I opened up my email this morning to see a message from my friend Neil at FSR titled “LOL Are you kidding me? This is awesome…”
Turns out that Entertainment Weekly released the first production photo for Ben Stiller’s summer comedy Tropic Thunder, and it features our first look at Robert Downey Jr.’s character Kirk Lazarus, who is a black man. That’s right, Robert is in black face, and from what little I can tell from the photo, he doesn’t look that bad as a black man. But even funnier, Robert plays a white man playing a black man. confused?
His character, Lazarus, is a “very serious Oscar-winning actor” who is cast for a role originally written for a black man in the most expensive Vietnam war epic ever filmed. So Lazarus decides to dye his skin and play Osiris as written. A rough cut of the movie was recently screened for an African-American crowd, and Stiller claims he was relieved that the audience “really embrace[d] it”.
When I was younger I use to hate Robert Downey Jr., but now he has now become one of my favorite actors. I trust anything he does, or at very least, that his piece of the pie will be incredible. I had very little interest in seeing this film before today. I don’t know why but I thought Downey had signed on to be part of just another generic summer comedy. But apparently something in Stiller’s material got him interested enough to put on a black face…
According to the article:
“Ben Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ”all the good ones are gone.” Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film - his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film’s director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they’re doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they’re in is very real.”
Aside from the 2001 semi-flop Zoolander, Stiller also directed Reality Bites and the vastly underrated Jim Carrey comedy The Cable Guy. Tropic Thunder hits theaters on August 15th 2008.
Discuss: What do you think about Robert Downey Jr. in Black Face? Funny? Offensive? Stupid?
March 5th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Fuck it. Why not? Takes a second to spot him (Downey) in there. The hair looks good.
Sounds a million times more interesting than Zack and Mimi.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
LOLOL
BLACK DOWNEY JR. IS BRILLIANT!!!
This movie looks and will be good.
BLACKFACE = LOL
March 5th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Oh I love love love RD Jr. And I love Ben Stiller, too, even though a lot of people give me a hard time for and in spite of the Heartbreak Kid. This movie looks like it may be good…but it doesn’t seem like it will be one of Stiller’s huge hits.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I have yet to like anything Jack Black has done when he has short hair. But when he has long hair, I love him. We shall see.
And yes, Robert Downey Jr. as a black man is awesome.
March 5th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Offensive? Please. Get over it. It’s hysterical.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
White chicks the movie…if there any black people out there that think R.D Jr as a blackman is offensive…take a look at that movie…
This should be funny…..
March 5th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
This movie has serious potential to be one of the biggest comedies.
Great cast, cool premise, but not the best month to hit.
It’s up against The Pineapple Express. Wonder which’ll do better. Both look great.
March 5th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I like the premise. Anyone else remember Murrey’s “The Man Who Knew Too Little”. That still is one of my favorites of all time. This sounds liek a good one.
If you didn’t tell me that was Robert I wouldn’t have guessed in a 1000 years. Hilarious!
Looking forward to this, but what’s up with that “Fatties” title. Is it a diss to eddie Murphey?
March 5th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Take out RDJ and put in Will Farrel, and you’ll have the ultimate trifecta in un-comedy.
Ben Stiller’s group blamed Halo 3’s release for his last film bombing. I wonder what other media release they can blame this shitbomb on?
March 5th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Good soup!
March 5th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Blackface. I thought we left this shit behind? I’d need a solid context because as of right now it’s not resonating as positive.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
It’s not exactly blackface. They aren’t corking up here. Nobody is singing “Mammy.” Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Well then Peter needs to be more selective of his vocabulary
March 5th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Oh my god! Robert Downey Jr. is a brilliant comic actor and it’s awesome to see him return to comedy. I can’t wait for this flick. Just look at that cast.
March 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
i want to like this movie based on the cast alone, but so far the story and stiller’s recent flix are making me think it’ll be lame gags. maybe the trailer will change my mind.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Seriously though. Look at Stiller’s directing credits: Reality Bites, Cable Guy and Zoolander. All great flicks. Cable Guy being completely underrated and probably Jim Carrey’s second best movie (behind ESOSM). This isn’t a movie that Stiller is doing for the paycheck. He puts his all into his directing efforts.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
another uninspired stiller fare with will ferrell / jerry stiller /SNL cameos? we’ll see.
i havent enjoyed a stiller comedy since “mary”,
but the pic is intrigiung.
downey looks like fred “the hammer”williamson.
and jack black hopefully will sport a new accent.
this pic looks like some 70’s war epic.
