people.com
ENGAGED: Robert Downey Jr., 38, proposed last weekend to the producer of his movie "Gothika," Susan Levin, who wore her engagement ring to the Nov. 10 London premiere of his "The Singing Detective," PEOPLE reports in its latest issue. No wedding date has been announced. Downey's divorce from actress Deborah Falconer, with whom he has a son, Indio, 10, is not yet final.
Full Version: Robert Downey Jr.
Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Levin at "The Last Samurai" Los Angeles Premiere.
Downey Gets Tattoo of Himself
Fri, Feb 13, 2004, 09:02 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It's a classic mistake. If you tattoo your lover's name on your body, you're guaranteed to break up.
Finding a clever loophole in the practice, actor Robert Downey Jr. is confidently sporting an image of his current object of affection -- himself.
The 38-year-old star has adorned his left bicep with a muscular, superhero version of himself, reports US Magazine. He reportedly went to West Hollywood's Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlor in January for his portrait.
Downey also has the name of his son, Indio, inked nearby the new tattoo.
The actor met his real love interest and fiancee, producer Susan Levin, on the Montreal set of his most recent movie, the dark thriller "Gothika" with Halle Berry.
Downey has been married once before to actress Deborah Falconer.
Fri, Feb 13, 2004, 09:02 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - It's a classic mistake. If you tattoo your lover's name on your body, you're guaranteed to break up.
Finding a clever loophole in the practice, actor Robert Downey Jr. is confidently sporting an image of his current object of affection -- himself.
The 38-year-old star has adorned his left bicep with a muscular, superhero version of himself, reports US Magazine. He reportedly went to West Hollywood's Shamrock Social Club tattoo parlor in January for his portrait.
Downey also has the name of his son, Indio, inked nearby the new tattoo.
The actor met his real love interest and fiancee, producer Susan Levin, on the Montreal set of his most recent movie, the dark thriller "Gothika" with Halle Berry.
Downey has been married once before to actress Deborah Falconer.
[Zap2It.com gossip
Now that she's happily married to Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker finally gave the scoop on why she ended her seven year relationship to Robert Downey Jr. more than a decade ago -- and, sadly, the answer won't surprise anyone. Drugs were the reason why the "Sex and the City" star dumped Downey in 1991, she says. "I loved him and he loved me," she tells the Globe. "Yet I spent so much time worrying about him that, eventually, I knew it was no longer doing either of us much good and I couldn't actually save him from his massive drug problems that got worse when I left." Downey, who is now engaged to Susan Levin, has reportedly been drug-free for the past 20 months.
]
Now that she's happily married to Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker finally gave the scoop on why she ended her seven year relationship to Robert Downey Jr. more than a decade ago -- and, sadly, the answer won't surprise anyone. Drugs were the reason why the "Sex and the City" star dumped Downey in 1991, she says. "I loved him and he loved me," she tells the Globe. "Yet I spent so much time worrying about him that, eventually, I knew it was no longer doing either of us much good and I couldn't actually save him from his massive drug problems that got worse when I left." Downey, who is now engaged to Susan Levin, has reportedly been drug-free for the past 20 months.
]
Zap2It.com gossip
WHO KNEW ...
-- that Val Kilmer wanted to throw Robert Downey Jr. a big birthday bash? However, when Robert learned of the plans he begged Val to trim down the 100-plus guest list saying he didn't want to risk falling back into bad habits. Instead, Val hosted a quiet dinner party for his friend, according to the National Enquirer.
WHO KNEW ...
-- that Val Kilmer wanted to throw Robert Downey Jr. a big birthday bash? However, when Robert learned of the plans he begged Val to trim down the 100-plus guest list saying he didn't want to risk falling back into bad habits. Instead, Val hosted a quiet dinner party for his friend, according to the National Enquirer.
EOnline.com
OFFICIALLY OVER: Robert Downey Jr. and his ex, Deborah Falconer, filing for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on April 26 to clear the way for his remarriage to fiance, producer Susan Levin, reports Extra.
OFFICIALLY OVER: Robert Downey Jr. and his ex, Deborah Falconer, filing for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court on April 26 to clear the way for his remarriage to fiance, producer Susan Levin, reports Extra.
popbitch.com
Robert Downey used to drive naked through LA in his
Porsche trying to throw imaginary rats out of
the car. Who says cocaine isn't good for you?
Robert Downey used to drive naked through LA in his
Porsche trying to throw imaginary rats out of
the car. Who says cocaine isn't good for you?
Robert Downey Jr.'s Debut Album Drops
Fri, Nov 26, 2004, 12:11 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Robert Downey Jr. has overcome numerous challenges in life, whether they're intriguing movie roles or personal struggles with drug abuse.
His latest test has been translating his musical talent into his first full-length pop album entitled "The Futurist," which hit stores on Tuesday, Nov. 23, reports the AP.
On his debut album, Downey composes six pop ballads, in which he sings and plays piano, and collaborates on two more. He also covers "Your Move" by Yes and the Charlie Chaplin song "Smile," which he previously recorded for the "Chaplin" soundtrack.
Oscar nominee Downey admits that singing for his supper is more difficult than acting.
"Because it's so autonomous, you know?" he says. "I can't say, 'My God! I've got this director who didn't know what he was doing.' Or, 'God! Can you believe those words I had to say? This guy who wrote those things is a real hack.'"
Despite the pressures of recording, the actor points out that the benefits far outweigh his efforts.
"Music is great therapy," he says. "It really is. I don't know anyone who isn't in the midst of some transition, or whether it's positive or negative, and you'll see they'll start gravitating toward new stuff or certain old stuff that's resonating for them."
Downey's die-hard fans are already familiar with his musical talent. He has performed and even composed a number of songs for his films, including "Heart and Souls," "Two Girls and a Guy," "Friends and Lovers," "The Pick-Up Artist" and "The Singing Detective."
He has also performed on "Ally McBeal" with Vonda Shepard and with Sting at a Los Angeles benefit concert.
Downey was nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in 1992's "Chaplin." He next stars opposite Val Kilmer in the thriller "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang," which will be released in 2005.
Fri, Nov 26, 2004, 12:11 AM PT
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Robert Downey Jr. has overcome numerous challenges in life, whether they're intriguing movie roles or personal struggles with drug abuse.
His latest test has been translating his musical talent into his first full-length pop album entitled "The Futurist," which hit stores on Tuesday, Nov. 23, reports the AP.
On his debut album, Downey composes six pop ballads, in which he sings and plays piano, and collaborates on two more. He also covers "Your Move" by Yes and the Charlie Chaplin song "Smile," which he previously recorded for the "Chaplin" soundtrack.
Oscar nominee Downey admits that singing for his supper is more difficult than acting.
"Because it's so autonomous, you know?" he says. "I can't say, 'My God! I've got this director who didn't know what he was doing.' Or, 'God! Can you believe those words I had to say? This guy who wrote those things is a real hack.'"
Despite the pressures of recording, the actor points out that the benefits far outweigh his efforts.
"Music is great therapy," he says. "It really is. I don't know anyone who isn't in the midst of some transition, or whether it's positive or negative, and you'll see they'll start gravitating toward new stuff or certain old stuff that's resonating for them."
Downey's die-hard fans are already familiar with his musical talent. He has performed and even composed a number of songs for his films, including "Heart and Souls," "Two Girls and a Guy," "Friends and Lovers," "The Pick-Up Artist" and "The Singing Detective."
He has also performed on "Ally McBeal" with Vonda Shepard and with Sting at a Los Angeles benefit concert.
Downey was nominated for an Oscar for his leading role in 1992's "Chaplin." He next stars opposite Val Kilmer in the thriller "Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang," which will be released in 2005.
EOnline.com
DOWNEY'S "I DO": On Tuesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen tried helping guest Robert Downey Jr. and fiance Susan Levin pick their wedding date, bringing out an astrological chart suggesting sometime between August 11 and 22. The actor told her, "that's a done deal."
