Cinema Online, 24 January 2007 By Helena Hon
22 Jan - Gerald Chuah must have had that immense sense of "arrival" yesterday when he stood up proud at the podium and launched his book, IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER: SURVIVAL PRINCIPLES FROM SYLVESTER STALLONE'S LIFE & FILMS.
It had taken him more than two decades to realise his ambition – and that is to write and publish a book based on the life lessons imparted by his "best friend" Rocky, the character from Sylvester Stallone's "Rocky" movies - who inspired and motivated him to move from his former school teacher profession to become a journalist, and now a published author.
For Gerald Chuah, the launch of his book has made him a living example of what the publication and his hero advocate, and that is, to "Go For It – Be All You Can Be Once In Your Lifetime."
Gerald Chuah launching his dream book with Jacqueline Stallone and her husband Dr Levine at his side. Choking back emotion (or perhaps nervousness), Chuah was almost at a loss for words when he explained how it all started for him.
Ever since a very young age, he had been fascinated by Stallone's films because these films held more meaning than just action scenes.
The theme of the underdog fighter struck a chord in him. "I found many inspirational ideas and life lessons which I thought would inspire audiences to reach the
pinnacle of their dreams."
It was a labour of love, he said, researching into the subject and taking quotes from various sources including newspaper archives, books and documentaries, which is why the book's topics are comprehensive, covering all aspects of life with powerful ideas for living never published before."
IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER also features 36 hand drawn illustrations of Stallone's action poses from his blockbuster films of the 80s.
The last two months have been extremely hectic for him, admits Chauh, rushing to meet the deadline to coincide the launch of his lifelong dream with the release of Stallone's latest film, "Rocky Balboa" (previewed on the same morning) together with the arrival of Jacqueline Stallone (Sylvester Stallone's mother) in Malaysia.
This was a triple whammy for him in the best of ways. "Never in my wildest dreams have I imagined my book would one day be endorsed and launched by Jackie to coincide with the last episode of the "Rocky" series. This is indeed a great honour and a high point in my life," gushed Chuah.
Chuah and Jackie have been dear friends, corresponding long distance via email for some time. Having seen the book over two years ago, she was impressed by the accuracy of the facts and promised that if Chuah ever published the book, she would be there to launch it.
By some miracle, Jackie, a celebrity astrologer for the most famous names in the world in and outside Hollywood, is currently on a Far East tour with her husband, a neuro-surgeon Dr Stephen M Levine. Together, they made a special trip to Kuala Lumpur to meet Chuah for the event.
Jackie says "I am very proud of Chuah's book. I read the book and every word is true. The whole family live by these rules and these are quotes that Sylvester was raised on." Stallone himself is an underdog who fought and triumphed over life's greatest adversities.
Stallone was born with many physical disabilities, revealed Jackie in the Q&A session that followed. "His left side was paralysed, especially his throat which gave him a speech impediment. That's why Sylvester doesn't speak much in his films, it's always done line by line but he has learnt to convey his emotions through body language instead.
As a kid, Sylvester was a lonely child as no one wanted to play with him. Kids can be mean, especially to someone who was ‘different'. But then I started him on exercises and encouraged him to build a good physique because then he would attract the girls.
He was thrown out of 17 schools because he could not read or write. But today, Sylvester has shown everyone how well he can write because all the scripts for his films have been written by him." She adds wryly, "Now all these 17 schools are calling him back because they want to give him an honorary degree."
Jackie says that all she wanted for her son was to see him grow up well and maybe get a job. "I never thought he would become a movie star!", to which she adds that even though it was she who started Syl on exercises, it was he who deserves the credit for going the distance by himself. Sylvester has surpassed even his mother's expectations and has proven to the world that he can triumph over life's greatest hurdles, just like his characters Rocky and Rambo.
Sylvester Stallone is currently in the jungles of Thailand filming Rambo's last sequel.His last "Rocky" movie, "Rocky Balboa" will be released nationwide on 22 February 2007 while IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER: SURVIVAL PRINCIPLES FROM SYLVESTER STALLONE'S LIFE & FILMS will be available in all Borders Bookstores from next week onwards.
Excerpts and Quotes from IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER: SURVIVAL PRINCIPLES FROM SYLVESTER STALLONE'S LIFE & FILMS.
"To me, a character's vulnerability is his most endearing trait…the ones that out there knowing they can't possibly win but go anyway. That's a philosophy I've embraced my whole life. The right to fail on your own terms." Sylvester Stallone
"Rocky turned out to be the kind o metaphor for everyone's struggle. It wasn't about me, Sylvester Stallone and money. It was about wanting to fail on your own terms. Rocky never thought he'd succeed. But like him, I just wanted to try. Little did I know that 20 years later,that philosophy would end up being respected." Sylvester Stallone
Face to Face with Jacqueline Stallone
Cinema Online writer Helena Hon getting up close with celebrity astrologer and mother of Sylvester Stallone, Jacqueline Stallone.
Looking at least 30 years younger than her true age (which nobody really knows and obviously don't have the guts to ask), Jacqueline Stallone's illustrious personality outshone even her own flamboyant dressing.
Looking totally at ease at the press conference for the launch of Gerald Chuah's book, IN THE EYE OF THE TIGER: SURVIVAL PRINCIPLES FROM SYLVESTER STALLONE'S LIFE & FILMS where she and her husband were the guests of honour, Jackie, as she is affectionately called, answered questions openly and spoke with great simplicity about her role as Sylvester Stallone's mother.
"Sylvester was a terrible child", she said candidly of the fact that he was born with many physical disabilities and then got thrown out of 17 schools for not being able to read and write. She herself has led quite a colourful life herself, having run away from home at the age of 15 to join the circus.
That's where she fell in love, got married and had Sylvester. "Sylvester wishes I'd be like other celebrity mothers: stay home, bake cookies and knit socks but if I wasn't as flamboyant as I am, he wouldn't be dynamic as he is today."
Indeed that's true of Jackie. She became a star aerialist on the rings and bars with the ‘Flying Wallendas' act in the ‘Ringling Brothers Barnum' and ‘Baily's The Greatest Show on Earth'. She was the first woman to have a daily TV show on exercise and weight lifting in Washington DC and later opened a gym for women only called Barbella's for her loyal fans, and she created GLOW, the Gorgeous Girls of Wrestling, a syndicated TV show from Las Vegas that ran for five years.
Then she and Richard Simmons made the Fabulous Silver Foxes exercise video that earned three platinum awards and sold in two editions over 10 million copies worldwide.
Meanwhile, Jackie went back to high school at the age of 40, entered college and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry. Her interest in Astrology got her studying the subject for 15 years under the tutelage of the world's greatest astrologers of the 20th century.
In the course of it, Jackie herself has become a world famous celebrity psychic and astrologer and was responsible for getting astrology accepted as an accredited course in many colleges and universities in the US of A.
Cinema Online, 24 January 2007
https://cinemaonline.com.my/news/news.asp?search=rockybook
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