I wish it couldve been a great satirical sendup of “Predator”.
(when will there be a predator/alien spoof? somebody please do this.)
March 5th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I’m not a fan of Stiller but this sounds funny. I think they should have left out the whole, white actor playing a white actor playing a black man and left it just as RDJ playing a black guy in this film as is!
March 5th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Downey looks like David Carradine in that picture. I’ll see this movie.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Is that Philip Seymour Hoffman?!?!?!?!?
March 6th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Looks better than C. Thomas Howell did in SOUL MAN
March 7th, 2008 at 9:05 am
One of the other writers on Highbrid Nation wrote about Robert Downy playing a black man. He worries that Al Sharpton might have something to say about it, lol. Honestly as a black person I think it’s kinda cool that movie make-up has gotten to the point where you can make someone look like another race and if the pics I’ve seen of Robert Downy in costume are accurate than they did a really good job! Plus Robert is a very capable actor so I’m sure he wont come across as stereo typical or offensive. I could be wrong though.
March 12th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
White Chicks is NOT, I repeat NOT, similar to blackface. Blackface was used to negatively depict African Americans. They saw us a “bafoons”, “inhumane” and “ignorant”. The psychologically negative effects of blackface has resonated within our community. Of course a non-African American would think its funny, but socially conscious AA’s wouldn’t even smirk at the description of this movie.
Oh, yeah, I LOVE JACK BLACK!! :p
March 13th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
As a white male, I’m not in a position to empathize with the legacy of blackface. I do, however, understand it to be one of the most egregious moments in American entertainment long history of egregious moments. For this, I can certainly sympathize.
I don’t think calling this “blackface” is accurate, though. RDJ is probably one of the most socially conscious actors in America, and I don’t think he’d take this role if he didn’t think he could do something special with it. The makeup does not appear to be anything incendiary, nor do I expect any “yessuh”s from Jr. in this film. At worst, this could be a career-ending move for several involved parties, starting with RDJ and Stiller and ending with distribution execs who bought it. At best, we can look at RDJ’s role as an interesting commentary on the arbitrary role pigment plays in our society. I’ll probably see this movie on DVD and be able to judge it better at that time. For now, I’m going to guess it will fall somewhere short of offensive, and somewhere short of brilliant.
And, for the record, calling “Zoolander” a “flop” ignores the cult success it has enjoyed and will continue to enjoy amongst stoner culture for some decades to come. It’s in my collection alongside such other predictable-yet-enjoyable classics as “Dazed and Confused,” “Half Baked,” and “Southpark: Bigger, Longer and Uncut”.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Speaking as a lifelong negro, this is in now way offensive. Downey’s not playing a guy in blackface; he’s playing a serious actor who’s so “method” that he immerses himself so deeply into his role that he has a surgical procedure to alter his features and give him the necessary melanin. As the story progresses he starts spouting “black” jargon and platitudes, irritating the living hell out of a black castmate. Now I don’t know about how others may feel, but that’s totally crazy and pretty damned funny.
March 18th, 2008 at 10:22 am
And for those interested in understanding the history of blackface and minstrelsy, I strongly urge you to read John Strausbaugh’s excellent BLACK LIKE YOU, a fascinating look at the motivation behind the emergence of blackface shows and performers as the most popular form of American entertainment for nearly a century.
Read that book and the debate over whether Downey’s performance is by-definition blackface ends as abruptly as a bicyclist slamming into a brick wall.
April 4th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
It’s not really offensive blackface is the guy is playing a white guy doing blackface… then he’d have to be a white guy, right? Lol. I don’t agree with blackface at all but this is more of a mockery so it’s all good ^_^
April 16th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
I am an African American man and Downey’s depiction (make up) looks great. The only and I mean only problem here is calling it black face. Its like the people calling it this are getting a cheap thrill because they get to use the phrase over and over again. He is simply in black “make up” . Stop tyring to get the poor guy in trouble, you people are old enough to know the term is where the offense begins.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
I am black (not that I subscribe to race as a concept or racial identity), and I’m not offended. Actually, when I first saw the photograph I thought it was a black actor…only after researching did I realise it was RDJ, who I think is a very talented actor. I’m looking forward to seeing this.