Robert Downey Jr

IRON MAN 3 News: Jon Favreau to Return as Happy Hogan, Adds “Firepower” with Ashley Hamilton

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 24th, 2012 at 5:12 pm

We recently reported that Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale) would be joining Tom Hiddleston as a baddie in Thor 2, so Iron Man 3 went ahead and added their own firepower.  In this case, “Firepower” is actually the villain that Ashley Hamilton (Sunset Beach) is in talks to play.  In the Marvel universe, Hamilton’s character was the pilot of a “power suit” prototype built by the government (likely, S.H.I.E.L.D.) under the codename “Project: Firepower.”  And we all know that, once you’ve strapped on a suit of battle armor, it doesn’t take too long before you challenge Tony Stark/Iron Man himself (Robert Downey Jr.).  Also returning, in a producer capacity, will be Jon Favreau.  But it looks like fans will be able to see the Iron Man director on screen as well.  Hit the jump for more.

THE AVENGERS Blu-ray/DVD Hits Stores September 25; Includes Commentary, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending and More

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 18th, 2012 at 2:48 pm

Marvel’s The Avengers continues to Hulk Smash records at the box office, but we now have a release date and details regarding the film’s home media release.  Joss Whedon’s excellent superhero pic will hit Blu-ray and DVD on September 25th, and as expected the combo set is loaded with special features.  The 4-disc Blu-ray/DVD pack includes an audio commentary by Whedon, loads of deleted scenes (including an alternate ending), featurettes and much more.  Additionally, a 10-disc Blu-ray super set is also apparently being planned.  Hit the jump for details regarding the release.

Marvel Releases THE AVENGERS Movie Timeline

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 4:38 pm

On the seventh day, Joss Whedon created The Avengers.  Marvel has released a new infographic movie timeline that highlights specific super-heroic instances in time and places them in the context of The Avengers and the individual movies that built up to it.  While The Avengers franchise no doubt revolves around Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, the new infographic has made him into a pseudo-Christ figure by demarcating the timeline with BIM (“Before Iron Man”) and AIM (“After Iron Man”).  While it’s true that Iron Man had more movies than the rest of The Avengers (excluding 2003′s Hulk, which the timeline wisely forgets), I’d much rather see the scenes relative to one Special Agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) or even the beloved Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).  Hit the jump to check it out.

Warner Brothers Eyes Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. to Lead EL PRESIDENTE; Jay Roach in Talks to Direct

by Matt Currie    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 2:06 pm

Mega-star team-ups are all the rage these days. We’ve got everyone who ever kicked ass in the 1990s joining forces in The Expendables 2, Arnold and Stallone raiding The Tomb shoulder to shoulder and…um…Oh God, what am I forgetting? Anyway, Warner Brothers has its sights set on creating another, reportedly hoping to convince Tom Cruise (Rock of Ages) and Robert Downey Jr. (The Avengers….Right, of course!) to sign on for action- comedy El Presidente, which Jay Roach (Meet the Parents, HBO’s Game Change) is currently in talks to direct.

The flick would see Cruise stepping into the role of a gung-ho Secret Service agent assigned to protect a particularly reviled former President of the United States played by Downey Jr. At the moment, offers have not been made to either actor, but that could be forthcoming. Hit the jump for more.

Jon Favreau Talks THE AVENGERS Success and IRON MAN 3; Says He’ll Be “Very Involved” in the Production of IM3

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 14th, 2012 at 1:49 pm

After launching a series of Marvel Studios films that would eventually culminate in the biggest opening weekend of all time with The Avengers, director Jon Favreau decided not to return to helm Iron Man 3.  Favreau deserves a lot of credit for Marvel’s success, as he launched Iron Man as a superhero film that could be both grounded and fun, and planted the seed for the serialization and cross-pollinating of the future Marvel movies to come.  In an inspired choice, Shane Black (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) was pegged to take the helm of Iron Man 3, and production is gearing up to begin in a few weeks with Ben Kingsley onboard as the villain and newcomers Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall added to the cast alongside Robert Downey Jr. and co.

