Shire recalled that “Rocky” was a low-budget shoot. Although a studio film, “Rocky” was made for reportedly less than $1 million, but would become the highest-grossing film of the year, earning over $225 million. Shire only knew that it was very cold and that all the actors had to change costumes in the same unheated trailer. Shire pointed out the conditions, saying:
“‘Rocky’ was very low budget you need to know this and we were in Philadelphia during, it was December and it was freezing cold. And we had sort of a community truck where cables were the costumes were. There they put a couple of mirrors by the wall, we were so freezing cold our breath made fog on the mirrors. We couldn’t see as we changed our clothes.”
The shooting schedule for “Rocky” was pretty quick, and began in January of 1976. “Rocky” debuted in New York the following November, making a fast shoot and fast post-production process. The first “Rocky” possesses no glitz, with low-rent, working-class apartments providing the backdrop, and a love story between Rocky and Adrian providing the emotional foreground. Shire is excellent in the film — she was nominated for a second Oscar — but she credits Meredith for keeping her spirits up in the bitter cold and cheap trailer.
“I’m changing my clothes next to this great actor Burgess Meredith and he’s putting on his Mickey cap and he was full of creative joy. This is a great actor. No complaints. And he sort of set the key for the rest of us as actors. This is what a professional actor does he brings that great sense of creativity and collaboration and boy he was for all of us, all the actors he set that standard.”