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Robert Downey Jr
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Defamer Interviews
Exclusive: 'Tropic Thunder' Writer Stops Making Fun Of Mentally Challenged People Just Long Enough To Let Us Interview Him
Take a good look at that Tropic Thunder poster. Go past the glossy, airbrushed photos of the film's many stars, past the lush jungle setting, past the fiery explosions, and you might notice something. See there? Down at the bottom? It says "Screenplay by Ben Stiller & Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen." Sure, other more "legitimate" media outlets may give all the ink to those first two dudes, but here at Defamer we like to dig a little deeper. Just who is this Etan Cohen fellow and how did he get roped in to working on the biggest comedy of the summer? Stick around after the jump to hear one of Hollywood's newest writing stars dish the dirt about meeting Tom Cruise for the first time, what it feels like to suddenly have people kissing your ass, and why you shouldn't be offended by all that Simple Jack stuff.
feuds
Justin Theroux Promises 'Iron Man 2' Script With 100 Percent Less Batdrama
Hints abound today that the wheels may be coming off the souped-up Dark Knight bandwagon — and not just at the box office, where some estimates have Tropic Thunder usurping the top spot this weekend. TDK's sweeping cultural influence may be in jeopardy as well, with its Greatest! Movie! Ever! status now reduced to a nonsensical three-way tie at IMDB and a pair of formidable opponents shaping up across town at Camp Iron Man. In case you missed it, Robert Downey Jr. has already resorted to dramatic efforts of Batsabotage ("Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. ... You know what? F-ck DC comics"), and now jealousy-inspiring actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux has enlisted exactly the kind of metaphorical bitchslap we'd expect from his soaring geekcake talent: More »
Retard Wars
'Thunder' Premiere Showdown Pits Megastars Against Disabled Who Obviously Don't Get The Joke
Despite all traces of Simple Jack—veteran fake-action-star Tugg Speedman's brazen Oscar-shot playing a stuttering, simpleton farmhand—having been literally whitewashed from the web, activists remain outraged over Tropic Thunder's depiction-within-a-depiction of the developmentally disabled as bucktoothed "retards" incapable of expressing affection without the use of the phrase, "You mm-mm-m-ake my p-p-pee-peemaker t-t-t-tingle." (Sheesh—so touchy.) As threatened, dozens of placard-wielding protesters outfitted in 'Retard'busters T-shirts marched outside last night's premiere in Westwood, giving the proceedings the strangely familiar air of an RGA West strike line. From the AP report:
More »"When I heard about it, I felt really hurt inside," said Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett.
The Blackness
Downey Jr.'s Nodding-Off Attributed To Debbie Matenopoulos's Droning Voice, Not A Heroin Relapse
We have been overcome today by a tidal wave of sympathy for everyone's favorite non-silly-voiced summer superhero Robert Downey Jr., who just can't seem to catch a break on his Tropic Thunder press junket. No sooner had he been ambushed by a rogue reporter from the I'm A Drunken Stoned Moron Entertainment News Syndicate, he then came face to face with E!'s Debbie Matenopoulos. More »
Publicist Nightmares
How to Derail a Junket: Ask Robert Downey Jr. Who He'd Like To 'Smoke a Blunt With'
Can't a little movie like Tropic Thunder catch a break? The Ben Stiller comedy has thus far managed to survive racism, ratings, "retards," and American Idol — and that's before it's even come out (Wednesday, August 13!). Still, all that was child's play compared to the newest Tropic trouble, instigated by an overzealous radio DJ who crashed the film's junket to ask Robert Downey Jr. some of the most inane questions Iron Man has ever had to face. Listen in horror as the notoriously rehabbed actor is asked which costar he'd like to “drink a brew and smoke a blunt with” (only the first of many, many stupid questions) — we've even provided a helpful assortment of what we can only imagine were Jack Black and Ben Stiller's reaction shots. Enjoy! More »
disabilities
'Tropic Thunder' Braces For 'Retard' Backlash
Several months ago, the red-band trailer for Tropic Thunder suggested that not only could Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire be summer's most surefire gutbuster, but also that its trailer-within-a-trailer — featuring Stiller as the developmentally disabled title character of the Oscar-bait drama Simple Jack — portended perhaps the best movie never made. (And look! It even has its own Web site!) But having seen Thunder and thus the degree to which Simple Jack plays a role in the story, we think we got our fill: "You went full retard, man" Robert Downey Jr.'s Method actor (in blackface!) tells Stiller's slumping action hero. "Never go full retard."
