (November 23, 2015). "Box-Office Thanksgiving Preview: 'Good Dinosaur' Takes On 'Hunger Games: Mockingjay'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Creed (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  5. ↑ Scott Mendelson (November 25, 2015). "Box Office: 'Creed' Rocks Record-Breaking $1.4M Tuesday, Pixar's 'The Good Dinosaur' Snags $1.3M". Forbes. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ Katey Rich (November 18, 2015). "Creed: The Oscar Contender We Should Have Seen Comingf". Vanity Fair. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  7. ↑ Josh Terry (November 25, 2015). "REVIEW: 'Creed': half-Rocky sequel, half-Rocky spinoff". The Washington Times. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Kemp, Stuart (April 25, 2014). "Sundance London: Ryan Coogler Talks 'Rocky' Spinoff 'Creed'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Yamato, Jen (December 16, 2014). "‘Dear White People’s Tessa Thompson Lands ‘Creed’ Lead". deadline.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Rocky 7's plot is as Stallonian as you'd hoped it'd be". usatoday.com. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Sneider, Jeff (January 8, 2015). "Phylicia Rashad to Play Apollo Creed’s Widow in ‘Rocky’ Spinoff ‘Creed’". thewrap.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 Kit, Borys (November 10, 2014). "Boxers Andre Ward and Tony Bellew in Talks to Join MGM's 'Rocky' Spinoff 'Creed'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Graham McTavish - Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 30, 2015). "‘Creed’ Trailer: Latest ‘Rocky’ Sequel Enters The Ring And This One Has Punch". Deadline.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  15. 1 2 3 "Creed Cast". nytimes.com.
  16. ↑ The Trailer For The ‘Rocky’ Spinoff ‘Creed’ Has Arrived published by Bansky
  17. 1 2 3 Fleming Jr, Mike (July 24, 2013). "‘Fruitvale Station’ Duo Ryan Coogler And Michael B. Jordan Team With Sly Stallone On MGM ‘Rocky’ Spinoff ‘Creed’". deadline.com. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
  18. ↑ "CREED Screenwriter Aaron Covington on developing the script & Sylvester Stallone's legacy as ROCKY". Jog Road Productions. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sylvester Stallone potentially leaks 'Creed' spoiler online". Toronto Sun. December 31, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2015. The Expendables star has been working on the screenplay for new film Creed
  20. ↑ Jordan Zakarin (December 29, 2014). "Sylvester Stallone May Have Just Spoiled The Ending of the New 'Rocky' Movie". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved November 29, 2015. Stallone's apparently making edits to the script, since the tweet's accompanying text read, “Where the screenwriting is done.”
  21. ↑ "BREAKING NEWS re: Creed Movie - Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallones - SPOILER ALERT". phillychitchat.com. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  22. ↑ Owen, Luke (January 19, 2015). "Rocky spin-off Creed to shoot tonight at Goodison Park during Everton v West Brom game". flickeringmyth.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Sylvester Stallone: Rocky star delivers message at Everton". bbc.com. January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  24. ↑ Charlton, Corey (January 21, 2015). "Posing with the champ! Tourists get selfie with Sylvester Stallone after running up Philadelphia's 'Rocky' steps". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  25. ↑ "A new ‘Rocky’ movie is set to begin filming in Philadelphia; Extras needed". onlocationvacations.com. November 25, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  26. ↑ "The new ‘Rocky’ movie ‘Creed’ will be filming at a Boxing Gym in Philly this week". onlocationvacations.com. February 2, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  27. ↑ Sullivan, Vince (February 13, 2015). "'Rocky' crew picks Delco gym as movie location". mainlinemedianews.com. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  28. ↑ "The new ‘Rocky’ movie ‘Creed’ filming at The Victor Cafe in Philly". onlocationvacations.com. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  29. ↑ "See Philadelphia’s Victor Cafe transformed into Adrien’s for ‘Creed’". onlocationvacations.com. February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan on the Creed Set". comingsoon.net. February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Filming for the new ‘Rocky’ movie ‘Creed’ moves to Aston, PA this week". onlocationvacations.com. February 24, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Future, Jhené Aiko, Meek Mill Appear on Newly Released "Creed" Soundtrack". ABC News Radio. American Broadcasting Company. November 20, 2015. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Creed (2015) - Song Credits". Soundtrack.Net. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  34. ↑ "‘Point Break’ Moved From Summer To Christmas; ‘Creed’ Coming For Thanksgiving". deadline.com. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  35. ↑ http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/24/10663146/hollywood-s-christmas-is-being-ruined-by-unprecedented-leaks
  36. ↑ "Katniss To Sling Arrows Into ‘Creed’ & ‘Victor Frankenstein’, As ‘Good Dinosaur’ Stalks Families: Thanksgiving B.O. Preview". deadline.com.
