Only a few short weeks ago, you were living in blissful ignorance. You had no idea that you needed comedian, writer and actor Michael Ian Black talking the films of Sylvester Stallone. But now that you know such a thing exists, you can’t go on without it in your life. Smash that subscribe button, people.

With Rochelle now firmly embedded as Hi4H co-host, we kick off this episode with Rochelle and Lee looking back at some of the key films of this month. These include Darren Aronofsky’s divisive mother!, comic book sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the Stephen King adaptation It, and Australian comedy That’s Not Me.

Lee then ducks off to Skype to chat with Michael Ian Black about the films of Sylvester Stallone! Michael’s reasons for picking Stallone, and his interpretation of what Sly’s films are really about, is a must-listen. Whether you rate Stallone or dismiss him, chances are you’re going to come away from this episode with a new appreciation of the Italian Stallion.

Further reading:

• We’ve talked in-depth about Darren Aronofsky’s films before! To listen to our Aronofsky episode from January 2011, click here.
• You can google all the various mother! interpretations, but Darren Aronofsky’s own take on what the film means can be read here. And an interesting rebuttal from The New Yorker’s Richard Brody can be read here.
• And speaking of mother!, one thing Lee got massively wrong was citing Rachel Weisz as being the woman in the opening. A number of people had seemingly confirmed this as being fact, but it turns out the first face we see belongs to Canadian actress Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse. Which pretty much destroys the whole theory that spun out from that assumption.
• If you’d like to know more about that scene we mention from It – the one in the book that does not appear in the film – there’s a good rundown of it all here.
• Michael briefly mentions Stallone starring in a softcore porn film. That would be the 1970’s The Party At Kitty and Stud’s (later renamed Italian Stallion to cash in on Stallone’s stardom), and the story behind the film is outlined in this piece.
• More details on the Godfather Part III film that Paramount wanted Stallone to write, direct and star in can be found here.
• And here’s this great in-depth interview with Stallone during the promotion of the 2015 Rocky spinoff Creed, looking back at the origins of the series and of Stallone’s career in general.

Outro music: “Eye of the Tiger”, written by Frankie Sullivan & Jim Peterik and performed by Survivor, from Rocky III (1982)

The latest episode of Hell Is For Hyphenates, featuring Michael Ian Black talking the films of Sylvester Stallone, can be heard on Stitcher Smart Radio, subscribed to on iTunes, or downloaded/streamed directly from our website.

Going on both merit and popularity, Michael Ian Black ranks high above the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, motion-induced blindness, the chemical methylisoborneol and the second Men In Black film, as one of our greatest ever MIBs. Top three, easy.

He wrote and starred in the long-running sketch comedy show The State; he played the entrepreneurial bowling alley employee Phil Stubbs in the hit sitcom Ed; he was – and is – McKinley in the cult film Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and its recent Netflix prequel and sequel series.

You’ll also have seen him in films such as This Is 40 (2012) and They Came Together (2014), and in TV shows including Another Period, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Inside Amy Schumer, Maron, Reno 911!, and more besides. With Simon Pegg, he co-wrote the 2008 film Run Fatboy Run. In 2006, he both wrote and directed the 2006 comedy The Pleasure of Your Company (aka Wedding Daze) starring Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. He’s also a prolific TV presenter, author and comedian, though we’re going to stop now because this bio is getting out of hand.

But of course, you know him best from his upcoming role of a lifetime: this month’s guest host of Hell Is For Hyphenates!

So which filmmaker has he chosen to talk about on the show?

Cue Bill Conti’s Gonna Fly Now and run up those Philly Museum of Art steps, because it’s none other than Sylvester Stallone!

We all know the Stallone origin story: he was an aspiring actor who took matters into his own hands and wrote himself the role of a lifetime with 1976’s Rocky.

Rocky made him an instant star, but Stallone continued to work behind the scenes, writing numerous films and directing many of them: he debuted as director with Paradise Alley (1978), directed four out of the six Rocky films, made the Saturday Night Fever sequel Staying Alive (1983), directed 2008’s Rambo, and launched a new franchise with 2010’s The Expendables.

So what is it about Stallone the Filmmaker that so appeals to Michael? Join us on September 30 when we find out!

Be sure to subscribe now so you don’t miss the episode. Find us on iTunes, Stitcher Smart Radio, or whichever platform on which you prefer to listen to podcasts, except for the ones we’re not on.