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Stars hit box office sweet spot

Will Smith among actors who have stayed hot

By ANNE THOMPSON

 

Call it the Fluke Zone. It's a place where a movie star can do no wrong. Audiences love you no matter what you do. The trick is to stay in the Zone as long as possible.

 

It's hard to get there. Few actors ever make it. Robert Downey Jr. and Shia LaBeouf are getting close this summer. But will auds put them over the top?

 

The rewards are huge at the top of the Hollywood food chain. You can cherry-pick the best and most commercial projects, and in theory, enjoy years of jet-set glory along with hefty cuts of the first-dollar gross.

 

But it's not easy. Beyond possessing the usual movie-star assets, staying at the top takes smarts, tenacity and an ability to tune in to what audiences want. Assuming you care.

 

Many stars fall out of the Fluke Zone when they lose touch with their fans. They tire of the limitations of carrying formula studio pics. Audiences see a star in the Zone as someone who delivers every time.

 

That was once true for Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson. But not anymore. They're maturing, taking more chances, seeking just the right balance of commercial and quality, straying from what audiences want. That doesn't mean they can't score the occasional B.O. smash. It just means they no longer guarantee them. "If you expand past the audience comfort zone," says producer James Jacks, "you're not a brand name anymore."

 

Nicolas Cage and Bruce Willis seesaw between studio tentpoles like "National Treasure" and "Live Free or Die Hard" and more adventurous fare. Johnny Depp, for example, is never going to color inside studio lines. He followed up his three-"Pirate" $2.76 billion B.O. bonanza with the serial-killer Stephen Sondheim musical, "Sweeney Todd." Not surprisingly, it did not break box office records. But he nabbed an Oscar nom.

 

Looking at this summer's movies, there's only one star in the Zone: Will Smith.

 

The hardest-working man in showbiz is doing what it takes: picking blockbusters crammed with f/x and action such as the "Independence Day" and "Men in Black" series, "I Robot" and "I Am Legend," along with the occasional acting showcase, from the career-turning "Six Degrees of Separation" and "Ali" to his Oscar-nommed turn in "The Pursuit of Happyness." And Smith, borrowing a page from Cruise and Schwarzenegger, works long hours burnishing his press on global promo tours. All that elbow grease has paid off.

 

This summer, in Peter Berg's "Hancock," Smith plays a homeless superhero. Will his B.O. run continue? Nothing lasts forever.

 

Age is an enemy of the Zone, especially for muscle action stars. Schwarzenegger and Stallone could only last so long.

 

With a far wider range, Harrison Ford, 65, defined the smart action hero. He has resolutely stayed the superstar course in the three decades since he broke out in George Lucas' "American Graffiti" and "Star Wars." However, his insistence on $20 million-plus paydays in recent years has hurt him. He says he works too hard not to get paid.

 

He pushed hard for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"; finally Lucas and Steven Spielberg came through, helping the star pull out of an eight-year slump that included "Six, Days, Seven Nights," "Hollywood Homicide," "K-19: The Widowmaker," and "Firewall."

 

It's tougher for women. While men grow into their masculine authority, reaching their prime in their 40s, women have a shorter shelf life in the Zone. Hollywood doesn't allow them much room for error.

 

But Angelina Jolie is breaking the mold. While she is not in the Zone -- "A Mighty Heart" proves that -- she could be. Jolie is Hollywood's first bona fide femme action star ("Alien" star Sigourney Weaver paved the way). Jolie mixes it up with the best of them. She can be tough, sexy, lethal, funny and heartbreaking, from her career-making Oscar turn in "Girl, Interrupted" to "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," in which she met her match and partner, Brad Pitt.

 

While Jolie's output is uneven, she can open genre flicks, forging a path for ambitious actresses to follow. Universal paid her $15 million to return to action in the fantastical R-rated thriller "Wanted," anchoring the pic with Morgan Freeman opposite the lesser known James McAvoy ("Atonement"). "She established the movie's quality and legitimacy," Universal Pictures co-chairman Marc Shmuger says.

 

A powerful character actress, Meryl Streep has never been a Zone star. But like Jodie Foster, she delivers something valuable: a stamp of quality (which means nothing with a movie no one wants to see, like "Lions for Lambs" or "Rendition"). Now 58, Streep proved her B.O. muscularity in "The Devil Wears Prada," which scored $125 million at the domestic box office. This summer brings the Abba movie musical "Mamma Mia!" which may not be as pre-sold as the movie version of HBO's long-running "Sex in the City," but still has a sizable global following of women of all ages from the traveling hit show.

