Sylvester Stallone and Walter Hill attend 'Bullet to the Head' World Premiere at Rome Film Festival 2012

Several hours before Sylvester Stallone was due to arrive at the Rome Film Festival yesterday evening fans of the Hollywood legend had already started lining the red carpet, clutching Rocky posters and DVDs waiting for an autograph. The wait was a long one, with the star eventually arriving just in time for the world première Out of Competition screening of the new Walter Hill action movie Bullet to the Head. Whisked rapidly along the red carpet by festival security guards and organisers, there was clearly no time for signing autographs, but the star nevertheless made a point of greeting his adoring public, walking the whole length of the red carpet route, shaking hands with as many fans as possible along the way. Inside Sala Sinopoli the atmosphere remained as boisterous as the scenes outside, with the audience chanting “Rocky, Rocky, Rocky...” when the actor took his seat.

Before the screening of the movie festival director Marco Müller invited screenwriter Alessandro Camon to join him on stage to introduce the other major event of the evening – the presentation of the Rome Film Festival Maverick Director Award to director Walter Hill who expressed his gratitude to the Rome Film Festival, to Müller, and to Italian cinema audiences, adding that if you're an action director you don't tend to win a lot of awards.

The screening of Bullet to the Head, Hill's immensely enjoyable, fast paced and decidedly tongue-in-cheek action thriller, was accompanied by spontaneous cheers and applause throughout, with Sly's one-liners getting huge laughs. Both director and star received huge cheers as the credits rolled, with fans on their feet applauding. A fun evening!

To get a taste of the atmosphere at the Bullet to the Head premiere watch the video below (or click here to watch on YouTube).