"The Avengers" star told Entertainment Weekly why he won't be making an independent film anytime soon. Here's why his reasoning is wrong.

Marvel "The Avengers"

READ MORE: Review: 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' is Proof We Don't Need More Avengers Movies
Robert Downey Jr., last year's highest paid actor (according to Forbes, he raked in $75 million in 2014) and star of this year's sure-to-be mammoth blockbuster "Avengers: Age of Ultron," is the type of big-time actor whose name can get an independent film financed. Unfortunately for up-and-coming filmmakers hoping to one day snag the actor for their passion project, that day will likely never come.
This week, during a radio chat with Entertainment Weekly Radio (SiriusXM channel 105), Downey Jr. made it very clear that he's in no rush to downsize and lend his talents to a non-studio production. (Funny, considering he co-starred in the indie comedy "Chef," directed by his "Iron Man" director and buddy Jon Favreau, just last year. Guess he was just doing a friend a favor.) Here's Downey Jr.'s reasons, in his own words:
"Because they're exhausting and sometimes they suck and then you just go, 'What was I thinking?' But I'm interested in doing all different kinds of movies. Sometimes the little movies are the ones that wind up taking the most out of you because they're like, 'Hey, man, we're just running a couple of days behind. Do you think you can stay through your birthday and then come back on the fourth of July. And, by the way, but, like, the crew—can you pay for the craft services? And, oh, by the way, man, when we go to Sundance, it's like, can we just sit you in a chair and you can sell this for six days in a row so that we'll make 180 bucks when it opens in one theater? God, this is so powerful what we're doing. What do you think of the movie? You saw it last night?'"
"I thought it's mediocre."
"Yeah, isn't it the greatest?! Man, everyone's an artist here."
"Actually, most of you are kind of inexperienced and lame."We at Indiewire naturally take issue with his reasoning, so below we break down what Downey Jr. got wrong, line by line.
"Because they're exhausting and sometimes they suck and then you just go, 'What was I thinking?'"
Making movies is exhausting, but the experience can (and should) also be exhilarating. Why else work in this business? And while making a film with little-to-no money can be trying (the lack of air-conditioned trailers, the crappy craft services, the measly paycheck), so can working on a monster like "Avengers." Just last week, Chris Evans revealed that the next two "Avengers" movies (to be shot back-to-back) will take nine months to complete. That's close to a year. What about that doesn't sound "exhausting"? And yes, there's no way of knowing if all the hard work on an indie project will pay off in the end, but the exact same thing can be said for studio efforts. "Due Date," anyone?

Photo by Claire Folger - Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures "The Judge"

 

"But I'm interested in doing all different kinds of movies."Is he referring to last year's "The Judge"? Because that was a pretty straightforward studio-produced drama.

"Sometimes the little movies are the ones that wind up taking the most out of you because they're like, 'Hey, man, we're running a couple of days behind. Do you think you can stay through your birthday and then come back on the fourth of July? And, by the way, but, like, the crew -- can you pay for the craft services?'"
"The most out of you?" Indie films typically shoot for 30 days tops due to budgetary constraints. Also, what film set doesn't typically run a couple of days behind? Surely not the studio ones. And for the record, employees in most industries are accustomed to having to work on their birthdays. Why should the movie business be any different?

"And, oh, by the way, man, when we go to Sundance, it's like, can we just sit you in a chair and you can sell this for six days in a row..."Where do we even begin? Actors rarely, if ever, spend a whopping six days at Sundance to promote one film. Press rounds for one project at Sundance typically take place over a one to two day period, during which the actor is paraded around to a press junket, a premiere, a dinner and likely an after party of some sort. Most manage to make time for some skiing or snowboarding. Now, while a Sundance press tour is remarkably brief and occurs in Park City, in a giant ski resort of a town, the same can't be said for the press blitz for a film the size of "Avengers." For the past month, Downey Jr. and his "Avengers" tribe have been flying across the world, sitting in chairs for hours on end to tout their blockbuster to the masses. The experience is no doubt a trying one, which probably accounts for Downey Jr.'s rant (plus that unfortunate interview where Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner called Scarlett Johansson's "Avengers" character a "slut" and a "whore").

"...so that we'll make 180 bucks when it opens in one theater?"Any independent film starring Robert Downey Jr., the world's highest-grossing actor and arguably its biggest star, will not open in one theater. And because of that factor alone, it's guaranteed to make over "180 bucks." The actor's last indie (negating "Chef," in which he barely appeared), "Charlie Bartlett," made over $5 million at the U.S. box office. It's important to note that the movie opened before the first "Iron Man," when Downey Jr.'s current star power was still a question mark. That's no longer the case. Worst of all, Downey Jr. seems to be implying that it's all about the money. His dad, the great underground filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr., would surely disagree.

"Actually, most of you are kind of inexperienced and lame."

