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beatlawrence Looks to be better than the Heartbreak Kid!
ROBERT DOWNEY JR. IN BLACKFACE
FilmDrunk.com —
... a baby from Asia but worries that ''all the good ones are gone.'' [Jack] Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film — his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film's director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they're doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they're in is very real. [EW] ...
First Pic from Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder
FilmWad —
Entertainment Weekly put up a First Look picture from Tropic Thunder today. Here it is. That's Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, and Jack Black. Yes, that is Robert "Iron Man" Downey Jr and there is an explanation. Tropic Thunder is an epic action comedy co-written and directed by Ben Stiller. It is meant to be a lampoon of insufferable actors and has a good cast in place to do just that. The plot follows "a team of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now... ...
First Look: Robert Downey Jr as Black Man in ‘Tropic Thunder’
Film School Rejects —
... Stiller directs (for the first time since Zoolander) and stars as a big action star who is headlining a modern day Apocalypse Now. Jack Black plays a comedian known for playing multiple roles in his films (like his last film, The Fatties: Fart 2). As EW explains, “when the film’s director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they’re doing some ...
First 'Tropic Thunder' Image Hits!
Cinematical —
... , and that image above is part of the first look released by Entertainment Weekly. This time, the focus is actors, and the comedy follows a group "of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now." However, the director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with them and ship them off to the jungle to fend for themselves. ...
Who's that man standing between Black and Stiller?
Oh No They Didn't! —
... over it. (In one scene, he tries to bond with a real African-American castmate by quoting the theme song from The Jeffersons.) Downey, meanwhile, is confident he never crossed the line. ''At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character,'' he says. ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home."SOURCE ...
Preview: Tropic Thunder
For Cinephiles by a Cinefille —
It is always strange for me when what I'm learning in my film classes manifests itself in some way in current films and pop culture. Today after my Race, Ethnicity and the Hollywood Musicial and a discussion about the use and meanings of blackface, I went to Entertainment Weekly online and read this preview of Ben Stiller's latest film, Tropic Thunder (opening August 15). The film, directed and co-written by Stiller and starring Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr., is an epic comedy about the production of a Vietnam Era ...
First Look at Stiller's 'Tropic Thunder' and Must Read Story Details
RopeofSilicon.com —
... to hell.'' Stiller points out that they set out to make a movie skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans, but he didn't know what to expect until they finally screened it for a black audience. ''It seems people really embrace it,'' he told EW. The trailer is set to debut on March 17 and apparently Downey is all over it, and believe it or not, that's him between Jack Black and Ben Stiller in the new picture debuted by EW and featured below. For the complete article click here . Tropic Thunder stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, Jack Black, Nick ...
The Dailies: March 5, 2008
MTV Movies Blog —
... - First look at Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and (holy crap) Robert Downey Jr. from “Tropic Thunder.” (EW) ...
First Look at 'Tropic Thunder', RDJ as C. Thomas Howell
I Watch Stuff - The Best Movie News Ever —
... It's obviously dangerous territory, but Stiller assured Entertainment Weekly that he "recently screened a rough cut for African-Americans, and was relieved at the reaction." Stiller also informed the magazine that he's now allowed to use "the N-word" because he's got this black friend, and he's totally cool with it.
Does Jack Black look like a fat version of the villain from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? to anyone else?
Stiller's new comedy [EW]
Black Like Downey: The Dark Overtones Of 'Tropic Thunder' [Dicey Propositions]
Gawker: defamer —
... --blackface steadfastly remains as reviled and controversial as ever. Which brings us, courtesy EW.com, to this first glimpse of Ben Stiller's "epic action comedy" Tropic Thunder--a movie he first conceived of as a child extra on the set of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. (Why does that one detail suggest what we might be looking at here is Stiller's own Heaven's Gate?) In it, Robert Downey Jr. plays an actor so committed to craft, ...
First Look: Tropic Thunder - Robert Downey Jr as a Black Man
/Film —
... Turns out that Entertainment Weekly released the first production photo for Ben Stiller’s summer comedy Tropic Thunder, and it features our first look at Robert Downey Jr.’s character Kirk Lazarus, who is a black man. That’s right, Robert is in black face, and from what little I can tell from the photo, he doesn’t look that bad as a black man. But even funnier, Robert plays a white man playing a black man. confused? ...
