The Hamptons International Film Festival has chosen the Sylvester Stallone biopic I Play Rocky to kick off its 2026 edition, with the festival also set to honor filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller during the event. The announcement was shared exclusively with Hollywood Buzz News ahead of the festival’s official schedule reveal.
Peter Farrelly directs the drama, which centers on Stallone’s relentless fight to star as the boxer he wrote, despite studio pushback at every turn. Anthony Ippolito takes on the role of Stallone, leading a cast that includes Stephan James as Carl Weathers, Matt Dillon as Frank Stallone Sr., AnnaSophia Robb as Sasha Czack, P.J. Byrne as Irwin Winkler, Jay Duplass as John Avildsen, Kiki Seto as Talia Shire, and Toby Kebbell as Robert Chartoff. The film runs 127 minutes and is slated for a November 6 theatrical release.
A Story of Unshakable Conviction
The festival’s opening-night selection highlights a narrative that goes beyond the making of a classic film. According to the movie’s official synopsis, I Play Rocky tells the electrifying true story of an unknown actor who believed he wasn’t just meant to write Rocky - he was meant to play Rocky Balboa himself. Told “no” repeatedly, Stallone bets everything on his own conviction, refusing to surrender the lead role despite what seemed like impossible odds.
That hook clearly resonated with festival programmers, who saw Farrelly’s take as a fitting opener for a gathering that has long balanced prestige dramas with crowd-pleasing fare. Farrelly, best known for broad comedies like There’s Something About Mary and Green Book, which earned him a Best Picture Oscar, steers the project into more earnest territory here, focusing on the grit and determination behind one of Hollywood’s most famous underdog stories.
The film’s genre tags list it as both drama and history, suggesting a grounded approach to the well-trodden Rocky origin tale. With Stallone himself still a towering figure in pop culture, the project arrives with built-in curiosity about how it portrays the actor-writer’s famously stubborn stance, which ultimately paid off when the original film became a cultural phenomenon and won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1977.
Lord and Miller to Receive Honor
Beyond the opening-night announcement, the festival will also pay tribute to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the prolific duo behind The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, and the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Details about the specific award were not disclosed in the initial release, but the pair’s inclusion signals the festival’s broader interest in celebrating creative risk-takers, a theme that dovetails neatly with the Stallone story.
Lord and Miller have built a reputation for defying expectations, frequently blending animation and live-action with a willingness to subvert genre conventions. Their upcoming slate includes a range of projects that continue that pattern. For a festival that has historically balanced indie discoveries with mainstream names, honoring the duo adds a playful counterpoint to the more serious tone of the opener, offering attendees a chance to celebrate two filmmakers known for their irreverent humor and collaborative spirit.
The festival has yet to announce additional titles in its 2026 lineup, but the choice of I Play Rocky as the curtain-raiser sets a clear tone: this year’s edition aims to spotlight stories about persistence, belief, and the messy business of making art against external pressure. Farrelly’s film, with its focus on an actor who refused to compromise his vision, fits that framework neatly.
What to Expect from the Screening
For attendees at the opening night, the screening will offer an early look at a film that has generated quiet buzz since casting was announced. Ippolito, a relative newcomer compared to his co-stars, carries the weight of portraying a cultural icon, a challenge that often makes or breaks biopics of this nature. The supporting cast, anchored by veterans like Dillon and Byrne, adds depth around him, while James’s turn as Carl Weathers - the late actor who played Apollo Creed - will likely draw attention given Weathers’s passing in early 2024.
The November release date places I Play Rocky squarely in awards-season territory, and a strong reception at the Hamptons could set the table for broader recognition. Farrelly has already shown he can navigate that landscape with Green Book, and this project appears designed to replicate that trajectory, pairing a commercially viable story with period authenticity and emotional stakes.
The Hamptons International Film Festival typically runs in early October, so the opening-night slot gives the film its first major public showcase before its wide release. For now, festival organizers are betting that I Play Rocky - a story about a man who refused to back down - will strike a chord with audiences who appreciate a good fight, both in the ring and in the boardroom.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
