Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Iron Man 2
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Garry Shandling, Samuel L. Jackson, Leslie Bibb
Director: Jon Favreau

Summer might still be over a month away, but the summer blockbuster season has officially arrived with the release of Jon Favreau’s popcorn actioner, Iron Man 2.

Dubbed by most entertainment writers as one of the year’s most hotly anticipated films, the big budget action sequel stars Robert Downey Jr. as our mega-billionaire hero, Tony Stark. During the first film Stark built a high-tech suit of armour to do a little good in the world, and by the end of that film revealed his true identity to the world.

As the second film kicks off, Stark is now being urged by the military to turn over the Iron Man technology for the good of the nation, but Stark is afraid that in the wrong hands the armour could be a terrible thing, and refuses to give them any information.

Meanwhile, Stark also finds out that the technology that is keeping him alive is also poisoning him, and so he appoints his former assistant Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, as CEO of the company. At the same time he takes on Natalie Rushman, played by Scarlett Johansson, as his new assistant.

He also has to contend with a new villain, played by Mickey Rourke, who has created technology of his own to take Iron Man down.

All of this happens as a whole side-plot unfolds around Stark’s many powerful friends, including James Rhodes, who is played by Don Cheadle in the sequel, and a new project known as the Avengers.

Looking at the list of stars, and knowing how much Pararmount and Marvel Studios want this film to feed into a whole franchise of super hero films, it’s easy to see how the whole project could have collapsed under its own weight. There is simply too much to fit in, and like many sequels before it, there’s a motivation to pack it full of characters.

Lead-ins are also a tough thing in movies. As much as it’s fun to have one film set up others, it’s quite often just a frustrating tactic. In the comic books, all you had to do was wait a month for some more action, but a comic book movie requires more patience than most people are willing to trust to Hollywood, especially when it’s never really certain who will direct a sequel, or how far away that next film might be.

There’s also a lot expectations for the producers and Favreau to deliver on. Iron Man is one of my personal top five comic book adaptations, and it scored 93% fresh on RottenTomatoes.com, so it’s almost hard to imagine how the film could live up to all the expectations.

As far as the ratings go, the film is not everything we may have hoped, with most of the reviewers offering a mix of complaints with praise for what the film ends up getting right.

“There are too many new characters, too many crossing story lines, not enough romance and our hero’s a smug jerk for the first half hour,” Tom Long wrote for the Detroit News. But as he added, “Who cares? Iron Man 2 still rocks.”

And as Nick Pinkerton of the Village Voice, “The idea is that we learn to trust that any extraneous-seeming thread will connect to something in another couple of summers and pay off, assuming the movie does.”

The bottom line is that Downey, Rourke and crew are getting decent reviews, and while the film may be a bit messy, it’s still pretty much a must-see for Iron Man fans.

Babies
Director: Thomas Balmes

Also opening this weekend is the only other film willing to take on Iron Man 2: filmmaker Thomas Balmes’ documentary Babies.

Following four newborns through their first year, Babies is an unscripted look at life for Ponijao, Bayar, Mari, and Hattie, who were born in four very different places: Namibia, Mongolia, Japan, and California.

Without any subtitles explaining what any adults might be saying in the various languages, Babies is a honest and simple film that shows us the differences between cultures, rather than trying to explain them.

“Hardwired as we are to respond to infants,” Sheri Linden wrote for the Hollywood Reporter, “it’s difficult not to be drawn in to the innate cuteness. The filmmaker’s emotional connection to his subjects is clear, and even when Babies loses steam, it casts the human story in a fresh light.”

While Roger Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times, “Did I like the movie? Aw, yeah, I did. How could I not? Did I feel I needed to see it? Not really.”

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

To get you primed for the big release, check out the gallery below, and details about what is bound to be one of 2010′s biggest movies.

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson

Synopsis: Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster film based on the legendary Marvel Super Hero “Iron Man,” reuniting director Jon Favreau and Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. In “Iron Man 2,” the world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored Super Hero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces.