Now this is just plain mean, not to mention completely out of touch. Every filmmaker starts somewhere. Guy Ritchie, with whom Downey Jr. worked on the two most recent "Sherlock Holmes" films, was "inexperienced" before making 1998's "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Joe Wright, who directed the actor in "The Soloist," only had a few miniseries' under his belt before directing his breakthrough first feature, "Pride & Prejudice." Even Jon Favreau, who directed the first two "Iron Man" outings, was untried as a director before making 2001's "Made," the sequel to "Swingers."

The point is: Inexperienced filmmakers are capable of making good films, and a lot of the time, these same filmmakers go on to make great ones. And maybe, just maybe, they might work on a studio picture down the line -- one that Downey Jr. could star in.

Read More

Robert Downey Jr. Speaks About His Addictions

“For some folks it’s just a function of age,” Robert Downey Jr. tells Vanity Fair contributing editor Rich Cohen, on the topic of beating one’s demons. “It’s perfectly normal for people to be obsessive about something for a period of time, then leave it alone.” When asked about the incident in 1996 in which Downey’s neighbors came home to find the actor passed out in their 11-year-old son’s bed, he tells Cohen this was “an uncommon occurrence for me. Happened to be a very public one. I was not a guy who blacked out.”

Talking about his time at the California Substance Abuse Treatment Facility and State Prison and the process of returning to his old life, Downey says, “Job one is get out of that cave. A lot of people do get out but don’t change. So the thing is to get out and recognize the significance of that aggressive denial of your fate, come through the crucible forged into a stronger metal. Or whatever. But I don’t even know if that was my experience. It’s funny: five years ago, I would’ve made it sound like I’m conscious of my own participation in seizing the similarities. But so many things have become less certain. I swear to God. I am not my story.”

Downey tells Cohen he’s probably inherited his addictions, which leads to a discussion on his son Indio, a 20-year-old musician who was recently charged with felony drug possession. “He’s his mother’s son and my son, and he’s come up the chasm much quicker than we did,” says Downey. “But that’s typical in the Information Age; things get accelerated. You’re confronted with histories and predispositions and influences and feelings and unspoken traumas or needs that weren’t met, and all of a sudden you’re three miles into the woods. Can you help someone get out of those woods? Yes, you can. By not getting lost looking for them.” After a pause, Downey adds, “Pick a dysfunction and it’s a family problem.”

Cohen speaks with Downey at his home in Malibu, which not only features a giant R placed in the lawn as well as an animal pen with two goats and some alpacas (which he doesn’t know why he has) but is home to his extensive car collection, which includes a Porsche, a Corvette, and a “Ford F150. Bentley given to me in lieu of back-end payment for Iron Man 3. Volvo. That’s a Woody. That’s a 1970 Boss 302 Mustang. That’s a 1970 Mercedes-Benz Pagoda. That’s my dear friend the Audi, whom I’ve had a lovely relationship with since the first Iron Man. It’s an A8. That’s an Audi R7, arguably one of the greatest cars ever made. That’s a Mercedes-Benz wagon. That’s the 2011 VW GTI.” When Cohen asks Downey whether this is a post–Iron Man collection, Downey says, “Are you kidding? Before that, I didn’t even have the GTI.”

On Iron Man, The Avengers, and the resurgence of Marvel Comics, Downey tells Cohen, “I’ve gone from being convinced that I am the sole integer in the approbation of a phenomenon to realizing that I was the lead in the first of a series of movies that created a chain reaction that, if everything didn’t fire the way it was supposed to, there’s no operator, no anything. And you go, O.K., life is doing something here that included me but did not require me. But, yes, that role means a lot. Marvel is kind of like this sacred brotherhood.”

Downey talks to Cohen about The Judge, the first feature film by Team Downey, the production company he and his wife, Susan, started together: “It was the least likely first Team Downey project, but there was something in the process that was so provocative. I’d find myself tearing up during every work session, because of constellations being lit by the subject matter, this idea of going home, what it is to return, fractured relationships, the drama of it. It was a big experiment—with Susan’s cred and my bit of leverage. How do we do it when we get the opportunity? O.K., here’s all the rope, guys.”

Downey tells Cohen he is “really looking forward” to the baby he and Susan are expecting, and shows Cohen the latest addition to his car collection: a Honda Odyssey. “If I’m gonna have two of ’em in car seats then I gotta be ready,” he says.

In a video interview on VF.com, Downey says, “The other funny thing about doing these genre action movies is you don’t want to be the tubby guy,” revealing he does kung fu, strength training, Qigong, and Tracy Anderson. When asked about his food weaknesses, he replies, “Ice Cream. Cheeseburgers.
 Listen to me. I want a cheeseburger. I want bacon on it. I know I’m not supposed to. I want a lot of cheese. I want Thousand Island. I might even put some Mulberry Street Pizza pizza oil on it. If I could eat whatever I wanted every day, I would have Domino’s pizza with pasta carbonara inside every slice. And at night I would have Neapolitan ice cream until I felt absolutely toxic. And then I would drift off telling myself, ‘It’s going to be O.K. . . . It’s going to be O.K. you’re going to train in the morning.’ ”

Read More