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Brad Pitt Might Face Off With RDJ in Sherlock Holmes Sequel

BuzzSugar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:30:33 -0700

Warner Brothers is already developing a sequel to the not-yet-released Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, and early gossip suggests that Brad Pitt has been in talks to join the cast as Moriarity, Holmes's rival.

Please let this be true! Not only would adding Pitt to the Downey-Law lineup help keep the Holmes franchise afloat, but Downey and Pitt in the same film is pretty much my dream - both guys have that wise-cracking persona, good looks, and it would be so much fun to see them spar.

The downside: Pitt's character Moriarity is supposedly only shown in shadow according to the script, making him impossible to actually see. Not a single shot of Pitt's face? Bummer.

No word yet if Pitt will be affecting a British accent or using his Inglorious Basterds hillbilly.

Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau Take on Cowboys & Aliens

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:30:05 -0700

Last Summer, Robert Downey Jr. signed on to a film adaption of the graphic novel Cowboys and Aliens, and here's more good news - Jon Favreau most likely will direct the film! If you've seen Iron Man (or have even heard of it), you know what kind of magic these guys have together.

I've been antsy for Iron Man 2 after seeing new footage at Comic-Con, but I might be even more interested in RDJ and Favreau's newest venture. The duo is staying within the comic book realm, but I'm looking forward to new characters, fresh story lines, and 100 percent more aliens.

Brad, Will, and Jonah Lend Their Voices to Oobermind

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 11:30:35 -0700

I don't know about you guys, but I'm always more excited about an animated movie when I love the actors behind the voices. Before I even read the description of Dreamworks' Oobermind, I was already on board since Brad Pitt and Will Ferrell will lend their vocal talents to the lead roles. Along with Jonah Hill, the actors will play three superheroes - Brad's a good guy, Jonah's a bad guy, and Will's the title character who apparently swings both ways. Robert Downey Jr. was originally set to play Oobermind, but it sounds like he's got his eye on bigger projects. RDJ would have been fun, but added bonus: Tina Fey's already signed on as well.

Robert Downey Jr. Might Play Lestat in Vampire Chronicles

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:45:56 -0700

Word on the street is that the next vampire project will be a reboot of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. In 1994, Rice's Interview With the Vampire was adapted for the big screen with Tom Cruise in the role of the vampire Lestat de Lioncort, "a nobleman-turned-vampire in the late 18th century." Later, in 2002, Stuart Townsend played Lestat in the movie Queen of the Damned. Now, apparently Universal wants to start up a new franchise based on the Chronicles - but this time with Robert Downey Jr. as Lestat.

According to Wikipedia (so, you know, grains of salt required), Rice did not initially like the idea of Tom Cruise in the role of Lestat. She reportedly said that Cruise was "'no more my Vampire Lestat than Edward G. Robinson is Rhett Butler' and the casting was 'so bizarre, it's almost impossible to imagine how it's going to work.' Nevertheless, she was satisfied with Cruise's performance after seeing the completed film, saying that 'from the moment he appeared, Tom was Lestat for me' and 'That Tom did make Lestat work was something I could not see in a crystal ball.'" If the RDJ thing ends up being true, I wonder what Rice will think of this casting choice. Personally, I think it's inspired. I'd love to see him in this role!

Check Out a Sneak Peek of Iron Man 2!

BuzzSugar — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:25:16 -0700

I was lucky enough to check out some awesome new Iron Man 2 footage at Comic-Con a few weeks ago, and now the clips have been posted online. We get a glimpse at all the new faces, including Mickey Rourke as Whiplash and Scarlett Johnasson as Black Widow. The sneak peek probably won't last very long, so check it out while you still can!

Amazing Duo Alert: RDJ and Galifianakis Team Up For Due Date

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:30:04 -0700

If people didn't know about Zach Galifianakis before The Hangover they are in love with him now, and while it was hilarious to see him playing alongside Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper, his next costar for an upcoming comedy is pretty amazing, too. Robert Downey Jr. and Galifianakis will star together in Due Date, a movie that reunites Galifianakis with his Hangover director Todd Phillips.

According to Phillips, Due Date is "a buddy comedy without the buddies." The story follows an expectant father (RDJ) who "finds himself on a road trip with a mismatched partner, as he races to get there before the birth of his first child." Galifianakis is a perfect choice for RDJ's "mismatched partner." I think I've rarely wanted to be on the set of a movie as much as I'd love to be on this set. What a pair! It sounds like Due Date will be yet another major success for Todd Phillips, and I can't wait to see what he and this cast come up with.

Movie Preview: Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:00:04 -0700

It would be an understatement indeed to say that we haven't seen Sherlock Holmes quite like this before. As this new trailer shows, Guy Ritchie's big screen Holmes story is full of action, violence, and good-looking people. There are quippy lines a-plenty (it is Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role and Guy Ritchie in the director's chair, after all) and elements of silliness - all of which rounds out to be quite a funny and heart-poundingly tense mystery.

