Robert Downey Jr.
Another Awards-Seeker Gets Bumped To 2009
It looks like The Road might be getting a little crowded. According to Nikki Finke over at Deadline Hollywood (and corroborated by Dave Karger at Entertainment Weekly), Paramount has moved the Robert Downey Jr.-Jamie Foxx prestige film The Soloist out of its November 21st release date and pushed it all the way back to March 13th, 2009. Additionally, Ed Zwick's Defiance, which had its kick-ass trailer released just a week ago, will be moved from a wide release December 12th to a short Oscar qualifying run on December 31st before opening in full on January 16th, 2009. Phew! Got all that? We'll give you a minute to update your iCal. read more »
Cheadle Replaces Howard in Iron Man 2
We're probably in the minority here, but we weren't the biggest fans of Iron Man. Not that we were immune to the charms of Robert Downey Jr., flying robot suits and plucky sexual tension, but something about the entire film just felt slightly... off. To us, Iron Man played like a studio executive's idea of dumb summer fun and not real dumb summer fun. However! We're already extremely excited with the direction the sequel is going in, since it seems set to be light years ahead of the original.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard in Iron Man 2 playing Jim Rhodes, best friend to Tony Stark/Iron Man. read more »
Parmount, Marvel Team Up, But Do We Need Thor?
This is a busy week for Marvel Comics. Today, their $318 million dollar smash hit Iron Man gets released on DVD, just in time for the holidays! Well, the High Holidays that is. In even bigger news, Marvel announced a massive releasing partnership with Paramount, the studio that shepherded the aforementioned Iron Man into theaters. Over the next eight years, Marvel could deliver ten movies to the studio, including the previously announced Iron Man sequel (May 7th, 2010), Thor (July 16th, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6th 2011) and The Avengers (July 15th, 2011). You read the release dates of the latter two films correctly; they'll be released within six weeks of each other. read more »
Law Fills Crowe Role in Sherlock Holmes Flick
Perhaps Guy Ritchie should have heeded the words of Chris Rock at the 2005 Academy Awards: "If you want Tom Cruise and all you can get is Jude Law. Wait! You want Russell Crowe and all you can get is Colin Farrell? Wait!"
After being spurned by Mr. Crowe for the part of Dr. Watson opposite Robert Downey Jr.'s titular detective in Sherlock Holmes, Warner Brothers is close to finalizing a deal with Mr. Law to co-star in the film.
While Mr. Law isn't a box office cancer as lethal as Mr. Farrell (though we do love him in Miami Vice!), we can't say his casting inspires thoughts of nine-figure ticket returns. But maybe the sidekick role of Dr. Watson is just what Mr. Law needs to get his mojo back. read more »
Another Oscar Possibility? The Soloist
Can we add another movie to the possible list of incredibly too early Oscar prognostication? Good! We submit for your viewing pleasure the new trailer for The Soloist, which has just been released over at Yahoo! Movies. After watching it twice in rapid succession we just want to know: can we give this the all the statues right now?
Directed by Joe Wright (Atonement and Pride and Prejudice) and adapted by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich), the film is based on the real life story of Nathaniel Ayers, a world class cellist who after his first year at Julliard developed schizophrenia and ended up living on the streets in Los Angeles, until he's found by columnist Steve Lopez, who starts writing about him. read more »
Terrence Howard on Men's Fashion: Zipper Cuffs, Custom-Made Suits, and More Color, Please!
When Terrence Howard, the brown-eyed actor with the pencil mustache, arrived Wednesday evening at the subterranean level of Bloomingdale’s for the “Beat of Chic” party thrown by Vanity Fair, he was positively giddy. Thrilled, actually. Tonight he would perform songs from his debut album, Shine Through It, a combination of jazz and soft rock that he recorded with a group of musicians (subtly) called The Band of Kings.
"They greeted me as if I was George Clooney or something!" said Mr. Howard, seeming genuinely surprised by the attention he received upon entering.
"It's really a music lover's album," he told the Daily Transom. "I love flutes and clarinets and the viola. I love intricate arrangements that paint a picture. The music is intended to paint the most beautiful pictures." read more »
Robert Downey Jr. Says His Sherlock Holmes Will Kick Ass
Literally! Robert Downey Jr. told movie news site IESB.net that preparing for his upcoming role as Sherlock Holmes will include some martial arts training.
“The cool thing about Sherlock Holmes was he’s actually a very skilled martial artist," he told the movie news site. "So it’s going to have elements of that…it’s not just his deduction and all that stuff. It’s going to be a very action-packed version of that. To me it’s really exciting.”
Guy Ritchie will be directing of course, distracting him from his rumored Madge problems, we're sure. They start shooting Oct. 6, according to Mr. Downey Jr. read more »
Iron Man Downey Jr. to Play Sherlock Holmes
It was an elementary decision, dear readers! Robert Downey Jr. has been chosen to trade the gigantic steel suit from Iron Man for a tweed coat in director Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes. It probably helped the hiring process that Mr. Downey Jr.'s wife Susan is on the production team (she's credited for getting the bad boy back on the acting track), as well as Joel Silver. Filming is set to begin in October.
Variety reports that Mr. Downey Jr. will go head-to-head with... Borat! Another Sherlock Holmes movie produced by Judd Apatow is in the works with Sacha Baron Cohen in the lead and Will Ferrell as the ever-important sidekick, Dr. Watson. read more »
Morning Memo: Onassis' Jewels; Downey's Burger; Dupre's Tattoo
The jewelry collection belonging to Christina Onassis, daughter of shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, will be auctioned off at Christie's in London. It's expected to bring in about $5.8 million. [WWD]
Brandon Davis stopped into Lily Pond and Dune in the Hamptons over the weekend, but didn't pay for the bottle service. [P6] read more »
Sara Vilkomerson's Guide to This Week's Movies: Downey Dons Robot Suit!
All hail Tina Fey! The lady we are forever indebted to for making smarts, sass and eyeglasses sexy propelled Baby Mama to the No. 1 spot last weekend with over 18 million smackeroos, beating the stoner set who chose Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. What does this mean for you? That between this and last year’s Knocked Up and Juno, expect Hollywood to start spawning (hee!) tons of pregnant-y flicks, which will get less funny with each trimester.
Manhattan Weekend Box Office: Be Kind, Fast-Forward! Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and the Reality of Diminishing Returns
It’s a touch ironic that the one weekend when everyone is thinking and talking about movies, no one is actually seeing them. The Academy Awards hoopla has come and gone leaving in its wake a depressed box office with only one true stand out. Vantage Point (No. 1), the Rashomon-like action movie starring Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and Matthew Fox, easily doubled the box office of its closest competitor, Jumper (no. 2), grossing $24 million nationally with 408,000 of those dollars coming locally.
With a $41,000 per-theater average in Manhattan, Point was the only movie to average over $20,000. (In a standard week, there are at least three movies that manage this feat—last week, there were five.) Be Kind Rewind (no. 3) came surprisingly close ($18,870), despite mixed reviews. With the draw of Jack Black, New Line—and maybe even Mr. Black himself, who must be wondering if his own popularity is waning—probably had higher hopes for the comedy. Historically speaking, however, it never had a chance. read more »
H.S. Ecstasy: Anton Yelchin and Robert Downey Jr. Graduate With Uppers
CHARLIE BARTLETT
Running Time 97 minutes
Written by Gustin Nash
Directed by Jon Poll read more »
Rupert Everett: 'Hollywood is Like Al Qaeda'
Rupert Everett isn't too happy with his treatment as an actor in Hollywood.
In an interview with Britain’s The Times, the 48-year-old actor compared Tinseltown to Al Qaeda.
“Hollywood is a place that pretends it’s very liberal but it’s not remotely,” he told the paper.
Mr. Everett told the interviewer that being an openly gay actor has cost him “tons” of starring roles over the years. He also believes that the only reason he was hired to be the voice of Prince Charming in the Shrek franchise is because it’s animated.
Asked whether Jodie Foster’s recent acknowledgement of her lesbian life partner in an acceptance speech indicates a growing tolerance towards homosexuality in the American arm of the film industry, the Importance of Being Earnest star said: “It’s the opposite. She is 45 and she just couldn’t be bothered any more. After a certain age you can be gay [in Hollywood]. Before that it’s not only not good, it’s impossible.” read more »
An Expert Opinion: The Hamptons Prick Quotient
Mr. Peterson, 28, is a columnist for the local Dan's Papers and an aspiring novelist—he's 200 pages into his first attempt, a "fictional" account about a young junkie who leaves New York City for the East End to clean up but soon finds himself immersed in the Hamptons's underbelly, particularly the crack and heroin scene. read more »
"It's disgustingly crazy out here and nobody knows how to drive," he said. "Which makes sense: some people only drive two months out of the year, when they're out here to fill their empty houses. It's insane. I work and I hide and I don't go to town because it's too crowded. I'm feeling a little cynical about the Hamptons. I'm getting married in September, I'd like to buy a house and it's not an easy place to buy a house at this point. It's almost like the lower and the middle class are getting priced out, there's nowhere to go, because even the crappy places are getting bought...you know, Waldbaum's buses people in from an hour away because no one can survive here on seven dollars an hour." Mr. Peterson went on some more about the high cost of living but admitted that so far this summer he's been loving the Hamptons. "It hasn't been too bad yet," he said. "There haven't been that many pricks coming in." --George GurleyHer Own Funeral
Grisham Gets Coppola-ed for The Rainmaker ; Figgis' Take on the Original Sin