 

Comedy stars also have a shorter shelf life in the Zone. Somehow they catch the zeitgeist for several years, only to be replaced by a newer, fresher comedy ethos. Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Robin Williams and Jim Carrey lost their link with the audience by taking big paychecks for bad movies or simply trying too hard.

 

Audiences turned instead to the likes of Steve Carell, who followed Carrey in the disappointing "Bruce Almighty" sequel "Evan Almighty" and stars in this summer's TV remake "Get Smart"; multihyphenate Ben Stiller, who directed and stars in this summer's "Apocalypse Now" spoof "Tropic Thunder"; and Will Ferrell, who also produces and co-stars with John C. Reilly in the Apatow factory release "Step Brothers." These stars like to take chances on risky material, and seem willing to slip on a banana peel now and then.

 

On the other hand, "Austin Powers" star Mike Myers seems under more pressure to stay a major money player. He is also battling a rep for difficult behavior. While Myers has been delivering in the animated "Shrek" universe, the comedy chameleon flopped in his last live-action pick, 2003's overwrought "The Cat in the Hat." Dumb-male comedy "Love Guru" will reveal the strength of his audience connection.

 

The exception to the comedy rule is master-of-disguise Eddie Murphy, who has stayed relevant through successive generations. Murphy doesn't play himself, as Adam Sandler does, repeatedly. Thanks to animated movies ("Shrek") and prosthetics, Murphy morphs constantly; his range is astonishing. In "Meet Dave," opening July 11, he plays a spaceship in human form.

 

"Any time we become too familiar with anything, it ceases to be interesting to us," says producer John Davis, who has made four movies with Murphy and is wooing him to play multiple characters in "Fantasy Island." "The smartest thing you can do is a family movie. Let the audience discover you. Murphy comes back every few years and builds a brand new audience. You can reinvent yourself. Other actors age up."

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Experts debate lure of 'train-wreck' female celebs

Spears, Lohan, Winehouse examples of females who draw public's fascination

 

LONDON, England (AP) -- Topics included "Britney's Tears: The Abject Female Celebrity in Postemotional Society" and "Hooker, Victim and/or Doormat: Lindsay Lohan and the Culture of Celebrity Notoriety."

 

Amy Winehouse is one of several female celebrities who gain attention with every move.

 

European and American academics met Wednesday to examine society's fascination with "train-wreck" female celebrities and why the public and the media seem to get a kick out of Britney Spears' meltdown, Lindsay Lohan's drink and drug arrests and Amy Winehouse's rehab struggles.

 

Diane Negra, one of the organizers, said participants wanted to study why we take "pleasure in seeing women brought low."

 

"The massive coverage these women draw is only a little bit about themselves," said Negra, a professor of film and television at the host university in Norwich, northeast of London. "These women operate as lightning rods for a lot of other concerns."

 

There's nothing new in society's fascination with celebrities. But the Internet and the spread of "tabloid" culture into the mainstream have created a whirlwind in which rumor, claim and rebuttal swirl and feed off one another.

 

A Google News search for troubled soul diva Winehouse on Wednesday produced almost 10,000 stories. In British newspapers, the story of the singer's erratic public appearances, struggle with drugs and health worries is played out almost daily.

 

There are plenty of male celebrities, from Pete Doherty to Robert Downey Jr., whose personal and legal difficulties also make headlines.

 

But Negra said the coverage of women is more judgmental, casting wayward female celebrities as "cautionary tales." She said coverage of female celebrities is less likely to celebrate a troubled star's triumphant comeback, the way Downey has been lauded for "Iron Man," or Owen Wilson has been shown returning to work after a reported suicide attempt.

 

"We seem to have a lot more fixed ideas about what women's lives should be like than we do of men," she said.

 

"When we use female celebrities this way, we see them failing and struggling, they serve as proof that for women the work-life balance is impossible. Can you have it all? The answer these stories give again and again is 'absolutely not.' "

 

Unsurprisingly, celebrity journalists disagree. Gordon Smart, who edits The Sun newspaper's celebrity pages, said the preponderance of troubled female stars in the news was a coincidence.

 

"I just think at the moment there just happens to be a cluster of female celebrities that are going through difficult times," Smart told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

 

Cary Cooper, a professor of psychology and health at Lancaster University in England, said negative celebrity coverage is not the media's fault -- readers and viewers want to watch celebrities struggle

 

"It makes people feel good," Cooper said. Celebrities "look like they lead a golden life, and yet it doesn't make them happy. So in a way it justifies our humdrum existence."