As you'll see in the preview, this Holmes is more of a roguish fighter than a contemplative guy chewing on his pipe. Together with his partner Watson (Jude Law), the detective engages "in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England." Sherlock Holmes opens Dec. 25. To check out the trailer, read more.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Beyonce's Box Office Surprise

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:15:34 -0700

The Beyonce Knowles thriller Obsessed topped the box office over the weekend earning an estimated $28.5 million-kind of amazing given the critical reaction wasn't pretty. Zac Efron's 17 Again came in at No. 2 followed by Fighting, another movie that debuted much better than expected.

The Soloist, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx had a somewhat disappointing debut at No. 4. and earned about $9.7 million. According to Variety, "box office observers had expected Soloist to debut in the $10 million-$12 million range. They say the pic could have been dinged by so-so reviews." Interestingly, Disney's Earth rounded out the top five, earning an estimated $8.6 million.

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures

The Soloist: The Lead Actors Are the High Notes

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:30:08 -0700

I'll be honest with you: If it stars Robert Downey Jr., I'm probably going to like it, at least a little. Such is the case with director Joe Wright's (Atonement) new movie, The Soloist. Honestly, I'm not sure I would like this movie as much were it not for this excellent casting choice. It's amazing, the guy never disappoints, and in this movie he is a revelation. Downey digs deep to find the humanity and nuance in this true story and knocks his performance out of the park.

His costar Jamie Foxx gets an "A" for effort for fading into his character and successfully achieving what is no doubt a difficult job: realistically portraying a mentally ill man. For the most part, this is Downey's show, though the two actors work well together to give this already sentimental movie its heart. That said, it's not without some missteps. To find out what they are, read more.

The movie's plot is made up of the kind of stuff that might be referred to as "Oscar bait." Downey plays Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez, a middle-aged divorcee who appears discontent despite his relatively successful writing career. One day, Lopez meets a homeless, violin-playing schizophrenic man named Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx). He discovers that Ayers was once a talented cello player at  Juilliard, and Lopez begins writing columns about this virtuoso wandering the streets. These columns captivate the city.

Wright's visuals are slick and the movie is so stylish and pristine that the effect, at times, is emotionally alienating. He's also a little trigger-happy with the middlebrow symbolism (pigeons take flight like doves, etc.). Also, there are a lot of themes coursing through this movie - homelessness and mental illness, friendship, grace, the meaning of life, the state of the American newspaper, the virtue of commitment, the healing power of music, and on and on. Just like the freeway system in LA, Wright's movie is sprawling and congested.

So while the film itself has lofty ambitions, it's the friendship between the two men that keeps this thing grounded. The closer Lopez gets to Ayers emotionally, the more he's drawn into the world of the mentally ill who inhabit parts of the city most people choose to ignore. We spend a lot of time on skid row and witness the tragic figures who migrate to the area (real-life people from this part of LA play extras). As Lopez witnesses the reality of life on the street, it becomes harder for him to resist committing to friendship with Ayers.

Thankfully the director practices restraint here and avoids easy answers when it comes to the plight of the homeless. Instead, catharsis comes slowly in the form of the budding relationship Downey and Foxx so convincingly portray. Lopez works hard to bring music back into Ayers's life and finds out the hard way that saving someone is easier said than done. The question toward the middle of the movie becomes: how do you help someone who doesn't want to be helped? Instead of railing against a system that would let the most vulnerable among us suffer indignities on the street, the movie's central relationship is a reminder that a lot of good things begin when we simply take a second to notice each other.

Photos courtesy of Paramount

A Good Year for Robert Downey Jr

BuzzSugar — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:15:57 -0800

Why was 2008 so good for Robert Downey Jr.? Because we just couldn't get enough of him. The man's had a lot of career ups and downs, but this just might have been his biggest year ever.

How so? Well, let's see. There was a little thing called Iron Man, which shot to the top of the box office as the Summer's first true blockbuster and was basically just the most fun ever. It didn't take long for Marvel to decide that Downey's man-robot deserved another go-round, with Iron Man 2 already scheduled to open in May 2010 and Iron Man 3 in development, too. Oh, and Tony Stark's also going to be showing up in The Avengers, making RDJ one of the busiest superheroes on the block.

But that's not all. He also took on a role that could have been incredibly controversial or just bad, an awards-obsessed actor who physically changed his skin to play a back man - and pulled it off perfectly. Tropic Thunder became Downey's second box office winner of the Summer - and this time, the role nabbed him a Golden Globe nomination and your votes as the best comedic male actor of the year.

And Downey shouldn't be falling off the radar anytime soon. Besides the Iron Man and Avengers films, he's also signed on to play Sherlock Holmes, will be a cowboy who battles aliens, and will be back in theaters this Spring in The Soloist. It's so good to see him back at the top of his game; here's hoping that 2008 is just the start.

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