His logic is crystalline, but alas, its political incorrectness is drawing even deeper consideration this morning as disability advocates wage war on the R-Word:
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Can't Buy it Love
Rating Woes, August Blahs Threaten 'Tropic Thunder' Storm at Box Office
While we refuse to believe Nielsen actually spent money to discover that R-ratings hinder comedies more than horror films, the results of its recent survey dovetail interestingly today with a companion piece about Tropic Thunder's potential for August domination. We've seen Tropic and can vouch for it living up to most of its hype, from Tom Cruise's sociopath studio boss to Robert Downey Jr.'s otherworldly, meta-Method blackface turn. But rating and timing are everything, as always, prompting The Hollywood Reporter to foretell a relatively floppy future: More »
power surge
Hunky Hyphenate Justin Theroux Now Just Showing Off With 'Iron Man 2' Writing Gig
Like most celebrants of cinema's smoldering, dangerous geek-stud archetype, we've been following actor Justin Theroux's career arc for a while — mostly in front of the camera, obviously, where his roles in Mullholland Drive, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Six Feet Under and elsewhere yielded a batch of performances we presumed would catapult him to the A-list sooner or later. But now it's just getting ridiculous, as we're learning that Theroux just nabbed one of the most desirable writing gigs in Hollywood: Iron Man 2. More »
the end of ideas
Robert Downey Jr. Vs. Sacha Baron Cohen: A Tale Of Two Holmes
With today's Variety report that Robert Downey Jr. will star in a mildly distracted Guy Ritchie's upcoming Sherlock Holmes for Warner Bros.—by all accounts, a much more reverential take on the mythical detective than the Columbia comedy announced just last week starring Sacha Baron Cohen—we thought we'd celebrate this latest Elementary! edition of our ongoing The End of Ideas series by comparing and contrasting the two competing projects:
The Take:
RDJ: A fast-talking, self-absorbed Holmes with hints of deep inner-turmoil, Downey's creation will overcome a career-threatening intravenous morphine habit to become the toast of London's A-list private detective scene.
SBC: A snootier and less aware take on the erudite detective, this Holmes will always insist, despite the bafflement of his perennial sidekick Watson, that the best way to solve a particularly difficult case is to visit the local all-boys brothel for some closed-door interrogations.
players
Non-Crisis Averted as Jon Favreau and Marvel Reportedly Settle on 'Iron Man 2'
The Earth is easing back on to its axis today after a full month of panic that Jon Favreau might skip out on directing Iron Man 2 — not that he threatened to, mind you, though all it took was one candid MySpace entry to fertilize fanboy concern that money, ego, release-date controversies or all of the above might conspire to shatter the fragile bond between the director and the cheap-ass overlords at Marvel.
But it all appears to be moot now as not-so-shocking reports trickle in saying Favreau is on board. For good measure, and because God knows it's a long way to that April 2010 opening, the Favreau backlash is already underway at Deadline Hollywood Daily:
More »
trade roundup
'Cowboys And Aliens' Already Targeted For Negative Alien Stereotyping
· Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to star in DreamWorks/Universal's Cowboys & Aliens, which is actually about cowboys and aliens, not the Bush regime's immigration policy. [THR]
· Indiana Jones and Iron Man brought Paramount Pictures International to the $1 billion box office grosses milestone six weeks earlier than last year, celebrated by Viacom Ringwraith Sumner Redstone hoopin' and hawin' over the studios in his fire-breathing skull-dragon, much to the dismay of the Star Trek cast and crew. [Variety]
· More reasons to love Eva: Eva Mendes is close to signing onto Werner "Abel Who?" Herzog's Bad Lieutenant continuationing.