DOWNEY'S "I DO": On Tuesday's episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen tried helping guest Robert Downey Jr. and fiance Susan Levin pick their wedding date, bringing out an astrological chart suggesting sometime between August 11 and 22. The actor told her, "that's a done deal."
people.com
"... So at one point, we're in the room together by ourselves, and he turns to me and he goes, 'So you want to make out?' And I was like, 'No.' "
-- Robert Downey Jr.'s finacee, Susan Levin, to Oprah, about the actor's first advances toward her
"... So at one point, we're in the room together by ourselves, and he turns to me and he goes, 'So you want to make out?' And I was like, 'No.' "
-- Robert Downey Jr.'s finacee, Susan Levin, to Oprah, about the actor's first advances toward her
;
Robert Downey Jr. Marries Girlfriend
Saturday Aug 27, 2005 6:00pm EST
By Katy Hall
people.com
Robert Downey Jr.
CREDIT: GREGORY PACE / FILMMAGIC
Robert Downey, Jr., married his longtime girlfriend Susan Levin on Saturday, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The wedding began at 6 p.m. in the Long Island, New York, town of Amagansett. The ceremony took place under a gazebo built for the occasion, with guests sitting on white benches.
The reception was to follow at the same location, with tables decorated in red and gold and topped with exotic greenery instead of flowers.
Sting is expected to perform, along with Billy Joel.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, Downey did a 30-minute Kung Fu session, then went for a swim with his son, Indio. "He really blew off a lot of steam," says a friend.
At lunch, Downey didn’t eat much. "He just drank a lot of water," adds the friend. "He was too nervous."
The rehearsal dinner Friday night was held at the East Hampton Point Restaurant, hosted by Levin’s parents. Guests included Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey, Sr.
Downey, 40, and Levin, 31, met in 2002 on the set of Gothika, the psychological thriller he made with Halle Barry, which Levin coproduced.
The couple were engaged in November 2003 when Downey presented Levin with an engagement ring made of diamonds and a rare African sapphire.
Downey – who has starred in more than 50 films including Less Than Zero, Chaplin and Wonder Boys – has a reputation as a talented but troubled actor. In June 1996 he was pulled over for speeding, and police found heroin, crack and an unloaded gun in his car. He spent the next six years in and out of prison and rehab.
Downey, who has an 11-year-old son, Indio, with ex-wife Deborah Falconer, however, has turned his life around, and has been sober since meeting Levine.
"She's been very firm that if he's going to be with her, he has to really toe the line, and he's done that," Gothika producer Joel Silver told PEOPLE in 2003.
It's a sentiment Downey Jr. shares – with his characteristic flair: She "has got me in a freakin' choke chain," he told PEOPLE at the time, "and I love it."
Saturday Aug 27, 2005 6:00pm EST
By Katy Hall
people.com
Robert Downey Jr.
CREDIT: GREGORY PACE / FILMMAGIC
Robert Downey, Jr., married his longtime girlfriend Susan Levin on Saturday, PEOPLE has confirmed.
The wedding began at 6 p.m. in the Long Island, New York, town of Amagansett. The ceremony took place under a gazebo built for the occasion, with guests sitting on white benches.
The reception was to follow at the same location, with tables decorated in red and gold and topped with exotic greenery instead of flowers.
Sting is expected to perform, along with Billy Joel.
Earlier Saturday afternoon, Downey did a 30-minute Kung Fu session, then went for a swim with his son, Indio. "He really blew off a lot of steam," says a friend.
At lunch, Downey didn’t eat much. "He just drank a lot of water," adds the friend. "He was too nervous."
The rehearsal dinner Friday night was held at the East Hampton Point Restaurant, hosted by Levin’s parents. Guests included Sarah Jessica Parker and Robert Downey, Sr.
Downey, 40, and Levin, 31, met in 2002 on the set of Gothika, the psychological thriller he made with Halle Barry, which Levin coproduced.
The couple were engaged in November 2003 when Downey presented Levin with an engagement ring made of diamonds and a rare African sapphire.
Downey – who has starred in more than 50 films including Less Than Zero, Chaplin and Wonder Boys – has a reputation as a talented but troubled actor. In June 1996 he was pulled over for speeding, and police found heroin, crack and an unloaded gun in his car. He spent the next six years in and out of prison and rehab.
Downey, who has an 11-year-old son, Indio, with ex-wife Deborah Falconer, however, has turned his life around, and has been sober since meeting Levine.
"She's been very firm that if he's going to be with her, he has to really toe the line, and he's done that," Gothika producer Joel Silver told PEOPLE in 2003.
It's a sentiment Downey Jr. shares – with his characteristic flair: She "has got me in a freakin' choke chain," he told PEOPLE at the time, "and I love it."
(IMDB.COM)
Downey Jr. Felt Like a Drowning Mouse
Former Hollywood badboy Robert Downey, Jr. has likened his struggle with alcohol and drug addiction to being a mouse drowning in a fish-tank. The Chaplin star is celebrating 12 months of sobriety after years of substance abuse, two stints in jail and a shattered public image, but will never forget the feeling of helplessness he experienced during his troubled years. He says, "So why can't I get out of my way? It's because you come to believe that it's a hopeless situation. It's like you take a mouse, and you put him in a fish-tank and fill it with water. The mouse swims to survive but sooner or later he gets tired and falls to the bottom. You do that 20 times, and eventually the mouse just falls straight to the bottom. He's thinking, 'To hell with it - I don't want to swim for 10 minutes, it doesn't matter, I'm falling anyway.' And that's what it's been like for me."
Downey Jr. Felt Like a Drowning Mouse
Former Hollywood badboy Robert Downey, Jr. has likened his struggle with alcohol and drug addiction to being a mouse drowning in a fish-tank. The Chaplin star is celebrating 12 months of sobriety after years of substance abuse, two stints in jail and a shattered public image, but will never forget the feeling of helplessness he experienced during his troubled years. He says, "So why can't I get out of my way? It's because you come to believe that it's a hopeless situation. It's like you take a mouse, and you put him in a fish-tank and fill it with water. The mouse swims to survive but sooner or later he gets tired and falls to the bottom. You do that 20 times, and eventually the mouse just falls straight to the bottom. He's thinking, 'To hell with it - I don't want to swim for 10 minutes, it doesn't matter, I'm falling anyway.' And that's what it's been like for me."
His wife is really cute IMO. Downey is channeling Al Pacino in that last pic
Any idea how he got the black eye?? BobbyD, did you run into him at the gym again and he gave you "that" look?? I know you're really waiting for Toothy, lol!
La Dolce Musto
by Michael Musto
July 10th, 2006 5:32 PM
Two ROBERT DOWNEY JR. movies in one night dealing with dead American authors who specialized in the horrors of drug abuse? Five more and this could be a trend!
First came the Pioneer Theater screening of Hubert Selby Jr.: It'll Be Better Tomorrow, a doc addressing the lifelong quirks of the Requiem for a Dream author, as Downey narrates with out-of-character observations about Selby's "magnanimous spirit" and the fact that "he did not die rich, though he lived a rich life." I'd rather die rich.
The actor proved to be way less greeting-card-ready at the Film Society of Lincoln Center screening of A Scanner Darkly, the rotoscoped romp based on Philip K. Dick's mildly autobiographical novel about a narc bizarrely investigating himself. The movie's a pisser, though I'm guessing it's an anti-drug film that'll send many a college student back to the bong (and maybe a few of its co-stars too).
The panel discussion after the screening was every bit as amusingly surreal as the flick, with Downey serving a pound of snark for every ounce of KEANU REEVES's cute earnestness. "I still don't get that he's Bob and then he's Fred—or is he fuckin' Bruce?" Downey remarked about Keanu's triple-threat character. "It's all three," informed Dick's daughter, ISA HACKETT, who seemed totally lucid. "But who was he when he was married?" asked Reeves, seizing the chance to learn some more. "Philip K. Dick!" said the daughter, by which point I was looking for my bong.
Audience members kept asking banal questions about the animation process, and director Richard Linklater politely responded that he doesn't know how anyone can sit at a computer for 12 hours without grabbing a shotgun, "but it's an interesting tool." So's a shotgun. Interesting tool Downey noted that "the missus" told him the film reminds her more of him than some of his live-action characters do. Well, he's certainly animated. With eyes flaring, he gleefully bitched about the Texas house they shot in, moaning, "It was condemnable." ("And smelly," interjected Keanu—or Bob or Fred or fuckin' Bruce—getting into the fun.) But the panel froze when they noticed—no, not ETHAN HAWKE strangely running for the exit, but a woman in the audience wearing a shirt that ominously said, "Explanation Kills Art." "As she's shutterbugging the hell out of us, by the way," sardonicized Downey. "Love you," he added, to the woman. "Can't explain why."
