‘Creed’-Inspired Change.Org Petition Successfully Trolls, Wins Internet
If you were wowed this week by the excellent first trailer for Creed, the upcoming Rocky spinoff starring Michael B. Jordan, you’re not alone. The story of how the son of Rocky’s rival/best friend/trainer Apollo (who died in 1985’s Rocky IV) becomes a boxer in his own right looks fantastic. But lost in the outpouring of praise is the fact that the mononym “Creed” already belongs to the now-defunct Christian/Alternative band led by Scott Stapp. Won’t someone think about the band’s dedicated fanbase?
Filmmaker Nick Robinson — full disclosure, a friend of mine — did, and on Wednesday, Robinson took to Change.org to create a petition demanding justice for the band’s forgotten fans: “Change the name of the movie Creed.”
“MGM has completely disrespected the Creedmunity by using the name of the still-popular band for their non-Creed related movie and have been stifling conversation by flooding social media hashtags and searches with non-music Creed discussion,” the petition says. “MGM should have consulted Creed experts and online leaders before titling this movie. The Creedmunity will not be silenced.”
Let’s all pause for a moment to celebrate the neologism “Creedmunity”.
Obviously this is an elaborate joke (but not a hoax; you can actually sign this thing.) Even so, thanks to the already parody-proof seriousness of the band and its fanbase, a surprising number of otherwise very savvy people were briefly fooled by this thing. (Out of respect for the afflicted, we’ll let you find them yourself.)
Of course, it’s good manners never to say no to something unless you have a solution ready to propose, and so it is that Robinson’s petition includes several suggested alternate titles for the film:
• Rocky’s Creed
• Boxer Creed
• Son of Creed (although, this was the title of a rare 2002 leak of studio demos, the title was never officially used by the band, and thus is not considered canon)
• Apollo Creed’s Son
• Rocky: Son of Creed (while this makes it look like it’s a reveal that Rocky was Creed’s son, this is just an idea and MGM’s marketing department can make it work somehow)
• Rocky: The Next Generation
• Creed (not the band)
Deadline would like suggest Creedence Clearwater Sequel, or InCreedable. Can you think of something better?
Creed, if that is its real name, hits theaters November 25.
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