Gallery:
]]> http://www.thegate.ca/news/movies-dvds/07088/preview-iron-man-2/feed/ 0 http://www.thegate.ca/front-page/05979/iron-man-2-poster-debuts-online/ http://www.thegate.ca/front-page/05979/iron-man-2-poster-debuts-online/#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:47:53 +0000 W. Andrew Powell http://www.thegate.ca/?p=5979 Yahoo! Movies have revealed the first official poster for Iron Man 2, in addition to nine photos from the upcoming 2010 film.]]> The folks over at Yahoo! Movies have revealed the first official poster for Iron Man 2, in addition to nine photos from the upcoming 2010 film.

Starring Robert Downey Jr. once more as Tony Stark/Iron Man, the poster also reveals the first partial look at War Machine, the suit of power armour worn by James Rhodes, who will be played by Don Cheadle in the sequel.

Set for release on May 7, 2010, the film was directed by Jon Favreau also features Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and of course Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts.

Scroll down for the full, gigantic, and awesome, teaser poster and stay tuned for more updates as they become available.

'Iron Man 2'

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves [Blu-ray]
Once upon a time, Kevin Costner was one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. For anyone under 30, this might sound like a joke, but it’s true, and one of his top films was most certainly Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Costner’s star got a little tarnished after the disaster that was Waterworld, followed by The Postman, but Robin Hood certainly left its mark.

Looking back at the 1991 film today there is no question that it’s no Dances with Wolves. That film won multiple Oscars, including Best Director for Costner, and a nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The best Robin Hood could manage was an Oscar nomination for Original Song, and it lost to Beauty and the Beast.

After a number of years where I essentially forgot the film existed, I found myself watching it again this past weekend and I can’t help but question how the film did so well to begin with. Was Bryan Adams’ song really that good, or did we have much lower expectations in the 90s?

Starring Costner as Robin Hood, with Morgan Freeman as the Moor Azeem, the story takes place a few years after the Crusades ended and Robin is holed up in a Jerusalem prison where he and his friend Peter are about to be executed. Escaping with Azeem, Robin returns to England where he discovers a foul plot by the Sheriff of Nottingham, played with evil glee by Alan Rickman, to take over the kingdom from King Richard I, who went missing during the war.

This sets into motion Robin’s plan to help a small group of villagers living in Sherwood forest fight back, while stealing from the Sheriff to help the commoners of the kingdom.

The film is no doubt amusing at times, and the action is well-staged, but the acting is literally atrocious. Even Freeman, one of my all-time favorite actors, has trouble with the terrible script, and is almost comically awful as this Muslim hero. Christian Slater as Will Scarlet and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Maid Marian are about the only decent actors in the entire film, although Rickman is so over the top that you can’t help but enjoy him as this dastardly villain.

Showing off what Blu-ray is all about, Robin Hood is not the best example of what the technology can do, mainly because the original film stock just doesn’t hold up very well. Some outdoor scenes are incredibly grainy, and I even noticed one early scene with Freeman where the hill behind the star is in focus, rather than his face. That’s not to say that the transfer is bad, but after so many years I think I made the film out to be of a higher calibre than it really was. On an HD television this version still outshines the DVD copy though, which is at least the most important thing.

Included extras cover all of the bases, with two commentary tracks, a TV special on the legend of Robin Hood, interviews, the entire score for the film, and a live performance of “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” by Bryan Adams. Not a bad collection, and some of the segments in the commentary are really entertaining, but I would have liked to see some new material looking back at the film’s popularity or maybe even the impact.

Failing anything else, the film is a window into the 90s, when Costner was a huge star and apparently, we didn’t expect quite as much from our epic adventures.

Also out this week…

Killshot
Elmore Leonard’s crime drama about a mafia hitman should have been a big hit if you consider the cast, but it came and left theatres faster than you can say bad adaptation.

The film stars Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, and Thomas Jane in a story about a woman who inadvertently gets caught up in the affairs of a mafia hitman.

Many reviewers called the film a mess, mainly due to years worth of editing and post-production, but Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic had one good thing to say, “It’s ultimately Rourke who makes the film worth watching.”

New in Town
What happens when a high-paid, big shot business woman has to leave Miami and travel to the back woods of America? Another bland romantic comedy.

Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. star in this silly, soppy rom-com, with Connick playing Ted, your average union boss trying to protect his company from closure by Zellweger’s tough-as-nails Lucy.

