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Robert Downey Jr
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Robert Downey Jr. Falls Deeper Down The Mustache Hole
Appearing before throngs of adoring Japanese movie fans accompanied by his ever-present quartet of Ironjuko dancers was the inimitable Robert Downey Jr., whose upper lip appears to have crossed the point of no return since last we checked in with the unabashedly facial-hair-curious actor. But the look has grown more severe now—the furrowed brow, the unkempt hair, the dark glasses, and constipated pout all seem to suggest another man's superstar aura entirely. Help us, won't you, get to the bottom of this Robert Downey Jr. mini-mystery, by voting in yet another of those Defamer reader polls you love so much. All aboard for mustache rides after the jump!
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Actor's Mustache Hijacks Candid 'GMA' Discussion of Race and Entertainment
If you think you've had about all you can stand of whatever controversy Tropic Thunder is shoveling today, try notching down the dosage a bit with Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance today on Good Morning America. Eschewing a straight discussion of his ostensibly incendiary portrayal of an Australian Method actor in blackface, RDJ brought his over-lit facial hair to bear on Chris Cuomo and the rest of the studio crew, whose early laughter fades into a riveted 'stache trance unseen since then-UN Ambassador John Bolton made a news round-up way back in 2005. Try for yourself, but only if you're insured and have a friend nearby to spot you. We can't have that many lost work hours on our conscience, at least not in this economy. [ABC]
Defamer Interviews
Exclusive: 'Tropic Thunder' Writer Stops Making Fun Of Mentally Challenged People Just Long Enough To Let Us Interview Him
Take a good look at that Tropic Thunder poster. Go past the glossy, airbrushed photos of the film's many stars, past the lush jungle setting, past the fiery explosions, and you might notice something. See there? Down at the bottom? It says "Screenplay by Ben Stiller & Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen." Sure, other more "legitimate" media outlets may give all the ink to those first two dudes, but here at Defamer we like to dig a little deeper. Just who is this Etan Cohen fellow and how did he get roped in to working on the biggest comedy of the summer? Stick around after the jump to hear one of Hollywood's newest writing stars dish the dirt about meeting Tom Cruise for the first time, what it feels like to suddenly have people kissing your ass, and why you shouldn't be offended by all that Simple Jack stuff.
feuds
Justin Theroux Promises 'Iron Man 2' Script With 100 Percent Less Batdrama
Hints abound today that the wheels may be coming off the souped-up Dark Knight bandwagon — and not just at the box office, where some estimates have Tropic Thunder usurping the top spot this weekend. TDK's sweeping cultural influence may be in jeopardy as well, with its Greatest! Movie! Ever! status now reduced to a nonsensical three-way tie at IMDB and a pair of formidable opponents shaping up across town at Camp Iron Man. In case you missed it, Robert Downey Jr. has already resorted to dramatic efforts of Batsabotage ("Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. ... You know what? F-ck DC comics"), and now jealousy-inspiring actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux has enlisted exactly the kind of metaphorical bitchslap we'd expect from his soaring geekcake talent: More »'Thunder' Premiere Showdown Pits Megastars Against Disabled Who Obviously Don't Get The Joke
Despite all traces of Simple Jack—veteran fake-action-star Tugg Speedman's brazen Oscar-shot playing a stuttering, simpleton farmhand—having been literally whitewashed from the web, activists remain outraged over Tropic Thunder's depiction-within-a-depiction of the developmentally disabled as bucktoothed "retards" incapable of expressing affection without the use of the phrase, "You mm-mm-m-ake my p-p-pee-peemaker t-t-t-tingle." (Sheesh—so touchy.) As threatened, dozens of placard-wielding protesters outfitted in 'Retard'busters T-shirts marched outside last night's premiere in Westwood, giving the proceedings the strangely familiar air of an RGA West strike line. From the AP report:
More »"When I heard about it, I felt really hurt inside," said Special Olympics global messenger Dustin Plunkett.
Downey Jr.'s Nodding-Off Attributed To Debbie Matenopoulos's Droning Voice, Not A Heroin Relapse
We have been overcome today by a tidal wave of sympathy for everyone's favorite non-silly-voiced summer superhero Robert Downey Jr., who just can't seem to catch a break on his Tropic Thunder press junket. No sooner had he been ambushed by a rogue reporter from the I'm A Drunken Stoned Moron Entertainment News Syndicate, he then came face to face with E!'s Debbie Matenopoulos. More »How to Derail a Junket: Ask Robert Downey Jr. Who He'd Like To 'Smoke a Blunt With'
Can't a little movie like Tropic Thunder catch a break? The Ben Stiller comedy has thus far managed to survive racism, ratings, "retards," and American Idol — and that's before it's even come out (Wednesday, August 13!). Still, all that was child's play compared to the newest Tropic trouble, instigated by an overzealous radio DJ who crashed the film's junket to ask Robert Downey Jr. some of the most inane questions Iron Man has ever had to face. Listen in horror as the notoriously rehabbed actor is asked which costar he'd like to “drink a brew and smoke a blunt with” (only the first of many, many stupid questions) — we've even provided a helpful assortment of what we can only imagine were Jack Black and Ben Stiller's reaction shots. Enjoy! More »
disabilities
'Tropic Thunder' Braces For 'Retard' Backlash
Several months ago, the red-band trailer for Tropic Thunder suggested that not only could Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire be summer's most surefire gutbuster, but also that its trailer-within-a-trailer — featuring Stiller as the developmentally disabled title character of the Oscar-bait drama Simple Jack — portended perhaps the best movie never made. (And look! It even has its own Web site!) But having seen Thunder and thus the degree to which Simple Jack plays a role in the story, we think we got our fill: "You went full retard, man" Robert Downey Jr.'s Method actor (in blackface!) tells Stiller's slumping action hero. "Never go full retard."