---
I have an odd attraction to him that I just can't explain... but the way he mocked the woman in the audience only makes me like him more...
by Michael Musto
July 10th, 2006 5:32 PM
Two ROBERT DOWNEY JR. movies in one night dealing with dead American authors who specialized in the horrors of drug abuse? Five more and this could be a trend!
First came the Pioneer Theater screening of Hubert Selby Jr.: It'll Be Better Tomorrow, a doc addressing the lifelong quirks of the Requiem for a Dream author, as Downey narrates with out-of-character observations about Selby's "magnanimous spirit" and the fact that "he did not die rich, though he lived a rich life." I'd rather die rich.
The actor proved to be way less greeting-card-ready at the Film Society of Lincoln Center screening of A Scanner Darkly, the rotoscoped romp based on Philip K. Dick's mildly autobiographical novel about a narc bizarrely investigating himself. The movie's a pisser, though I'm guessing it's an anti-drug film that'll send many a college student back to the bong (and maybe a few of its co-stars too).
The panel discussion after the screening was every bit as amusingly surreal as the flick, with Downey serving a pound of snark for every ounce of KEANU REEVES's cute earnestness. "I still don't get that he's Bob and then he's Fred—or is he fuckin' Bruce?" Downey remarked about Keanu's triple-threat character. "It's all three," informed Dick's daughter, ISA HACKETT, who seemed totally lucid. "But who was he when he was married?" asked Reeves, seizing the chance to learn some more. "Philip K. Dick!" said the daughter, by which point I was looking for my bong.
Audience members kept asking banal questions about the animation process, and director Richard Linklater politely responded that he doesn't know how anyone can sit at a computer for 12 hours without grabbing a shotgun, "but it's an interesting tool." So's a shotgun. Interesting tool Downey noted that "the missus" told him the film reminds her more of him than some of his live-action characters do. Well, he's certainly animated. With eyes flaring, he gleefully bitched about the Texas house they shot in, moaning, "It was condemnable." ("And smelly," interjected Keanu—or Bob or Fred or fuckin' Bruce—getting into the fun.) But the panel froze when they noticed—no, not ETHAN HAWKE strangely running for the exit, but a woman in the audience wearing a shirt that ominously said, "Explanation Kills Art." "As she's shutterbugging the hell out of us, by the way," sardonicized Downey. "Love you," he added, to the woman. "Can't explain why."
---
I have an odd attraction to him that I just can't explain... but the way he mocked the woman in the audience only makes me like him more...
"It's work-death syndrome!" ROBERT DOWNEY JR. has joked about his hectic schedule. The actor, who stays fit with yoga and martial arts, gave his thumb a workout on a beach trip with son Indio, 12, in Miami on July 11.
Ain't-It-Cool-News reports that Robert Downey Jr. has been cast to play Iron Man for director Jon Favreau at Marvel Studios! The movie will be distributed by Paramount Pictures on May 2, 2008.
Based upon Marvel's iconic Super Hero, the film will follow billionaire weapons-manufacturer, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), who confronts the sins of his past after he is injured by one of his own weapons. Equipped with a high-tech suit of armor, he becomes Iron Man to combat evil on a global scale.
Based upon Marvel's iconic Super Hero, the film will follow billionaire weapons-manufacturer, Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), who confronts the sins of his past after he is injured by one of his own weapons. Equipped with a high-tech suit of armor, he becomes Iron Man to combat evil on a global scale.
Robert Downey Jr. -- I am "Iron Man"
Robert Downey, Jr. is suiting up to star in "Iron Man," a superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character.
Jon Favreau is directing the Paramount Pictures release. Filming is slated to begin in February in Los Angeles.
Downey will portray Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Using his intelligence and ingenuity, Stark instead builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to the U.S., he uncovers a plot with global implications and must don his armor and protect the world.
The comic debuted in the 1960s, and Iron Man's origin involved Stark being a prisoner of the Viet Cong. The movie version will be set in today's geopolitical climate.
Budgeted at more than $100 million, it marks the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, which previously licensed its characters, such as "Spider-Man" and "X-Men," to other studios.
Marvel president of production Kevin Feige said the filmmakers looked for the best actor to embody the character.
"The Marvel characters are not just about how high they jump or how fast they fly, they're about their character flaws," Feige said. "They're about their inner demons. They're about the struggles that they go through between being a man and being a hero."
Downey, who has battled his fair share of inner demons, worked hard to get the role, getting in shape and even growing a goatee like the one Stark sports in the comic books.
"In every casting announcement we've done, people in their mind's eye have their own view of it and let us know about it. We're used to it," Feige said. "The point is, we looked at everybody, and we found the best person for the role. It's as confident a casting move as we've ever done. The proof will be in the pudding, but he is Tony Stark."
Downey returns to theaters on November 10 in the Diane Arbus bipic "Fur" opposite Nicole Kidman.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Robert Downey, Jr. is suiting up to star in "Iron Man," a superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character.
Jon Favreau is directing the Paramount Pictures release. Filming is slated to begin in February in Los Angeles.
Downey will portray Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Using his intelligence and ingenuity, Stark instead builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to the U.S., he uncovers a plot with global implications and must don his armor and protect the world.
The comic debuted in the 1960s, and Iron Man's origin involved Stark being a prisoner of the Viet Cong. The movie version will be set in today's geopolitical climate.
Budgeted at more than $100 million, it marks the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, which previously licensed its characters, such as "Spider-Man" and "X-Men," to other studios.
Marvel president of production Kevin Feige said the filmmakers looked for the best actor to embody the character.
"The Marvel characters are not just about how high they jump or how fast they fly, they're about their character flaws," Feige said. "They're about their inner demons. They're about the struggles that they go through between being a man and being a hero."
Downey, who has battled his fair share of inner demons, worked hard to get the role, getting in shape and even growing a goatee like the one Stark sports in the comic books.
"In every casting announcement we've done, people in their mind's eye have their own view of it and let us know about it. We're used to it," Feige said. "The point is, we looked at everybody, and we found the best person for the role. It's as confident a casting move as we've ever done. The proof will be in the pudding, but he is Tony Stark."
Downey returns to theaters on November 10 in the Diane Arbus bipic "Fur" opposite Nicole Kidman.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Well, it's amazing that he's been sober for 12 months. That is a huge accomplishment and I tip my hat to him.
Downey Jr. takes his turn as superhero
LOS ANGELES -- Robert Downey Jr. will star as the latest Marvel Comics superhero to hit the big screen.
Downey will play the title character in "Iron Man," a film directed by Jon Favreau. Filming is scheduled to begin in February, with the movie due in theaters in May 2008.
It will be the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Entertainment.
"Iron Man" is the story of billionaire industrialist and inventor Tony Stark, who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes, vowing to protect the world as a superhero.
Downey most recently starred in Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" and can be seen in "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints."
LOS ANGELES -- Robert Downey Jr. will star as the latest Marvel Comics superhero to hit the big screen.
Downey will play the title character in "Iron Man," a film directed by Jon Favreau. Filming is scheduled to begin in February, with the movie due in theaters in May 2008.
It will be the first feature film produced independently by Marvel Entertainment.
"Iron Man" is the story of billionaire industrialist and inventor Tony Stark, who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, he builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes, vowing to protect the world as a superhero.
Downey most recently starred in Richard Linklater's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly" and can be seen in "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints."
Howard to Take Hefty Dose of 'Iron Man'
Actor to play superhero's chum
After playing the villainous Trumpy in "Idlewild," Terrence Howard will take on a more amiable role in "Iron Man."
The Oscar nominee has joined the comic book film to play the best friend of the titular superhero, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes (Howard) is the best friend of billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) who develops a powerful suit of armor and uses it for his vigilante ways. The story was original set during the Vietnam War era, which is when Stark was supposed to have saved Rhodey after his helicopter was shot down by the Viet Cong. Since the film is set in contemporary times, this story will likely have to change.
