'Rocky' Road

Did you miss Rocky before making this movie?
To write, yeah. By that I mean, there are very few characters I've been exposed to that can say things that are so naïve but in his world, profound. Most action characters must be rather restrained, taut, understated...

More Rambo-ish.
More Rambo-ish. And the exposition is usually described by some satellite character. Rocky just says it. He has this stream of consciousness. And that's so enjoyable to write for because he gets away with all these malapropisms. But in the end it makes sense.

Why do you identify with underdogs so much?
Maybe the way I was raised — not feeling very special, and everything came hard. I was thin so I started exercising. I wasn't very good in school, so self-educated. Everything just came hard. Still does — just always a lot of work. And every time I get in an elevator, the guy who's working the elevator, I think, This is his life, up and down. That's it. When he was growing up, I don't think he planned on going up and down in an elevator or working underground at two o'clock in the morning, freezing trying to fix a broken water main. So, those guys, they fascinate me. I just like those characters.

In the early 1990s, your career was booming, and then you made history for your $20 million per-picture payday —
Oh...yeah.

But then things slowed down. What happened?
What happened was, the lifestyle was not conducive to garnering any kind of positive publicity. I think it turned off a lot of moviegoers, coupled with the fact that I made some very poor professional choices. You're gettin' it privately, you're gettin' it publicly, so watch out! Everyone clear the deck! We got a hot one comin' in — crash, boom, bang! It's like landin' on one of those flight decks at night — crash and burn. So I totally get it. And you just don't know better. Some people can learn through the wisdom of others and some people have to get their baptism in fire, unfortunately.

And you were the latter.
Oh, no doubt. Slow study in the school of life.... Any mistakes made, usually they come from not following your really primitive instincts and not playing to your strong suit. You can't do everything great. So you gotta just focus on what you do well.

What movies, in particular, do you consider mistakes?
Oh, it's certain films — most of them. I like comedy, but I underestimated the kind of comedy that would be acceptable [for me to do], which would probably be no comedy, knowing my image. And does the world really want to see John Wayne, Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson and Sylvester Stallone in the laugh, yuck-fest of the season?

Hey, Stallone and Dolly Parton.
Oh my god. Now, the original premise [of 1984's Rhinestone] was Mike Nichols [directing]. And then...things happened.

And 1992's Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot?
I know, I know! Oh my god. Look, you have to have a little sense of humor about what you do. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was having an out-of-body experience. I was abducted and I never did any of those films. It was my alien double.

One of the high points of your more recent career is 1997's indie Cop Land.
Yeah, that's one of my favorites. ... But it didn't catch on. It was released in the summertime and it's not really a summer movie. People like it, critics liked it, and I'm glad I did it, but it wasn't received with any sort of encouragement.

How do you describe this phase of your career?
Uncharted. Refreshing. It's nice to be able to hold your head up and be proud of something you've done. It's been a long, long time. But what to do after? Very, very up in the air. I'm thinking about Rambo, if there's a story there. Trying to find a realistic background, but doing realistic background today is very, very precarious. People are very sensitive. So we decided to take on crab hunters in the great barrier reef. [He pauses, fully serious, then laughs]

Oh, okay. Cause you had said you were setting the fourth Rambo movie in Burma.
We switched Burma, we're going to the crab hunters. [In full-on John Rambo baritone] The most dangerous job...damn crabbers!

You were also associated with a Biggie and Tupac movie. What's going on with that?
I wrote a version of that script called Too Notorious. There were several incarnations of that script and a couple writers, but the version that I was involved with ... was very Chinatown and Rashômon — who did it and what not. The two biggest rap stars — it's like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears disappearing and not one arrest. Come on! Please. So obviously, it had to be connected to some people in very, very high places. Could it be the police? I don't know. But that's what the story's about, told from the point of view of one policeman, Russell Poole, who eventually lost his job over that. I don't think it's ever going to happen because of the litigious nature of everyone involved. Can you imagine? Phew. Try getting that bonded.

And you don't want Suge Knight after you, either.
Actually, I talked to Suge Knight about it. I asked him to play Suge Knight in the movie and he agreed. We got along very well. He was more than willing.

So at this stage are you more interested in writing and directing than acting or starring?
Yes. Because you know, there's only so much you can do as an actor at a certain age. You've solved life's mysterious, hopefully. So you're usually in a supervisor [role] or you're the father or the crotchety commander — that guy. Watch out! Old Fuss and Feathers is coming down!