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Why Contender KO'd Rocky Theme
Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone are recruiting yet another champ for their upcoming NBC boxing reality series, The Contender. "We're talking to Bill Conti, who wrote [the theme from Rocky], about writing our theme song," reveals Burnett, who calls "Gonna Fly Now" the "most inspiring theme I can imagine. Whenever you really, really feel like s--t and can't keep going, [that song] is a good motivator." The reality guru, however, decided against using the song in The Contender because he believes it's "too identifiable with Rocky. This is about real life and 16 young men getting a chance." That said, Burnett — who recently signed boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman to climb into the ring and mentor the aspiring pugilists — is eyeing another signature Rocky tune for The Contender. "At some po
Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone are recruiting yet another champ for their upcoming NBC boxing reality series, The Contender. "We're talking to Bill Conti, who wrote [the theme from Rocky], about writing our theme song," reveals Burnett, who calls "Gonna Fly Now" the "most inspiring theme I can imagine. Whenever you really, really feel like s--t and can't keep going, [that song] is a good motivator."
The reality guru, however, decided against using the song in The Contender because he believes it's "too identifiable with Rocky. This is about real life and 16 young men getting a chance."
That said, Burnett — who recently signed boxing greats Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman to climb into the ring and mentor the aspiring pugilists — is eyeing another signature Rocky tune for The Contender. "At some point," he reveals, "we may use 'Eye of the Tiger'." Phew. I thought he was gonna say James Brown's "Living in America."