Fans familiar with the comics will also recall that there was more in the cards for Rhodey than just being Stark's friend. Rhodey also at one point donned the armored suit and eventually got one of his own called the War Machine that Stark also invented. There's no indication how involved Rhodey will be in the new film.
"Elf" helmer Jon Favreau will direct and plans to begin production in February, with a projected May 2, 2008 release date.
Howard, 37, has several other irons in the fire right now. Currently he's filming "Spring Break in Bosnia" with Richard Gere and recently wrapped shooting on "The Brave One" with Jodie Foster. His other films include "The Best Man," "Crash," "Hustle & Flow," "Four Brothers," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and the upcoming "Pride" and "August Rush."
Actor to play superhero's chum
After playing the villainous Trumpy in "Idlewild," Terrence Howard will take on a more amiable role in "Iron Man."
The Oscar nominee has joined the comic book film to play the best friend of the titular superhero, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes (Howard) is the best friend of billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) who develops a powerful suit of armor and uses it for his vigilante ways. The story was original set during the Vietnam War era, which is when Stark was supposed to have saved Rhodey after his helicopter was shot down by the Viet Cong. Since the film is set in contemporary times, this story will likely have to change.
Fans familiar with the comics will also recall that there was more in the cards for Rhodey than just being Stark's friend. Rhodey also at one point donned the armored suit and eventually got one of his own called the War Machine that Stark also invented. There's no indication how involved Rhodey will be in the new film.
"Elf" helmer Jon Favreau will direct and plans to begin production in February, with a projected May 2, 2008 release date.
Howard, 37, has several other irons in the fire right now. Currently he's filming "Spring Break in Bosnia" with Richard Gere and recently wrapped shooting on "The Brave One" with Jodie Foster. His other films include "The Best Man," "Crash," "Hustle & Flow," "Four Brothers," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" and the upcoming "Pride" and "August Rush."
ART APPRECIATION
[On Monday], Uncle Jake surrounds himself with BFF Lance Armstrong and new amigo Robert Downey Jr. at the Americans For The Arts' National Arts Awards, where Gyllenhaal was honored with the Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence.
[On Monday], Uncle Jake surrounds himself with BFF Lance Armstrong and new amigo Robert Downey Jr. at the Americans For The Arts' National Arts Awards, where Gyllenhaal was honored with the Young Artist Award for Artistic Excellence.
From Defamer.com's Hollywood PrivacyWatch, 12.26.06:
Christmas day (night really), Robert Downey Jr. in what looked like pajama bottoms eating in the lobby of the Chateau with the new wife. As we sat lamenting over why no Christmas with his son, in walks ex-wife Deb Falconer and the boy, Indio. The kid sits there sullen behind long hair for over an hour, saying nothing, and then the "old" family gets up and leaves. No giant shrink bills in that family or anything.
Christmas day (night really), Robert Downey Jr. in what looked like pajama bottoms eating in the lobby of the Chateau with the new wife. As we sat lamenting over why no Christmas with his son, in walks ex-wife Deb Falconer and the boy, Indio. The kid sits there sullen behind long hair for over an hour, saying nothing, and then the "old" family gets up and leaves. No giant shrink bills in that family or anything.
All Reuters News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gyllenhaal ponders Downey Jr: mad or genius?
Jake Gyllenhaal compares acting with Robert Downey Jr. to playing jazz and says he had no fears about being upstaged by his flamboyant co-star in the murder thriller "Zodiac."
The film, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, is based on the true story of the unlikely quest by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, to identify a 1960s serial killer known as the Zodiac.
Graysmith's character, played by Gyllenhaal, gradually moves to the centre of the picture but much of his time is spent jousting with the newspaper's dissolute crime writer Paul Avery, played with palpable relish by Downey.
"A very good, typical actor has about 25 really interesting choices and ideas within a minute. And then there's Robert Downey Jr. who has, I would say, 500 to 750 ideas," Gyllenhaal said after the press screening of the film at Cannes.
"Some people would call that madness. I would call that genius," he said.
"You're running around an actor and then they're chasing you, all of a sudden -- that's a wonderful thing where rhythms are all over the place, it's like playing jazz with somebody."
Downey's character, sarcastic and whining by turns, is a stark contrast to his strait-laced colleagues in the newsroom and he dominates the film until his drinking and general excess prove too much.
GRAND THEFT LARCENY
"Zodiac," which has already opened in the United States, has had generally positive reviews, despite disappointing audience numbers and Downey's performance has attracted special praise.
"His cast is uniformly splendid, but if the Zodiac killer got away with murder, then Downey ought to be charged with grand theft larceny given how often he steals his scenes away from his competent co-stars," the Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.
"Zodiac's" recreation of the atmosphere of San Francisco in the 1960s and 70s is meticulous and it conveys a huge amount of information as the investigation tails off and Graysmith, who wrote the book the film is based on, carries on alone.
Gyllenhaal joked that director David Fincher told him for the first part of the movie he would be "an extra" and much of the film is centered on his deepening obsession with the case and the way it gradually takes over his life.
Fincher, who made his name with the dark thriller "Seven," said he had initially been reluctant to do another serial killer movie, but had been won over by the film, which described events he had lived through as a child in San Francisco.
"I don't think this is a serial killer movie, I think this is a newspaper movie," he said.
"It's not a process by which somebody dismembers other people. It's not that kind of movie. It's a movie about the search for some kind of truth, the human mind's need to make sense of something that's randomly chaotic," he said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gyllenhaal ponders Downey Jr: mad or genius?
Jake Gyllenhaal compares acting with Robert Downey Jr. to playing jazz and says he had no fears about being upstaged by his flamboyant co-star in the murder thriller "Zodiac."
The film, in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, is based on the true story of the unlikely quest by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, to identify a 1960s serial killer known as the Zodiac.
Graysmith's character, played by Gyllenhaal, gradually moves to the centre of the picture but much of his time is spent jousting with the newspaper's dissolute crime writer Paul Avery, played with palpable relish by Downey.
"A very good, typical actor has about 25 really interesting choices and ideas within a minute. And then there's Robert Downey Jr. who has, I would say, 500 to 750 ideas," Gyllenhaal said after the press screening of the film at Cannes.
"Some people would call that madness. I would call that genius," he said.
"You're running around an actor and then they're chasing you, all of a sudden -- that's a wonderful thing where rhythms are all over the place, it's like playing jazz with somebody."
Downey's character, sarcastic and whining by turns, is a stark contrast to his strait-laced colleagues in the newsroom and he dominates the film until his drinking and general excess prove too much.
GRAND THEFT LARCENY
"Zodiac," which has already opened in the United States, has had generally positive reviews, despite disappointing audience numbers and Downey's performance has attracted special praise.
"His cast is uniformly splendid, but if the Zodiac killer got away with murder, then Downey ought to be charged with grand theft larceny given how often he steals his scenes away from his competent co-stars," the Hollywood Reporter wrote in its review.
"Zodiac's" recreation of the atmosphere of San Francisco in the 1960s and 70s is meticulous and it conveys a huge amount of information as the investigation tails off and Graysmith, who wrote the book the film is based on, carries on alone.
Gyllenhaal joked that director David Fincher told him for the first part of the movie he would be "an extra" and much of the film is centered on his deepening obsession with the case and the way it gradually takes over his life.
Fincher, who made his name with the dark thriller "Seven," said he had initially been reluctant to do another serial killer movie, but had been won over by the film, which described events he had lived through as a child in San Francisco.
"I don't think this is a serial killer movie, I think this is a newspaper movie," he said.
"It's not a process by which somebody dismembers other people. It's not that kind of movie. It's a movie about the search for some kind of truth, the human mind's need to make sense of something that's randomly chaotic," he said.
Jake Gyllenhaal Hits Cannes
Filed under: Cannes , Chloe Sevigny , Jake Gyllenhaal , Mark Ruffalo , Red Carpet , Robert Downey Jr.
Jake Gyllenhaal is in Cannes to support his film "Zodiac" which has been entered in the competition phase of the film festival. The film is based on the true story of the unlikely quest by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, to identify a 1960s serial killer known as the Zodiac. Gyllenhaal recalls the amazing experience he had working with Robert Downey Jr. on the film.
