Iron Man 3 - the Downey Dilemma
THE DOWNEY DILEMMA:
There’s been a fair amount of flak in the papers (tumblr/internet/gossip columns) regarding the re-negotiations between actor Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios. The crux of which is: his three-picture contract with Marvel has now expired, he’s no longer obligated to star in further films; he was paid over a whooping fifty million for the Avengers (realistically, most insiders place this figure closer to 75 or 80 million) compared to the lump salary of his co-stars - who earned between two hundred and five hundred thousand; and lastly, it was Downey himself who made his windfall public knowledge. The response divided people into two camps - those who shrugged and said it’s a capitalist society, good luck to him, and those who said The Avengers, for all intents and purposes, was an ensemble movie and the disparity between pay was ridiculous.
I agree with both of those statements but here’s a quick history lesson.
In 2007, unless you were a comic book aficionado, no one had ever heard of Iron Man. Unlike Batman, Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, Flash Gordon, there was no television or cartoon series that aired in the sixties or seventies, no films to his name, no actor associated with Stark’s image and no rotation of faces. Iron Man was an unexpected hit - in the sense that it brought the general public into the theatre - and at the moment, the same public identifies the character with the actor.
In 2003, the majority of Hollywood considered Robert Downey Jr a lost cause.
It was Mel Gibson who gave him his first leg-up the ladder by casting him as the lead in The Singing Detective; and it was Gibson who paid Downey’s insurance bond - most insurance companies (with good cause), feared he would relapse and end in prison before the film could be completed; when The Singing Detective finished without incident Gibson contacted Joel Silver (a film producer for Warner Brothers) and said. ‘He’s legit, give the kid a chance.” From 2003 to 2005 Downey worked as a supporting actor in a series of movies including Gothika, Eros, Game Six, Good Night and Good Luck, and The Shaggy Dog (not released until 2006). His film contract throughout this period stipulated that only half of his pay would be available to him upon casting, the remainder withheld until the successful completion of the film. The first director to waive this right was Shane Black (Iron Man 3), who cast him as the lead in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. The film, while a critical success was also a financial flop, and Downey returned to supporting characters, A Guide to Recognising your Saints would follow (which he co-produced and co-starred in) Fur, A Scanner Darkly, Zodiac, and Charlie Bartlett until he set his sights on Iron Man.
When Marvel Studios heard of his interest in the film their response was to say, quote: “Under no circumstances are you to hire that actor for any amount of money” end quote (source Jon Favreau, pick your article). Instead, Marvel had its own idea as to who should play Tony Stark, their short-list included actors like Tom Cruise and Nicholas Cage but not the likes of Downey. Downey pushed for the role, he auditioned in 2006 and Jon Favreau went to bat for him. By 2007, Marvel relented, and filming began on May 23rd of the same year.
From Marvel’s perspective the movie was a serious gamble. A second tier comic book hero no one had heard of (outside of hardcore fans), combined with a recovered drug-addict without a single hit to his name. Since '91 Downey’s been referred to as the ‘most gifted actor of his generation’ - often praised by critics as providing the only worthwhile performance in a film - but he was also the most unsuccessful actor of his generation: the only member of the Brat Pack without a blockbuster to his credit; with this is mind, and with the stigma of - 'will he relapse?' - still hanging over his head, Marvel signed Downey for one film only - they reinforced the half now/half later structure of his previous salary and paid him a total of five hundred thousand dollars for his performance in Iron Man (source hollyworth.com). The same amount his co-stars are paid today. And this is where Marvel landed in trouble. The movie didn’t perform sub par or even moderately well, instead, it was the runaway hit of 2008 and more alarmingly, their lead actor wasn't signed for any further films.
Downey married Susan Levine in 2005, a producer for Dark Castle and friend of Joel Silver, she's known for her keen insight into Hollywood's inner goings, she's been Downey’s partner, advisor, and lover since 2003. When Marvel and the Downey's met at the table to discuss the future, post Iron Man, they wanted to sign him for a three-way contract - hence, he was locked into Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3, (the contract that's now expired). Downey agreed, except his own terms shifted from earning a lump payment at the beginning of the film, to earning five per cent of the movie’s overall haul.
This all occurred in 2008. Thor and Captain America weren’t cast until almost two years later, hitting the cinemas in 2011, and not signing a lead actor for a three way contract immediately was a mistake Marvel Studios never repeated.