Of course, for every ten films like this, there are only one or two good ones, and based on critical reaction, New in Town is entirely skippable.

“Because every development in New in Town is so predictable, so reminiscent of other, better romantic comedies, it actually seems longer than it is,” wrote Joe Leydon of Variety.

Outlander
And in this weird alien-on-Earth action movie, James Caviezel and Ron Perlman play Vikings trying to survive the attack of a killer otherworldly “predator.”

“Sadly,” Dominic Wells of the UK’s Times wrote, “the kooky premise of Outlander solidifies quickly into formula: monster is fought, fair maiden won, kingship gained and past errors redeemed with no real surprises along the way.”

Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler

The Wrestler
Mickey Rourke’s life has not been what you would call average, even for a famous actor. Throughout the 1980s he was one of the hottest stars in Hollywood, but that quickly fell apart thanks to a number of personal issues, followed by a short-lived boxing career.

For that reason, The Wrestler is a uniquely apt return to form for Rourke, as he plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a sad, and cornered man who only knows one thing in life, and that’s the attention of the masses when he’s wrestling. Working at a small grocery story just to pay the bills, Randy has a tough life, made worse by a rocky relationship with his daughter, as he tries to start a relationship with his dear friend Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei.

Directed and produced by Darren Aronofsky, who is better known for his mind-bending films like Requiem for a Dream and Pi, this is a stand-out new style for the filmmaker, not to mention Rourke. Aronofsky has always shown a clever spark for drawing dynamic performances from his actors, and teamed with the talented cinematographer Maryse Alberti, The Wrestler feels more like a somber documentary than a fictional drama.

The film immerses you in the Ram’s story, drawing you in to every sad corner. Rourke plays the character beautifully, and with passion and true soul. At the same time though, knowing Rourke’s history, it’s also hard to watch The Wrestler without clearly see Rourke personally outlined by this tale. Rourke is an incredibly talented actor, but in this role, it’s almost impossible to separate the feelings for his character from the ones you have for the actor himself.

Frost/Nixon
Peter Morgan’s famed Broadway production gets a Hollywood treatment in a film that, if anything, deserved even more attention as one of last year’s best films.

Directed by Oscar-winner Ron Howard, the story tells of the fateful interview between former U.S. President Richard Nixon, and British television personality David Frost.

In 1977, three years after he was removed from office, Nixon decided to allow an interview that would give him a chance to prove himself to Americans once more. In selecting Frost, the former president expected an easy victory on-camera, giving him the opportunity to come out looking like a good guy. However, Nixon hadn’t anticipated the battle of wits that would ensue, and Frost managed to outmanoeuvre the disgraced politician.

The process of bringing a stage production to film is never a sure one, but in the case of Frost/Nixon, the result is impressive. Part of that success is the work of Tony award winner Frank Langella as Nixon, and Michael Sheen as Frost, who each reprise their roles from the play.

For the uninitiated, Frost/Nixon might sound like a tough film to get into, but between the performances, and Howard’s direction, the result is an engaging re-enactment that goes beyond the politics. It’s a challenge of wills that plays out like a mental wrestling match, complete with onlookers, and the ultimate bragging rights for the victor.

Also available this week…

Notorious
Jamal Woolard stars in this biopic as famed rapper Biggie Smalls, also known as the Notorious B.I.G.

Although the film features a strong supporting cast, it stumbles into a by-the-numbers screenplay that’s punctuated by B.I.G.’s hits. Feeling more like an extended rap video, Notorious seriously lacks any semblance of a decent, hard-hitting story, even though the man’s life could have been a true epic.

Toronto Stories
Under the direction of Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver, and Aaron Woodley, Toronto Stories is an often charming collection of four stories, interwoven between a single story about a young, seemingly mute boy, lost in the city.

While it lacks an edge to really make the film powerful and cohesive, it is an enjoyable movie. In the end, it might have been better served, perhaps, to focus more on bringing these separate tales together, especially since it was Weaver’s wonderful “Lost Boys” chapter, starring Gil Bellows, opposite Toka Murphy and Lisa Ray, which ultimately impressed me the most for wrapping up the entire story.

