Iron Man 2

[SpringHeelJack]

I don't mind actors being replaced in both "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man 2" because in both cases, they were replaced by more talented actors. Katie Holmes was no more believable as a young female Asst. District Attorney than I am, and while I have nothing against Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle can act circles around him, so I'm okay with his replacement.

[disneyboy20022]

ironic though....I think Terrence Howard is currently voicing the father of a Princess Tiana in a new Disney Film...called The Princess and the Frog...Anyone heard of it

[SpringHeelJack]

...how is that ironic?

[jpanimation]

The studio wanted him back inititally, but he got like a prima donna and asked for a huge raise. The studio said no, and was willing to negotiate, but he insisted on leaving.

Celebrities.

Cheers,
JM

I don't know how true that is but here are a couple of sides to the story:

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20236884,00.html

The first article is from supposed inside sources that say Marvel wasn't happy with Howard's performance and that he was the highest paid actor on the first movie as he was the first signed up. Those two things together caused Marvel to approach Howard with an 50-80% pay cut for the sequel. Its unknown whether his agents or Marvel walked away but they signed up Don Cheadle the very next day. Iron Man 2's screenwriter has already disproved the part about them not liking Howard's performance so much that they were reducing Rhodes part, says it's simply not true.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2008/10/22/iron-man-2-terr/

The next article is Terrence Howard's official response put out the next day claiming it wasn't about money. Supposedly he and Marvel had already come to an agreement on salary and that the producers reneged on the deal. He says they voided the contract and to his surprise signed up Cheadle.

What story you choose to believe is up to you but I find Howard's very believable. Marvel took it's sweet time signing up Jon Favreau and almost dumped him. Marvel seems to play hardball, regardless of the previous film's success. It should be noted that Marvel has yet to comment on all this.

I don't mind actors being replaced in both "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man 2" because in both cases, they were replaced by more talented actors. Katie Holmes was no more believable as a young female Asst. District Attorney than I am, and while I have nothing against Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle can act circles around him, so I'm okay with his replacement.

Well it still bothers me and takes from my enjoyment no matter how much I try to push the thought aside. As I previously said, Katie Holmes isn't the greatest actress and wasn't very believable as a district attorney but her replacement, Maggie Gyllenhaal, wasn't much better either (making the whole argument a moot point as neither are very talented). Chris Nolan wanted Holms and was very upset he had to replace her and I tend to side with the directors (in addition to the fact that switching actors annoys me to begin with).

I find Terrence Howard a very capable actor and had no problems with his performance as Rhodes. He did a wonderful job as the very reserved buddy who had to ground Stark with reality every once in a while (very contrast in personalities). Don Cheadle is a great actor but I wouldn't say he can act circles around Howard as they have very different acting approaches. I'm not sure how well Cheadle will handle the Rhodes character but I'll wait to see the film before I make any judgments.

Anyway, its not about who can act and who can't, its the fact that it bothers me regardless and I can't help it. Once I have an image of that character ingrained in my head I have a hard time imagining anyone else as that character, no matter how well they play the part, unless its a 100% reboot.

[disneyboy20022]

...how is that ironic?

Maybe not Ironic......but interesting he chose to do The Princess and the Frog and not Iron Man 2......maybe he wanted to do TPATF.....and I wouldn't think Disney paid him as much as he demanded for Iron Man 2 and they turned him down....anyway...Perhaps he doesn't get along with Robert Downey Jr? Who knows.....

[SpringHeelJack]

I don't think he chose to do "TPATF" over "Iron Man 2", it's that he felt he wasn't getting paid enough for "Iron Man 2" and left it. I'm pretty sure he'd be doing "The Princess and the Frog" regardless. It was a relatively small part, and voiceover work isn't that time consuming.

[PixarFan2006]

This is one of the movies of 2010 that I am looking forward to seeing.

