REEL LIFE / FILM & VIDEO FILE : Bronze Statue Pays Homage to Rocky’s Legend : Sly Stallone’s heroic likeness stands 10 feet tall. There will be at least 18 of them, destined for the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain.

The legend of Rocky gets bigger and bigger. Right now it’s about 10 feet tall.

A monumental bronze homage to the fictional palooka rolled out of a Westlake foundry last week. It was commissioned by Rocky himself, Sylvester Stallone, and cast by Westlake artist De L’Esprie, who agreed to the project even though her specialty is Western and Art Deco.

The statue is one of many that will be installed in Planet Hollywood restaurants, a chain owned in part by the beefcake actor. He’s contracted for 18 of the statues, but the number will go higher as the theme restaurant opens more franchises.

De L’Esprie made five visits to pose and measure Stallone. What resulted is a bronze that is as heroic in posture as it is in stature. Stallone’s chest is thrust out so gallantly, his back arched so bravely that he looks more like he’s in pain than celebrating a stunning victory.

“He wanted it to look more emotional than realistic,” De L’Esprie said.

Well, at least the attention Stallone poured into the molten bronze will spare us “Rocky XV.”

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Here’s a gift idea for the TV-aholic in your family. How about a video tape containing the year’s best commercials?

The trade organization Communications Arts hands out annual awards for creativity and quality of execution.

The $215 tape includes Nike ads, of course. There’s that spot for milk, where the daddy finds no milk for his morning cereal and both his toddler and the cat are unwilling to surrender their cow juice. There’s the Dreyer’s ice cream ad in which a grandma lifts up an Eisenhower-era sedan to retrieve a tub of ice cream that’s rolled under her car.

If you’re not deterred by the price tag, call (800) 258-9111.

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While they were slapping backs at the recent opening of the Edwards Camarillo Palace 12, they were wringing hands over at the Camarillo Cinema.

Theater manager Sally Sung was wondering how she could compete with the new behemoth and a similar United Artists theater slated to open this summer. Independent theaters often get trampled when major cinemas open because distributors prefer to give their big pictures to big theaters. More money.

“They get the A and B pictures,” Sung said. “Independents get the C and D pictures.”

Sung spent the weekend polling the crowd at her cinema, asking them what (if anything) she could do.

“Most of the people said we should change into a bargain house. Others said art house. It was about 2 to 1 in favor of the bargain house.”