Serbian Village Erects Rocky Statue[views:1764][posts:0]________________________________ [Aug 21,2007 3:34pm - xmikex ""] This is so rad it makes me think it was already posted, and I just missed it. I'll risk it though: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070819/ennew_afp/entertainmentfilm ZITISTE, Serbia (AFP) - A statue of Sylvester Stallone's famous film character, boxer Rocky Balboa, has been erected in a tiny Serbian town to give a positive punch to the village's image after years of hard times. ADVERTISEMENT The three-metre (10-foot) high bronze statue of Stallone as Rocky, made by a Croatian sculptor, was revealed late Saturday in the center of the Serbian village of Zitiste, some 55 kilometers (33 miles) north of the capital Belgrade, local media reported. A village resident thought up the idea of building a statue last February as he wanted to pay tribute to his favorite movie hero after seeing the sixth and latest "Rocky" movie. "I felt as if Rocky has come from our village, he had to fight to win his place in society," Bojan Marceta said at the time. The village, in Serbia's northern Vojvodina province, suffered serious damage after persistent floods last year, while many of its inhabitants have left their homes in search of a better future. When village officials heard of Marceta's idea they enthusiastically embraced the project in a bid to shed a "more positive light on Zitiste," said Zoran Babic of the local council. "For years, only negative reports on farm diseases, monstrous murders, floods and landslides, have been coming from our village," Babic said earlier. "This is the chance to give a better, more positive image to Zitiste," he added. The 1976 "Rocky" film won three Oscars for best picture, best director and best film editing, catapulting Stallone to fame after he had struggled as an actor and screenwriter. This is incredible, but I have my doubts that it will only open up a new can of worms in an already unstable area when the Bosnians construct a 20 ft Apollo Creed statue. |