Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Plunges into Pennsylvania Read Online Free PDF

down because he felt the role was beneath him. Second choice:Lee Strasberg, who wanted three times the $25,000 salary he was offered. Stallone’s pick for Adrian: Carrie Snodgrass ( Diary of a Mad Housewife ). She also wanted more money than the film could afford, though, even turning down the part when Stallone offered her his entire salary. Susan Sarandon was also rejected (because she was “too beautiful”), so the part went to Talia Shire.
    â€¢Shooting lasted just 28 days. (Most movies take about 90.)
    â€¢The scene where Rocky and Adrian have their first date at an empty skating rink was written much differently at first. It was supposed to be packed with people celebrating Thanksgiving, but the production couldn’t afford to pay 300 extras. So Stallone rewrote the scene to have Rocky and Adrian sneak into a closed rink. (It was shot in Santa Barbara, California, not Philadelphia.)
    â€¢The meatpacking plant where Rocky trains by punching sides of beef: Shamrock Meats in Vernon, California.
    â€¢Skating rink and meat lockers aside, most of the film was shot in and around Philadelphia. The restaurant scene where Rocky gets $500 in training money from his loan shark boss was filmed at Pat’s King of Steaks on Passyunk Avenue. The scenes of Rocky running through the city were shot on the sly, without permits. And the reactions of bystanders (including the produce stand guy who throws Rocky an orange) are all real.
    â€¢For the prelude to the climactic fight scene between Rocky and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), producers tried to get several former boxing champions to sit in the audience. Only one showed up: Joe Frazier, who lived in Philadelphia.
    â€¢United Artists didn’t like the first cut of the film, so the studio considered releasing it directly to television. But eventuallyUnited Artists gave in, released it to theaters—and Rocky earned more than $117 million at the box office. (That’s the equivalent of $389 million today.)
    â€¢The movie was a massive hit by the time the Oscar nominations were announced in February 1977, so the fact that Rocky was nominated for some awards was not surprising. What was surprising: it got 10 nominations, a tie with Network for the most. Among the nominees were Stallone for screenwriting and acting, Shire for Best Supporting Actress, John G. Avildsen for directing . . . and the biggest prize of all, Best Picture. In all, it won three Oscars: Best Film Editing, Best Director, and Best Picture, beating out favorites Network and All the President’s Men .
    â€¢Nine months after the film’s release, its theme, “Gonna Fly Now,” credited to the film’s composer Bill Conti, hit #1 on the pop chart.
    â€¢Stallone wrote all five Rocky sequels ( Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V , and Rocky Balboa ), and directed all except Rocky V .
    â€¢Rocky’s “real” first name: Robert.
    â€¢The movie’s most famous scene—Rocky running up the front stairs of a building—was shot at the Philadelphia Art Museum, where Rocky climbs 72 steps.
    â€¢Visiting the museum’s steps to imitate the “Rocky run” is (unofficially) Philadelphia’s most popular tourist attraction.
    â€¢In 1983, the city erected a nine-foot, 1,300-pound bronze statue of Rocky (with his arms raised) at the base of the museum’s stairs. Stallone himself commissioned the statue.

The “Commonwealth” Thing . . .
    If you look closely at the official documents and legal processes of Pennsylvania, you’ll see that it’s not only a great state; it’s also something called a “commonwealth.”
Origin of the Term “Commonwealth”
    A “commonwealth” is a political entity with a government that operates for the common weal (the common good), rather than to benefit the rulers (kings, emperors, etc). This was a revolutionary idea in the 17th century, particularly for the