[Escapay]

Got back from the midnight showing. It was worth seeing at midnight in a packed theatre. Especially every time someone would utter "damn!" whenever Hottie McHotHot was on the screen. And it got elevated to the two-syllable "da-amn!" when she was kicking ass.



albert

[PrincePhillipFan]

Did anyone else catch the hilarious and dead-on spoof of Walt Disney and the World's Fair with Stark's Expo '74? The whole thing is Walt and the World's Fair and his Epcot video down to a perfect T. Even Richard Sherman apparently wrote the theme song for it "Make Way For Tomorrow Today" for the film.

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/amSnoQH23FE&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/amSnoQH23FE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

http://www.starkexpo2010.com/

[estefan]

Yeah, I noticed the Walt Disney-Howard Stark connection instantly. Really great nod from Favreau. Didn't know Sherman wrote that song though I did get a big Carousel of Progress from it.

Also, pretty funny considering Iron Man 2 is technically a Disney-owned production.

[Escapay]

I was thinking that every time they showed the Stark Expo videos!

albert

[disneyboy20022]

It was great....the only thing that could have been better is....if Terrence Howard was back as Rody....I mean Don Cheadle was good as rody...but it would have been a lot more....funny with Terrence Howard in the scenes....(although the only person we have to blame for Terrence Howarde not being in it is his own ego )

[Disneykid]

I noticed the Disney/Epcot connection immediately, and as I was sitting during the end credits, I gasped out loud when I saw Richard Sherman's name listed for the Expo theme. Major kudos for that, Favreau.

Anyway, I just got back from seeing this and loved it. While it's not quite the same level as the first, it comes pretty dang close and sits comfortably as my second favorite superhero film. Some random notes (there might be some minor spoilers, but the big things will be in white):

* I wish Pepper was in this more. She admittedly wasn't in the first film very much, either, but it seems like she popped up more throughout the course of that one, even if each appearance was less than a minute. Here, she's gone for long stretches of time, which is a shame since her scenes with Tony were the best ones. The way she finds out about Tony's health problem and her response to that were both priceless.

* I echo the sentiments people have been voicing over Don Cheadle as Rhodey. Cheadle is perfectly fine, but there was something about the way Terrence Howard approached the role that felt right. A certain wink he had whereas Cheadle plays the role 100% straight.

* Mickey Rourke gave a really interesting performance as Ivan, and he acts as the film's anchor. I felt his payoff was a little underwhelming, especially after a) an ironically longer fight sequence with Iron Monger in movie 1, and b) such a non-stop, escalating sequence with the drones in this one.

* The action, especially the climax, is an improvement over the first film's. The scope of the last 20 minutes is amazing, though it's kind of funny that for a superhero film, Iron Man only directly saves two people. Yes, yes, I realize that him fighting off the drones also saves the people at the Expo, but that seemed more like an afterthought. It's be nice to see Tony actively rescue some people in true superhero fashion.

* Again, the Walt Disney reference was fantastic.

* The Nick Fury/SHIELD stuff feels like it all comes from a different film. I think both he and Black Widow could've been woven into the narrative a little more tightly. Still, Scarlett's action scene was fantastic, and the contrast with Happy and the guard just made it even better.

* Where's the bit with Tony and Pepper on the plane before the expo? Maybe they felt it was too early to have them flirting like that? Jon Favreau said in an interview that he cut out about half an hour's worth of material from the film and that it'll be on the DVD and Blu-ray. I actually think the film flows fairly well as it is, but if there's more Tony/Pepper and Natalie/SHIELD stuff out there, I'd definitely like to see them.

* As for the end credits scene, anyone else feel like Thor's hammer looks...plastic? I realize that's picking nits and that the one in Thor's own film will probably differ, but I thought it was worth noting.

* So it looks like in the Marvel movie universe, both Iron Man films take place before The Incredible Hulk. Let's see where Thor and Captain America fit on the timeline. From what I understand, the latter's going to largely be a period piece, so the whole "uncovering in ice" thing may be an epilogue, with the follow up stuff happening solely in The Avengers.

So overall, it's a great sequel. I think if the movie had been given more than just a two-year window to be completed in, a few things could've been smoothened out. Those little bumps don't stop me from loving this film, though. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Marvel Studios brings us with Thor and Captain America. Their track record so far's been great.