First Look: “Tropic Thunder”… And A Certain Actor In Blackface
Hollywoodtuna —
... commit to the character,” he says. “I dove in with both feet. If I didn’t feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I’m just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would’ve stayed home.”
It’s a fine line to walk between funny and offensive, but at this point, Downey’s earned my trust. And Tropic Thunder just went from summer comedy afterthought to a must-see.
Source
Related Posts:
Amy Adams To Spend A “Night” With Ben Stiller? ...
First Look: Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder
FirstShowing.net —
... still makes me chuckle to this day, no matter how many times I've seen it and despite Apple's repetitive use of it in their products. That's why I'm now foaming at the mouth to see Ben Stiller's first directorial attempt since the male-modeling adventure, Tropic Thunder. Entertainment Weekly just published a comprehensive first look at the new comedy and its plain-sight controversy. Without further ado, let's just get down to it and take a look at what could be one of the summer's funniest films. ...
First Look at Stiller’s ‘Tropic Thunder’
FilmoFilia —
...
Stiller got the idea for Thunder more than 20 years ago while shooting a small part in Steven Spielberg’s WWII drama Empire of the Sun. He’s continued to develop the script.
Tropic Thunder stars Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Bill Hader, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise, Tobey Maguire…
Stiller directed the pic and it hits theaters on August 15, 2008.
Source: EW.com
Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Tropic ...
Buffy Is an Open-Minded, Modern Kind of Vampire Slayer
Vulture —
... Downey in Blackface: "If you don't do it right, we're going to hell," says Robert Downey Jr. about his role in Ben Stiller's comedy Tropic Thunder: a white actor so devoted to his craft that in order to play a character originally written as black, he performs in blackface. Even if they do do it right, we imagine we'll go to hell for watching it. [EW] ...
Can you guess who this is?
Ain't It Cool News - The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news. —
... here. TROPIC THUNDER sounds great and now... thanks to EW.com there's a first look at the movie. Take a look at the picture below. Can you guess who the guy in the middle is? Want a hint? Two words: Iron. Man. No shit. What's even better is that Robert Downey Jr. actually plays a white actor in the movie (about the making of a Vietnam flick) who is so method he actually undergoes surgery to play a black character in the flick. We've been getting great word out of test screenings. Can't. Wait.
Soul Man
Craig's MovieBlog —
... When you look at this picture, what are the first 2000 things that pop into your head? I'm willing to bet that nowhere on the list is, "Hey, that African American gentleman looks just like Robert Downey Jr.!" Entertainment Weekly has the details on Tropic Thunder. ...
First Look: The Men of "Tropic Thunder"
Movie Dearest —
... Well, surely you recognize Stiller on the right, and under the bleach blonde 'do is Jack Black on the left. And the actor in the middle? Click here to find out. ...
And the Oscar for Achievement in Makeup Goes To . . .
CelebNewsWire —
... You are looking at a picture of Robert Downey Jr. in the upcoming movie Tropic Thunder. No, not the one in the front. That's Ben Stiller. Nope, not the one in the back either. That's Jack Black. The one in the middle. The black one. Seriously. Robert Downey Jr. Entertainment Weekly wouldn't lie to us, right? Unless Stiller and Black have reached new comedic lows (that is if the stars of a movie about ...
Robert Downey Jr. Goes Black, May Never Come Back
Socialite Life —
... In Ben Stiller's latest film, "Tropic Thunder," Robert Downey Jr. busts out the prosthetic hair and make-up to portray a self-indulgent actor, whose penchant for getting "into character" has him walking around looking like a black man. In the film, Downey's character, Kirk Lazarus is an Academy Award-winning actor, who stars alongside Ben Stiller's character in "the most expensive Vietnam War film ever," reports Entertainment Weekly. ...
Lil Jon Promises Forthcoming Album Will Include All-New Bullshit
Vulture —
... ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home.'' —Robert Downey Jr. on playing an actor who uses blackface in Tropic Thunder [EW] ...
Robert Downey Jr. Has a New Look
Circus Hour | Celebrity, Art, Gossip, Entertainment, Pop Culture, Satire, The Superifical —
... Robert tells Entertainment Weekly: ”If it’s done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago. If you don’t do it right, we’re going to hell.” ...