Downey’s never stated that he won’t work in a movie for anything less than fifty million (he has, in fact, just signed up to work with Jon Favreau again in the independent feature The Chef), and he’s never stated his performance in The Avengers outshone his co-stars to the point where he earned himself a fifty million dollar pay-rise - as some people are incorrectly referring to it on the internet - it has nothing to do with a so-called 'pay-rise'. It’s about a contract he signed all the way back in 2008 - and five per cent of a film that earned over 1.5 billion dollars - happens to fall in the ball-mark of seventy mill. Is it fair to Evans, Johansson, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Renner, or Jackson, who hammered out their own contracts with Marvel? No it’s not. But that’s not exactly on Downey’s shoulders either.
He has, however, officially said: “Yeah. Marvel’s so pissed at me right now.”
What is interesting about this entire situation is that it was Downey who made his wage public knowledge prior to renegotiation, and that's the reason why Marvel's 'so pissed at him'. Fifty million versus five hundred thousand is a very good way to polarise a movie set. He’s not signed for the Avengers 2 - neither for that matter has Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth - who’s three picture deal has also came to a close - Thor, Avengers, and Thor 2 are now completed - to be released later this year.
Marvel has defended its low payment of actors (comparatively low, because to me, this is still a hell of lot of money) by stating that being in a Marvel movie is good exposure. They pay their actors less with the understanding the movie will be a hit, the actor will be exposed to a wider audience and in future, (and with some other company) they can demand a higher fee; case in point, Chris Hemsworth, paid five hundred thousand for Thor compared to the five million he was paid for Snow White and the Huntsman. Any actor who tries to throw their weight around at Marvel has been summarily replaced. Their position is clear - it’s not about the actor - it’s about the comic book name and any actor can play a comic book hero.
The Hulk has been played by Bill Bixby (1978-82), Eric Bana (2003), Edward Norton (2008), and Mark Ruffalo (2012)
Spiderman was played by Nicholas Hammond (1977-79), Christopher Daniel Barnes (1994-98) Tobey Macquire (2002-07) and Andrew Garfield (2012).
Rhodes (Iron Patriot) was played by Terence Howard (2008), and Don Cheadle (2010-13). I can go on with this, include the Batman and Superman franchises but you get the point, people might initially whine but ultimately we’re used to a rotation of faces playing these characters from TV across to film. Kevin Feige has said he eventually wants to James Bond the Iron Man franchise, clearly, it’s been done before and clearly it will work again and he’s right. There’s no reason why some other actor can’t take over Downey’s role and play Tony Stark to the absolute hilt- but that first movie will be the equivalent of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - and that actor (whoever it may be) will be in the unenviable position of being George Lazenby (in the audience’s eyes) instead of Sean Connery. He’s going to be eaten alive.
After that, the franchise should be fine, and they can replace that actor as many times as they want for as long as they want. It’s the initial transition that’s the most ridiculed.
Threatening to replace actors is something Marvel has done ruthlessly - and very effectively in the past. Downey, meanwhile, has made his wage known to the public and also made it known he won’t return to the Avengers if his co-stars aren’t given a fair share of the films total gross.
Chris Hemsworth, also free of his contract, is also threatening to walk.
Which leaves Marvel in the awkward position of having to replace not one of its main characters in a feature film but potentially two or three (Scarlett Johansson is also uncertain at this stage. Meanwhile, Samuel L Jackson was reportedly locked into an eight-picture contract, and Chris Evans managed to renegotiate his own contract prior to filming Captain America 2). In effect, changing the entire roster of faces from The Avengers (2012) to a sequel slated to film in little over a year. And that - asking the audience to accept not only a different Stark, but also a different Thor and a different Black Widow - while Evans and Jackson remain on screen with their own characters, is a hard sell.
If Marvel doesn’t want to increase the other actors pay - then they’re better off scraping the entire cast and starting again with lesser salaries and a whole bunch of new faces - again, meaning the film will take a potential loss. They just need to weigh up how much money they save that way - versus how much they could potentially lose. But that action - if they're to follow through with the threat - leaves them open to lawsuits from both Jackson and Evans for breach of their own on-going contracts. It's not exactly the same situation as the Friends cast but it is an interesting one
As for Downey, he’s done the impolite thing and made the entire disparity of wage public knowledge, and then threatened to walk. Rightly or wrongly, Iron Man 3 (with its worldwide earnings of over 1.1 billion dollars) has proven which cast member holds the most power in the renegotiations. Although as a side note, I'm very interested to see how well Thor and Cap 2 do in the future.
