Stallone thanks ‘Creed’ director, co-star after Globes

But director Ryan Coogler had the right stuff to bring a vital new character into the mix in the form of Adonis Creed, played upcoming superstar Michael B Jordan.

The Golden Globes opened with some sharp jokes from Ricky Gervais and a win for Kate Winslet for best supporting actress in a film for her role in the biopic “Steve Jobs”.

“I just want to say that I am the sum total of everyone I have ever met and I’m lucky enough to have absorbed some of that”. Well, icing on the proverbial cake, of course.

In either case, it seems unlikely that a 2017 release would allow for Creed co-writer and director Ryan Coogler to return.

All the snaps (and Golden Gloves?) in the world to Stallone, for 40 awesome years of Rocky.

Sam replied: “Off camera thanks, works”.

Stallone – who previously won a Golden Globe in 1977 for the first “Rocky” movie – had earlier walked the red carpet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with his wife and daughters Sophia, 19, Sistine, 17, and 13-year-old Scarlet.

“Samuel Jackson is upset that I foolishly forgot to mention the brilliant Ryan Coogler and [Michael B. Jordan]”, Stallone wrote on Twitter.

Stallone’s speech was brief (perhaps too brief, as you’ll see in a moment); he concluded by thanking his “imaginary best friend” Rocky Balboa himself – but the really tremendous moment came from just watching him take the stage.

“To be frank, any time you can vent emotions that are real, I feel that it’s very, very helpful”, Stallone said. I said, ‘This is probably going to be the last decent film of this genre that I’m going to do as a solo act.’ When that was accomplished, I never felt the same willingness to do it again. “I owe them everything”.

He said: “I didn’t imagine that after Rocky Balboa, I thought we really waved goodbye to the past”.