Robin PottratzWith Robert Downey Jr. as "Entertainer of the Year," Entertainment Weekly finally gets it right
December 2nd 2008 03:41
One of the most infuriating and compulsively readable magazines within the paragon of American popular culture is Entertainment Weekly. As I have stated numerous times within my blog posts, EW is notorious for picking and choosing their favorite people, shows, movies, music, and various other pieces of popular culture to be featured within the pages of their magazine. Notable examples include Michael Cera, "Gossip Girl," Tina Fey, Heath Ledger, and "The Simpsons," to name a few. So, when their annual "Entertainers of the Year" issue came out for 2008, I was fully expecting to see Tina Fey, Heath Ledger, or the cast of "The Office" on the cover. You could not believe my pleasant surprise when I saw that Entertainment Weekly decided to bestow their most prestigious honor on a man who truly deserved it despite the fact that he didn't fall under their clique like umbrella of acceptable pop culture. No, Entertainment Weekly's "Entertainer of the Year" for 2008 was non other than the multi-talented, brave, and deserving Robert Downey Jr.
What makes the selection of Downey Jr. even more impressive is the fact that an equally compelling argument could be made for EW mainstay Tina Fey. I mean Fey won an Emmy, impersonated Sarah Palin to great success, and anchored a star vehicle to a number one debut at the box office. EW also felt that she deserved to be honored and named her the #2 Entertainer for 2008, not a small feat in its own right. However what put Downey Jr. over the top is that his personal journey back to the top is one of the great comeback stories in the history of Hollywood.
During most of the 90's until his court ordered drug rehab in 2001, Downey was a certified junkie. It disappointed most of Hollywood who wanted nothing more than to see him succeed. Over the years his discretions got more and more bizarre. He drove naked through Sunset Boulevard, he was arrested for trespassing into a neighbors house and passing out in a child's bedroom, and he was found in a hotel room in Palm Springs with cocaine and a Wonder Woman costume. With all of these incidents on his record, it came as no surprise that Downey didn't get hired for the leading man roles that would normally follow after an Oscar nomination, which Downey received for 1993's "Chaplin." In fact up until around 2003, no one would even touch Downey Jr.
Downey Jr. knew he was back to square one, and he worked his way back up with artistically intriguing roles in "The Singing Detective," "Fur: an Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Downey's real return to marquee artistic cinema came in the form of his supporting role of San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery in David Fincher's acclaimed film "Zodiac." Critics raved about his layered performance as a dry, sarcastic columnist who becomes a target of the Zodiac killer and eventually enters a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol that mirrored the actors real life history. Had the film been released later in the year (it was released in March 2007) Downey Jr. could have received an Oscar nomination for this film. "Zodiac" helped establish that Downey was back in the game...and his next role launched him into the A-list stratosphere and would go a long way to him earning the title of 2008's "Entertainer of the Year."
In 2008, Downey took on the role of billionaire weapons industrialist Tony Stark...who eventually dons a super-suit and becomes Iron Man in Jon Favreau's adaptation of the popular Marvel comic book. "Iron Man" opened to rave reviews and an astounding opening weekend of $98.6 million dollars and would eventually gross $318 million domestically. The success of "Iron Man" immediately turned Robert Downey Jr. into an in demand actor for the first time in 15 years. The successful launch of a comic book franchise and starring vehicle would have been enough for most, but Downey followed up the success of "Iron Man" with a performance that would scare away most and attempted to shatter one of the last taboos in the film industry.
In Ben Stiller's send up of Hollywood "Tropic Thunder," Downey played the role of Kirk Lazurus, an Australian method actor who undergoes a skin dyeing procedure in order to play a black Sargent in a war film. For most of the film, Downey Jr. is in complete Black face, which hasn't been done since the days of minstrel shows. This role could have been an absolute catastrophe and could have sent his career plummeting after he had worked so hard to build it back up. A mess is what would have resulted except that Robert Downey Jr. is so talented that he was able to pull it off. He avoided all of the racial predispositions and turned in a hilarious and highly skilled performance that ranks among the best of the year. "Tropic Thunder" opened at number one at the box office and would go on to gross $110 million dollars domestically.
In November, Downey Jr. was to venture back into serious territory as a soul scarred journalist who befriends a schizophrenic musician played by Jaime Foxx in "Atonement" director Joe Wright's follow up "The Soloist." The initial buzz was great and many thought that Downey would be nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Eventually, the movie was pushed back to a March release date.
However a testament to Downey's talent is that from the second that the announcement was made of "The Soloist's" delay, the buzz began to mount about a possible Oscar nomination for Downey's performance in "Tropic Thunder." All indications are that he will be nominated, which is not just a reflection of Robert Downey Jr.'s talent, but just how much the Hollywood community is rooting for him to succeed. His comeback is an inspirational story, and with "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder," his 2008 has been nothing short of unbelievable.