· AMC is producing pilots based on Glen David Gold's 1920s magician novel Carter Beats the Devil, and Ice, about a family who works in New York's diamond district. [Variety]
·Mark an "X" on June 24th, which pits Celebrity Family Feud vs. the premiere of Wipeout vs. Kitchen Nightmares vs. America's Got Talent vs. I Survived a Japanese Game Show. (The "X" is there to remind you what day the world is ending.) [THR]
crossovers
Presence Of Iron Man Meant To Reassure A Restless Fanboy Nation That 'Hulk' Will Get It Right
While it's tracking nicely and all set to smash Friday the 13th's other green menace—The Happening—into M. Night Smithereens, Universal is still not taking any chances on getting The Incredible Hulk word out. Besides the new one-sheet featuring a Herb Rittsian, rear-view shot of the verdant one filling out a pair of Levis HulkFit™ jeans (one must never underestimate the power of the all-mighty gay dollar!), a new TV spot puts what was supposed to be a surprise cameo—Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Starke, aka Iron Man, aka the new Marvel-Universal Quality Assurance Seal of Approval mascot—at the very top, there to ease the concerns of a traumatized fanboy nation who still wake up in cold nightsweats screaming, "ANG LEE'S TAKE ON THE MATERIAL WAS ENTIRELY TOO CLINICAL AND ROBBED OF ALL HULK-SMASH PASSION!" The two may eventually go on to fight alongside one another in The Avengers movie, something hinted at by Iron Man's own super-secret-surprise cameo—which revealed itself only to moviegoers who sat through the credits. If you missed it, it's after the jump: More »
Pips
Digital 'Idol' Magic Transforms The Cast Of 'Tropic Thunder' Into Gladys Knight's Man-Hungry Pips
Where to even begin with last night's American Idol Results Show Grand Finale Spectacular? While it may not have provided the knee-buckling rush of emotion that accompanies a shot of a moist-eyed David Hasselhoff witnessing the coronation of his prematurely graying Soul King, there were more than a few unmistakable moments of true poignancy: from George Michael's haunting "Praying For Time," to David Cook's landslide victory lap, to the Jonas Brothers' heartfelt plea on behalf of the Aging Sibling Pop Star Fund, with every dollar pledged earmarked for famine-relief among surviving members of The Jets, DeBarge, Hanson, and the like. More »
trailers
Pee-Pee Makers, Infanticide Keep the 'Tropic Thunder' Train Rolling Toward Opening Day
First, the bad news about the new red-band trailer for Tropic Thunder: Alas, there is no trace of Tom Cruise's fat-suited, filthy-mouthed studio boss cameo that so entranced insiders at an early screening last month. The good news: Ben Stiller does throw a murderous Viet Cong toddler off a bridge, which is only about a 6 on the teaser's overactive, oft-peaking transgression scale. More bad news: The trailer appears to promise more than anyone can rightfully expect it to deliver, and Jack Black does appear in his underwear. More good news: Black in packing more than his junk in said underwear. More bad news: The trailer does zero favors for the squeamish. More good news: The trailer does zero favors for the squeamish. So we guess we're in! NB: Simple Jack could quite possibly turn out to be the best film never made. [Tropic Thunder]
hero overdose
'Ant-Man' Cometh, and More Fallout From 'Iron Man''s Golden Weekend
Gosh, Marvel Studios, just take a minute to chew your food, would you? Less than 24 hours after its debut picture Iron Man finished a $100 million opening weekend, studio boss David Maisel was all over town announcing Marvel's forthcoming slate — through 2011. As we noted yesterday, an Iron Man sequel is naturally to follow on April 30, 2010, while an adaptation of Thor will drop that same summer on June 10. It gets fairly outrageous from there: The First Avenger: Captain America appears May 11, 2011, followed by The Avengers — combining Iron Man, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk and Thor a mere two months later. (The studio says its sitting out 2009 as a result of a development lag left over from the writers strike.)
And there's more: "Ant-Man also is in development," notes Variety, "with Edgar Wright attached to write and direct, but that project has yet to be dated." And some fucking crackhead fanboy just started a rumor that Matthew McConaughey leads the candidates to portray Captain America. And then, after the jump, there's the Iron Man Oscar hype. Jesus Christ — stop the Marvel gossip mill already, we want off.
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