 

Negra suggested the negative tone of much coverage reflects public concern about the growing number of celebrities with no obvious talent -- people like Paris Hilton or the stars of reality-TV shows, who are famous simply for being famous. The criticism is a way of addressing troubling questions about the link between talent and fame.

 

"Do we expect people who are famous to be talented?" she said. "How do we deal with the ubiquity of reality TV?"

 

She thinks much of the hostility to Paul McCartney's ex-wife, Heather Mills -- depicted as a self-serving gold-digger by the British press -- arose "because of the sense that her fame was unearned," in comparison to that of the former Beatle.

 

Veteran celebrity publicist Max Clifford doesn't believe women get a harder time from the media. He thinks the knives are out for all celebrities.

 

"The media don't mind whether it's a male or a female -- if they can assassinate them and sell newspapers, they will," Clifford said. "The sad thing is, bad news is news and good news isn't.

 

"When I started out in the business in 1962, it was all about promotion. Now most of my job is about protection -- protecting celebrities from an ever-more vicious media."

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Downey Jr. set for 'Sherlock Holmes'

'Iron Man' actor cast in WB, Guy Ritchie drama

By MICHAEL FLEMING

 

 

In what will be his first job since the blockbuster "Iron Man," Robert Downey Jr. is set to star in "Sherlock Holmes," the drama that Guy Ritchie will direct for Warner Bros.

 

Downey committed to the pic, which begins shooting in October, after Ritchie turned in a polish of the latest version of the script, written by Anthony Peckham.

 

Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin are producing.

 

Downey emerged as an action star with "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes" also will take advantage of his physical skills as the character displays brawn as well as brains.

 

The basis for the film is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales, but also the comicbook "Sherlock Holmes."

 

With Downey aboard, the film will go into production before a comedy that just coalesced at Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen playing Holmes, and Will Ferrell playing his crime-fighting partner Dr. Watson.

 

Columbia is fast tracking its project, which is being written by Etan Cohen ("Tropic Thunder") and produced by Judd Apatow and Jimmy Miller.

 

Downey next will be seen in "Tropic Thunder," and then stars with Jamie Foxx in the Joe Wright-directed "The Soloist" for DreamWorks. He'll reprise his Tony Stark role in Iron Man 2 for Marvel Studios and Paramount, with Jon Favreau directing.

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For some weird reason, a week or two ago my daughter and I were discussing who would make a great Sherlock Holmes and we agreed on Hugh Laurie. However, I absolutely believe RDJ can do anything and I'm really looking forward to this. He's smart enough to be believable and he can do an excellent British accent (see "Restoration").

 

Question: Will the film touch on Holmes' cocaine use? 'Cause that could get really interesting.

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Question: Will the film touch on Holmes' cocaine use? 'Cause that could get really interesting.

It will have to. He probably did more coke than porn.

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From Holy Moly:

 

ROBERT DOWNEY JR DECIDES NOT TO WRITE MEMOIRS

 

Overwhelming media attention directed towards Hollywood stars means we are now experiencing a series of characterless, dull actors walking the red carpets. Are there really many movie actors whose autobiography you'd like to read? Keanu Reeves' thoughts on acting techniques? Brad Pitt and George Clooney co-editing a political diatribe about the situation in Darfur?

 

Snooze. James Woods is one obvious exception, but his creepy voice might leak onto the pages and make every paragraph make you feel uncomfortable.

 

So it was wonderful news in 2006 that Harper Collins announced that they would be publishing the autobiography of Robert Downey Jr, promising a warts-and-all expose and dealing fully with his drug taking and his wonderful knack of falling out with most people in the film industry.

 

So it was a sad announcement yesterday when Downey Jr (and has anyone seen anything that Downey Sr has made? 'Putney Swope' anyone?) has returned the substantial advance he had been given to his publisher. Downey's PR refused to comment on why this might be and why Robert is refusing to write his memoirs.

 

It's one of two reasons: he'd either be arrested the minute it was published because of the content; or, more likely, he can't remember a fucking thing for most of the Eighties and Nineties. My bet's on the latter. I'd probably still buy it, though.

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On the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone:

 

The Man Who Wasn't There

Robert Downey Jr. has made the leap from tortured rebel to leading man. So why does he feel he's "still not human"?

