The 2008 satirical action comedy movie Tropic Thunder was highly controversial when it first released, and it still is today.
In short, the plot followed a group of actors (played by Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Jay Baruchel and Brandon T. Jackson) attempting to make a film portraying a Vietnam War veteran’s memoir. After being abandoned in a jungle, however, they quickly realise that they’re in actual danger, which they’re wildly unequipped to deal with.
In the film, Marvel star Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor who takes on the role of Sergeant Lincoln Osiris. He appears in blackface for this character - which, in the film, is met with negative reactions from the other characters. Speaking on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast a couple of months ago, Downey Jr. said that despite initially thinking that starring in the film would be a “terrible idea”, he knew “where [his] heart was”.
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As LADbible reports, American actor Jamie Foxx previously told CinemaBlend that he’s made arguably even more offensive film than Tropic Thunder, which hasn’t been released to the public. Titled All-Star Weekend, the film sees Downey Jr. take on the role of a Mexican man.
“Man, it’s been tough, with the lay of the land when it comes to comedy, man,” Foxx said, speaking about the unreleased film. “We’re trying to break open those sensitive corners where people go back to laughing again. And that’s why I think, even in this film, which is great is [that] the one thing we kept hearing in the screenings was how much people were laughing. So, hopefully we’ll keep them laughing and run them into All-Star Weekend, because we were definitely going for it.”
All-Star Weekend was filmed in 2016, and Foxx previously stated that it’s been indefinitely shelved.
Featured Image Credit: Dreamworks Pictures, Paramount PicturesTopics: TV And Film, no article matching