Swing Vote
In the comedy Swing Vote, Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson, your average apathetic American who ends up with the only vote that matters in the election for the next President of the United States. With his daughter by his side, Bud must make the final choice for the entire country, while he also looks at his life and the loser he has become.

Smart People
Dennis Quaid stars as Lawrence Wetherhold in this dark comedy about a widowed, self-absorbed professor, who realizes he has to change his stripes and reconnect with his family before he will ever be able to become a success.

Complicating matters is the appearance of Lawrence’s loser brother, played by Thomas Haden Church. Other stars include Ellen Page as Lawrence’s daughter, Sarah Jessica Parker as the love interest, and Ashton Holmes.

Into the Blue 2: The Reef
And receiving surprisingly semi-favourable reviews, Into the Blue 2 is a direct to DVD sequel starring Audrina Patridge, Laura Vandervoort, and Chris Carmack as treasure hunters diving for Columbus’ lost wealth.

DVD Tuesday is a weekly syndicated column produced by The GATE for print and online, covering the latest new arrivals coming to home video.

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

Check out our gallery of photos from Sunday’s big event at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

Photos by Darren Decker, Richard Harbaugh, Michael Yada, and Greg Harbaugh, copyright © 2009 Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

Kate Winslet at the 66th Golden Globe Awards, © HFPA/66th Golden Globe® Awards

First off, there’s the Heath Ledger debate. During the Globes, Ledger was honoured with the award for best supporting actor for his part as the Joker in The Dark Knight. Going into the awards I had some doubt about his posthumous chances, but that’s because I had it all wrong. Ledger was up for a supporting role, and in that case, there was literally no one else able to compete.

If Ledger had been nominated for the part as a lead actor, I don’t think they would have given it to him, but as a supporting role I finally get it. Which now means I completely understand why there’s all this Oscar buzz.

Next to him, no one else stands a chance. This wasn’t a mind-blowing performance by Ledger, but it was good, and as his last full role in life, it does deserve some recognition. So, in that sense, expect no surprises. If the Ledger is nominated for the Academy Awards, the award will go in his honour.

On a lighter note, there’s the topic of 30 Rock, which won for Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical. Now, I love Tina Fey, and I love some of the performances in this show, but I can’t understand why it’s so popular. It’s not even that most of the time funny. And next to Californication, I just don’t buy that it’s a better show.

So, this is just one of those things where I’ll accept that it’s nice that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognized Californication with a nomination, but do they have the final say on whether one show is better than the next? Well, no.

For that matter, I don’t buy that the Emmy Awards know what they’re doing either (they have pretty much snubbed Californication for the big awards), but how often do awards shows get it right?

But the best part of my night has to be seeing Mickey Rourke win at the Golden Globes for his lead role in The Wrestler. (And I know I’m not alone here. My pals Christopher Heard and Chris Alexander are both avid Rourke fans.)

Rourke has had an incredible career, but he had a long, rough period where he basically self-destructed. That said, looking back at all of his films, I can hardly point to any points where he wasn’t doing great work. The films weren’t always very big, but he was always amazing.

(If you want to read an awesome interview with Rourke by Mr. Heard, check it out here: ‘Mickey Rourke rising‘.)

Aside from that, it was great listening to Steven Spielberg talk about his career, and the need for filmmakers to inspire each other. Definitely richly deserved recognition for this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award.

And I was a bit surprised to see Kate Winslet win two awards during the course of the night, but very pleased. It couldn’t have happened to a better actress. If you missed it, Winslet won one award for her lead role in Revolutionary Road and for her supporting role in The Reader.

The only other award that made me really smile was seeing Colin Farrell win for best actor in a musical or comedy for the film In Bruges. A brilliant film, and well, you’ve got to love Farrell when he’s really doing his thing.

Otherwise, the last complaint with the whole night was the lack of a host. It made the show feel like a bunch of business we all had to wade through. Having a host does make the night longer, but it would also give the night some structure instead of just handing out a bunch of awards while celebrities got drunk at their tables.

There was at least the matter of the random, sometimes over-the-top jokes by some of the presenters and winners. One of the best examples being when Ricky Gervais happily mocked Winslet’s win, and the HFPA. There were a few others jabs at the HFPA themselves, which I really, really appreciate, even if they were all in good fun.