 

It's too long to copy the entire thing. Also, the full article is not online, only about 3 pages. Here's a quote:

 

"I'm between two phases right now, pre-Iron Man and post-Iron Man, and the transition can be tricky," he says, shifting and smoking. "It used to be, I'd drive onto a studio lot, and the guard was like, 'Less Than Zero dude, I loved Chaplin!' Now it's, 'Iron Man!' It's not an algorithm anymore. It's a fixed number. Things have been zeroed out; it's the beginning of something. But right now, it's still a void, and we tend to think of the void as an abyss or a vacuum with nothing there. In fact, it's a new road, and what you should do on this new road is close for repairs — close right away, because that old vehicle is not going to work on that new road. I mean, if the cosmos is a loving, healing thing that also spins real fast and erupts and does violent stuff, and if there really is some kind of order to the whole thing, then everything that's led up to this moment has to be part of it, or the math doesn't work. But in this transition phase, I really am trying to live as much like a lizard as I can. Hot, rock, sun, fly, tongue."

If anyone can translate, feel free.

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Holy Cannoli!

 

All I read is a pompous ass who cannot stand the fact that he is now known for something that he feels is beneath his talent.....

 

Cry me a river buddy.... <_<

Edited by branchop

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On the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone:

 

The Man Who Wasn't There

Robert Downey Jr. has made the leap from tortured rebel to leading man. So why does he feel he's "still not human"?

 

It's too long to copy the entire thing. Also, the full article is not online, only about 3 pages. Here's a quote:

 

"I'm between two phases right now, pre-Iron Man and post-Iron Man, and the transition can be tricky," he says, shifting and smoking. "It used to be, I'd drive onto a studio lot, and the guard was like, 'Less Than Zero dude, I loved Chaplin!' Now it's, 'Iron Man!' It's not an algorithm anymore. It's a fixed number. Things have been zeroed out; it's the beginning of something. But right now, it's still a void, and we tend to think of the void as an abyss or a vacuum with nothing there. In fact, it's a new road, and what you should do on this new road is close for repairs — close right away, because that old vehicle is not going to work on that new road. I mean, if the cosmos is a loving, healing thing that also spins real fast and erupts and does violent stuff, and if there really is some kind of order to the whole thing, then everything that's led up to this moment has to be part of it, or the math doesn't work. But in this transition phase, I really am trying to live as much like a lizard as I can. Hot, rock, sun, fly, tongue."

If anyone can translate, feel free.

 

 

Sounds like he's using again... It sounds like the ramblings of someone who's on coke ane really wired. So they start going off on these tangents and they think they are really profound. And you have no idea WTF they are talking about.

 

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Sounds like he's using again... It sounds like the ramblings of someone who's on coke ane really wired. So they start going off on these tangents and they think they are really profound. And you have no idea WTF they are talking about.

Right there with you, gingersnap. He sounds exactly like my friend Matt when he's using. Not a good thing.

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Sounds like he's using again... It sounds like the ramblings of someone who's on coke ane really wired. So they start going off on these tangents and they think they are really profound. And you have no idea WTF they are talking about.

Right there with you, gingersnap. He sounds exactly like my friend Matt when he's using. Not a good thing.

 

RDJ sounds like that a lot. He seemed pretty normal on Leno the other night -- Leno kept wanting to talk about his dad and his dropping out of high school in the 11th grade, and Robert just did not seem to want to discuss it, but he went along. Other times, you read interviews with him and you really feel like the whole thing was translated from the Martian.

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http://www.moviehole.net/200814729-intervi...ert-downey-jr-2

 

Interview : Robert Downey Jr

 

Robert Downey Jr. must have expected a degree of controversy surrounding his latest role, playing an Australian actor who literally turns African American for a role in a Vietnam War movie in the Ben Stiller-directed comedy ''Tropic Thunder''. Wait a minute; did I mention he plays an Australian?

 

"Here's the thing: the original script had him as Irish, but then there was the first trailer where he plays an Irishman and I thought, 'What's the stretch for an Irishman to play an Irishman?' So why isn't he Australian and then you have an Australian, you have an African-American, you have him disguised as a Vietnamese, and in the beginning of the movie, you see him as an Irishman - a very gay Irishman," he says laughingly in a Beverly Hills hotel room.

 

Asked how much research he did in order to get these various ethnic stereotypes down pat, the actor says none, "because it was my goal for there to be nothing stereotypical except for when the story demands that he's momentarily specifically stereotypical - for which the actual black man puts him in his place. So the funny thing about this in retrospect - looking at how we did this and decisions that were made and all that - is that I remember that we had discussions and then the talk is over and you're out there shooting a f--king movie and so my idea was to try and be natural and entertaining."