Anyone who says Downey should drop the five per cent earnings he's etched out of Marvel to two per cent is kidding themselves. No one, and I mean no one, takes a cut to their own pay willingly, regardless of what job is performed. And given how he’s clawed his way into this position from 2002, I don’t see that happening in the slightest. Downey has a habit of repaying the people who helped him by helping in kind - through the industry and through job opportunities (Shane Black, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Monaghan, Jon Favreau, and Mel Gibson have all received a turnaround ‘helping hand’).
As for the Downey Dilemma - would I see Iron Man if he was played by a different actor? For me, no, but I'm sure most people would. I saw the original Iron Man on the big screen because of Robert Downey Jr - not because I’m fond of flying robots or because I read the comic books as a kid. I’ve been following his film career (regrettably…because there are some stinkers out there) since the early nineties. As for the negotiations taking place right now - if he asked (and received) for five per cent of the take back in 2008, then you can bet your bottom dollar he's demanding the same now or an increase. Marvel, of course, will be expected to chip that down.
That's plain business sense. I expect in the next weeks there will be rumours flying around left, right, and centre on the internet - and most of it will be dust - but either way, they'll reach an agreement or recast.
There’s an unconfirmed rumour he’s unwilling to do Iron Man 4 - but is willing to negotiate for The Avengers - he’ll be fifty by 2015 and fifty-two if Avengers 3 is ever green-lit, and while the man is in freakishly good shape - considering the lifestyle he led for over twenty-years - that’s getting long in the tooth for any action hero. In various press junkets recently he's also stated he was looking forward to returning to independent features, and that he might have over-stayed his welcome.
Iron Man 3 had its international release before it’s American release, in Australia, it came out on Anzac Day and on the Rotten Tomatoes website - in the week and a half preceding its American debut - the international film critics had the movie rated at a steady 92%. Upon it’s American release, that figure dropped to 78%. So either the American critics are harsher than the international critics - or Downey wasn’t far off the mark when he talked about ‘overstaying his welcome.’
I love him as Tony Stark but I’d be more than happy if the third outing was his final because the truth is, I want to see him in as many different roles as possible. He’s comparable to Johnny Depp at this stage - both of them embodying a character that seems to be solely theirs - raking in the cash with their separate franchises, Captain Jack Sparrow and Iron Man, only it’d prefer it if Downey left before his franchise turned into a shambles.
There’s been a fair amount of flak in the papers (tumblr/internet/gossip columns) regarding the re-negotiations between actor Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios. The crux of which is: his three-picture contract with Marvel has now expired, he’s no longer obligated to star in further films; he was paid over a whooping fifty million for the Avengers (realistically, most insiders place this figure closer to 75 or 80 million) compared to the lump salary of his co-stars - who earned between two hundred and five hundred thousand; and lastly, it was Downey himself who made his windfall public knowledge. The response divided people into two camps - those who shrugged and said it’s a capitalist society, good luck to him, and those who said The Avengers, for all intents and purposes, was an ensemble movie and the disparity between pay was ridiculous.
I agree with both of those statements but here’s a quick history lesson.
In 2007, unless you were a comic book aficionado, no one had ever heard of Iron Man. Unlike Batman, Superman, Spiderman, X-Men, Flash Gordon, there was no television or cartoon series that aired in the sixties or seventies, no films to his name, no actor associated with Stark’s image and no rotation of faces. Iron Man was an unexpected hit - in the sense that it brought the general public into the theatre - and at the moment, the same public identifies the character with the actor.
In 2003, the majority of Hollywood considered Robert Downey Jr a lost cause.
It was Mel Gibson who gave him his first leg-up the ladder by casting him as the lead in The Singing Detective; and it was Gibson who paid Downey’s insurance bond - most insurance companies (with good cause), feared he would relapse and end in prison before the film could be completed; when The Singing Detective finished without incident Gibson contacted Joel Silver (a film producer for Warner Brothers) and said. ‘He’s legit, give the kid a chance.” From 2003 to 2005 Downey worked as a supporting actor in a series of movies including Gothika, Eros, Game Six, Good Night and Good Luck, and The Shaggy Dog (not released until 2006). His film contract throughout this period stipulated that only half of his pay would be available to him upon casting, the remainder withheld until the successful completion of the film. The first director to waive this right was Shane Black (Iron Man 3), who cast him as the lead in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. The film, while a critical success was also a financial flop, and Downey returned to supporting characters, A Guide to Recognising your Saints would follow (which he co-produced and co-starred in) Fur, A Scanner Darkly, Zodiac, and Charlie Bartlett until he set his sights on Iron Man.