More photos from the Cannes photocall for Zodiac after the jump.
Posted by: Jessica Marx
http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/17/jake_g...hits_cannes.php
Filed under: Cannes , Chloe Sevigny , Jake Gyllenhaal , Mark Ruffalo , Red Carpet , Robert Downey Jr.
Jake Gyllenhaal is in Cannes to support his film "Zodiac" which has been entered in the competition phase of the film festival. The film is based on the true story of the unlikely quest by Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist on the San Francisco Chronicle, to identify a 1960s serial killer known as the Zodiac. Gyllenhaal recalls the amazing experience he had working with Robert Downey Jr. on the film.
"A very good, typical actor has about 25 really interesting choices and ideas within a minute. And then there's Robert Downey Jr. who has, I would say, 500 to 750 ideas," Gyllenhaal said after the press screening of the film at Cannes."Some people would call that madness. I would call that genius," he said.
"You're running around an actor and then they're chasing you, all of a sudden -- that's a wonderful thing where rhythms are all over the place, it's like playing jazz with somebody."
If you haven't seen the film, it really is amazingly well acted. Don't be afraid of the serial killer premise. As director David Fincher said: "I don't think this is a serial killer movie, I think this is a newspaper movie"
More photos from the Cannes photocall for Zodiac after the jump.
Posted by: Jessica Marx
http://socialitelife.com/2007/05/17/jake_g...hits_cannes.php
Downey Jr. changes race in new movie
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - In "Tropic Thunder," one of three summer films featuring Robert Downey Jr., the actor appears on screen as a black man.
Downey Jr. plays overly committed actor Kirk Lazarus, a white man cast to play a black soldier in a satire of the performing profession. The film also stars Jack Black and Ben Stiller, who co-wrote, directed and produced it.
"If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago," Downey told Entertainment Weekly magazine. "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
Stiller said he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirizing over-the-top actors, not African-Americans.
"I had no idea how people would respond to it," Stiller told the magazine. But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film, he said.
Downey explained that he kept the character from becoming a caricature because he "dove in with both feet."
"If I didn't feel it was morally sound," he said, "or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in ("Soul Man"), I would've stayed home."
Paramount is set to release "Tropic Thunder" Aug. 15.
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - In "Tropic Thunder," one of three summer films featuring Robert Downey Jr., the actor appears on screen as a black man.
Downey Jr. plays overly committed actor Kirk Lazarus, a white man cast to play a black soldier in a satire of the performing profession. The film also stars Jack Black and Ben Stiller, who co-wrote, directed and produced it.
"If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago," Downey told Entertainment Weekly magazine. "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
Stiller said he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirizing over-the-top actors, not African-Americans.
"I had no idea how people would respond to it," Stiller told the magazine. But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film, he said.
Downey explained that he kept the character from becoming a caricature because he "dove in with both feet."
"If I didn't feel it was morally sound," he said, "or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in ("Soul Man"), I would've stayed home."
Paramount is set to release "Tropic Thunder" Aug. 15.
First Look: 'Tropic Thunder'
Who's that man between Jack Black and Ben Stiller in this scene from the upcoming comedy? (Hint: he's famous...and white)
If you don't recognize that African-American actor standing between Jack Black and Ben Stiller, there's a good reason: He's white. In Tropic Thunder, an epic action comedy co-written and directed by Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a very serious Oscar-winning actor cast in the most expensive Vietnam War film ever. Problem is, Lazarus's character, Sgt. Osiris, was originally written as black. So Lazarus decides to dye his skin and play Osiris, um, authentically. Funny? Sure. Dangerous? That's an understatement. ''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago,'' Downey says. ''If you don't do it right, we're going to hell.''
The film marks Stiller's first directing effort since 2001's Zoolander. With Thunder (opening Aug. 15), he takes aim at the sweetest target of all: actors. Downey plays one of a team of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now. Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ''all the good ones are gone.'' Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film — his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film's director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they're doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they're in is very real.
Stiller got the idea for Thunder more than 20 years ago while shooting a small part in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Empire of the Sun. He's continued to develop the script as his own star has risen, which makes taking on his brethren all the richer — watch for cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire — and all the more perilous. For starters, Hollywood satires have a rocky box office record. And then there's that little issue of a white guy playing a black guy. Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans. ''I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,'' Stiller explains. ''I had no idea how people would respond to it.'' He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. ''It seems people really embrace it,'' he says.
Paramount is hoping so: The studio plans to debut the trailer online March 17, and Downey is all over it. (In one scene, he tries to bond with a real African-American castmate by quoting the theme song from The Jeffersons.) Downey, meanwhile, is confident he never crossed the line. ''At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character,'' he says. ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home.''
Who's that man between Jack Black and Ben Stiller in this scene from the upcoming comedy? (Hint: he's famous...and white)
If you don't recognize that African-American actor standing between Jack Black and Ben Stiller, there's a good reason: He's white. In Tropic Thunder, an epic action comedy co-written and directed by Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a very serious Oscar-winning actor cast in the most expensive Vietnam War film ever. Problem is, Lazarus's character, Sgt. Osiris, was originally written as black. So Lazarus decides to dye his skin and play Osiris, um, authentically. Funny? Sure. Dangerous? That's an understatement. ''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago,'' Downey says. ''If you don't do it right, we're going to hell.''
The film marks Stiller's first directing effort since 2001's Zoolander. With Thunder (opening Aug. 15), he takes aim at the sweetest target of all: actors. Downey plays one of a team of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now. Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ''all the good ones are gone.'' Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film — his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film's director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they're doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they're in is very real.
Stiller got the idea for Thunder more than 20 years ago while shooting a small part in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Empire of the Sun. He's continued to develop the script as his own star has risen, which makes taking on his brethren all the richer — watch for cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire — and all the more perilous. For starters, Hollywood satires have a rocky box office record. And then there's that little issue of a white guy playing a black guy. Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans. ''I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,'' Stiller explains. ''I had no idea how people would respond to it.'' He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. ''It seems people really embrace it,'' he says.
Paramount is hoping so: The studio plans to debut the trailer online March 17, and Downey is all over it. (In one scene, he tries to bond with a real African-American castmate by quoting the theme song from The Jeffersons.) Downey, meanwhile, is confident he never crossed the line. ''At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character,'' he says. ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home.''
Robert Downey Jr. Goes Black, May Never Come Back
In Ben Stiller's latest film, "Tropic Thunder," Robert Downey Jr. busts out the prosthetic hair and make-up to portray a self-indulgent actor, whose penchant for getting "into character" has him walking around looking like a black man. In the film, Downey's character, Kirk Lazarus is an Academy Award-winning actor, who stars alongside Ben Stiller's character in "the most expensive Vietnam War film ever," reports Entertainment Weekly.
The character being played by Lazarus is Sgt. Osiris, originally written as a person of color and Lazarus takes this detail to heart, determined to immerse himself in his character as much as possible by dyeing his skin. According to Downey, "If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago." He adds, "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
The movie's premise is as follows: a group of narcissistic actors filming a big-budget, modern-day "Apocalypse Now"--lead by Ben Stiller's action hero character--are abandoned by the director and writer of their film when their antics prove too much and they're forced to fend for themselves. However, it seems they never realize that the cameras have stopped rolling.
http://socialitelife.buzznet.com/
In Ben Stiller's latest film, "Tropic Thunder," Robert Downey Jr. busts out the prosthetic hair and make-up to portray a self-indulgent actor, whose penchant for getting "into character" has him walking around looking like a black man. In the film, Downey's character, Kirk Lazarus is an Academy Award-winning actor, who stars alongside Ben Stiller's character in "the most expensive Vietnam War film ever," reports Entertainment Weekly.
The character being played by Lazarus is Sgt. Osiris, originally written as a person of color and Lazarus takes this detail to heart, determined to immerse himself in his character as much as possible by dyeing his skin. According to Downey, "If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago." He adds, "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
The movie's premise is as follows: a group of narcissistic actors filming a big-budget, modern-day "Apocalypse Now"--lead by Ben Stiller's action hero character--are abandoned by the director and writer of their film when their antics prove too much and they're forced to fend for themselves. However, it seems they never realize that the cameras have stopped rolling.
http://socialitelife.buzznet.com/
Yes, That's Robert Downey Jr.