 

This is not the first time that Downey donned an Australian accent, the first time being in Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. "I just think that the Australian phenomenon reminds me more of American as with the British invasion from the '60s. But when I was thinking about Kirk Lazarus I was thinking about Colin Farrell, about Daniel Day Lewis and about Russell Crowe and whoever was the most effective tool for whatever my thing was, I would use." He smiles when it's suggested how much of Crowe is present in his few Australian scenes. "Now do you think he would see it as the highest form of flattery or do you think that he would be less than pleased?"

 

"Tropic Thunder" pokes fun at the ego prevalent in the Hollywood star, and Downey's Kirk Lazarus, the actor says, "himself too seriously. I think his fatal flaw is pretty much any and everyone's who's in entertainment, which is, on a certain level: 'Oh if they believe they're a fraud and that's creating this neurotic state,' when the truth is, you are a fraud because you've gone too far into buying into your own hype and now you're, literally crazy. I think Kirk Lazarus is nuts."

 

As successful as Downey has been in Hollywood, his career has had its share of ups and downs, often marred by his once publicized drug use. But that was then, this is now, and thanks to a certain comic book hero earlier this summer, Downey's career is well and truly back in track. So much so, that he has been able to poke fun at his stunning career resurgence while promoting "Tropic Thunder".

 

But looking back on" Iron Man", Downey says he had a feeling it would be successful. "I don't often say that I know how things are going to go, but I did know that 'Iron Man' was going to come out and be received and have the kind of success it did. So it wasn't surprising, but gratifying because it would have been very disappointing if my feeling and my intuition about it hadn't been met by reality - as is often the case."

 

The actor downplays what the film's success has done for his career at this particular juncture. "I think it's like anything. At a certain point, Favreau and I were invited to a dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Beverly Hills and I felt like they opened the books and we were made guys. There was a lot of like power players there and studio people and that we were sitting, and we left and I felt like we, 'I feel like we were just - like mafia. They just made us.' It was this weird thing too because I don't know if any of us had this experience, but sometimes you go from being in one position to being in another or you have a certain sense of achievement and there's this kind of energy that happens where there literally is an energetic transformation. Then the next day you wake up and it's just another day."

 

Another day perhaps, but "Iron Man 2" is a topic of conversation, as he and Favreau are currently collaborating on a story for the much anticipated sequel. "Now Justin Theraux who wrote 'Tropic Thunder', is writing it and Jon and I are working on the story with him. It's pretty great and I think it's going to be cool. I think it's going to appropriately well thought out so that we don't forget what got us the response that we appreciated so much, which is, we didn't say, 'Great, now that this is like this, now we're going to twist it and do this with it.' It's now; I'm not saying we're going to do bits. I think more of the same; it is a very rich feel, because it was a very simple movie, if you ask me. It was an origin story."

 

Which apparently was not the case with the other big summer movie "The Dark Knight". "My whole thing is that that I saw 'The Dark Knight'. I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.' I loved 'The Prestige' but didn't understand 'The Dark Knight'. 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. I'm like, 'I get it. This is so high brow and so f--king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.' You know what? F-ck DC comics. That's all I have to say and that's where I'm really coming from."

 

Well clearly Downey isn't about to do anything for DC Comics anytime soon. "You know, you're never too old to burn your bridges because I believe I have offended everyone," he says, laughingly. "I think I've got a couple more. 'I'll burn that bridge when I come to it' is my favourite phrase I've ever coined."

 

At least Downey is signed for at least two more films, the aforementioned "Iron Man 2" and the starring role in British director Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes. "It's definitely going to be Guy Ritchie's take and it's going to be done in classical 1891 surroundings but not going to be particularly stylised." With a contemporary tone, he adds. "I think what's contemporary about it is that you go back to the real truth of Sherlock Holmes - is that he's a lot more broad and less stoic than I remember seeing him depicted. He's a bare knuckle boxer, a martial artist and a complete weirdo which is why I said I'd love to do this."

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Robert Downey Jr: I was a compulsive masturbator

But the actor says he doesn't do it anymore

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Tropic Thunder star Robert Downey Jr admits he was once obsessed with his penis.

 

The actor, who dated Sarah Jessica Parker for seven years, is now married to movie producer Susan Levin.

 

‘I was a compulsive, serial masturbator,’ he says. ‘But it was the best thing I could have been.

 

‘I utilised that organ and rode it for everything it was worth.’

 

Robert, 43, says he has now outgrown the habit, but claims most men are obsessed with sex.

 

‘It’s no longer a motivating factor for me. My union with Susan is sacred,’ he tells The Sunday Times magazine.

