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MCU’s Boss Kevin Feige Regrets Doubting Robert Downey Jr. Before Hiring Him For $500,000 in Iron Man: “Without Robert we wouldn’t be sitting here today”

To try and explain the essential contribution of Robert Downey Jr. to the success of Marvel Studios and making it the billion-dollar movie machine that it has grown into today will be a complete and utter blunder. Primarily, it is an experience that just cannot be overstated, and also, there exists no soul that is not aware of the phenomenon that began with the rise of the CBM franchise, especially starting with the actor’s 2008 film, Iron Man. 
Sure, to ignore the contributions of Donner-Reeve’s Superman (1978) and Burton-Keaton’s Batman (1989) to the comic book movie franchise is sacrilege. But, even though these films established the formulaic recipe for success decades before RDJ came into the picture, it wasn’t until the latter made his character look so effortlessly grounded, human, troubled, realistic, and yet capable of greatness (all the while looking cool when doing it) that superheroes began to rise as the new icons and role models of this generation.
Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Also read: ‘The man had a good ending and people want to cheapen that’: Fans Support Marvel Boss Confirming Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man Won’t Fight Kang in Secret Wars Rumors
Kevin Feige Admits the Risk of Hiring RDJ as Iron Man
A while after the premiere of Iron Man, a Jeff Bridges interview led to countless reports of the set conditions and the working environment being terrible in the Jon Favreau film. And even though Bridges clarified it was because, to him, the improv-heavy production felt like he was shooting a $140 million “student film,” the rumors of perhaps the film being a fated one since the beginning began to take off. In 2021, Kevin Feige opened up about the gravity of the risk-imbued decision that he took by hiring the film’s leading man, Robert Downey Jr.

“He was an amazing actor. Everybody knew he was an amazing actor. But he hadn’t been an action star. He wasn’t a marquee star, necessarily. And we quickly realized the risk, I’ve said this before, was not casting him. And Jon Favreau really had that vision for that movie and for Robert in that role. That decision, and the success of that decision, I think empowered us with further risks and further choices.”

Iron ManIron Man (2008)
Also read: “Iron Man is So Fascinating”: Robert Downey Jr.’s Avengers Return Gets Approval From Major MCU Star

With the success of Iron Man and RDJ’s breathtaking command over the character that he was destined for, Feige soon realized that the risk was perhaps the greatest thing to happen to Marvel:

“I was lucky enough to be involved in early Spider-Man films and X-Men films. But we wanted to do an Iron Man movie. And I do think, still, the biggest risk – which seems outrageous to say now – was casting Robert Downey Jr. It was both the biggest risk and the most important thing in the founding of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Without Robert, we wouldn’t be sitting here today. I really believe that.”

Now, with the company taking a step beyond into the future with new generations of actors and characters taking over from the old, Robert Downey Jr.’s tenure as Iron Man has come to an end. With the actor’s departure, the world mourned, and yet, the decade that the fans shared in his presence was undeniably the best so far.
Robert Downey Jr. Was Marvel’s Biggest Risk…
… and also its biggest reward. Kevin Feige had just been promoted to the role of President at Marvel Studios the year before Iron Man’s premiere. The newfound responsibility was nothing to be proud of – Marvel was already sinking, on the constant verge of bankruptcy, and loaning out its treasured trove of IPs left and right to the highest bidder, while simultaneously trying to keep itself above water by crawling out of its hiding space and making a movie or two once in a while before scuttling back into its panic room.
Iron Man establishes Marvel legacyIron Man establishes Marvel’s legacy

Also read: “He was too heavy to fly”: Iron Man Film Rights Was Given to Marvel By New Line Cinema Because They Thought It Didn’t Make Any Sense
So, when Feige finally had the chance to turn things around, he went all in. Jon Favreau was the first to come on board – followed by Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. Although relatively well-known at the time as an actor, RDJ was more infamous for his addiction and arrest, a dire combination that wouldn’t allow him to be taken seriously even after he got clean, became sober and committed to finding his way back into acting again. 
So (with a bit of help from Mel Gibson), once Robert Downey Jr. did end up finding a way in, the call from Marvel served to act as a lifeline for both parties. The studio had nothing more to lose and RDJ had a lot to prove. A year later, history was rewritten through the reels of Iron Man.

Iron Man is now available for streaming on Disney+
Source: CinemaBlend

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‘I am officially off the market’: When Margot Robbie revealed she made the ‘conscious’ decision of not dating actors


Margot Robbie revealed her decision to not date actors because of the media scrutiny that came with a public relationship of two high-profile actors
Back in 2015, A-lister Margot Robbie made a declaration that she would not be dating any actors. The actress may have alluded to her fiance Tom Ackerley, who she married the following year in 2016. In an exclusive interview with Marie Claire, she revealed that being in a relationship as an actor herself came with its own set of challenges. She believed that dating someone who was popular would add on to the media scrutiny.

