People: He’s traveled his own Rocky road
Sylvester Stallone sees a lot of himself in “Rocky Balboa,” opening in theaters today.
His sixth and final film about the boxer revisits Rocky after his fame has faded and he’s struggling to make a comeback.
“I think, in a way, it’s deconstructing me at the same time, and I think that was important because I haven’t had a film that has been good in many years,” Stallone says.
“I think the image, the last image I had in films, was a tough guy hanging off a mountain or ‘Judge Dredd.’ It was just not a good image.”
In the film, Rocky also is trying to reconnect with his grown son, just as Stallone is trying to connect with his children, ages 10, 8 and 4.
“My daughters have never really seen what I can do,” he says. “They assume that I’m a bad golfer. They didn’t even know I act anymore.
“(Rocky) wants his son to see what he does, because his son has never seen him fight: ‘I want you to see who I used to be. That’s the only way I know how to communicate with you.’ … So it is very (auto)biographical.”
Watching the wheels of justice
A chauffeur accused of trying to extort $2 million from Yoko Ono was indicted Tuesday on a charge of first-degree attempted grand larceny and jailed without bail.
Koral Karsan is accused of threatening to release embarrassing tape recordings and candid photographs of Ono, the widow of John Lennon, unless she gave him the money.
Karsan warned her that he had people “on standby waiting to kill her” if she crossed him, prosecutors said.
He allegedly handed Ono the extortion letter on Dec. 8, the 26th anniversary of Lennon’s death.
Let her be
The BBC reports that police in Sussex, England, have warned Paul McCartney‘s estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney, over a “nonspecific threat” against her safety.
Authorities, who also briefed Sir Paul, insist there’s no “imminent risk,” and say an alarm has been installed in Mills’ house.
And one really good day
Now Jeffrey Tambor has two reasons for celebrating Dec. 10 each year.
The 62-year-old actor and his wife Kasia, 38, welcomed baby daughter Eve Julia that day, his spokeswoman announced – the same birthday as their 2-year-old son, Gabriel Kasper.
Tambor (“Arrested Development,” “The Larry Sanders Show”) recently starred alongside John Lithgow on the NBC sitcom “Twenty Good Years,” which is on hiatus.
The party’s over
Tawny Kitaen, who starred in the 1984 Tom Hanks comedy “Bachelor Party,” has entered a drug rehabilitation program after pleading guilty to possessing 15 grams of cocaine.
Kitaen, 45, was arrested in 2002 for abusing her then-husband, former major league pitcher Chuck Finley. Those charges were dismissed after she agreed to anger management counseling.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Charlie Callas is 79. Actor John Hillerman (“Magnum P.I.”) is 74. Drummer Peter Criss (Kiss) is 61. Actor Michael Badalucco (“The Practice”) is 52. Singer Billy Bragg is 49. Singer Chris Robinson (Black Crowes) is 40. Actor Jonah Hill (“Accepted”) is 23. Singer JoJo is 16.