Oh no. It's Robert Downey Jr. in black face for the spoof comedy "Tropic Thunder." In the movie, Robert portrays Kirk Lazarus, an Oscar-winning actor who dyes his skin in order to play a black character in the the most expensive Vietnam War film ever made. Basically, Robert is playing a white man playing a black man.
Robert doesn't think it will be offensive, because it will be done right. He told Entertainment Weekly, ''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago. If you don't do it right, we're going to hell. If I didn't feel it was morally sound or that it would be easily misinterpreted then I'm just C. Thomas Howell in ("Soul Man"), I would've stayed home."
Soul Man was shit!
Ben Stiller wrote, directed and also stars in the film. He said that at a recent screening black audiences thought it was funny. "I had no idea how people would respond to it."
The film hits theaters this August and also stars Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Tobey Maguire.
I guess this is sort of the same thing as Eddie Murphy playing an Asian character in "Norbit." That shit was semi-offensive though. I got flashbacks of Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany's.
I haven't seen this Tropic Thunder shit, so I can't really judge. The only reason I want to see Tropic Thunder is to see Tommy Girl in a fat suit.
http://www.dlisted.com/
Oh no. It's Robert Downey Jr. in black face for the spoof comedy "Tropic Thunder." In the movie, Robert portrays Kirk Lazarus, an Oscar-winning actor who dyes his skin in order to play a black character in the the most expensive Vietnam War film ever made. Basically, Robert is playing a white man playing a black man.
Robert doesn't think it will be offensive, because it will be done right. He told Entertainment Weekly, ''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago. If you don't do it right, we're going to hell. If I didn't feel it was morally sound or that it would be easily misinterpreted then I'm just C. Thomas Howell in ("Soul Man"), I would've stayed home."
Soul Man was shit!
Ben Stiller wrote, directed and also stars in the film. He said that at a recent screening black audiences thought it was funny. "I had no idea how people would respond to it."
The film hits theaters this August and also stars Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey and Tobey Maguire.
I guess this is sort of the same thing as Eddie Murphy playing an Asian character in "Norbit." That shit was semi-offensive though. I got flashbacks of Mickey Rooney in Breakfast At Tiffany's.
I haven't seen this Tropic Thunder shit, so I can't really judge. The only reason I want to see Tropic Thunder is to see Tommy Girl in a fat suit.
http://www.dlisted.com/
Race row as actor Robert Downey Jr 'blacks up' for new film
Last updated at 15:00pm on 7th March 2008
Actor Robert Downey Jr has in the past been applauded for his edgy roles.
But his latest may be a step too far - as the actor dons make-up to play a rather convincing looking black man in a new Hollywood film starring comic actor Ben Stiller.
In a still from film Tropic Thunder, Downey Jnr is sandwiched between Ben Stiller, and a blonde Jack Black.
With his afro hair and brown skin, he is virtually unrecognisable as the 42-year-old star of stage and screen.
Downey Jr plays a worthy Oscar-winning actor taking on a role originally written for a black actor, and rather than re-write the part, he goes method.
Clearing anticipating a backlash, Downey Jr told a US magazine: "If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago. If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
But the backlash has clearly begun as one comment on a showbiz blog Just Jared said: "I'm not black and I find it offensive; are there not any talented enough black actors out in the world that they feel the need to hire a white guy to do a black guy?"
"They are infering that there are no good enough black actors to play a black person.
"What is the significance of hiring a white guy to play a black part? what are they trying to prove? I bet its to get more publicity."
But in support of Downey's satirical role another comment on the blog said: "I'm black too, and if they were satirising black people yes it would be offensive. but they're not.
"It's FUNNY because they're NOT legitimising negative racial stereotypes, anyone with a brain in his/her head can see how painfully clear that is."
The film centres on a group of pompous actors making the most expensive Vietnam war movie ever made.
Fed up with their self-involved cast, the film's makers drop them into the jungle to take care of themselves, where they get caught up in a conflict they don't realise is real.
The cast also includes Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte and cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire.
Stiller said he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirising over-the-top actors, not African-Americans.
"I had no idea how people would respond to it," Stiller told the magazine. But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film", he said.
The film, Stiller's first as director since Zoolander, also sees his character adopt an Asian baby but worries "that all the good ones have gone".
Paramount is set to release "Tropic Thunder" in the US Aug. 15.
Last updated at 15:00pm on 7th March 2008
Actor Robert Downey Jr has in the past been applauded for his edgy roles.
But his latest may be a step too far - as the actor dons make-up to play a rather convincing looking black man in a new Hollywood film starring comic actor Ben Stiller.
In a still from film Tropic Thunder, Downey Jnr is sandwiched between Ben Stiller, and a blonde Jack Black.
With his afro hair and brown skin, he is virtually unrecognisable as the 42-year-old star of stage and screen.
Downey Jr plays a worthy Oscar-winning actor taking on a role originally written for a black actor, and rather than re-write the part, he goes method.
Clearing anticipating a backlash, Downey Jr told a US magazine: "If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago. If you don't do it right, we're going to hell."
But the backlash has clearly begun as one comment on a showbiz blog Just Jared said: "I'm not black and I find it offensive; are there not any talented enough black actors out in the world that they feel the need to hire a white guy to do a black guy?"
"They are infering that there are no good enough black actors to play a black person.
"What is the significance of hiring a white guy to play a black part? what are they trying to prove? I bet its to get more publicity."
But in support of Downey's satirical role another comment on the blog said: "I'm black too, and if they were satirising black people yes it would be offensive. but they're not.
"It's FUNNY because they're NOT legitimising negative racial stereotypes, anyone with a brain in his/her head can see how painfully clear that is."
The film centres on a group of pompous actors making the most expensive Vietnam war movie ever made.
Fed up with their self-involved cast, the film's makers drop them into the jungle to take care of themselves, where they get caught up in a conflict they don't realise is real.
The cast also includes Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte and cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire.
Stiller said he was "trying to push it as far as you can within reality," with the intent of satirising over-the-top actors, not African-Americans.
"I had no idea how people would respond to it," Stiller told the magazine. But at a recent screening, black viewers liked the film", he said.
The film, Stiller's first as director since Zoolander, also sees his character adopt an Asian baby but worries "that all the good ones have gone".
Paramount is set to release "Tropic Thunder" in the US Aug. 15.
(Pagesix.com)
He's A Color Convert
IT'S Robert Downey Jr. as you've never seen him before. In the Ben Stiller-directed satire "Tropic Thunder," due out this August, Downey appears in blackface. He plays a method actor named Kirk Lazarus, a seven-time Oscar winner whose latest role was originally meant for a black actor. "In his eternal struggle to push the boundaries he has his skin dyed black," a source explained. Downey appears in a scene with Stiller, and Jack Black. Tom Cruise also makes a cameo in the over-the-top comedy, disguised in a fat suit - "He will blow people away," said our source.
He's A Color Convert
IT'S Robert Downey Jr. as you've never seen him before. In the Ben Stiller-directed satire "Tropic Thunder," due out this August, Downey appears in blackface. He plays a method actor named Kirk Lazarus, a seven-time Oscar winner whose latest role was originally meant for a black actor. "In his eternal struggle to push the boundaries he has his skin dyed black," a source explained. Downey appears in a scene with Stiller, and Jack Black. Tom Cruise also makes a cameo in the over-the-top comedy, disguised in a fat suit - "He will blow people away," said our source.
QUOTE
"In his eternal struggle to push the boundaries he has his skin dyed black," a source explained.
Sounds like the actor Stiller was trying to lampoon here was St Angelina
QUOTE (Avalon @ Mar 8 2008, 01:22 AM) 
QUOTE
"In his eternal struggle to push the boundaries he has his skin dyed black," a source explained.
Sounds like the actor Stiller was trying to lampoon here was St Angelina
Agreed....but Blackface is a no-no, regardless..IMHO.
It might've been funnier and less offensive if they had gotten a black actor, like Samuel L. Jackson and pretended that it was Downey in full makeup and fully committed to playing a role...but I guess this way is much, more, funnier.