Blackface Already? But It's Not Even Halloween Yet!
SOULBOUNCE.COM —
... Thoughts? "First Look: 'Tropic Thunder'" [EW] H/T: [OKPMB]
Racial Backlash Over Upcoming Film?
Screen Rant —
... funny.
If you want to see the "red band" trailer (for language), you'll need to provide age verification information over at the official website.
Personally I think any racist accusations raised against this film in the media will be from the usual bunch of attention-hungry talking heads that pop up at every opportunity.
Tropic Thunder opens on August 15th and stars Ben Stiller, Jack Black & Robert Downey Jr.
Source: EW via First Showing
TrackBack (0) | Comments ...
You Decide: Is Robert Downey, Jr. Playing A Black Man Good Ish?
Young, Black, and Fabulous :: Spreading Fabulousness & Foolywang Since '05 —
... , so it might just be a problem again. Ben Stiller’s new movie, Tropic Thunder , is an action comedy about a screenplay he originally wrote with one of the Vietnam soldiers as a black man . And now, Robert Downey, Jr. is playing that role in black face as he has dyed his skin once he found out (in the movie) the role was originally slated for a black man. You decide. Good ish…or foolywang material?
Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. trade barbs at 'Tropic Thunder' party in Las Vegas
Hollywood Insider —
... may have been the perfect setup for a movie that appears to defy social convention (as was the evening's party, at the Planet Hollywood casino's swanky sushi joint Koi, which featured erotic dancers shaking their hips in skimpy, camouflaged ensembles.) Tropic Thunder centers on a group of actors (including Stiller, Downey, and Jack Black) who get dropped into the jungle by a director (Steve Coogan) who is tired of their canned performances in his Vietnam War film. Downey (as you may have read) plays a white actor who dyes his skin black for his role — and recites the ...
'Iron Man' star Robert Downey Jr. ponders his future as the next great action hero
Hollywood Insider —
... while presenting footage from their August comedy Tropic Thunder, in which Downey portrays an actor who dyes his skin in order to play an African American. He also took a moment to respond to our query: Do these back-to-back gigs in a comic-book thriller and a Vietnam War sendup mean that the star of significantly quieter fare like Chaplin, Restoration, and Two Girls and a Guy is about to go all Nicolas Cage on us and appear in nothing but Jerry Bruckheimer explosion-fests from now on? "Mmmm, you mean Nicolas Cage, who also in the middle ...
Trailer Blazer: 'Tropic Thunder'
PopWatch —
... ) begins as a dead-on parody of every Vietnam movie trailer you've ever seen before it devolves into standard farce about clueless showbiz egotists. Similarly, the idea of Robert Downey Jr. as an Oscar-winning star who dons blackface to play a role written for a black actor sounds like a bold satirical idea on paper, but seeing it executed here makes me wonder if the joke in its execution is really on target. The only one here bringing the crazy in a way that makes me want to see more of what's up Stiller's sleeve is a hilarious Nick Nolte. Otherwise, I'm afraid Tropic ...
RDJ does EW
Oh No They Didn't! —
... Following the success of Iron Man, however, this year promises to be a watershed. Downey's performance as a Method actor playing an African-American solider in Ben Stiller's August action-comedy Tropic Thunder already has the Internet atwitter. This fall, he'll star alongside Jamie Foxx in The Soloist, a drama directed by Atonement's Joe Wright, based on a true story about a Los Angeles Times columnist (Downey) who discovers a homeless violin prodigy (Foxx) living on Skid Row. Oh, and he also landed a coveted spot ...
EW Cover Story: 'Tropic Thunder': Boys Gone Wild!
Oh No They Didn't! —
... war movie gone horribly awry. Directed and co-written by Stiller, the film chronicles the misadventures of a group of self-absorbed actors who, while attempting to film a Vietnam epic, inadvertently stumble into a real-life battle with a heroin cartel. Stiller plays Tugg Speedman, a dim-witted action star. Black plays Jeff Portnoy, a drug-addled comedian best known for his highly flatulent Fatties franchise. And, in a high-wire performance that tests the limits of some racial taboos, Downey is Kirk Lazarus, an Oscar-winning Method actor who ...