After all, who are these people, who can apparently make up their own awards and hand them out, and Hollywood actually shows up? The HFPA is, after all, just a special club of questionably noteworthy journalists, but there is no escaping the fact that they are a huge pre-cursor to the Oscars, and after 66 years of handing out awards, they have justifiably proven that they have a knack for separating the cream from the crop.

The Golden Globes also seem to be a good opportunity for celebrities to turn up at a televised event and let their hair down, saying and doing things we don’t always get to see or hear. In that sense, at least, the Oscars could learn a thing or two.

So, what do you say? What do you think of the Golden Globes this year? Or “awards season” in general?

Photo of Kate Winslet © HFPA/66th Golden Globe® Awards.

Romance is in the air this week, along with some sadness and regret as Will Smith stars in the drama Seven Pounds. Also opening, with another take on romance, Jim Carrey stars in the comedy Yes Man, about a work-a-day guy who tries to change his life with one word: Yes. Plus, the animated children’s story The Tale of Despereaux debuts, while The Wrestler and Gran Torino open in select theatres.

Seven Pounds
The words “Oscar bait” come to mind with the release of Sony’s Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith in one of those all-too-recognizable films that debuts at the end of the year just to give it a shot during awards season.

Smith is Ben Thomas, an IRS agent with a very big secret that not only changed his life, it has also left him with a quest. As Ben searches for particular people, with a motive we won’t understand until the end, he meets Emily Posa, played by Rosario Dawson. Among the troubled and sick people he has met, Emily stands out as a beacon to Ben, drawing him into a relationship he can’t fully accept, but can’t ignore either.

While all of the performances in Seven Pounds are compelling, the story is contrived to the point of exhaustion. Early on it becomes fairly apparent what Ben is doing, and why, and every step along the way is an obvious jab at getting audiences as weepy as possible.

Despite the obnoxious gotcha near the end, which plays out like a public service ad, Seven Pounds is definitely moving. Smith plays Ben with a fierce realism, managing both an elegance, and a brutal sadness that permeates the film. While Smith gives the film the power, it is Dawson who gives the film its heart, practically playing Ben’s tender opposite.

In the end, Seven Pounds is hindered by its style and the flawed storyline, but I’m still recommending it for anyone who likes a weepy drama, mostly because I was a big fan of the performances.

Yes Man
On the other end of heart and romance comes the latest Jim Carrey comedy about a guy who says no to everything.

Carrey plays Carl, a banker with a bad attitude who is still recovering from losing the girl of his dreams. When he meets up with an old co-worker though, who is apparently living life to the fullest, Carl gets dragged into a cult-like group who convince him that from that point on he has to say yes to everything life has to offer.

Much like every other Carrey comedy, there are hijinks aplenty. Carl gets into a bar fight, sings a man out of killing himself, and makes a lot of funny faces. It’s kind of standard Carrey fair, except that Zooey Deschanel is a treat as Carl’s zany new love interest, Allison. Even though she plays the real oddball, she ends up being the grounding force that stabilizes the story, not to mention Carrey.

Director Peyton Reed, who previously gave us the wonderful comedy The Break-Up, turns an otherwise silly script into something quite charming. He reins in Carrey’s usual overabundance of energy to make Carl into only a mildly insane individual.

Also opening in theatres…

The Wrestler (Limited)
After the disaster that was The Fountain, I wasn’t sure we would ever see another film from director Darren Aronofsky. Based on the buzz for The Wrestler, it looks like Aronofsky is back in form with a film that is getting a lot of great reviews.

Mickey Rourke plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a sad, and cornered man who only knows one thing in life, and that’s the attention of the masses when he’s wrestling. Working other jobs just to pay the bills, Randy has a tough life, made worse by a rocky relationship with his daughter, as he tries to start a relationship with his dear friend Cassidy, played by Marisa Tomei.

“Present in every scene, if not each shot, Rourke gives a tremendously physical performance that The Wrestler essentially exists to document,” wrote J. Hoberman for the Village Voice.

The Tale of Despereaux
A mouse with a gallant heart is shunned by his community, but forced into the life of action and adventure that he so dearly dreams of in The Tale of Despereaux. This animated adventure features the voices of Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Dustin Hoffman, and Richard Jenkins in a story for both the young and old.