Favreau recently spoke a bit about the success of The Avengers and the third Iron Man film, revealing that he’ll be producing Iron Man 3 and will actually have a very involved role in the production.  In addition, he teased what we can expect story and character-wise when Tony Stark graces our screens once again.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Tim Burton Talks FRANKENWEENIE, BEETLEJUICE 2, BIG EYES and a PINOCCHIO Film with Robert Downey Jr.

by Christina Radish    Posted: May 9th, 2012 at 9:00 am

The black and white, stop-motion animated 3D film Frankenweenie, from director Tim Burton and based on the ideas in his 1984 live-action short, is a heart-warming tale about a boy and his beloved dog.  After unexpectedly losing Sparky, young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) sews him back together and harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life, but quickly faces unintended and sometimes monstrous consequences for his actions.  The voice cast also includes Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Atticus Shaffer and Winona Ryder.

During an early press day for the film, in which we got the chance to preview nearly 30 minutes of the film, director/producer Tim Burton talked about expanding the original story from his short, where the idea originally came from, casting actors that he hadn’t worked with in a while to voice some of the characters, how the stop-motion medium has changed over the years, his hope that younger audiences will want to explore the monsters that he’s paying tribute to in the film, and post-converting to 3D.  He also talked about the fact that Seth Grahame-Smith is working on writing Beetlejuice 2 and that he might be interested in getting involved depending on what he thinks of the script, the rumor about him doing a Pinocchio movie with Robert Downey Jr., and that Big Eyes is in the works, but that you never know what will be ready to go next.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

IRON MAN 3 Lands Rebecca Hall as Female Lead

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 8th, 2012 at 6:29 pm

Disney and Marvel have tapped Rebecca Hall (The Prestige) for the female lead of Iron Man 3.  The powers that be have moved quickly to initiate talks with Hall, as the previous frontrunner for the role, Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), turned them down only yesterday, citing scheduling issues.  All the better for Hall, who can prepare for her role as a “sexy scientist” who rivals Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in intelligence.  The third installment will feature the return of Downey Jr. after his scene-stealing turn in The Avengers, along with Gwyneth Paltrow and Don Cheadle.  Guy Pearce will join the fun and Sir Ben Kingsley is on board to play the villain.  Production on the Shane Black-directed Iron Man 3 starts this month in North Carolina before heading off to China en route to a May 3rd, 2013 release date.  Hit the jump for more on Hall’s role and the overall plot of Iron Man 3.

Shocking News: Disney Confirms THE AVENGERS 2 Is in Development [UPDATED]

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 8th, 2012 at 3:05 pm

In case anyone was worried that Disney and Marvel wouldn’t make a sequel to the film with the highest opening weekend gross of all-time (by far, I might add), Disney CEO Bob Iger is here to alleviate your concerns.  Per Deadline, Iger announced that the studio is developing a sequel to The Avengers, adding that the film’s success “is a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much.”  Anyone who sat through the film’s credits should have a good idea of where The Avengers 2 could go villain-wise, but I think the key to a follow-up will be the return of Joss Whedon as writer/director.  He is the reason The Avengers is a good film as opposed to simply an expensive film, and his recipe of humor, character development, and pure entertainment made for one of the most enjoyable moviegoing experiences in a long time.  Hit the jump for more.

[Update: It appears Iger's quote was taken out of context, and he actually said that there will "hopefully" be another Avengers.  Nevertheless, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point.  More after the jump.]

THE AVENGERS Earns $18.7 Million in Midnight Showings; Breaks Superhero Movie Record

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 4th, 2012 at 11:09 am

Hulk smash records, indeed.  After a long, long, long wait for many fans, The Avengers has finally been unleashed on screens across the world.  As with most highly anticipated properties, a considerable number of fans took the opportunity to catch the film at midnight last night—some brave souls even sat through the 13-hour Marvel Movie Marathon leading up to the midnight screening.  I don’t think my body could withstand the latter, but I did catch a midnight showing and I wholeheartedly loved nearly every second of writer/director Joss Whedon‘s “mother of all superhero movies.”  The film raked in an impressive $18.7 million in midnight tickets, making it the highest grossing midnight showing for a superhero title thus far, besting The Dark Knight’s $18.5 million take in 2008 (your move, The Dark Knight Rises).  Hit the jump for more.

