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.