QUOTE (BobbyD @ Mar 10 2008, 06:23 PM)
QUOTE (Avalon @ Mar 8 2008, 01:22 AM)
QUOTE
"In his eternal struggle to push the boundaries he has his skin dyed black," a source explained.
Sounds like the actor Stiller was trying to lampoon here was St Angelina
Agreed....but Blackface is a no-no, regardless..IMHO.
It might've been funnier and less offensive if they had gotten a black actor, like Samuel L. Jackson and pretended that it was Downey in full makeup and fully committed to playing a role...but I guess this way is much, more, funnier.
Bobby, I agree. Trying for a laugh this way is insensitive and never funny.... black face wasn't funny way back when and it is even less funny now. I say shame on all of you.
We just went through this argument last year with that stupid ho Angelina Jolie.
Blackface is unacceptable. The End.
Blackface is unacceptable. The End.
Robert Downey Jr. tries new role as superhero
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - No matter the movie, Robert Downey Jr. is incapable of turning in an uninteresting performance.
While his films -- most recently "Charlie Bartlett" and "Zodiac" -- haven't always found large audiences, the May 2 Paramount Pictures release "Iron Man" promises to connect Downey with the masses.
Downey, 42, recently chatted about comic-book movies, working out and action figures.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHEN YOU THINK OF ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
THE ACTOR, "ACTION HERO" ISN'T THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO
MIND. WHAT DREW YOU TO "IRON MAN?"
Robert Downey Jr.: (Jon) Favreau was directing it. And when I went (to the Marvel headquarters) to meet with ... all the bigwigs there, I walked down the halls and saw certain of my peers in all these big, crazy, cool posters and stuff, and I'm like, "This has got to be fun." Plus, no one who was in a really successful superhero franchise has ever said to me, "Boy, I really wish I hadn't done that."
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL TRAINING
PROCESS DID YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO PLAY TONY STARK (THE
BRILLIANT INVENTORS WHOSE SUIT OF ARMOR MAKES HIM INVINCIBLE)?
Downey: My job was just to get in shape like I was in my mid-20s, which was kind of hilarious and also pretty effective. I've done martial arts for years, so I knew I could get in shape without injuring myself. The point of the story is that (Stark) puts on a suit, and this suit gives him this power that he didn't have access to before, so I didn't want to get all huge. But I also didn't want to look like a schlub. So I worked my ass off, and then the three or four days where I was supposed to look like I was in shape, I pretty much ended up looking that way. It was probably 1,500 hours of effort for 11 seconds of screen time.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR "IRON MAN"
ACTION FIGURE YET?
Downey: I have. It looks pretty good. We actually had an "Iron Man" mask on top of our Christmas tree this year. I'm not worshiping false idols -- it was almost more like the reason we were having a good Christmas. He was kind of like the patron saint of there being big boxes under the tree. For reasons that shouldn't be too difficult to calculate, I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunities that I do. It doesn't take much for me to be stoked.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - No matter the movie, Robert Downey Jr. is incapable of turning in an uninteresting performance.
While his films -- most recently "Charlie Bartlett" and "Zodiac" -- haven't always found large audiences, the May 2 Paramount Pictures release "Iron Man" promises to connect Downey with the masses.
Downey, 42, recently chatted about comic-book movies, working out and action figures.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHEN YOU THINK OF ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
THE ACTOR, "ACTION HERO" ISN'T THE FIRST THING THAT COMES TO
MIND. WHAT DREW YOU TO "IRON MAN?"
Robert Downey Jr.: (Jon) Favreau was directing it. And when I went (to the Marvel headquarters) to meet with ... all the bigwigs there, I walked down the halls and saw certain of my peers in all these big, crazy, cool posters and stuff, and I'm like, "This has got to be fun." Plus, no one who was in a really successful superhero franchise has ever said to me, "Boy, I really wish I hadn't done that."
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL TRAINING
PROCESS DID YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH TO PLAY TONY STARK (THE
BRILLIANT INVENTORS WHOSE SUIT OF ARMOR MAKES HIM INVINCIBLE)?
Downey: My job was just to get in shape like I was in my mid-20s, which was kind of hilarious and also pretty effective. I've done martial arts for years, so I knew I could get in shape without injuring myself. The point of the story is that (Stark) puts on a suit, and this suit gives him this power that he didn't have access to before, so I didn't want to get all huge. But I also didn't want to look like a schlub. So I worked my ass off, and then the three or four days where I was supposed to look like I was in shape, I pretty much ended up looking that way. It was probably 1,500 hours of effort for 11 seconds of screen time.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR "IRON MAN"
ACTION FIGURE YET?
Downey: I have. It looks pretty good. We actually had an "Iron Man" mask on top of our Christmas tree this year. I'm not worshiping false idols -- it was almost more like the reason we were having a good Christmas. He was kind of like the patron saint of there being big boxes under the tree. For reasons that shouldn't be too difficult to calculate, I'm incredibly grateful to have the opportunities that I do. It doesn't take much for me to be stoked.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Robert Downey Jr. Credits Wife For His Sobriety
Robert Downey Jr. credits his wife Susan with his success battling drugs, insisting their relationship helped him finally conquer his longterm addictions.
The actor had tried countless stints in rehab but failed to stay sober until he met Susan Levin on the set of 2003 movie Gothika. They married in 2005 and he hasn't veered from sobriety since. Downey Jr. strongly believes Levin has made the difference, helping him finally grow up and giving him a reason to stay clean.
He says, "I met the right gal. She's very direct and straightforward. I think that relationship has been very settling and very profound. It is me being comfortable in my skin."
The star also recalls the precise moment he decided to kick drugs, on July 4, 2004, while he was driving to a friend's California wedding.
He reveals, "I thought, `This is perfect. All I have to do is not get egg-shaped and fall off the wall.' So I geared up and I got all my little doozies and then I just thought, `Didn't I just do this?' I saw exactly how it was going to pan out. And, in that moment, I accessed all these broken relationships and stuff and my mom... Whatever it was, the butterfly net came down." /WENN
Robert Downey Jr. credits his wife Susan with his success battling drugs, insisting their relationship helped him finally conquer his longterm addictions.
The actor had tried countless stints in rehab but failed to stay sober until he met Susan Levin on the set of 2003 movie Gothika. They married in 2005 and he hasn't veered from sobriety since. Downey Jr. strongly believes Levin has made the difference, helping him finally grow up and giving him a reason to stay clean.
He says, "I met the right gal. She's very direct and straightforward. I think that relationship has been very settling and very profound. It is me being comfortable in my skin."
The star also recalls the precise moment he decided to kick drugs, on July 4, 2004, while he was driving to a friend's California wedding.
He reveals, "I thought, `This is perfect. All I have to do is not get egg-shaped and fall off the wall.' So I geared up and I got all my little doozies and then I just thought, `Didn't I just do this?' I saw exactly how it was going to pan out. And, in that moment, I accessed all these broken relationships and stuff and my mom... Whatever it was, the butterfly net came down." /WENN
Fake Sex Ruined Robert Downey Jr.'s Romantic Chemistry With Heather Graham
Robert Downey Jr. missed out on the chance to date heather Graham for real after they starred as onscreen lovers - because he felt so awkward during sex scenes, he missed the chemistry between them.
The pair had to get naked and perform sex acts on each other in the 1998 film Two Girls and a Guy - which Downey Jr. found embarrassing. He was later shocked to discover Graham wanted to take their relationship further.
He says, "We're doing this scene, and she's basically masturbating me, and I'm giving her oral sex for the better part of two or three hours. Here's what I thought: 'I'm really hot and bothered. I hope she's not uncomfortable. Oh well, the days over.'
"And then I ran into her a year later, and she was like, 'Why didn't you just call me?' It was like a Woody Allen moment."
Despite the missed opportunity - Downey Jr. insists he's glad nothing happened: "It was fantastic, but to tell you the truth, I am more likely to want to work with Heather Graham now I am happily married, than if she and I had gone and done something seedy."
Source :starpulse
Robert Downey Jr. missed out on the chance to date heather Graham for real after they starred as onscreen lovers - because he felt so awkward during sex scenes, he missed the chemistry between them.