Entertainment Weekly...I salute you. It would have been easy to give the award of "Entertainer of the Year" to a magazine favorite, but instead you decided to give it to a man who truly deserved it...you have regained a great deal of credibility in my eyes. Lastly, I salute Robert Downey Jr. You, sir have worked your butt off and have overcome the most impossible of demons and have succeeded despite all of the odds against you. You are truly the entertainer of the year and come Oscar night I will be rooting hard for you.
Congratulations Robert Downey Jr and keep up the great work.
What makes the selection of Downey Jr. even more impressive is the fact that an equally compelling argument could be made for EW mainstay Tina Fey. I mean Fey won an Emmy, impersonated Sarah Palin to great success, and anchored a star vehicle to a number one debut at the box office. EW also felt that she deserved to be honored and named her the #2 Entertainer for 2008, not a small feat in its own right. However what put Downey Jr. over the top is that his personal journey back to the top is one of the great comeback stories in the history of Hollywood.
During most of the 90's until his court ordered drug rehab in 2001, Downey was a certified junkie. It disappointed most of Hollywood who wanted nothing more than to see him succeed. Over the years his discretions got more and more bizarre. He drove naked through Sunset Boulevard, he was arrested for trespassing into a neighbors house and passing out in a child's bedroom, and he was found in a hotel room in Palm Springs with cocaine and a Wonder Woman costume. With all of these incidents on his record, it came as no surprise that Downey didn't get hired for the leading man roles that would normally follow after an Oscar nomination, which Downey received for 1993's "Chaplin." In fact up until around 2003, no one would even touch Downey Jr.
Downey Jr. knew he was back to square one, and he worked his way back up with artistically intriguing roles in "The Singing Detective," "Fur: an Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus," and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Downey's real return to marquee artistic cinema came in the form of his supporting role of San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery in David Fincher's acclaimed film "Zodiac." Critics raved about his layered performance as a dry, sarcastic columnist who becomes a target of the Zodiac killer and eventually enters a downward spiral of drugs and alcohol that mirrored the actors real life history. Had the film been released later in the year (it was released in March 2007) Downey Jr. could have received an Oscar nomination for this film. "Zodiac" helped establish that Downey was back in the game...and his next role launched him into the A-list stratosphere and would go a long way to him earning the title of 2008's "Entertainer of the Year."
In 2008, Downey took on the role of billionaire weapons industrialist Tony Stark...who eventually dons a super-suit and becomes Iron Man in Jon Favreau's adaptation of the popular Marvel comic book. "Iron Man" opened to rave reviews and an astounding opening weekend of $98.6 million dollars and would eventually gross $318 million domestically. The success of "Iron Man" immediately turned Robert Downey Jr. into an in demand actor for the first time in 15 years. The successful launch of a comic book franchise and starring vehicle would have been enough for most, but Downey followed up the success of "Iron Man" with a performance that would scare away most and attempted to shatter one of the last taboos in the film industry.
In Ben Stiller's send up of Hollywood "Tropic Thunder," Downey played the role of Kirk Lazurus, an Australian method actor who undergoes a skin dyeing procedure in order to play a black Sargent in a war film. For most of the film, Downey Jr. is in complete Black face, which hasn't been done since the days of minstrel shows. This role could have been an absolute catastrophe and could have sent his career plummeting after he had worked so hard to build it back up. A mess is what would have resulted except that Robert Downey Jr. is so talented that he was able to pull it off. He avoided all of the racial predispositions and turned in a hilarious and highly skilled performance that ranks among the best of the year. "Tropic Thunder" opened at number one at the box office and would go on to gross $110 million dollars domestically.
In November, Downey Jr. was to venture back into serious territory as a soul scarred journalist who befriends a schizophrenic musician played by Jaime Foxx in "Atonement" director Joe Wright's follow up "The Soloist." The initial buzz was great and many thought that Downey would be nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Eventually, the movie was pushed back to a March release date.
However a testament to Downey's talent is that from the second that the announcement was made of "The Soloist's" delay, the buzz began to mount about a possible Oscar nomination for Downey's performance in "Tropic Thunder." All indications are that he will be nominated, which is not just a reflection of Robert Downey Jr.'s talent, but just how much the Hollywood community is rooting for him to succeed. His comeback is an inspirational story, and with "Iron Man" and "Tropic Thunder," his 2008 has been nothing short of unbelievable.
Entertainment Weekly...I salute you. It would have been easy to give the award of "Entertainer of the Year" to a magazine favorite, but instead you decided to give it to a man who truly deserved it...you have regained a great deal of credibility in my eyes. Lastly, I salute Robert Downey Jr. You, sir have worked your butt off and have overcome the most impossible of demons and have succeeded despite all of the odds against you. You are truly the entertainer of the year and come Oscar night I will be rooting hard for you.
Congratulations Robert Downey Jr and keep up the great work.
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