Highest paid Avenger Downey Jr. has no time for Independents anymore

Highest paid Avenger Downey Jr. has no time for Independents anymore

The Age of Ultron star continues his contractual press tour and dividing some fans on his behavior and commentary.

By Hughes - May 01, 2015 09:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man
Source: theguardian.com
Let me start out with the fact that i've loved RDJ since Less than Zero and appreciated his works up through Kiss Kiss Bang Bang when no studio would hire him since he was a liability. Heck, if not for Favreau going to bat for him and the fans corralling behind the idea, we would have a very different Tony Stark. I still admire his talent and will do so whether or not the views expressed here are in line with his.

*talk to the hand

Multiple places are reporting on the latest RDJ move after the Krishnan Guru-Murthy interview, which I am completely with Downey on, while others I know are not. His latest were remarks that surprised me, given that if not for independent film, he would not have a stable career. Not saying to take steps backwards in ones career, but to completely discount, marginalize and otherwise insult artists trying to make a living put me off a bit and surprised me coming from the son of an indie filmmaker.

RDJ was asked by Entertainment Weekly Radio whether he felt like making “a $500,000 budget indie movie”, he had harsh words:

“No,” said Downey Jr. “Because they’re exhausting and sometimes they suck and then you just go, ‘What was I thinking?’

“But I’m interested in doing all different kinds of movies. Sometimes the little movies are the ones that wind up taking the most out of you because they’re like, ‘Hey, man, we’re just running a couple of days behind. Do you think you can stay through your birthday and then come back on the fourth of July? And, by the way, like the crew – can you pay for the craft services?’

“‘And, oh, by the way, man, when we go to Sundance, it’s like, can we just sit you in a chair and you can sell this for six days in a row so that we’ll make 180 bucks when it opens in one theater? God, this is so powerful what we’re doing. What do you think of the movie? You saw it last night?’”

“I thought it’s mediocre.”

“‘Yeah, isn’t it the greatest? Man, everyone’s an artist here.’”

“Actually, most of you are kind of inexperienced and lame.”

*problem, bro?


Heck, he's even surrounded by independently minded folks at Marvel, Joss Whedon went and shot an independent film out of his house based on a little Shakespeare piece after the first Avengers film. James Gunn has worked for Troma and does his own stuff. Indiewire hit on some valid points in their article and I'll add to the fact that while his remarks could have been taken out of context for something else, perhaps even a sarcastic gag, it doesn't take away from the fact that if not for a few solid indie films during his years of making a comeback; he would not have had the opportunity to prove himself a dependable talent that the big studios could even hire again. Whether in or out of the powerhouse that is Marvel Studios now, he probably doesn't have to work another day in his life thanks to these films... which began at a very independent level.

I'm not in the film business, I just love movies. I REALLY love movies that involve comic characters coming to life. Bottom line, it probably comes down to just being more selective. While I enjoy him as the epitomy of Tony Stark, there's nothing like seeing RDJ have fun in a film without studio constraints.

 

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Shroombeast
Shroombeast - 5/1/2015, 11:10 PM
RDJ was 100% right. And this article is shit.
Havenless
Havenless - 5/1/2015, 11:12 PM
"Movie star prefers to make movies with a higher chance of success, news at 11"
RR51
RR51 - 5/1/2015, 11:18 PM
While it may sound harsh, what he said is mostly true. Anyone can make a movie now, so the indy-industry does have A LOT of mediocre movies with as he said unprofessional crew and disorganization.
Hughes
Hughes - 5/1/2015, 11:23 PM
@HurricaneXavier, sorry if you see it as a hack, the cut/paste has been directly quoted across the board from multiple outlets. Just putting in my .02

@TheAmbassador, possibly, although The Judge was the first film from his and his wife's new studio...funnily enough, independent.

@Shroombeast, can you be more constructive? I genuinely want to know in order to write more entertaining articles. I just started here as a volunteer but have been writing on other sites for years. Genuine critical feedback welcome!

@Havenless, yeah, no shocker there.
Hughes
Hughes - 5/1/2015, 11:25 PM
@RR51, agreed - I've seen way more terrible indies than good ones. Which is why I say maybe it just comes down to being more selective
CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 5/2/2015, 12:29 AM
Indie movies are some of my favourites,
CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 5/2/2015, 12:35 AM
I think actors can lose themselves when they're apart of these huge franchises, with tons of money and can lose humility.
ScarJo didn't make her whole career about Marvel which I love, with a starring role in Under they Skin, she wasn't getting an Avengers style salary I'm sure but roles like that to test a persons acting skills and gives them some diversity.

Mark Ruffalo even, he's branching out into indies and big blockbusters as an actor who can be great in both of them. RDJ doesn't seem to want this from his career.
Hughes
Hughes - 5/2/2015, 1:35 AM
@CherryBomb - valid points with ScarJo and Ruffalo. Humility is one of the best traits any person can have.
Gunslinger
Gunslinger - 5/2/2015, 2:28 AM
Oh no, he won't make more indie movies? OMG!!!! How can he do this? I'm scarred for life! Why do I care so much?

