In The Steps, Sylvester Stallone recalls tensions during the 1974 film The Lords of Flatbush. He says Gere and Robert De Niro eventually left the project.
Sylvester Stallone recounts a clash with Richard Gere while making the 1974 film The Lords of Flatbush in his new memoir, The Steps. The book went on sale in late September; Romanian outlet HotNews reported the account, citing People magazine.
Stallone says the tension began during auditions, which Robert De Niro also attended. He recalled that improvising with De Niro initially went well, but said Gere grabbed his shirt during a take and scratched his skin with his fingernails. Stallone says he asked Gere to stop, but the incident happened again in a second take.
Later, during a lunch break, Gere spilled chicken fat from foil onto Stallone, according to the memoir. Stallone writes that he elbowed Gere, got out of the car and pulled him from the back seat. Director Stephen Verona stepped between the actors. Gere eventually left the production, and De Niro also departed. Perry King and Henry Winkler replaced them.
Stallone writes that the casting change marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship with Winkler, who supported him as he tried to establish himself in Hollywood. The account of the confrontation is based on Stallone’s own recollection in his memoir.