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Stallone To Make Sixth Rocky Movie

Sylvester Stallone has spoken about reprising his role of Rocky Balboa the boxing champion in the sixth film, called Rocky Balboa.

The 59-year-old star will write and direct the new movie which he is due to shoot in Philadelphia and Las Vegas next year.

Stallone told the Daily Variety trade magazine the movie will focus on an ageing, widowed Rocky who is reluctant to get back in the ring but ends up doing so "just to compete, not to win.

"I am drawing on a lot of my feelings that are in sync with many people's feelings about facing the last chapter of their lives and how they want it to be written," Stallone said.

Dan Taylor, president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which is co-producing the film, said the movie focuses less on boxing and more on character.

"It's about self-examination, an opportunity to see what kind of person he is and act on it," Taylor said.

It was not immediately clear whether actress Talia Shire, who appeared in the five previous Rocky films as the boxer's love interest, Adrian, will return in the sixth instalment, said Stuart Herriot, a spokesman with Revolution Studios, which is co-producing the film.

"In the script, she did pass away, but it's unsure whether she might appear in a flashback or in older footage," Herriot said. "It's too early in the production to tell.

But, Herriot said, actor Burt Young is expected to return in Rocky Balboa as Adrian's brother, Paulie.

Stallone wrote all the Rocky films and directed the second, third and fourth entries.