ESPN's 30 For 30

[MediumTex]

I saw all of these ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries on Netflix and ignored them for a while, but then I started watching them and they are amazing.

So far, here's what I've seen:

1. One about the Ali/Holmes fight and how bad of an idea that fight was for Ali.
2. One about the Ali/Chuck Wepner fight, which was apparently the inspiration for the "Rocky" films.
3. One about Todd Marinovich, which included a lot of stuff I didn't know.
4. One about Tim Richmond, the NASCAR driver who died of AIDS.
5. One about Magic Johnson, with a lot of background that I didn't know.
6. One about Hank Gathers' coach, but which was mostly about Hank Gathers.
7. One about BMX daredevil Mat Hoffman.

So far, they've all been great.

Check them out if you like this sort of thing.

[MachineGhost]

2. One about the Ali/Chuck Wepner fight, which was apparently the inspiration for the "Rocky" films.

On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Muhammad Ali–Chuck Wepner fight, which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. That night Stallone went home, and after three days,[19] 20 straight hours[15] he had written the script for Rocky. After that, he tried to sell the script with the intention of playing the lead role.[10] Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler in particular liked the script.[citation needed] Stallone was offered increasingly larger fees to sell the script and allow a different actor to star in the film, but he turned the offers down until the studio agreed to let Stallone himself play the role.[10] Rocky was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay nominations for Stallone. The film went on to win the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Directing and Best Film Editing.[20]

Stallone was inspired to create the film by Rocky Marciano and the famous fight between Muhammad Ali and Chuck Wepner at Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio on March 24, 1975. Wepner had been TKO'd in the 15th round by Ali, but nobody ever expected him to last as long as he did. Wepner recalls in a January 2000 interview, "Sly (Stallone) called me about two weeks after the Ali fight and told me he was gonna make the movie."

The film, made on a budget of less than $1 million[2][3] and shot in 28 days, was a sleeper hit; it made over $225 million[1] the highest grossing film of 1976, and won three Oscars, including Best Picture. The film received many positive reviews and turned Stallone into a major star.[4] It spawned five sequels: Rocky II, III, IV, V and Rocky Balboa.