RDJ Unhappy with Iron Man 2?

RDJ Unhappy with Iron Man 2?

A close reading of a May 2010 Mens Journal interview with Downey, gives an intriguing new perspective to his feelings on the production of Iron Man 2.

By DannyRand401 - Jul 01, 2010 11:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Iron Man 2
Source: Mens Journal (May 2010, p.86)

But then, unprompted, he starts talking about another film that did not take him to his happy place. "There are times when you know you're pushing it and you don't have a great vibe about where things are going creatively. You have to be collarbone deep in molasses for four months and just go, 'I have no solace in my work whatsoever, and its 12 hours a day of cosmic punishment."
...I ask him which film
"I will not say its name."
Was it recent?
"Absolutely."
We talk about other things for a while, and I start eliminating movies. I've got it down to two.
Surely it was the Shaggy Dog right?
He leans forward and looks hard at me... "Shaggy Dog was a very, very important movie for me. It was a very enjoyable experience. He sounds sincere...I tell him through my powers of deductive reasoning that his cosmic punishment film must be Iron Man 2.
Downey flinches a little... "This is still art for commerce, at best," says Downey about his chosen profession. "I consider myself to be a pain-in-the-ass artist who's self aware enough to still be tolerable. While I have a little bit of juice, I try not to rub it in anyone's face, because it's just disgusting. And I use the term 'artist' loosely."



So there we go. I'm not trying to stir up anger or controversy, but rather intelligent discussion about these films, and the actors in them. Maybe we should take another look at Iron Man 2 and see if it really holds up? Or maybe we should accept that simply because someone does a stellar job performing in a film, that doesn't mean he loves it as much as he may pretend.

Personally, I agree with all of the points he makes, and have no illusions about Iron Man 2 or even films in general. I enjoy them thoroughly, but at the end of the day they are more commerce than art, much as we'd all like to
forget...


http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/45791943.html
Mens Journal, May 2010. Interview by Stephen Rodrick. Photos by Mark Seliger
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StrangerX
StrangerX - 7/1/2010, 11:49 AM
Well it wasn't the greatest CBM, but it was watchable.
Stumblin
Stumblin - 7/1/2010, 11:58 AM
I enjoyed the hell out of the sequel, though I feel the first one was the strongest.
Spock
Spock - 7/1/2010, 5:28 PM
I love there honest conversations.
supermarioworldE
supermarioworldE - 7/1/2010, 6:44 PM
He really shouldn't be so hard on the production of the film. In a year full of shitty, uninspired movies, Iron Man 2 was truly a gem.

But yeah, it was still pretty mediocre.
StuckInPanels
StuckInPanels - 7/2/2010, 4:51 AM
It was entertaining and enjoyable, but it had its flawed moments, but perhaps we shall see a much better film with Avengers and Iron Man 3...trust me its a much better sequel than most series*cough* TRANSFORMERS*cough*

@DannyRand...perhaps he was just joking around, he tends to be goofy off the camera...it seems more like a joke when he said the Shaggy Dog was important to him.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 7/2/2010, 10:42 AM
He should be unhappy with IRON MAN 2, it was half the movie IRON MAN 1 was!

Gr8 article!
EvilEd2000
EvilEd2000 - 7/4/2010, 2:28 PM
Aki87 i actually think Transformers was a better effort, it's at least a tie. Seriously Iron Man didnt have a better story with less plot holes and stupid bits, it was actually even more consistant with annoying humour that just didn't work. It wasn't great with character development either. Okay the dialogue was slightly better in Iron man and Sam Rockwell gave a great performance but no one else was anything special, Scarjo wasn't great at all, say what you want about Megan Fox but shes more convincing at playing a human being than Scarjo was in Iron Man. Both movies had hateful characters that you wanted to die Transformers had the room mate and the twins, Iron man had Iron Man. In short as an action film Transformers wins easy, as a comedy Transformers wins but only just, as a comedy they actually both fail. Seen ff2 other day its funnier and has better action than Iron Man.
PieFace
PieFace - 7/5/2010, 9:46 PM
Some CBM should get the John Lennon treatment. Kill it while it's up there so that no downfall would come in it's future.
blueballs
blueballs - 7/6/2010, 10:21 AM
Maybe thats why he dropped out of Cowboys and Aliens, and was not creativly getting along with Jon Favreau anymore, or maybe were reading to much into it?
Urban8er
Urban8er - 7/6/2010, 4:51 PM
IronMan 2 was great!!!! I could watch it over and over!!!!
goldilocks
goldilocks - 7/22/2010, 4:37 PM
Very interesting interview indeed. It only confirms somethings I've been feeling ever since Disney bought out (and I do mean bought out) Marvel. What Marvel was doing independently with the production of their own movies is being lost. Now that Marvel is in the house of mouse it seems Disney is taking the Marvel movies in the direction of the Mickey Mouse Club.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed but this is just another deflating sign that -- like Iron Man 2 -- Thor, Captain America and the Avengers are now going to live up to expectations and have NO chance at exceeding them.
We'll see....
goldilocks
goldilocks - 7/22/2010, 4:41 PM
ooops, that's NOT going to live up to expectations. My bad. lol
MisterD
MisterD - 7/29/2010, 7:18 PM
There's a difference bewteen a film's production and the final product. Film history is littered with horrible productions that worked on screen (Jaws, Apocalypse Now) and I'm sure there are plenty of pieces of shite (Shaggy Dog) that were a joy to make.

My only problem with Iron Man 2 is that the connective tissue in the middle, setting up the Avengers, drags a bit on repeat viewings,and will likley feel completely out of place in 10 years when we no longer are hungry for any sign of the forthcoming miracle film.
joekerr93
joekerr93 - 8/1/2010, 6:42 PM
i thought is was fantastic, but the first was a little better. the problems i have had with both movies is the fight scenes: obadiah v tony, raceway whiplash fight, and the final one in iron man 2. they were all too short.
and it doesnt surprise me that rdj would be bored with this or wotever, hes too much of a creative force to stick with one character
joekerr93
joekerr93 - 8/1/2010, 6:42 PM
i thought is was fantastic, but the first was a little better. the problems i have had with both movies is the fight scenes: obadiah v tony, raceway whiplash fight, and the final one in iron man 2. they were all too short
vtopa
vtopa - 8/4/2010, 4:31 PM
RDJ should shut up. Before Iron Man came along, he was wallowing in self-pity and lousy roles. Now he is suddenly too good for "art as commerce." Get over yourself dude.
TheGrimReaper
TheGrimReaper - 8/5/2010, 9:29 AM
@vtopa

wtf? are we talking about the same person? before iron man he was getting over the issues he had in the pass and trying to get back so yeah there was a build up in film roles, everyone has opinions on things he did't like it big deal, dont see why i thought it was great :)
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