When Marvel Studios heard of his interest in the film their response was to say, quote: “Under no circumstances are you to hire that actor for any amount of money” end quote (source Jon Favreau, pick your article). Instead, Marvel had its own idea as to who should play Tony Stark, their short-list included actors like Tom Cruise and Nicholas Cage but not the likes of Downey. Downey pushed for the role, he auditioned in 2006 and Jon Favreau went to bat for him. By 2007, Marvel relented, and filming began on May 23rd of the same year.
From Marvel’s perspective the movie was a serious gamble. A second tier comic book hero no one had heard of (outside of hardcore fans), combined with a recovered drug-addict without a single hit to his name. Since '91 Downey’s been referred to as the ‘most gifted actor of his generation’ - often praised by critics as providing the only worthwhile performance in a film - but he was also the most unsuccessful actor of his generation: the only member of the Brat Pack without a blockbuster to his credit; with this is mind, and with the stigma of - 'will he relapse?' - still hanging over his head, Marvel signed Downey for one film only - they reinforced the half now/half later structure of his previous salary and paid him a total of five hundred thousand dollars for his performance in Iron Man (source hollyworth.com). The same amount his co-stars are paid today. And this is where Marvel landed in trouble. The movie didn’t perform sub par or even moderately well, instead, it was the runaway hit of 2008 and more alarmingly, their lead actor wasn't signed for any further films.
Downey married Susan Levine in 2005, a producer for Dark Castle and friend of Joel Silver, she's known for her keen insight into Hollywood's inner goings, she's been Downey’s partner, advisor, and lover since 2003. When Marvel and the Downey's met at the table to discuss the future, post Iron Man, they wanted to sign him for a three-way contract - hence, he was locked into Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Iron Man 3, (the contract that's now expired). Downey agreed, except his own terms shifted from earning a lump payment at the beginning of the film, to earning five per cent of the movie’s overall haul.
This all occurred in 2008. Thor and Captain America weren’t cast until almost two years later, hitting the cinemas in 2011, and not signing a lead actor for a three way contract immediately was a mistake Marvel Studios never repeated.
Downey’s never stated that he won’t work in a movie for anything less than fifty million (he has, in fact, just signed up to work with Jon Favreau again in the independent feature The Chef), and he’s never stated his performance in The Avengers outshone his co-stars to the point where he earned himself a fifty million dollar pay-rise - as some people are incorrectly referring to it on the internet - it has nothing to do with a so-called 'pay-rise'. It’s about a contract he signed all the way back in 2008 - and five per cent of a film that earned over 1.5 billion dollars - happens to fall in the ball-mark of seventy mill. Is it fair to Evans, Johansson, Hemsworth, Ruffalo, Renner, or Jackson, who hammered out their own contracts with Marvel? No it’s not. But that’s not exactly on Downey’s shoulders either.
He has, however, officially said: “Yeah. Marvel’s so pissed at me right now.”
What is interesting about this entire situation is that it was Downey who made his wage public knowledge prior to renegotiation, and that's the reason why Marvel's 'so pissed at him'. Fifty million versus five hundred thousand is a very good way to polarise a movie set. He’s not signed for the Avengers 2 - neither for that matter has Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth - who’s three picture deal has also came to a close - Thor, Avengers, and Thor 2 are now completed - to be released later this year.
Marvel has defended its low payment of actors (comparatively low, because to me, this is still a hell of lot of money) by stating that being in a Marvel movie is good exposure. They pay their actors less with the understanding the movie will be a hit, the actor will be exposed to a wider audience and in future, (and with some other company) they can demand a higher fee; case in point, Chris Hemsworth, paid five hundred thousand for Thor compared to the five million he was paid for Snow White and the Huntsman. Any actor who tries to throw their weight around at Marvel has been summarily replaced. Their position is clear - it’s not about the actor - it’s about the comic book name and any actor can play a comic book hero.
The Hulk has been played by Bill Bixby (1978-82), Eric Bana (2003), Edward Norton (2008), and Mark Ruffalo (2012)
Spiderman was played by Nicholas Hammond (1977-79), Christopher Daniel Barnes (1994-98) Tobey Macquire (2002-07) and Andrew Garfield (2012).
