NONEXCLUSIVE CONTRACT : STALLONE, UA INK MULTIPICTURE DEAL

Sylvester Stallone, currently considered Hollywood’s most “bankable” box-office star, entered Thursday into a six-year, 10-picture deal with United Artists Corp., the studio that first backed him 10 years ago on the movie “Rocky.”

At a press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday morning, new UA chairman and chief executive officer Lee Rich said Stallone will star in at least five of the films and will write, direct or produce the remainder.

Stallone--who appeared at the press conference with his wife, actress Brigitte Stallone, to announce the deal--said he considered several other studios, but chose UA because “10 years ago I had a dream for a film called ‘Rocky,’ and United Artists made that dream a reality. And 10 years later, management at United Artists is keeping that dream alive.”

The arrangement with Stallone’s production company, White Eagle Enterprises, is not, however, an exclusive one. Announced on the same day that Stallone’s new film “Cobra” opens locally, Stallone said that if “Cobra” proves successful enough to launch a sequel, the deal will allow him to make a follow-up film for Warner Bros., the studio releasing “Cobra.” Stallone will also appear in “Over the Top” for Cannon Films, scheduled for Christmas, and would be allowed to make a third “Rambo” film for Tri-Star.

“But that’s only if my schedule permits,” Stallone said. “I’m a UA man now.”

Stallone said the five films will almost certainly be his stock in trade: action-adventure films where the hero tries to “lift himself up and rise above his station in life.”

The deal, he said, will probably include yet another “Rocky” film, “if we can find the right material. We don’t want to do ‘Rocky vs. The Planet of the Apes.’ ”

Both Stallone and Rich refused to comment on the deal’s financial arrangements, but an insider at UA said the deal was extremely lucrative for Stallone.

According to one inside source, Stallone’s production company will produce and finance the projects on their own, while UA will handle marketing, distribution and sales in the United States. Stallone said he will retain all foreign rights and, after a certain point, will retain all domestic video rights as well.

“The guy’s made so much money for the studio, we decided it was time to pay some of it back,” said one UA executive who insisted on anonymity.