Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the Rocky film series and also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), a poor small-time club fighter and loanshark debt collector from Philadelphia, gets an unlikely once in a lifetime shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers). Best Picture at the 49th Academy Awards, March 28, 1977 — hosted by Warren Beatty, Ellen Burstyn, Jane Fonda, and Richard Pryor at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Most awards that night: All the President's Men and Network. Wiki link Wiki link Poster: TMDB (this product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB).