Tag: Robert Downey Jr.

Turns out Hulk isn’t the only one who can deliver a big green smash. Joss Whedon just scored a Galactus-sized success with “The Avengers,” which not only topped the “Harry Potter” single-weekend record, it made the once magical Hogwarts crowd seem like, well, schoolchildren waving sticks in the air. The sixth Marvel Studios release just completed the best opening weekend in movie history, earning $200.3 million at the domestic box office, an especially staggering number when you consider that previous mark by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2″ was $169.2-million. More than that, with all the sparkling reviews, director and co-writer Whedon has a genuine summer cinema supernova — Tony Stark is still at the center of the Marvel Studios universe, but now he’s not the only one standing there in the warm glow of cascading cosmic rays. The numbers are bigger the deeper you look. The North ...

The news is grim — a team member has gone down, the worst is feared — and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America (Chris Evans) exchange pensive looks while, all around them, the agents of a super-spy agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. tend to their duties as an off-planet enemy force threatens the entire planet. The scene, being filmed on an elevated set, was watched from a safe — and ironic — distance by Joss Whedon. “You know, you shouldn’t worry too much,” the director and co-writer of “The Avengers” reassured a visitor to the New Mexico set. “This kind of stuff happens here almost every day in the Marvel universe.” It does feel sometimes like Hollywood has become a digital factory dedicated to cosmic dangers, costumed heroes and CG magic but “The Avengers” is a special case even in this summer ...

When “The Avengers” arrives in theaters on May 4 it represents an unprecedented Hollywood experiment — can the narrative threads from four different superhero franchises come together to form a unified tapestry in a fifth, all-star franchise? With “The Avengers,” director Joss Whedon will bring together the stars of three franchises — Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man,  Chris Evans as Captain America and Chris Hemsworth as Thor — and the title character of a fourth — the Hulk, whose human alter ego, Bruce Banner, will be portrayed this time by Mark Ruffalo. From day one, the lead architect of the plan has been Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, who said Friday that the marathon reaches out to the most fervent of fans. “We have always made the Marvel movies as stand-alone superhero stories, each autonomous of one another and delivered to appeal audiences everywhere,” ...

BATFILMS OF THE FUTURE? The end is near — when the credits roll on “The Dark Knight Rises” this July, it will mark the close of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the final adventure for Christian Bale as the caped crusader of Gotham City. Warner Bros. executives have made it clear they won’t leave the iconic property sitting on a shelf, however, and a new director and star tandem could be inhabiting Wayne Manor by 2014. But how on earth will any filmmaker follow the work of Nolan and company? Working together, Hero Complex lead writer Geoff Boucher and graphic artist Sean Hartter came up with 15  imaginary Batman reboots — and, yes, they did it with tongue in cheek. Ang Lee’s “Wayne Manor”: The director of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” can certainly handle the fight sequences in super hero film but ...

It’s a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes — you might call it “The Doltish Doctor of Baker Street” — and the scene of the crime was in Hollywood the day before April Fools’ Day 1939. That’s when 20th Century Fox released “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” the first of 14 films starring Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson, that daring duo from Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed books. Doyle has deeply devoted fans across the globe and through generations, and the eager ones who went to see “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in theaters back in ’39 were surely shocked when they realized there was something very different about this new Watson: The man was a complete idiot. Doyle readers since 1887 had known John Watson as a bright, handsome man of the world, a battlefield surgeon and former rugby ...

British actor Jared Harris has made a career of disappearing chameleon-like into his roles — the pop art icon Andy Warhol in “I Shot Andy Warhol,” the rough-and-tumble sailor Capt. Mike in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and the fastidious bean counter Lane Pryce in the AMC television series “Mad Men.” For his latest performance, Professor James Moriarty in the new film “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” he brings the arch-villain out from behind the curtain and into the spotlight. Harris takes center stage as Moriarty to duel the megawatt duo of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, who reprise their roles as the world’s most famous detective — re-imagined as a streetwise but still inordinately perceptive brawler — and his capable sidekick, Dr. Watson, in Guy Ritchie’s new sequel to his 2009 blockbuster. A fan of the ...

Robert Downey Jr. has finished most of the heavy lifting needed for his role in “The Avengers” and last week, over lunch at his office in Venice, the two-time Oscar nominee felt ready to talk about a different heroic project: “Iron Man 3.” “My sense of it is that we need to leave it all on the field — whatever that means in the end,” Downey said of the May 2013 film. “You can pick several different points of departure for that.” Speaking of departures, director Jon Favreau won’t be back for the third installment of a franchise that propelled his career to new heights — even as it established upstart Marvel Studios as a serious Hollywood player and signaled the popcorn redemption of Downey after years of addiction and legal entanglements. ”Iron Man 2,” however, was an especially grueling shoot and by the end ...

If any actor knows the anxieties and payoff of stepping onto the silver screen as a superhero, it’s Robert Downey Jr., who super-charged his career by donning the armor of Iron Man for a franchise that has pulled in more than $1.2 billion  in worldwide box office. On Tuesday at the premiere of “Captain America: The First Avenger” at the El Capitan Theatre, Downey said he knew what it was like to walk a mile in the red boots of Chris Evans, the latest Marvel Universe star. “Evans has had just a nerve-racking summer up to this point,” he said. “Up until this night, you’re starting to get the feedback and people are saying, ‘Wow, this really works. And we’re happy and reviews are good and it looks like the numbers are gonna be good.’ It’s a horrible part of the job that we do. ...

Robert Downey Jr. was the big surprise at the Hero Complex Film Festival and his time on stage with Jon Favreau crackled with energy and insight. To get a sense of the long, lively Q&A, we’ve put together a photo gallery with some of the key quotes from the Hollywood on-stage session — but, sorry, we didn’t include Favreau’s “Human Centipede” gag. As you go through the photos, be sure to click the “CAPTIONS ON” option to read the quotes. – Noelene Clark RECENT AND RELATED Ford: Most special-effects films today are soulless “Cowboys” challenge: A new hat for Harrison Jon Favreau hits “Cowboys” campaign trail Beatty, “Dick Tracy” will open Hero Complex festival Downey: “Iron Man 2″ process was “a barfight” Favreau: Why I’m leaving “Iron Man” series “Trek” writers: We’ve broken the sequel story Director: “Captain America” will surprise people Ron ...

There were a lot of memorable moments at the 2011 Hero Complex Film Festival, but nothing could compare to the firecracker finale on Sunday night when “Iron Man” star Robert Downey Jr. stunned the sellout crowd at the Chinese 6 Theatre in Hollywood with an unannounced appearance. On stage, I was talking to director Jon Favreau about his star and their memories of the career-changing 2008 opening weekend of “Iron Man“ when the filmmaker reached into his pocket to pull out his phone. “I’m going to call him. Do you mind? Let’s get him on the set of  ‘Avengers’?” It was all part of planned bit where he would call the actor who played the title hero and start a phone conversation that would lead to a speakerphone chat and then, finally, the emergence of Downey from the high rear doors of ...