Three Things the “Rocky” Movies Can Teach You About Character Development
Think of the original “Rocky” movie franchise and awe-inspiring character development likely doesn’t immediately spring to mind. However, if you look carefully, there are some nice little gems hiding inside the legendary six-movie series that novelists at any stage of their writing journey can learn from. Sure, some of the characters start to become over-the-top caricatures as you get further away get from the first film, but the Rocky movies are a great case study for building interesting and believable characters with fascinating arcs that stay with you long after the final bell sounds.
So, here are three things the “Rocky” movies can teach us about character development:
Expect the Unexpected from the Characters – From Adrian wearing a watch on her sweater to Rocky keeping the combination to his locker inside his fedora for six years, there are a plethora of little moments throughout the saga that you don’t expect from the characters, which makes them all the more real and relatable. Adrian’s brother, Paulie, (and Rocky’s best friend) the boorish drunk who works in a meat packing plant is revealed to be a painter in “Rocky Balboa.” Rocky wears glasses to write down his debt-collection assignments from his boss (the specs would reappear briefly in “Rocky V.”). These unusual little tics and traits add surprising and interesting depth to the characters.
The Takeaway: When developing characters, avoid obvious personality traits. Dig deeper to infuse them with unusual and unexpected tics, quirks, and flaws.
Did You Know . . . ?
The original “Rocky” won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing? Star Sylvester Stallone, who wrote the screenplay, received a nod for Best Original Screenplay, but lost to Paddy Chayefsky for “Network.”
The Characters Have their Own Unique Voices – Rocky obviously has quite a distinct way of speaking, from the malapropisms (“Are you closed to the general public or just everybody?”) to his fondness for “Yo,” and “You know.” However, each character, big and small, has their own unmistakable voice, from Rocky’s debt collector boss, Gazzo (“What, you think I don’t hear things?) to Mickey’s blunt growls and sensitive ramblings. Apollo Creed (based on Muhammad Ali) is obviously the most loquacious of the bunch and most of his dialogue alone is worth the price of admission (“Be a thinker, not a stinker” “Apollo Creed vs. the Italian Stallion. Sounds like a damn monster movie.”) Even Rocky’s son transitions from extremely proper diction and grammar (reflective of his privileged upbringing) to subtly incorporating more slang and “neighborhood” dialect after the family moves back to South Philly in “Rocky V.”
The Takeaway: Give your characters their own individual speech patterns, colloquialisms, catchphrases, accents, etc. Each character should sound different from every other character.
Everyone Has a Trajectory – The characters are constantly changing and growing, yet remain recognizable. We first see Adrian as a painfully shy woman hiding behind bird cages and afraid of her own shadow. Eventually, she learns to stand up to her jackhole brother, begins donning chic ensembles and effusively declaring her love for Rocky in front of the whole world while remaining sweet and strong throughout. Rocky’s rough exterior belies a heart of gold and despite all of his subsequent success, slight detour into hubris, eventual downfall and redemption, he’s still a good guy with the soul of a poet. Rocky’s nemesis, Apollo, becomes a much more likeable character as the series progresses, while maintaining his ostentatious nature.
Even Paulie, who mostly remains a jerk, lets some sensitivity poke through on occasion.
The Takeway: Think about who your character is on page one and think about who they’ll be on the last page. What will happen along the way that spurs them to change?
Most genres are character-driven, so building strong, rich characters should be a core element when developing your stories. The Rocky movies can provide some awesome inspiration 😊
What movies inspire character development in your writing?
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