 

‘Almost always, guys want to get laid. They have a girlfriend, they want to f*** her friend. But I’m not that guy.’

 

 

Isobel Smith

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Robert Downey Jr: I was a compulsive masturbator

But the actor says he doesn't do it anymore

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Tropic Thunder star Robert Downey Jr admits he was once obsessed with his penis.

 

The actor, who dated Sarah Jessica Parker for seven years, is now married to movie producer Susan Levin.

 

‘I was a compulsive, serial masturbator,’ he says. ‘But it was the best thing I could have been.

 

‘I utilised that organ and rode it for everything it was worth.’

 

Robert, 43, says he has now outgrown the habit, but claims most men are obsessed with sex.

 

‘It’s no longer a motivating factor for me. My union with Susan is sacred,’ he tells The Sunday Times magazine.

 

‘Almost always, guys want to get laid. They have a girlfriend, they want to f*** her friend. But I’m not that guy.’

 

 

Isobel Smith

TMI? hahaha

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Robert Downey Jr: I was a compulsive masturbator

But the actor says he doesn't do it anymore

Saturday, 4 October 2008

Tropic Thunder star Robert Downey Jr admits he was once obsessed with his penis.

 

The actor, who dated Sarah Jessica Parker for seven years, is now married to movie producer Susan Levin.

 

‘I was a compulsive, serial masturbator,’ he says. ‘But it was the best thing I could have been.

 

‘I utilised that organ and rode it for everything it was worth.’

 

Robert, 43, says he has now outgrown the habit, but claims most men are obsessed with sex.

 

‘It’s no longer a motivating factor for me. My union with Susan is sacred,’ he tells The Sunday Times magazine.

 

‘Almost always, guys want to get laid. They have a girlfriend, they want to f*** her friend. But I’m not that guy.’

 

 

Isobel Smith

TMI? hahaha

 

For him, the friend would have to be a guy, right??

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I like RDJ. I really do.

 

But, am I the only one tired of getting just too much sexual information from all these celebs?

 

I have zero interest in seeing Brit`s crotch (okay, maybe the first time I was delighted and horrified, I`ll admit it. But by the 20th time she or Paris or Lilo flashed their girly bits, it was just beyond pathetic) or hearing about Tea Leoni tell about how she fainted while f*cking her husband in a sauna or knowing how much RDJ used to jack off... It seems as though the most shocking thing a celeb can do these days is maintain some sort of decorum and propriety about their personal life. Salacious details are so commonplace these days that they`re not even titillating any more, just a bit boring.

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Downey, Favreau sign on for "Avengers" at Marvel

 

 

 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Iron Man" duo Robert Downey Jr. and director Jon Favreau will reunite for "The Avengers," Marvel Studios' film about its team of superheroes.

 

Don Cheadle, whose deal to replace Terrence Howard in the "Iron Man" movies has been finalized, also has signed to perform in the action movie. It is set for release in 2011.

 

Downey has signed a four-picture deal with Marvel Studios, which will see him reprise the character of Tony Stark not only for "Iron Man 2" and "Iron Man 3," but also for the "Avengers" movie. (The deal retroactively includes the first "Iron Man," which grossed $580 million at the worldwide box office this year.)

 

Favreau, who is directing "Iron Man 2," will executive produce "Avengers." Cheadle will play Jim Rhodes, Stark's best friend, who becomes the suit-wearing hero "War Machine."

 

Marvel's current slate is designed to introduce superhero characters via individual movies that lead up to the characters teaming up for "Avengers."

 

Downey and Cheadle are the first stars to sign for "Avengers," whose roster of superheroes includes Iron Man, Captain American, Hulk, Wasp, Giant Man, Hawkeye and Thor.

 

Edward Norton portrayed Bruce Banner/Hulk in "Hulk" this year, but the actor clashed with the studio over the movie's cut. It is unclear whether he will return.

 

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

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Downey Jr. Ponders Retirement

 

Robert Downey Jr. will consider retirement if his upcoming "Sherlock Holmes" movie flops.

 

The actor is adamant that if his new detective movie doesn't do well as the box office on its release next month, he will think about winding down his film career because he will not be obligated to any sequels.

 

But Downey Jr. admits he might follow in the footsteps of rapper Jay-Z by announcing his retirement and then bouncing back months later with an exciting new project.

 

He tells Entertainment Weekly, "I can only be a guy on a call sheet probably, I don't know, maybe a couple more times. It's something I'm so grateful to have in my palm, and yet I already see its inevitable decay.