Reviews are split, but there are more than enough positive comments to suggest this would be a good diversion for families this weekend. As Claudia Puig of USA Today says in her review, “While the story does not quite come to magical life, the themes of courage, hope and decency are sweetly inspiring.”

Gran Torino (Limited)
Lastly, and maybe most oddly, Clint Eastwood stars and directs a film about a prejudiced old man who becomes an icon for the people he seems to hate. When trouble happens in his own front yard, the aging Walt (Eastwood) doesn’t hesitate in dealing with a local gang that is making trouble for the family next door. As the community celebrates him, he will however have to come to grip with the changing world around him, and the threats of the enraged gang.

The trailer for Gran Torino is an odd mix of things, and I couldn’t help but laugh at some of the bravado Eastwood pours into the character of Walt. Despite the oddity of it all, the film has a lot of support from critics, most notably perhaps, from Roger Ebert.

“Gran Torino is about two things, I believe,” wrote Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times. “It’s about the belated flowering of a man’s better nature. And it’s about Americans of different races growing more open to one another in the new century.”

Just ask Johnny Depp or Sean Penn or Brad Pitt about Mickey Rourke and you’ll get an earful of animated praise for Rourke and his work.

From the time Rourke announced his presence on the movie map with a very cool supporting role in Body Heat as an ex-con named Teddy who is teaching his lawyer how to build an incendiary device for an arson the lawyer is planning to commit through his role as the mysterious John in the erotic 9 ½ Weeks Rourke displayed that kind of detached cool that every two-bit punk actor in Hollywood has been trying to imitate for the past twenty years.

But Mickey Rourke self-destructed in the most public and blatant ways possible…and he knows it too. He thought he was bigger than the game itself and that wound back on him and bit him on the ass. The Pope of Greenwich Village, Angel Heart, Johnny Handsome, Year of the Dragon, Barfly… all wonderful, resonating performances, but no one went to see any of them and that meant all the publicity in the world wasn’t going to sweet him up to the Hollywood studios.

I asked Rourke about this and other aspects of his crash and burn act while sitting with him and his little dog Loki on the terrace of his Four Seasons Hotel suite…

Chris Heard: “Was their something fundamental that happened that caused your career to fizzle, or was it a kind of sum total of a bunch of different things?”

Mickey Rourke: “Listen man, it was all me, man, all my fault. It was the combination of a lot of things, some of the things were buried so deep inside me I didn’t even know they were there. I had a lot of anger inside me and that came out at times that were not particularly advantageous to me career-wise.”

CH: “I spoke to a few studio executives recently and they all, to a one, said that they were ‘scared of Mickey Rourke’.”

MR: (Chuckles) “Yeah, I have heard that a lot over the last several years and again man, I had that coming, I gave those fuckers reason to be afraid of me.”

CH: “For showing up at studio meetings with Hell’s Angels members flying full colours…”

MR: “Yeah, I did that…”

CH: “Is it true that you lost out on a big thriller [What became the over-hyped, truly mediocre In The Cut with Meg Ryan] because one of the actresses simply didn’t want to work with you?”

MR: “Yeah that is true and it was bewildering to me because this particular actress [Nicole Kidman, who was involved in the film at the time] had never ever met me before. So what she was scared of was what she had heard.”

CH: “So how do you make that right?”

MR: “I make that right by talking to someone…a doctor…a psychologist…about things. I got a new agent, a great young guy who told me right off that I had to accept his advice and work with him if he was to handle me and most importantly I have to make the absolute most of the opportunities I am getting…rebuild…you know.”

CH: “I am a huge fan of yours man, I want to say that up front…”

MR: “Thanks man…”

CH: “…so I am delighted to see you back doing some work again. I am wondering about the time you got very huge in – late eighties, early nineties…there are a bunch of really talented people from that time that just don’t really work much anymore… Eric Roberts…”

MR: “Oh man, Eric Roberts is one of the great actors ever man, I just worked with him a bit again on Spun – but he had some problems, health problems that have made it tough on him, but he is working again -”

CH: “What about Michael Cimino…”

MR: “Michael’s fucking crazy man, that is his problem, he is just fucking nuts.”

