You're Right! It only took him three days to write the story of an underdog boxer named Rocky Balboa; though several producers were interested in developing the property, they were scared off by Stallone's insistence that he play the lead (they were lobbying for Ryan O'Neal). He eventually found a backer, and the film was shot on a shoestring budget in just under a month. Rocky was the sleeper hit of 1976, earning over $225 million dollars and winning the Best Picture and Director Oscars--with acting and writing nominations for Stallone. (Frank Capra called it "A picture I wish I had made.") As for the Italian Stallion's personal life, he seems to have taken after his parents' turbulent married life. He was married to his first wife Sasha Czack, the mother of his two sons (Sage Moonblood and Seth a.k.a Seargeoh) for 11 years. He then had a 3-year marriage with actress Brigitte Nielsen, before settling down with model Jennifer Flavin, now the mother of his two daughters, Sophia Rose and Sistine Rose.