Mondo Unveils Final Poster for THE AVENGERS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 3rd, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Over the past couple of weeks, Mondo (the collectible boutique arm of the Alamo Drafthouse) has been unveiling posters from their Avengers series.  Things kicked off with two great posters for Black Widow and Hawkeye, followed by a batch of individual posters for Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor.  Today, on the eve of the release of Joss Whedon’s all-star superhero pic, Mondo has unveiled the final poster in all its glory.  Tyler Stout created the design, and it’s pretty damn nifty.  All of the cast members are featured prominently inside the Avengers logo, assembled and ready to go.  Word on the film is extremely positive (you can read Matt’s rave review here), and this seems like the perfect way to cap off years of anticipation.

Hit the jump to check out the poster, including a variant design.  The poster will go on sale at a random time on Friday, May 4th.  As always, follow @MondoNews for the on sale announcement.

THE AVENGERS Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 2nd, 2012 at 1:17 pm

Nothing like The Avengers has ever been attempted in Hollywood history.  No major motion picture has ever been the culmination of four different blockbuster franchises, each with its own protagonist, and crossing them over into one gigantic film.  It’s bigger than a sequel or even a planned trilogy.  Marvel had to take pieces from their previous superhero films to assemble The Avengers.  The studio wedged set-up into Iron Man 2, wove the covert government agency S.H.I.E.L.D. into Thor, and tacked bookends to Captain America: The First Avenger.  The plan for The Avengers was audacious to the point of near-hubris, but writer-director Joss Whedon has managed to deliver an absolute powerhouse of a payoff that’s truly worthy of Marvel’s astonishing ambition.

THE AVENGERS Additional Scene Added to End Credits

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 2nd, 2012 at 9:15 am

Remember way back when we told you The Avengers cast and crew were shooting an additional scene?  Well, it looks like that additional scene will be tacked on to the credit sequence.  It’s being reported as a second credits sequence, meaning there was already one in place for the initial screenings and another one has been filmed for the very end of the credits.  In other words, don’t leave your theater until the screen goes dark and the ushers threaten to call the police.  We’ll keep this post spoiler-free (for you and for me), but we’ve got links to where you can find more information if you simply cannot wait until Thursday at midnight.

The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cobie Smulders and Clark Gregg opens May 4th.  Hit the jump for details and a bonus new TV spot.

New Featurettes for THE AVENGERS and DARK SHADOWS

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 1st, 2012 at 5:16 pm

I don’t know if there’s any footage left to squeeze out of The Avengers, but the Marvel Marketing Machine (which could be the villain in a presumed sequel) is still cranking out propaganda, which you can get caught up on here.  We posted a new TV spot for the heroic assembly movie earlier today, but a new featurette has debuted as well.  Luckily, Dark Shadows has decided to release their own featurette which focuses on the Collins’ family.  The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders opens May 4th.  Dark Shadows, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer, Eva Green, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, Johnny Lee Miller and Helena Bonham Carter opens a week later on May 11th.  Hit the jumps to check out the new featurettes.

New TV Spots for THE AVENGERS and SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN

by Dave Trumbore    Posted: May 1st, 2012 at 1:18 pm

Two new TV spots have cropped up: one for The Avengers to remind you that it opens this weekend and one for Snow White and the Huntsman that reminds us it still opens on June 1st. The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg and Cobie Smulders.  Check out all of our previous coverage here.

Snow White and the Huntsman stars Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.  You can also get caught up on all of our coverage here.  Hit the jump to see the new TV spots, including a behind-the-scenes video featuring Hemsworth as the Drunken Huntsman.

Joss Whedon Provides Commentary on New Clip from THE AVENGERS

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 1st, 2012 at 11:17 am

The Avengers opens in only three days, but if you need yet another clip, a new one has gone online.  However, this clip has some welcome commentary from writer-director Joss Whedon talking about the fight scene between Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).  As Whedon breaks down the scene, he makes the good point about how each character wants something different, neither is completely in the wrong, “and that makes it more than a fight.  It makes it a conflict.”  It’s a fun scene and it’s definitely more than simple “who would win in a fight” pandering.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, and click here for the interview with Mark Ruffalo (who plays Bruce Banner/The Hulk) we posted yesterday.  The film also stars Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, Clark Gregg, and Samuel L. Jackson.  The Avengers opens in 3D on Friday.

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