‘Unstoppable’ is the story of wrestler Anthony Robles with strong ‘Rocky’ influences
Directed by Philadelphian and Oscar-winning film editor, William Goldenberg, the film is about Robles who was born without a right leg
Winning amateur wrestling tournaments isn’t easy; neither is climbing the Rocky steps. But Anthony Robles has done both, on one leg.
Unstoppable, based on the true story of Robles’, is an inspirational film that draws parallels to Philadelphia’s most famous fictional sports hero.
The underdog protagonist displays a prominent Rocky poster on his wall, trains in classic Rocky-style montages, and wins two major tournaments at iconic Philadelphia venues.
And of course, we see him climbing up the Art Museum steps on crutches.
Unstoppable is the ideal project for director, Philadelphia native, and Temple alum William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning film editor making his directorial debut at age 65. The film stars Jharrel Jerome as Robles and Jennifer Lopez as his mother, Judy.
The film, which Goldenberg spent several years trying to get made, had a local premiere at the Philadelphia Film Festival last October and lands on Prime Video on Jan. 16.
Goldenberg grew up near Bustleton and Bleigh, near the Roosevelt Mall in Northeast Philadelphia, and graduated from Northeast High School. His father owned a deli in Society Hill, and he had family in South Philadelphia. Rocky, obviously, was an important film to him.
“I loved the movies when I was a kid,” Goldenberg said. “Maybe I like underdog stories because of it. Philadelphia always seems to feel like an underdog, whether we are or not.”
Starting off as premed student, he switched his focus to film and graduated from Temple’s School of Theater, Film and Media Arts in 1982 and headed to Los Angeles.
“Certainly, the film school at Temple really did shape me,” he said. “I had several classes there [that] had a huge impact on me, the biggest one being, a class called Experimental Video as a senior, and I did a ton of shooting and editing of stuff, and weird projects like ‘combine motion and stasis to make texture.’” He remembered showing the class his year’s worth of work, and the teacher specifically praised the editing and encouraged him to pursue it professionally.
One of Goldenberg’s first screen credits was as apprentice film editor on John Hughes’ beloved 1985 comedy The Breakfast Club. He went on to edit films by the likes of Michael Mann, Ben Affleck, Paul Greengrass, and Kathryn Bigelow.
His Oscar win was for editing Argo in 2010, and his other nominations were for The Insider, Zero Dark Thirty, Seabiscuit, and The Imitation Game. Affleck, the director of Argo, is a producer on Unstoppable, through his company Artists Equity.
Robles, who was born without a right leg, was an amateur and collegiate wrestling champion active from the mid-2000s to 2012. His eponymous memoir serves as the source material for the film.
The film follows his wrestling career from the end of high school to the end of college, both in Arizona, as he fights for respect on the mat while also dealing with a difficult home life.
After finishing his wrestling career in 2012, Robles wrote his memoir and started working as a motivational speaker. Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012, he also works as an analyst and expert on the sport for ESPN.
While the film shows tournaments at Villanova University and the Wells Fargo Center, only the Rocky steps scene was filmed in Philadelphia. An arena at the University of Southern California was transformed to resemble the South Philly venue where Robles won the collegiate championship in 2011. (The actual high school championship took place in Pittsburgh.)
Robles did actually have that Rocky poster on his wall and was offered a spot on the wrestling team by Drexel, even though he ended up at Arizona State. Members of the Drexel wrestling team were on hand when Unstoppable showed at the film festival.
“I had a bunch of friends there who would have told me the truth, and they really liked it, which made me happy,” Goldenberg said of the film’s Philadelphia Film Festival showing. “When I saw the list of film festivals that we may or may not go to, I said I’d love to go to Philadelphia, and they made it happen, so I was thrilled. I love the city.”
“Unstoppable” releases on Prime Video on Jan. 16