The pair had to get naked and perform sex acts on each other in the 1998 film Two Girls and a Guy - which Downey Jr. found embarrassing. He was later shocked to discover Graham wanted to take their relationship further.
He says, "We're doing this scene, and she's basically masturbating me, and I'm giving her oral sex for the better part of two or three hours. Here's what I thought: 'I'm really hot and bothered. I hope she's not uncomfortable. Oh well, the days over.'
"And then I ran into her a year later, and she was like, 'Why didn't you just call me?' It was like a Woody Allen moment."
Despite the missed opportunity - Downey Jr. insists he's glad nothing happened: "It was fantastic, but to tell you the truth, I am more likely to want to work with Heather Graham now I am happily married, than if she and I had gone and done something seedy."
Source :starpulse
Robert Downey Jr. Reflects on Romance With SJP
Wednesday April 16, 2008
Reformed bad boy Robert Downey Jr. blames himself for his 1991 split with actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
"I was so selfish," the actor, 43, admits in the new issue of Parade. "I liked to drink, and I had a drug problem, and that didn't jibe with Sarah Jessica, because it was the furthest thing from what she is."
Downey and Parker met on the set of their 1984 flick Firstborn.
At 19, "we quickly moved in together and played house," he reminisces of their life in L.A. "It was idyllic."
Downey's career took off with the 1987 drama Less Than Zero.
So did his drug addiction.
"She tried to help me," he says of his Sex and the City star ex. "She was so miffed when I didn't get my act together.
"Sarah Jessica would pull me out of a hangover," he recalls, "and we'd go pick out furniture together. She is a force of nature!"
Parker eventually ended their relationship after seven years.
"I was in love with Sarah Jessica," he says, "and love clearly was not enough. I was meant to move on. And, after some heartache, she was meant to find her home with a great star."
(In 1997, Parker wed Matthew Broderick, whom Downey says is "a lot more grounded than I ever was." He also calls their 5-year-old son, James Wilkie, "a great kid.")
Now clean and sober, Downey — who has a son Indio, 14, from his 1992 marriage to model Deborah Falconer — is wed to producer Susan Levin.
"She told me, 'I'm not doing that [drug dance] with you. I'm drawing a line in the sand here,'" he says. "She was absolutely clear about it.
"That doesn’t mean that other women, business associates, movie directors, insurance companies, judges and law enforcement hadn’t been clear about it too," Downey adds. "It was that, before I met Mrs. Downey, I just didn’t give a godd--n.
"What changed is that I cared."
Wednesday April 16, 2008
Reformed bad boy Robert Downey Jr. blames himself for his 1991 split with actress Sarah Jessica Parker.
"I was so selfish," the actor, 43, admits in the new issue of Parade. "I liked to drink, and I had a drug problem, and that didn't jibe with Sarah Jessica, because it was the furthest thing from what she is."
Downey and Parker met on the set of their 1984 flick Firstborn.
At 19, "we quickly moved in together and played house," he reminisces of their life in L.A. "It was idyllic."
Downey's career took off with the 1987 drama Less Than Zero.
So did his drug addiction.
"She tried to help me," he says of his Sex and the City star ex. "She was so miffed when I didn't get my act together.
"Sarah Jessica would pull me out of a hangover," he recalls, "and we'd go pick out furniture together. She is a force of nature!"
Parker eventually ended their relationship after seven years.
"I was in love with Sarah Jessica," he says, "and love clearly was not enough. I was meant to move on. And, after some heartache, she was meant to find her home with a great star."
(In 1997, Parker wed Matthew Broderick, whom Downey says is "a lot more grounded than I ever was." He also calls their 5-year-old son, James Wilkie, "a great kid.")
Now clean and sober, Downey — who has a son Indio, 14, from his 1992 marriage to model Deborah Falconer — is wed to producer Susan Levin.
"She told me, 'I'm not doing that [drug dance] with you. I'm drawing a line in the sand here,'" he says. "She was absolutely clear about it.
"That doesn’t mean that other women, business associates, movie directors, insurance companies, judges and law enforcement hadn’t been clear about it too," Downey adds. "It was that, before I met Mrs. Downey, I just didn’t give a godd--n.
"What changed is that I cared."
*sigh*
I adore him but he's lying through his pearly whites. He's not clean and sober, I just hope he's not going to end up in a ditch again.
I adore him but he's lying through his pearly whites. He's not clean and sober, I just hope he's not going to end up in a ditch again.
QUOTE (hedda_louella @ Apr 16 2008, 06:13 PM)
*sigh*
I adore him but he's lying through his pearly whites. He's not clean and sober, I just hope he's not going to end up in a ditch again.
I adore him but he's lying through his pearly whites. He's not clean and sober, I just hope he's not going to end up in a ditch again.
I'm so not surprised. But I give him this--at least he has a stronger constitution than poor Heath.
This is sad though.
QUOTE (Crackerjack123 @ Apr 17 2008, 03:37 AM)
QUOTE (hedda_louella @ Apr 16 2008, 06:13 PM)
*sigh*
I adore him but he's lying through his pearly whites. He's not clean and sober, I just hope he's not going to end up in a ditch again.
I'm so not surprised. But I give him this--at least he has a stronger constitution than poor Heath.
This is sad though.
If he's not clean and sober, he is certainly going to great lengths to make sure everyone thinks he thinks he is....
QUOTE (Avalon @ Apr 20 2008, 03:39 AM)
If he's not clean and sober, he is certainly going to great lengths to make sure everyone thinks he thinks he is....
With a record like he has and Ron Meyer as a father-in-law, RDJ knows enough to put up a good front. Luckily for him, or perhaps unluckily, he is an excellent actor. The fact remains, he's been partying and people know about it.
QUOTE (hedda_louella @ Apr 20 2008, 02:38 PM)
QUOTE (Avalon @ Apr 20 2008, 03:39 AM)
If he's not clean and sober, he is certainly going to great lengths to make sure everyone thinks he thinks he is....
With a record like he has and Ron Meyer as a father-in-law, RDJ knows enough to put up a good front. Luckily for him, or perhaps unluckily, he is an excellent actor. The fact remains, he's been partying and people know about it.
Hedda, you're thinking of Tobey Maguire who's married to Ron's daughter Jennifer. (I wouldn't doubt that Tobey parties as well). Sad that RDJ has relapsed.
Hedda, do you think his wife knows?
Robert Downey Jr. Slams Fame-Hungry Stars
By WENN
Robert Downey Jr. has accused other Hollywood stars of being too consumed by their own celebrity - calling his superficially-minded peers "zombies". Downey Jr. claims too many of the current crop of screen stars are more interested in being famous than making great movies.
He tells GQ magazine, "For some people, fame and success is what finishes their thing, because in some twisted way that's all they ever wanted. I know people like that. They're like zombies. But they're complete zombies. They're done; they're cool, in a very two-dimensional way. They can move anywhere inside the frame and they're well-lit, and it's fine."
By WENN
Robert Downey Jr. has accused other Hollywood stars of being too consumed by their own celebrity - calling his superficially-minded peers "zombies". Downey Jr. claims too many of the current crop of screen stars are more interested in being famous than making great movies.
He tells GQ magazine, "For some people, fame and success is what finishes their thing, because in some twisted way that's all they ever wanted. I know people like that. They're like zombies. But they're complete zombies. They're done; they're cool, in a very two-dimensional way. They can move anywhere inside the frame and they're well-lit, and it's fine."
QUOTE (hedda_louella @ Apr 20 2008, 02:38 PM)
QUOTE (Avalon @ Apr 20 2008, 03:39 AM)
If he's not clean and sober, he is certainly going to great lengths to make sure everyone thinks he thinks he is....
With a record like he has and Ron Meyer as a father-in-law, RDJ knows enough to put up a good front. Luckily for him, or perhaps unluckily, he is an excellent actor. The fact remains, he's been partying and people know about it.
Hedda,
That's terrible. Do you really think he's back to old tricks of using. When you say partying, do you mean coke? heroin? I can't imagine that even after he did time in prison that it wouldn't be enough to stay clean. And, he has a son. How does he look himself in the mirror after he's telling everyone he's clean but knows he's not. What a waste of talent.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.