Rhodes (Iron Patriot) was played by Terence Howard (2008), and Don Cheadle (2010-13). I can go on with this, include the Batman and Superman franchises but you get the point, people might initially whine but ultimately we’re used to a rotation of faces playing these characters from TV across to film. Kevin Feige has said he eventually wants to James Bond the Iron Man franchise, clearly, it’s been done before and clearly it will work again and he’s right. There’s no reason why some other actor can’t take over Downey’s role and play Tony Stark to the absolute hilt- but that first movie will be the equivalent of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - and that actor (whoever it may be) will be in the unenviable position of being George Lazenby (in the audience’s eyes) instead of Sean Connery. He’s going to be eaten alive.
After that, the franchise should be fine, and they can replace that actor as many times as they want for as long as they want. It’s the initial transition that’s the most ridiculed.
Threatening to replace actors is something Marvel has done ruthlessly - and very effectively in the past. Downey, meanwhile, has made his wage known to the public and also made it known he won’t return to the Avengers if his co-stars aren’t given a fair share of the films total gross.
Chris Hemsworth, also free of his contract, is also threatening to walk.
Which leaves Marvel in the awkward position of having to replace not one of its main characters in a feature film but potentially two or three (Scarlett Johansson is also uncertain at this stage. Meanwhile, Samuel L Jackson was reportedly locked into an eight-picture contract, and Chris Evans managed to renegotiate his own contract prior to filming Captain America 2). In effect, changing the entire roster of faces from The Avengers (2012) to a sequel slated to film in little over a year. And that - asking the audience to accept not only a different Stark, but also a different Thor and a different Black Widow - while Evans and Jackson remain on screen with their own characters, is a hard sell.
If Marvel doesn’t want to increase the other actors pay - then they’re better off scraping the entire cast and starting again with lesser salaries and a whole bunch of new faces - again, meaning the film will take a potential loss. They just need to weigh up how much money they save that way - versus how much they could potentially lose. But that action - if they're to follow through with the threat - leaves them open to lawsuits from both Jackson and Evans for breach of their own on-going contracts. It's not exactly the same situation as the Friends cast but it is an interesting one
As for Downey, he’s done the impolite thing and made the entire disparity of wage public knowledge, and then threatened to walk. Rightly or wrongly, Iron Man 3 (with its worldwide earnings of over 1.1 billion dollars) has proven which cast member holds the most power in the renegotiations. Although as a side note, I'm very interested to see how well Thor and Cap 2 do in the future.
Anyone who says Downey should drop the five per cent earnings he's etched out of Marvel to two per cent is kidding themselves. No one, and I mean no one, takes a cut to their own pay willingly, regardless of what job is performed. And given how he’s clawed his way into this position from 2002, I don’t see that happening in the slightest. Downey has a habit of repaying the people who helped him by helping in kind - through the industry and through job opportunities (Shane Black, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Monaghan, Jon Favreau, and Mel Gibson have all received a turnaround ‘helping hand’).
As for the Downey Dilemma - would I see Iron Man if he was played by a different actor? For me, no, but I'm sure most people would. I saw the original Iron Man on the big screen because of Robert Downey Jr - not because I’m fond of flying robots or because I read the comic books as a kid. I’ve been following his film career (regrettably…because there are some stinkers out there) since the early nineties. As for the negotiations taking place right now - if he asked (and received) for five per cent of the take back in 2008, then you can bet your bottom dollar he's demanding the same now or an increase. Marvel, of course, will be expected to chip that down.
That's plain business sense. I expect in the next weeks there will be rumours flying around left, right, and centre on the internet - and most of it will be dust - but either way, they'll reach an agreement or recast.
There’s an unconfirmed rumour he’s unwilling to do Iron Man 4 - but is willing to negotiate for The Avengers - he’ll be fifty by 2015 and fifty-two if Avengers 3 is ever green-lit, and while the man is in freakishly good shape - considering the lifestyle he led for over twenty-years - that’s getting long in the tooth for any action hero. In various press junkets recently he's also stated he was looking forward to returning to independent features, and that he might have over-stayed his welcome.
Iron Man 3 had its international release before it’s American release, in Australia, it came out on Anzac Day and on the Rotten Tomatoes website - in the week and a half preceding its American debut - the international film critics had the movie rated at a steady 92%. Upon it’s American release, that figure dropped to 78%. So either the American critics are harsher than the international critics - or Downey wasn’t far off the mark when he talked about ‘overstaying his welcome.’
I love him as Tony Stark but I’d be more than happy if the third outing was his final because the truth is, I want to see him in as many different roles as possible. He’s comparable to Johnny Depp at this stage - both of them embodying a character that seems to be solely theirs - raking in the cash with their separate franchises, Captain Jack Sparrow and Iron Man, only it’d prefer it if Downey left before his franchise turned into a shambles.