 

"If 'Sherlock Holmes' performs well, I could be busy for the next 5 or 7 or 10 years. But we'd like to go ahead and suggest the Jay-Z model wherein one announces his retirement, soaks in all the requisite fanfare, and then behaves like it never happened. It's really the best of both worlds."

 

 

 

source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate...7#ixzz0Xe6xp6MK

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Robert Downey Jr's Soul Direction

 

Robert Downey Jr. thinks becoming a director would be good for his soul.

 

The 'Sherlock Holmes' star - who has a history of drug addiction problems - still feels passionate about acting but believes he will tire for his profession eventually.

 

He said: "I will not be able to remain happy and sedate being an increasingly hireable actor type. I think the best thing I can do for my soul and my own development would be to direct

 

"It's really easy for me to do landgrabs with my day job, and I still have a lot of passion for it - but if I had to guess, that would probably be my next move."

 

The actor admits he has often thought about a career change but never acted on it.

 

He added to Britain's Esquire magazine: "I used to mention it every five years or so, between public humiliations. So it's been five years. It's time."

 

Source femalefirst

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Robert Downey Jr. intimidated by Pitt in Ritchie role

 

Robert Downey Jr. was terrified about stepping into Sherlock Holmes' shoes For Guy Ritchie's new movie, because he was convinced he could never top Brad Pitt's performance in the director's Snatch film.

 

The "Iron Man" actor steps back into Victorian London to play the super sleuth in Ritchie's new adaptation, but he had doubts over whether he was "cool" enough to be one of the filmmaker's leading men.

 

He explains, "It's was a little bit daunting. You know the type of guys that have been in Ritchie's movies and you feel like they're this kind of tight-knit little band. And I remember seeing Brad Pitt in Snatch, and thinking that was so cool and it was so badass. And I thought, 'I'm never gonna measure up.'"

 

But Downey Jr. insists Ritchie didn't question his casting decision and instead focused on getting the job done.

 

He adds, "The truth is, Guy doesn't think that way. He kind of approaches everything like (it's important to) have a good atmosphere on set. (He says,) 'What we have is this huge iconic literary character and we're looking at storyboards for fight sequences that seem to have no end, and 75 days to do it and this is how we're going to do it.'"

 

 

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate...7#ixzz0Zo8Rh2L1

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How Robert Downey Jr. got his groove back

‘Sherlock Holmes’ star went from convict to superstar over the last decade

By Alonso Duralde

msnbc.com contributor

 

updated 8:45 a.m. PT, Tues., Dec . 22, 2009

 

If the last 10 years of Robert Downey, Jr.’s life were a movie, nobody would believe it. An Oscar nominee for 1992’s “Chaplin,” Downey’s drug use over the rest of the decade got worse and worse until finally, in 1999, a judge sentenced him to a three-year sentence in the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison. Released after one year, Downey continued to relapse until early 2001, when he finally took rehab seriously.

 

In the ensuing years, the talented actor has seen his star continue to rise, snagging an enviable two-fer in 2008: A second Oscar nomination for his controversial and hilarious turn in “Tropic Thunder” (as an Australian Method actor who becomes black via surgery to play an African-American character) and a starring role in a sequel-spawning franchise hit, the superhero epic “Iron Man.”

 

With another potential tentpole movie out this Christmas, “Sherlock Holmes,” it’s interesting to look back at Downey’s whirlwind decade and to see what other artists with similar addiction-related issues can learn from his experiences.

 

Sooner or later, you’ve got to get help. Neither some very public incidents of bad behavior — getting arrested for possession of cocaine, heroin and a handgun while speeding down Sunset Boulevard, stumbling into a neighbor’s home and falling asleep in one of the beds — nor a year of actual incarceration and tough love from peers like Jodie Foster and Sean Penn kept Downey from continuing to abuse drugs. But at some point, he finally he realized he had to stop.

 

In 2004, Downey told Oprah Winfrey, “For me, I just happened to be in a situation the very last time and I said, ‘You know what? I don’t think I can continue doing this.’ And I reached out for help and I ran with it, you know? Because you can reach out for help in a half-assed way, and you’ll get it, and you won’t take advantage of it. You know? It's really not that difficult to overcome these seemingly ghastly problems. ... What’s hard is to decide.”

 

Of course, being ready to go back to work isn’t the same as having other people ready to hire you.