  37. 1 2 Anthony D'Alessandro. "Katniss Rules Wednesday On Track For $78M-80M 5-Day; ‘Good Dinosaur’ Eyes $58M-$62M; ‘Creed’ Punching $39M-$42M". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Getting the 'Rocky' spinoff 'Creed' made was a real underdog story for director Ryan Coogler". latimes.com. Retrieved December 2, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Creed (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Creed reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  41. ↑ Dhaliwal, Herman. "A.V. Wire Film Review: 'Creed'". Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  42. ↑ Barker, Andrew (November 18, 2015). "Film Review-Creed". Retrieved November 18, 2015.
  43. ↑ John Lasser (November 20, 2015). "Creed Review - IGN". IGN. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  44. ↑ "Oscar Nomination: The Complete List". msn.com. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  45. ↑ ‘CAROL’ LEADS AUSTIN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION 2015 AWARDS NOMINATIONS
  46. ↑
  47. ↑ http://austinfilmcritics.org/awards/2015-awards/
  48. ↑ http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/awards/140-mad-max-lead-2015-cfca-awards
  49. ↑ The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement
  50. ↑ Jameson Empire Awards 2016: Star Wars and Mad Max lead the nominations
  51. ↑ Golden Globes 2016: Carol, The Big Short, lead nominations — see the full list
  52. ↑ Houston Film Critics Society Nominations
  53. ↑ KANSAS CITY FILM CRITICS CIRCLE ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR 50TH ANNUAL JAMES LOUTZENHISER AWARDS
  54. ↑ http://www.awardsdaily.com/2015/12/17/spotlight-sweeps-las-vegas-film-critics-awards/
  55. ↑ "2016 MTV Movie Award Winners: See The Full List". MTV (MTV News). Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  56. 1 2 NATIONAL BOARD OF REVIEW ANNOUNCES 2015 AWARD WINNERS
  57. ↑ 2015 Nominees
  58. ↑ 2015 Nominees
  59. ↑ Nominees 2015
  60. ↑ http://www.awardsdaily.com/2015/12/14/spotlight-wins-southeastern-film-critics/
  61. ↑ St. Louis Film Critics Nominations – Kristen Stewart and Abraham Attah Make the Cut
  62. ↑ THE REVENANT LEADS VANCOUVER FILM CRITICS CIRCLE INTERNATIONAL NOMINATIONS LIST WITH THREE NODS
  63. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (January 5, 2016). "Sylvester Stallone Says ‘Creed’ Sequel Could Reunite Rocky and Apollo (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  64. ↑ "Creed 2 Gets a Tentative November 2017 Release Date". comingsoon.net. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  65. ↑ "‘Creed 2’ Aims to Bring Rocky Back in 2017". movieweb.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  66. ↑ "‘Creed 2’ Could Hit Theaters In November 2017, Might Lose Director Ryan Coogler". collider.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  67. ↑ "‘Creed’ Sequel Aims for November 2017 Release (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.

External links

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