Discussing my ‘Iron Man’ Boycott
I have received all sorts of the slack and comments as I avoided the first “Iron Man” film and it will appear that the next wave will come against me over “Iron Man 2.”
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a superhero fan and comic book geek, which would make “Iron Man” a must see; however, Robert Downey Jr presents a problem.
RDJ is only a couple of years older than me, so I’ve watched movies spanning his entire whole career. This means I’ve witnessed the countless arrests, alcohol and drug related arrests and subsequent excuses.
Wikipedia even had the quote that I was struggling to remember: 1999 to a Judge after another arrest, after another failed rehab attempt:
“It’s like I have a loaded gun in my mouth and my finger’s on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal.”
Poor analogy, but he’s hardly alone in Hollywood as an uncontrolled heathen enslaved to his vices.
No, the trump card was played for me as he promoted the first “Iron Man” and made a off-hand comment that this popcorn film would legitimize his career.
“I went after Iron Man because Keanu Reeves got The Matrix, and Johnny Depp got Pirates. I’m looking at all these posters of the movies I’ve seen with my son, and I’m thinking, ‘Damn! I could do that!’ “
Robert Downey Jr sported an Iron Man glove as he entertained over 6,000 at San Diego Comic Con
“Chaplin”, “Home for the Holidays” and “Soapdish” are my favorite RDJ films, but I can respect he’s done other great work.
To the Hollywood narcissist, none of it matters unless you’re on the poster at the local googleplex.
We all have favorite actors, directors, musicians, sports teams, but sometimes their behavior, decisions or comments can present a problem: do I continue to give this jerk my money?
Nolan Canova, CrazedFanboy.com, claims the closest example he had was Joel Schumacher, who he holds in contempt for destroying the first run of Batman films. Trying to “gayify” the characters with nipples was the last straw according to Canova – can’t argue there.
I work with an animal lover who deplores Michael Vick, his actions and his return to football. In fact, my wife has a rather long list of actors, actresses and musicians she avoids patronizing.
There are websites devoted to this concept for various reasons. Boycott “Twilight” because Stephanie Meyer is a mormon; boycott Sean Penn because of his anti-American comments and friendship with Hugo Chavez; or boycott U2 if they “perform in apartheid Israel” — the list goes on and on.
I just thought it was an interesting topic and one that I’ve discussed a lot recently.
