How Sylvester Stallone Almost Made a ‘Bizarre’ Rock-Country Musical—and What Went Wrong

Sylvester Stallone, the undisputed king of action cinema, is known for delivering intense, adrenaline-pumping performances as iconic characters like Rocky Balboa and John Rambo. Yet beneath the grit and muscle lies an actor who has never shied away from injecting a dose of unapologetic fun and tongue-in-cheek humor into his work. One of the most curious chapters in Stallone’s career—and one he looks back on with mixed feelings—is the 1984 musical comedy Rhinestone, a film that almost took a wildly different, “bizarre” rock-country musical path.

Reflecting on the experience, Stallone revealed that the original vision for Rhinestone was far edgier and darker than what audiences eventually saw. “The most fun I ever had on a movie was with Dolly Parton on Rhinestone,” he said. “Originally, the director was supposed to be Mike Nichols, and it was supposed to be shot in New York—down and dirty—with Dolly and I playing two antagonists brought together by fate.”

Stallone wanted the film’s music to have a unique twist, reaching out to Whitesnake’s management to collaborate on songs that would add a “bizarre edge” alongside Dolly Parton’s country roots. But things took a sharp turn when 20th Century Fox replaced Nichols with director Bob Clark. “Bob is a nice guy, but the film went in a direction that literally shattered my internal corn meter into smithereens,” Stallone confessed.

Based on Larry Weiss’s 1975 hit “Rhinestone Cowboy,” the film starred Stallone as a New York cab driver with a deep disdain for country music who is bet by Dolly Parton’s character—a rising country singer—that she can transform him into a country star. Despite the quirky premise and star power, the movie’s tone shifted away from Stallone’s original vision and didn’t resonate with critics or audiences as hoped.

Looking back, Stallone admitted he might have chosen differently at that point in his career. “I certainly would’ve steered clear of comedy unless it was dark, Belgian chocolate dark,” he mused. “Silly comedy didn’t work for me. Would anybody pay to see John Wayne in a whimsical farce? Not likely.”

His reflections underscore a lesson many actors learn: the importance of authenticity and knowing one’s strengths. “I would stay more true to who I am and what the audience would prefer rather than trying to stretch out and waste a lot of time and people’s patience,” Stallone said. He also lamented not exploring more independent films between his big-budget hits, which might have helped him stay grounded.

Rhinestone remains a fascinating “what could have been” in Stallone’s storied career—a glimpse at a film that might have been a wild, genre-bending rock-country musical but instead became a cautionary tale about creative direction and artistic fit.