Thompson on Hollywood

Downey Banks on Franchises Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes

What a difference a year makes. With Iron Man and an Oscar nom for Tropic Thunder behind him, A-list movie star Robert Downey, Jr. had a good Comic-Con. Backstage after Iron Man 2, he suggested that he's uncomfortable marketing movies, although he knows he has to do it, and that he hated the whole Hall H thing. If that's true, it doesn't show. He works the crowd better than anyone. He was hawking not only Iron Man 2, which had a stellar reaction--probably the best of the annual comics confab--but he genuinely adored playing the character Sherlock Holmes.

By Anne Thompson
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August 4, 2009 9:18 AM
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Comic-Con: Iron Man 2

The audience in Hall H was ramped up for Iron Man 2. They booed moderator Scott Mantz of Access Hollywood, who plowed on. (I had read some Tweets complaining about him earlier today.) Sure enough, he was flustered and not in tune with the Hall H crowd, which is fairly sophisticated.

By Anne Thompson
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July 27, 2009 5:28 AM
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#SDCC Looks: Iron Man 2, Whiteout, Nightmare on Elm Street

As I head to San Diego for my umpteenth Comic-Con, I feel equal parts anticipation and dread. It's fun and I'll learn a lot that I want to know--but it's exhausting, large-crowd, insane circus fun.

By Anne Thompson
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July 22, 2009 6:36 AM
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Iron Man First Look

Iron Man was a huge winner. So while Marvel is still in charge of the sequel--and didn't hand the reins back to director Jon Favreau until he jumped through some hoops--I can't wait to see what he does to "deepen the chroma," as they say in Hollywood. In other words, a blockbuster brings the leeway to go even further in the right direction. Take it too far and you can get in trouble. Three weeks into production, USA Today's Scott Bowles talks to Favreau.

By Anne Thompson
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May 1, 2009 6:25 AM
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AFI Tributes Beatty; Clinton, Fonda and Nicholson Show

Yes, Jack Nicholson showed up after the Laker game, slightly hoarse, to honor his bud, Warren Beatty, at the 36th annual AFI Life Achievement fete. Count on Beatty, 71, to attract smarter-than-average tributes. "You drag me in with all these politicos," said Nicholson, who earned an Oscar nomination for Beatty's historic drama Reds. "I'm representing all the fair-weather friends you have in the city who went to the Lakers game."

By Anne Thompson
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June 13, 2008 5:47 AM
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Iron Man: Downey and Favreau Rock

I managed to convince Paramount to show me Iron Man earlier this week, and grabbed director Jon Favreau for a phone interview from the European leg of his round-the-world press tour, from Paris to Rome to the London Premiere. Here's my Iron Man column, which even explains why Samuel Jackson and Hilary Swank aren't in the movie.

By Anne Thompson
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April 25, 2008 5:57 AM
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Iron Man: Why it Will be Huge

Those of us who saw Paramount's first Iron Man materials at Comic-Con--and witnessed the hordes lining up just to see the damned costume unveiled--don't need to be convinced that this picture will be a summer boxoffice juggernaut. It should easily pass $200 million. Will it get to $300 million is another question.