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October 29 - November 4, 2023 • Terre Haute Tribune-Star • 9 The saga of Sylvester Stallone continues to add new chapters, but he already has quite a story to tell. The actor-writer-director – famous for creating his own fame as the originator of the "Rocky" franchise – is the subject of "Sly," a Netflix documentary that makes its streaming debut Friday, Nov. 3, after pre- miering at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Directed by Thom Zimny, who also has done projects about Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, the profile is built on a wealth of Stallone's remarks about the triumph and setbacks he has experienced in his person- al and professional lives. Family members also contribute comments, as do Stallone colleagues and friends Arnold Schwarzenegger and Henry Winkler, and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. Born in New York's Hell's Kitchen in 1946, Stal- lone made one of his first notable appearances as a subway-train hoodlum in Woody Allen's "Bananas" (1971), and he gained some attention in "The Lords of Flatbush" (1974) opposite Winkler and in "Death Race 2000" (1975). His breakthrough clearly was the original "Rocky" (1976), which he wrote and insisted on starring in himself, with the huge success of the saga of a struggling Philadelphia boxer winning its year's Oscar for best picture. It also yielded five direct sequels and inspired the "Creed" series, with "First Blood" (1982) giving Stallone another continuing character in famously rugged Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Stallone remained a box-office king for years after- ward, with "Cobra" (1986), "Tango & Cash" (1989), "Cliffhanger" (1993), "Demolition Man" (1993), "The Specialist" (1994) and "The Expendables" (2010) among the bigger hits that sustained his career when such efforts as "Oscar" (1991) and "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" (1992) didn't register strongly by comparison. The star picked up critical acclaim for pictures including "Cop Land" (1997), and he became an Oscar nominee for reprising (and aging) the Rocky role in the first "Creed" movie (2015). Netflix's "Sly" references two of Stallone's latest ventures sparsely, since he's making the series "Tulsa King" and "The Family Stallone" (both of which have been renewed for second seasons) for rival streaming service Paramount+ … though because of the timing, some of his interview material for the documentary reportedly was done on the "Tulsa King" set. He's still active in movies, too, with the action sequel "Expend4bles" having been released in Sep- tember. Among the upcoming projects he has slated is a three-decades-later sequel to "Cliffhanger." "Sly" also delves into the complex relationship Stallone had with his parents, hairdresser Frank and astrologer Jack - ie, with his brother Frank – who has made musical and acting contributions to Stallone's movies – offering relevant insights. The documentary also touches on Sylvester's past marriages, including one to actress-model Brigitte Nielsen, with the result leaving the definite impression that there's always more to come from the film's subject. And as recent times have indicated, there apparently is. spotlight BY JAY BOBBIN Sylvester Stallone stars in "Sly" Netflix's 'Sly' charts Sylvester Stallone's life and career Judge Taniya Nayak in "The Great Halloween Fright Fight" Sunday on ABC Q: Seeing Malcolm McDowell on "Son of a Critch" has made me think that I saw him play Mr. Roarke on a version of "Fantasy Island." Am I right? – Stan Phillips, via e-mail A: You are. The McDowell-starring 1998-99 ABC variation on the theme was the second pass at the concept about guests flying to an island to have their fantasies fulfilled, though typically with twists they didn't expect. While McDowell assumed the role that Ricardo Montalban originated, initial assistant Tattoo (who had been played by Herve Villechaize) was replaced by Ariel (Madchen Amick), an elderly woman who was able to adopt different appearances … including her most frequent one that made her look much younger. McDowell's "Fantasy Island" lasted only a half-season, but it wasn't the last stand for the premise. It inspired a 2020 feature film, one of the last movies to get a wide release before the coronavirus pandemic, with Michael Pena starring as Mr. Roarke (and Lucy Hale and Maggie Q among those playing guests). Then in 2021, Fox launched another "Fantasy Island" series led by Roselyn Sanchez as Elena Roarke, who was a grand niece of Mr. Roarke (Montalban's incarnation, since the update – which ran for two seasons – was linked in certain ways to the very first version of the show). celebritypipeline BY JAY BOBBIN Send questions of general interest via email to tvpipeline@gmail.com. Writers must include their names, cities and states. Personal replies cannot be sent.