TIFF 2014 opens tomorrow. Sarah’s preview for the festival will be posted shortly as an advance overview of the entire event. But the gala on Thursday night belongs to The Judge.
Robert Downey Jr, the biggest movie star in the world, is opening TIFF.
Shinan Govani wrote a piece for The Globe & Mail yesterday featuring RDJ and how, ten years ago, it would have been unlikely that he would be the guy, the guy coming to Toronto, as the prime time steak. RDJ has become QB1.
As QB1 of the Avengers, he now talks like the big brother, the one who, seemingly, pulls more weight. During press ahead of TIFF, RDJ was asked by USA Today about whether or not Scarlett Johansson should be featured in a standalone Black Widow movie, especially since Scarjo has established herself as proper box office player. You already know about the success of Lucy – on almost no marketing and publicity. And I’ve already written that she seems to be the one to join Angelina Jolie in that exclusive club. The Jolie has Lara Croft and Maleficent. Scarjo?
RDJ definitely agrees. But…bless him...he had to bring up my Gwyneth first:
“Doesn’t Scarlett deserve a break?” he said with a laugh, noting that the actress is about to become a first-time mom. “Look,” he added, noting that Marvel should continue to spread the wealth, “I think that the interesting thing particularly after Guardians with Zoe (Saldana), (or) even from the first Iron Man where Pepper was kind of this really – to me the Iron Man franchise would never have taken off without (Gwyneth) Paltrow. There’s something about her that grounded the story. She’s not your typical lady in a superhero movie, and then by Iron Man 3 she’s swallowing serums and putting on suits and kicking (butt) and all that stuff.”
But, he allowed, “it would be kind of more appropriate for a character that already was like a Black Widow (to lead a movie). It just seems like whatever Scarlett does people want to go see it.”
I’ll say this – I’m more into a Black Widow/Pepper Potts collaboration than I am Batfleck vs Superman.
Click here to read Shinan Govani’s article on RDJ at The Globe & Mail.
