If you happened to follow all the Iron Man 3 news, you may recall that just previous to the movie’s debut there was (and still is) talk of Robert Downey Jr. retiring.
Robert Downey Jr. mentioned it a few times, and if you think that is by chance you can take a second guess.
Deadline has a great write-up on the fact that Marvel Studio is el cheapo, which explains why they never use the same director, sans the billion dollar man, Joss Whedon.
According to reports, Marvel is ticked that Robert Downey Jr. made $50 million (due to incentives) from The Avengers and is already on track for $35 million plus for Iron Man 3.
It’s said that the rest of The Avengers cast, which includes Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo, may or may not be signed for the sequel and look to be wanting more money, which Marvel Studios does not want to pay.
So this might be another Edward Norton case on our hands.
It’s also said that the cast of The Avengers is banding behind Robert Downey Jr., with a rep telling Deadline their response to Marvel Studios has been, “I have four words for Marvel – ‘f— you, call Robert.’”
It’s even mentioned a couple of times in the article, and implied by Joss Whedon, that the actors should accept lower pay because the role is so prominent, which leads to larger roles elsewhere and hence a higher pay grade. So while Whedon gets his $100 million and Robert Downey Jr. his share, some of the other Avengers‘ actors should be happy with their $200,000 (yes, that’s what some received for The Avengers).
It is even reported that some of the actors attempted to try to negotiate with Disney (as Disney owns Marvel), but the problem there is the fact that Ike Perlmutter, Marvel CEO, is #3 at Disney, as Perlmutter is the third largest Disney stockholder behind George Lucas and the Steve Jobs Foundation; so Disney CEO Bob Iger and Chairman Alan Horn won’t get near anything Marvel Studios related.
Whedon even states that Marvel Studios is stingy as he notes that he doesn’t know a producer that is paid less and does more work than Kevin Feige.
I’m not going to comment specifically because I’m not privy to that sort of stuff and I don’t think it’s my place to talk about. In general terms, yes – Marvel can be very cheap, God knows. They can also be sensible and frugal. They have a very small infrastructure and they’re not heaping this money on themselves. I don’t know a producer who’s done more and is paid less than Kevin Feige.
Whedon also mentions the low pay for the directors and states they take on the gigs because of -what sounds like – the “love of the game.”
One side to that is they don’t have to pay them as much. Me, [Jon] Favreau, [Kenneth] Branagh, James Gunn – we don’t have giant action quotes, but we’re all filmmakers who want to do something with a giant action movie instead of just accomplish it.
It’s also said that Robert Downey Jr. is backing his fellow actors and Avengers cast members.
He’s the only guy with real power in this situation. and balls of steel, too. He’s already sent a message that he’s not going to work for a place where they treat his colleagues like shit.
This all comes at an interesting time as both Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige have mentioned revolving Avengers for upcoming movies with already new characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch said to be on The Avengers 2.
This might also explain the reason for the Iron Man 3 ending.
Hit up Deadline for the full article.
RELATED: Now Robert Downey Jr. Might Not Come Back For Iron Man 4; In Talks For The Avengers 2 & 3
The Avengers 2 assembles May 1, 2015 with Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, the Guardians of the Galaxy movie on August 1, 2014 and Ant-Man on November 6, 2015..
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