Let’s also not forget the academy barely 10 years ago ALMOST handed Stallone himself an Oscar for playing Rocky again in Creed. There’s clearly still love for the character within that org.
It’s likely I Play Rocky will break into Best Picture at the Oscars, and if that happens it would be really weird if Anthony Ippolito missed in Best Actor. His uncanny performance as Sylvester Stallone is the best thing about the movie, so he might come on stronger than we think.