Sylvester Stallone: Portrait of a Son, Icon, and Man

To call Sylvester Stallone a film star is only the beginning of any conversation about him. Movies such as Rocky and Rambo have made him an American icon. But even that barely scrapes the surface of who he really is.  In Sly, a new documentary film available to watch now on Netflix, director Thom Zimny takes a deep dive into Sylvester Stallone’s story. He starts with the actor we all know before introducing us to the man behind the persona: Stallone the writer, director, and even, painter. He goes further still, in fact, right to the heart of Stallone’s life: his relationship with his father, a relationship that for Thom redefined how he saw Stallone’s films. In this episode of Factual America, Thom joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss Sly, both man and film. Their conversation takes them from the beginning of Thom’s relationship with Stallone to its full flowering. Thom describes his approach to interviewing Stallone, and the energy that the latter brought to their conversation. He reveals how his work with Bruce Springsteen helped him navigate Sly, and the great trust that Stallone put in him, made real with a significant gift. Along the way, Thom shares some of the surprises that came out of making Sly, and even Stallone’s musicality. Join Matthew as he and Thom Zimny pull the curtain back on the real Sylvester Stallone – Sly by name, but open hearted by nature. Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com “Sly went beyond a biopic for me because I felt like there was a chance to show an artist that gets lost with just a shorthand version of their life... I love the details that get lost, that make a film universal.” – Thom Zimny