Oh...


Wait....


I don't.
PsychoticSpaceRaccoon
PsychoticSpaceRaccoon - 5/2/2015, 2:31 AM
Guess what, ass-hat? Stupid article is stupid.

Who would have thought?
AbhiShake
AbhiShake - 5/2/2015, 2:58 AM
Most of indie movies do suck, but they are important too for the new talents to grow and make themselves worthy for a blockbuster or high budget movies.
CherryBomb
CherryBomb - 5/2/2015, 3:01 AM
@Hughes

Agreed! Actors aren't just plucked out of nowhere and thrown into these starring franchise roles.
They work their way up from... Indie movies!

Ellen Page for example, got cast in her breakout role and Academy Award nominated performance in Juno, after the director saw her amazing performance in the indie Hard Candy.
Gunslinger
Gunslinger - 5/2/2015, 3:08 AM
This is article makes me want to say
Demiurge
Demiurge - 5/2/2015, 3:35 AM
JasonBlue
JasonBlue - 5/2/2015, 4:12 AM
This dude is really old, I think people forget that. Old people get more offended about little things and complain about how much energy they waste on things. And they view time as a very valuable resource. Hence his comments are absolutely fair. Actors have really odd and long schedules especially during press time for movies, and often independent films don't have the money to hire/buy the support these actors need to get thru those long hours. After following a few celebs on snapchat I realized how lil sleep they get sometimes.
BlackPhillip
BlackPhillip - 5/2/2015, 4:40 AM
Yea, most indies do suck.

@LubedUp

In the same shot that showed the Jocasta easter egg also showed Tadashi easter egg of Big Hero 6.
theVicious1
theVicious1 - 5/2/2015, 4:58 AM
I have no problem with what he said. Its like, ok, the dude that started McDonald's worked hard to be a billionaire. But after he had like a thousand restaurants and shit do you think he'd go to a small location and make some fries? Hell no, he worked hard to get where he is and that'd be beneath him. Been there, done that.
SuperCat
SuperCat - 5/2/2015, 5:23 AM
I haven't seen AOU yet. Nas was right. Life's a b*tch :(
DrKinsolving
DrKinsolving - 5/2/2015, 5:46 AM
I just watched the video interview and yeah, this was just a small clip of that interview, and taken out of context, as alaways....

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/may/01/robert-downey-jr-indie-movies-exhausting-and-sometimes-suck
DrKinsolving
DrKinsolving - 5/2/2015, 5:47 AM
and, AOU rocked!!
BlackIceJoe
BlackIceJoe - 5/2/2015, 6:18 AM
He's entitled to his own opinion. Plus if you posted the real thing he was talking about, your article would be better.
CombatWombat
CombatWombat - 5/2/2015, 7:03 AM
"It's easy to badmouth independent films with low budgets and payment when you have Disney shoving trucks of money up your ass."

Yeah, that's almost exactly the thought that ran through my mind...

Speaking of Mark Ruffalo, I thought "The Normal Heart" was REALLY good. Not sure if it counts as an indie since it was produced by HBO, but it was great to see him doing something smaller and more intimate for a change.
Verzwei
Verzwei - 5/2/2015, 9:51 AM
Damn, this article is really biased. Thank God I read the original first.
Hughes
Hughes - 5/2/2015, 10:49 AM
Thanks everyone! Even the ones who didn't enjoy the article, thank you for reading. There's no agenda with the piece and I'm more than open with the fact that I love RDJ and his portrayal of Stark. We live in an age where comic books being made to films are not just amazing, but are the big blockbusters and I'm loving every minute. Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, etc., it doesn't matter; I'm a fan of good stories and characters period.

My point is, if I submit an article here, I want to entertain and offer an opinion, respectfully. Something divisive like this can spark conversation and I'm open to it, as long as it's an intelligent one. @RR51 brought up good points, as did @CherryBomb, @UpcomingDCCU among others. @theVicious1 made a great assertion with using a fast food job as a metaphor for indie films. Loved that.
Pedrito
Pedrito - 5/2/2015, 11:19 AM
He's talking about the experience of indie film makers relying heavily on a big star to promote their work and even pick up the tab.
That's probably not the case all the time, but even indie film makers with integrity will be tempted to take advantage of a big star who's nice enough to help them.
MrJedabak
MrJedabak - 5/2/2015, 1:38 PM
Downey has become a bigtime douchebag.
AwesomePromoz
AwesomePromoz - 5/2/2015, 4:19 PM
Is it possible he was quoting what a lot of actors think about the Indy film process, and not exclusively from his own experiences? Like maybe he was having a joke about common tropes within the film industry. I thought based on your Ultron critiques that everyone on this site were film biz vets.
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