Learning Screenwriting – Rocky: a screenplay in three days
Preconceptions about the creative process
We live with a lot of mythologies and concepts about the “inspiration” and “craft” aspects of expression that influence how we approach doing something creative. One of those ideas is that anything so complex as a film script must necessarily take a long time to develop.
But screenwriter James Lamberg recalls a meeting in 1992 with Sylvester Stallone:
Stallone’s bombshell
“I was working for a national radio station at the time and managed to spend thirty minutes interviewing him. And it changed my life. Why?
“I asked him about his screenwriting career. I wanted to verify something I’d heard. ‘Let’s talk about Rocky,’ I said. ‘The film grossed over $250 million – and turned you into an overnight superstar. What a script!
“I paused nervously and waited for a response. You know what he said?
“He laughed. Then added: ‘And you know what? It took me three days to write. I locked myself in my room after watching the Ali fight and just wrote it!’
“I was stunned. Genuinely. I didn’t know what to say. After the longest ten seconds of my career, I repeated to him: ‘You wrote it – in just three days? Screenplays take months, even years…!’
“He gave a friendly sneer and stared deep at me: Listen. Everyone thinks that. That’s the problem. Writing quickly means writing success!’”
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From a 3-day script to 10 Oscar nominations
From Wikipedia: Rocky (1976) was awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture. On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Ali-Chuck Wepner fight which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. That night Stallone went home, and in three days he had written the script for Rocky – which was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including two for Stallone himself, for Best Actor and for Best Original Screenplay.
Screenwriter James Lamberg is coauthor of the “Movie in a Month” course.
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Here are two other writing programs:
and WriteABookNow – How To Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days or Less – A Guide for Professionals
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Book: 
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this is bullsh… whoever believes that a meaningful and world-class play or book can be created in three days (or 30 days) deserves to part with their hard-earned money without the possibility of their recieving anything worthy in return. all this reminds me of when i was a child and my parents told me there was a santa claus. i had to believe them, because i NEEDED to believe them. it meant that much. this is a criminal enterprise, but not really, since nothing is taken subrosa, nope; this crap is blatant as a pie in the face. a sucker’s born every minute, huh? i think i’ll write me a book on how to write a book. easy $. it took stallone three WEEKS to write the first draft, and it sucked. he should have got a screenwriter’s credit, along with the other guys who really made it great.