Margot Robbie opened up on why she made a conscious decision to not date actorsTalking to Marie Claire, she claimed, “I am officially off the market.” She then shared the reasoning behind her decision and added, “I made a conscious decision not to date actors.” She continued to explain, “But not because I hate actors. That’s a nasty generalization to make, and that’s not the case. People take such an interest in your love life when you have a profile, it puts a lot of stress on a relationship.”
The Barbie actress continued, “So two people with profiles, I figure it’s just double the amount of scrutiny, and I’d like to avoid that at all costs.” This came after reports of her locking lips with Tarzan co-star Alexander Skarsgard started making rounds. It was reported that she was caught kissing the actor during the Sundance Film Festival.

Margot Robbie revealed she opted for a minimal lifestyle even after becoming an actorIn the interview, Robbie also opened up about how she was adapting to fame. She shared, “I have a normal 24-year-old life. If I were a waitress, I’d probably have the exact same lifestyle. I’d go to the same clubs I go to already, live in the same house with the same housemates, hang out with the same people.”
However, Margot Robbie tied the knot with Tom Ackerley who is an English producer and actor. The duo met on the sets of 2013 movie Suite Francaise where Tom was working as an assistant director. Post marriage, both of them launched their production company LuckyChap Entertainment.

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Monica Bellucci and Tin Burton at lunch in the restaurant in Selci Lama


For All Saints’ Day, the Hollywood star from Tiferno returned to his native Umbria to enjoy a moment of relaxation and then visit his parentsOn the occasion of the All Saints’ Day celebrations, the Hollywood star of Tiferno origin, Monica Bellucci, returned to her native Umbria to enjoy a moment of relaxation and to visit her father Pasquale and her mother Brunella.Flanked by her current partner Tim Burton, she went to lunch, together with about twenty old friends, at the Osteria del Musicista, which has always been her favorite restaurant, in Selci Lama.Menu dedicated to typical dishes of the area, which includes an appetizer with breadsticks lined with coppa, duck in porchetta and grilled pork livers, polenta with wild boar sauce accompanied by the very typical cappelletti in broth.To conclude, a dessert based on fried “ciaccia” with Nutella and roasted chestnuts.
Having paid the bill and greeted the restaurant owner and lifelong friend, Roberto Polchi, Monica brought home cappelletti and broth for a family dinner.

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‘Rocky’ Was Quite Different In His Original Screenplay, Sylvester Stallone Claims


Sylvester Stallone took his friend’s advice on a rewrite of the original screenplay to Rocky. A few tweaks later, he was on his way to major success.
In the new Netflix documentary Sly, Stallone discussed how he initially conceived of the project, which had a much harder edge. In the early version, Rocky was depicted as a “thuggish” character, inspired by Martin Scorsese’s crime drama, Mean Streets.

But Stallone’s perspective changed when a friend read the script and thought the boxer was too cruel for audiences to actually care about him.
Stallone recalled her crying.

“She goes, ‘I hate Rocky. I hate him. He’s cruel. He hits people. He beats them up.’”
Stallone took it to heart, and asked what he could do to soften the character.

“I said, ‘what if you stop short of it?’ Like, maybe he almost did. He could have, that’s his job, but he doesn’t?’ ‘That’d be nice,’” he added. “I said, ‘What if he had a girlfriend or something?’ ‘Yeah, that’s nice.’ So I go back, start writing that: ‘Girlfriend. Nice.’”
$117 million in box office later, a franchise was born.

Stallone also revealed that actor Dolph Lundgren sent him to the hospital during one fight scene in Rocky IV.
“Dolph Lundgren… he pulverized me,” Stallone says in the documentary. “Later that night, my heart started to swell—which happens when the heart hits the chest—and then my blood pressure went up to 260, and they thought I was going to be talking to angels. Next thing I know, I’m in intensive care, where I’m surrounded by nuns, and I thought, ‘OK, that’s curtains.’”
Stallone was in the hospital for nine days following the incident, praying for “one more round.”
“For the first minute of the fight, it is going to be a free-for-all,” Stallone told Lundgren. The Swedish actor joked in a separate interview that all he did was “obey orders,” explaining, “[Stallone] was the boss. I did what he told me.”
Doctors allegedly told Stallone that he received a blow to the ribs that made his heart rattle around in his ribcage, a condition typically seen in head-on collisions. “I did hit a bus, of sorts,” Stallone joked.

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