CH: “You were in Heaven’s Gate -”

MR: “Yeah, I played a character named Nick Ray…that was actually a beautiful film – the French love it – but it was Michael man, he is such a fucking nut, you wanna talk about a guy who won’t play the Hollywood game…”

CH: “You also made Year of the Dragon and Desperate Hours, both decent movies, with him -”

MR: “I didn’t say he wasn’t a superb talent, he is, I said once to a reporter that if I had to only make movies with Cimino the rest of my life that would be fine, but then he just went right off the fucking rails man, a complete fucking nut now.”

CH: “I love your films Angel Heart and Johnny Handsome – I thought both were among the most overlooked movies of the 80s -”

MR: “Thanks man -”

CH: “Why didn’t audiences dig those movies when they came out?”

MR: “Ah, who the fuck knows about these things…although with Johnny Handsome Walter Hill [director] was trying to make several different movies, several different ideas and themes in one movie – I thought he pulled it off for the most part but it gave the movie this really uneven feel, but I loved the idea of making a noir crime thriller with a serious social message running right the fuck through it. Angel Heart…I don’t know, it seems that people seem to get it now more than they did then.”

CH: “Now that a new crop of filmmakers are seeking you out – what are you going to do differently now?”

MR: “Yeah, well, I have always been committed and I have always been professional…always…but before I never looked at all this shit as a business, I thought I could be an artist and just concentrate all my energy on being that – but that ain’t realistic, this is a business, a vile cutthroat fucking business that you have to keep your eye on all the time or you will get fucked over in a big way.”

CH: “I was talking to Johnny Depp recently and he told me what a big admirer he was of yours…”

MR: “Yeah Johnny, he is my brother…a great fucking guy and a guy who knows how to play this fucking Hollywood game…he does great work, he is a great actor, he does the Hollywood thing to support his movies and then he goes off and lives his life with his family. He knows how to do it… I wish I had his savy when I was coming up man.”

CH: “I’ll use the work ‘comeback’ because I can’t think of a better one – but was Francis Coppola a big part of that return for you -”

MR: “Comeback is a good word man, and yeah, Francis was great to me on Rainmaker – he had to really vouch big for me – the studio guys were telling him to get ‘someone like Mickey Rourke’ for the character of bruiser…Francis said to them, ‘but Mickey Rourke is still out there, still working, why not just get him?’ The studio was hesitant, Francis made it happen. Then it turned out that the stuff was working out so good that Francis actually added in several scenes for Bruiser after we started shooting. But now guys like Robert Rodriquez [who put Rourke in Once Upon a Time in Mexico at the suggestion of Johnny Depp] are wanting to work with me because they haven’t heard the stories about me, they are just taking a look at the work and making their decisions based on that. I appreciate that and won’t let them down.”

CH: “If you had to do it all over again would you quite working as an actor to box again?”

MR: “You know man, I never look backwards…I have always been an athlete – I boxed before I acted in Miami – I just wanted to give it a shot, test myself that way physically, while I still had time.”

CH: “A lot of people made fun of you during that time, saying that you sucked as a boxer – but you had, what, eleven fights and you lost only one -”

MR: “Thanks for pointing that out man, I actually didn’t lose any of them – I had one draw. But I got beaten up pretty good in some of the bouts, busted nose, broken and compressed cheekbone…I was also dealing with other stuff in my life, relationship stuff…I also had done a movie for a lot of money that I considered to be a complete sell out…you know what I am talking about?”

CH: “Was it Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man? ”

MR: “You got it…so if the circumstances were exactly the same, I would do exactly the same…”

CH: “Did that bother you, the fact that all your problems, you private life, was all up for public scrutiny?”

MR: “No, none of that stuff ever really bothered me because I asked for it – all actors seek it out – all this bullshit about stars bitching and moaning about not having any privacy is bullshit – pure fucking bullshit – while they are complaining about a lack of privacy they have an army of PR flunkies trying to get them on the cover of magazines and keep them on the talk show circuit. ”

CH: “What are you hoping for now?”

MR: “Man, all I am hoping for is to be able to work – I think my best work is still ahead of me – I think all that I have been through in the last several years have only made me a better, more interesting actor.”

Photo Courtesy: Once Upon a Time in Mexico – Sony Pictures.