 Hulk Hogan (qv) received the initial offer to be in the movie  after a wrestling match against André the Giant (qv) at Shea  Stadium. At first, he thought one of the wrestlers was trying to  pull a prank on him. When he returned from a tour of Japan, Hogan  received a Western Union letter he had to sign for. The contents:  Sylvester Stallone (qv)s offer to be in the movie. He immediately  signed on for the role of Thunderlips.