Attending the Iron Man 2 press conference today, I couldn't help but notice how much it played like the kind of press conference Tony Stark would throw in the film. Holding court was Robert Downey Jr, who cracked one-liners every time someone tried to ask him a serious question, and on either side of him were Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jon Favreau (who also plays body man Happy Hogan in the film) reprising their movie roles and doing their best to rein him in. With that in mind, then, here are the 9 best quotes the press was able to get out of Downey Jr:
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· Yet another still from Inception (above) has made its debut. And no, the movie is not any closer to making sense.
· Hey, look, another pair of films were added to the Cannes competition! And they're directed by men! Surprise!
· As pretty much predicted, Avatar's 1.5 million Blu-rays sold shattered the first-day record previously held by The Dark Knight.
· Can Sally Hawkins and Flight of the Conchords' Rhys Darbys save the romcom in Love Birds? One pundit seems to think so.
· Eddie Murphy officially acknowledged the obvious: "I've lost a lot of my cool and edge, I think." Sad. That still doesn't justify Meet Dave.
Here's another blindside that notorious Survivor player Russell Hantz didn't see coming. The current "Heroes vs. Villains" contestant was arrested this morning for battery at a Louisiana street festival, reports TMZ. Alas, he had already given his "get out of jail" immunity idol to Parvati. (How about that tribal council last night? Jeff Probst is stone-cold melting down about it.) [TMZ]
Glee creator Ryan Murphy has made a point of announcing how anybody can audition for one of three roles being added to the show for next fall -- anybody, that is, except for Ugly Betty star Mark Indelicato. Since one of the new characters is a boyfriend for the flamboyant Kurt, we humbly suggest that Murphy suspend his required age range for the role and give the out-of-work Indelicato (who play the equally fabulous Justin on Betty) a chance to make this gay pairing almost too glittery for broadcast television. [Twitter via Joe My God]
AFI first announced its plans to honor legendary producer/pyrotechnician Jerry Bruckheimer about a week ago, scheduling a series of some of his most explodey blockbusters around the premiere of his new Prince of Persia. Whatever, right? Well, no: Looking at how the series has shaped up, a trip to the Chinese or El Capitan Theaters is hardly the worst way to plan your evening of May 17.
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Still surprised that Ridley Scott intends to direct a prequel to his own film, Alien? So is he: "I've always avoided sequels, unless I felt there was something fresh," the filmmaker tells MTV. Among his "fresh" concepts for the prequel: the main character will be a woman, the story will lead right up to the first movie, and "there's a lot of copying [of the other films], dude. There's a lot of homage. Is that the polite word? Homage? I call it something else." No, he really said that. [MTV]
Could Peter Dinklage's reign have really lasted only a week? And more importantly: Did Jennifer Lopez's people actually sign off on this as marketing material for The Back-Up Plan? It's a brave new world, folks. [IMDB]
· I'm in a horrible mood this morning, so forgive me for simply telling this morning's trade news like it is: Paramount is converting M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender to 3-D because the mass public doesn't care how shitty their movies look or how much their tickets cost, and Shyamalan will take a crappy, fake 3-D treatment of anything he makes because it boosts his generous back-end net and that's all that matters. I was actually looking forward to this. Oh well! [Deadline]
Nepotism, exploitation, cynicism, disappointment and more as Hollywood Ink continues after the jump.
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Roman Polanski was rebuffed by a California appeals court, which ruled that the 76-year-old filmmaker must return to the United States to face the sentencing he fled from in 1978. His extradition fight continues, though probably not for much longer; the "in absentia" ruling was one of the last hang-ups facing Switzerland in its negotiations with the U.S. [Reuters]
Welcome back to Movieline Attractions, your regular guide to everything new, noteworthy and/or despondency-inducing at the movies. This week we finally get the new J-Lo pregnancy romcom we've been searching for, while Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan blow up a bunch of crap. And the underdog has no clothes (kind of). Read on for the full weekend preview and box-office projections.
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· Infomercials try to teach us a lot of information quickly, but they mostly succeed in teaching us how "doing it wrong" looks. This compendium of dramatic reenactments will have you slapping your knee and ordering a Sleep Number bed in minutes. [Vulture]
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Well, this isn't gonna quell the buzz. Amid recent rumors that Sony is unhappy with the Michel Gondry-directed, Seth Rogen-starring The Green Hornet, Deadline reports that the film has been bumped to 2011 -- albeit by three weeks. Hornet will now be converted to 3D and debut January 14. Yes, The Green Hornet and The Green Lantern will both be coming out in the same year. It won't be at all confusing. [Deadline]
Unkempt up-and-comer Russell Brand has been attached to a remake of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur for quite a while, and now he's found a scene partner. Helen Mirren will be stepping into the role played by John Gielgud in the 1981 original, only now the character has been reconceived as Arthur's longtime nanny. Producers originally went after Meryl Streep for the part, but hey, there's still time for her to play the love interest. [THR]
Woody Allen is hardly in the business of making tightly guarded fanboy tentpoles or highly anticipated sequels, but by the veil of secrecy he hangs over each project, you'd never know it. Cast lists, plots and titles are often scarce on his movies until close to the release date (Anthony Hopkins didn't even know the title of the film he just made with Allen until a few weeks ago), but apparently, Allen has something new up his sleeve for the Owen Wilson/Rachel McAdams film he's about to shoot: total candor.
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Even though Jay Leno has been spicing up The Tonight Show with innovative diva tests and undercover investigations, his numbers continue to sink. Just last week, The Tonight Show earned its lowest ratings among its cherished 18-49 demo with an average of a 1.0 rating/5 share. For anyone keeping score at home, Conan O'Brien averaged a 1.1 rating while hosting the 11:35 P.M. show. [The Wrap]
