*Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone in 'I Play Rocky.'*
*Courtesy of Claire Folger/Amazon MGM Studios.*

Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘I Play Rocky,’ the Peter Farrelly–directed feature, which chronicles the making of ‘Rocky,’ will debut with a limited theatrical release on Nov. 13 before expanding nationwide on Nov. 20. The timing is intentional: the original ‘Rocky’ premiered on Nov. 21, 1976.

Anthony Ippolito stars as a young Stallone in the drama, which tells the true Hollywood tale of an unknown actor driven by an unshakable conviction that he wasn’t only meant to write Rocky — he was destined to play Rocky Balboa. Rejected repeatedly and facing long odds, Stallone stakes everything on himself, refusing to give up the lead role. What follows is the definitive underdog story behind one of cinema’s most enduring underdog films.

Oscar winner Farrelly (Green Book) directs from a script by Peter Gamble. The ensemble cast includes Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, P.J. Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass, Stephan James, Kiki Seto, Robert Morgan, Saul Stein, Trevor St. John, Erik Palladino and Rob Demery.

‘I Play Rocky’ marks Ippolito’s second time portraying an Italian-American screen icon, following his role as Al Pacino in Paramount’s limited series The Offer.

The film is produced by Toby Emmerich, Christian Baha and Farrelly, with FilmNation Entertainment providing production services and overseeing international sales.

Originally released by MGM, ‘Rocky’ launched a major franchise that found new life decades later with the ‘Creed’ films starring Academy Award Nominee Michael B. Jordan.

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