 

Have powerful friends who believe in you. As the 21st century began, Downey found it hard to get work. He was written off of “Ally McBeal” despite having won a Golden Globe for his role as the lead character’s new love interest, and Woody Allen couldn’t get an insurance bond for Downey (or for his proposed co-star, Winona Ryder) for “Melinda & Melinda.”

 

Enter Downey’s “Air America” (1990) co-star Mel Gibson, who personally put up the money to insure Downey to star in “The Singing Detective” (2003), which Gibson produced. Likewise, producer Joel Silver cast Downey in 2003’s “Gothika,” but withheld 40 percent of the actor’s salary until shooting was completed.

 

With these two films clearly confirming that a clean and sober Downey was making a comeback, he was able to select from an eclectic variety of movies, ranging from “Zodiac” (2007) to “Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005) to “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005) to “The Shaggy Dog” (2006). That variety was a smart move for the actor, insuring his visibility among all kinds of audiences.

 

Take everything you’re offered; you never know which role is going to stick. Much of the pre-release interest in “Iron Man” stemmed from the fact that Downey had signed on to play the title role. Sure, audiences expected to see him in edgy arthouse movies like “Fur” (2006) or gritty Sundance fare like “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” (2006), but a big-budget action movie? Based on a comic book, even?

 

Downey, of course, turned out to be the perfect choice for the film, bringing both breezy wit and gravitas to the movie. The fact that Tony Stark, the wealthy industrialist inside the metal suit, had addiction issues in the original comics probably didn’t hurt, either; it’s said that future installments of his big-screen adventures will touch upon this facet of the character.

 

This wasn’t a case of a big-name actor slumming it in a “Batman” movie by playing an over-the-top villain in an outrageous costume; Downey took the material seriously and played an essential part in making the film transcend its genre roots. (Heath Ledger, who beat out Downey for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar last year, achieved the same effect in “The Dark Knight.”)

 

With “Sherlock Holmes” making its way into theaters, Downey no doubt hopes to have another long-running franchise under his belt. In the meantime, the actor has made long-term commitments to the “Iron Man” series, not only in its upcoming sequels but also in the upcoming feature “The Avengers,” in which Iron Man will be part of a team of superheroes. (Downey’s cameo in “The Incredible Hulk” was part of the opening salvo for that franchise’s eventual creation.) But it seems a safe bet that he’ll also continue to work in off-Hollywood films as well.

 

That Robert Downey, Jr. is still alive is extraordinary; the fact that he continues to work is commendable. But for him to be both a critically acclaimed and marketable movie star 10 years after he was behind bars in drug rehab is the stuff that Hollywood dreams — and inspirational tales — are made of.

 

© 2009 msnbc.com.

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Robert Downey Jr. Can’t Imagine Life Without His Wife

 

ROBERT Downey Jr. says he “can’t ever imagine” what his life would be like without his wife of four years, Susan Levin.

 

The actor married Susan — a film producer — in 2005.

 

And Downey insists Levin has changed him for the better.

 

“I don’t joke when I say Susan is my better half. She truly is,” the Sherlock Holmes star told a Scottish newspaper.

 

“I cannot believe what a fantastic life I have today.

 

“But here’s the thing. She didn’t change me at all. She just gave me an ultimatum. We both changed a lot so now I can’t ever imagine a life before her.”

 

Robert and Susan worked together on Sherlock Holmes. He was the star and she was a producer.

 

“I know my place,” Downey added. “We love working together. It’s hard not to. Making movies is so energy and time-consuming that it takes you away from your real life for big chunks of time. So I get to escape with her as opposed to from her.

 

“I was given a look backstage at the glorious world of producing. And it is a ghastly, thankless job.

 

“You’re responsible for everything, and the amount of minutiae is astounding.

 

“When I wasn’t getting the education, they would send me out on ‘hooker’ missions where I would try to get the talent that we were hoping would join us.

 

“Then we went through the unforgivably despicable process of screen-testing all the best and brightest actresses who were in the right age range.

 

“After a very lengthy and hair-pulling process, we finally agreed Rachel McAdams was the only person who should play Irene Adler, Sherlock’s nemesis.

 

“She was smokin’ hot.”

 

Source: showbizspy.com

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I am very fond of Robert Downey Jr. All through his addictions and crazy times I still knew that there was a brilliant yet tortured man behind the drug/alcohol use.

I think he is one of the most under-rated actors of our time. Personal faves include: Chaplin, Wonderboys and Only You (a little rom-com with Marisa Tomei) Daughters saw Sherlock Holmes last weekend. Better than they expected, really enjoyed it. I'm making Mr. Topaz take me to see it on our next 'date' night.

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