Back in the early 1970s when a story idea for a never-say-die protagonist was percolating in Sylvester Stallone's head, he decided to first visualize this character on canvas. However, he didn't want to use a brush because he felt that this man was forged by the hardships of life. So instead, he carved an image on the canvas using a screwdriver.

"If he looked interesting visually, then I think that he would translate through to literature and then cinema," he said. "I know it sounds ambitious, but that was the genesis of Rocky."Stallone would go on to famously complete a 90-page script in three-and-a-half days about poor Italian American boxer, Rocky Balboa, who gets a shot at becoming world heavyweight champion.