His logic is crystalline, but alas, its political incorrectness is drawing even deeper consideration this morning as disability advocates wage war on the R-Word:
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Can't Buy it Love
Rating Woes, August Blahs Threaten 'Tropic Thunder' Storm at Box Office
While we refuse to believe Nielsen actually spent money to discover that R-ratings hinder comedies more than horror films, the results of its recent survey dovetail interestingly today with a companion piece about Tropic Thunder's potential for August domination. We've seen Tropic and can vouch for it living up to most of its hype, from Tom Cruise's sociopath studio boss to Robert Downey Jr.'s otherworldly, meta-Method blackface turn. But rating and timing are everything, as always, prompting The Hollywood Reporter to foretell a relatively floppy future: More »
power surge
Hunky Hyphenate Justin Theroux Now Just Showing Off With 'Iron Man 2' Writing Gig
Like most celebrants of cinema's smoldering, dangerous geek-stud archetype, we've been following actor Justin Theroux's career arc for a while — mostly in front of the camera, obviously, where his roles in Mullholland Drive, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Six Feet Under and elsewhere yielded a batch of performances we presumed would catapult him to the A-list sooner or later. But now it's just getting ridiculous, as we're learning that Theroux just nabbed one of the most desirable writing gigs in Hollywood: Iron Man 2. More »
the end of ideas
Robert Downey Jr. Vs. Sacha Baron Cohen: A Tale Of Two Holmes
With today's Variety report that Robert Downey Jr. will star in a mildly distracted Guy Ritchie's upcoming Sherlock Holmes for Warner Bros.—by all accounts, a much more reverential take on the mythical detective than the Columbia comedy announced just last week starring Sacha Baron Cohen—we thought we'd celebrate this latest Elementary! edition of our ongoing The End of Ideas series by comparing and contrasting the two competing projects:
The Take:
RDJ: A fast-talking, self-absorbed Holmes with hints of deep inner-turmoil, Downey's creation will overcome a career-threatening intravenous morphine habit to become the toast of London's A-list private detective scene.
SBC: A snootier and less aware take on the erudite detective, this Holmes will always insist, despite the bafflement of his perennial sidekick Watson, that the best way to solve a particularly difficult case is to visit the local all-boys brothel for some closed-door interrogations.
players
Non-Crisis Averted as Jon Favreau and Marvel Reportedly Settle on 'Iron Man 2'
The Earth is easing back on to its axis today after a full month of panic that Jon Favreau might skip out on directing Iron Man 2 — not that he threatened to, mind you, though all it took was one candid MySpace entry to fertilize fanboy concern that money, ego, release-date controversies or all of the above might conspire to shatter the fragile bond between the director and the cheap-ass overlords at Marvel.
But it all appears to be moot now as not-so-shocking reports trickle in saying Favreau is on board. For good measure, and because God knows it's a long way to that April 2010 opening, the Favreau backlash is already underway at Deadline Hollywood Daily:
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trade roundup
'Cowboys And Aliens' Already Targeted For Negative Alien Stereotyping
· Robert Downey Jr. is in talks to star in DreamWorks/Universal's Cowboys & Aliens, which is actually about cowboys and aliens, not the Bush regime's immigration policy. [THR]
· Indiana Jones and Iron Man brought Paramount Pictures International to the $1 billion box office grosses milestone six weeks earlier than last year, celebrated by Viacom Ringwraith Sumner Redstone hoopin' and hawin' over the studios in his fire-breathing skull-dragon, much to the dismay of the Star Trek cast and crew. [Variety]
· More reasons to love Eva: Eva Mendes is close to signing onto Werner "Abel Who?" Herzog's Bad Lieutenant continuationing.
· AMC is producing pilots based on Glen David Gold's 1920s magician novel Carter Beats the Devil, and Ice, about a family who works in New York's diamond district. [Variety]
·Mark an "X" on June 24th, which pits Celebrity Family Feud vs. the premiere of Wipeout vs. Kitchen Nightmares vs. America's Got Talent vs. I Survived a Japanese Game Show. (The "X" is there to remind you what day the world is ending.) [THR]