[PeterPanfan]

I just got back from this a little bit ago, and I didn't really like it. I liked the first a lot, but this one barely had a solid plot, and the acting was subpar, except for Gwenyth Paltrow. Scarlett Johansson was great, too, but I can't decide if that's because of her acting skills or her body.

[slave2moonlight]

Very fun movie, and in general I liked it a lot, but I also have been saying that it didn't have a very well laid out plot and just very basic villains (Greedy villain, revenge villain). I loved the Walt Disney/Stark thing they did though, and I was wondering the whole time if I was the only one in the audience "getting" that. Where I live, it's highly possible.

[jpanimation]

I thought it was very appropriate that the film's composer (John Debney) worked with Richard Sherman on the expo theme. Debney has experience composing for the parks (most notably the EPCOT Center theme music and co-composing Horizons).

[milojthatch]

Did anyone else catch the hilarious and dead-on spoof of Walt Disney and the World's Fair with Stark's Expo '74? The whole thing is Walt and the World's Fair and his Epcot video down to a perfect T. Even Richard Sherman apparently wrote the theme song for it "Make Way For Tomorrow Today" for the film.

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/amSnoQH23FE&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/amSnoQH23FE&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

http://www.starkexpo2010.com/

Oh I caught it, it was awesome! This movie rocked! I'm looking forward to "Thor" next.

[disneyboy20022]

Terrence Howard calls out Robert Downey, Jr. for ‘dumping’ him from ‘Iron Man’ franchise
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... -1.1518537

Hollywood star Terrence Howard is supposed to be promoting his new movie, but instead he bashed former friend and co-star Robert Downey, Jr., accusing the actor of dumping him from the massively lucrative Iron Man trilogy.

Howard made the accusation during an interview with Andy Cohen on Bravo’s "Watch What Happens Live." A viewer called in to ask, “Why didn’t you come back to Iron Man? I liked you so much in a uniform.”

Frowning, Howard replied, "Would you like to really know? It turns out in order for - this is going to get me in a lot of trouble - it turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man ... when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out."

He was apparently referring to Downey’s salary for the super hero trilogy, which earned him a reported $50 million for the last film alone.

Howard was one of the highest paid cast members in the 2008 original Iron Man, playing U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes. He was cut from the two sequels.

"The word was that you wanted the same money as Downey," Cohen said.

“We did a three picture deal, so that means that you did the deal ahead of time," said the 44-year-old actor of "Crash" and "Hustle & Flow."

"There was going to be a certain amount for the first one, a certain amount for the second, and a certain amount for the third,” he said.

“They came to me with the second and said, "Look, we will pay you one eighth of what we contractually had for you, because we think the second one will be successful with or without you

“I called 'my friend' that I helped get the first job, and he didn't call me back for three months,''' said Howard.

Asked how things are now, with Downey, Howard replied: "Oh I love him, God's going to bless him," he said sinisterly, causing a gasp from the audience.

"Two words for that,' responded Cohen. "Messy boots."

I'll post a roundtable talk from AMC Movie Talk that I would suggest people watch. It kinda dissects this whole story and what to know moving forward

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANM6h2HRqgo[/youtube]

[Super Aurora]

This was common knowledge. I already knew most about this.


Also Terrence was just being a greedy mother-fucker. He was highest paid actor in the first Iron-Man movie and was only a side character. When Iron Man proved to be successful thanks to Dowery's performance, the studio had more confidence in Dowery's acting and thus decided pay him more money since you know, he's the lead actor of the movie. Howard was just mad that he wasn't making more money despite his great pay in the first movie.

[Disney's Divinity]

. Howard was just mad that he wasn't making more money despite his great pay in the first movie.

Yeah, I think he said that...

I personally don't care about the Iron Man series, but I did see a video of this interview and thought he was justified in his feelings (both towards the studio and Downey, Jr.). I'm sure breaking contracts happens all the time when it's beneficial to the studio, but that doesn't make me less sympathetic for him. I think it's awful on Downey's part also.