Tropic Thunder

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The '00s' Most Disappointing Movies
 The '00s' Most 
 Disappointing Movies 
decade in review

The '00s' Most Disappointing Movies

'Tropic Thunder' leads the way

(Newser) - The decade had lots of lousy movies, but 11Points rounds up the most disappointing—those that didn't live up to their promise:
  • Tropic Thunder (2008): Amazing cast, great premise. Slam dunk, right? Not when "your go-to bit is a retarded joke." Such a lazy waste.
  • Bruno (2009): Sacha
...

Men in Black 3 Gets Green Light
 Men in Black 3 Gets Green Light 

Men in Black 3 Gets Green Light

It's unclear if Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones are in

(Newser) - The Men in Black are back … at least, Sony hopes they will be. The studio is moving forward with a third installment in the franchise and has tapped Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen for the script. Barry Sonnenfeld is willing to return to the director’s chair, sources tell...

Nolte Flees $3M Malibu House Fire

Star suffers minor injuries

(Newser) - Grizzled actor Nick Nolte escaped with minor injuries from a fire that gutted the living room of his Malibu home, reports Reuters. The 67-year-old star of Tropic Thunder suffered smoke inhalation and scrapes when he tried to douse the flames with water from a garden hose. Fire inspectors believe the...

Time to Ditch the Word 'Retard'?
 Time to Ditch the Word 'Retard'? 
OPINION

Time to Ditch the Word 'Retard'?

(Newser) - Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder is just the latest example of how the word "retard" has become a pop-culture phenom, but the movie also has served as a catalyst for disability advocates who claim that the word is offensive and must go, writes Lynn Harris in Salon. Are they right?...

Bangkok Dangerous Hobbles to Top Spot

Hitman flick knocks Thunder from top spot in slow weekend

(Newser) - Nicolas Cage action flick Bangkok Dangerous stumbled to box office victory during an unusually slow Labor Day weekend, Variety reports. With sales down 17% over last year's holiday, Bangkok needed just $7.8 million to top Tropic Thunder's $7.5 million. Completing the top 5 were The House Bunny ($5....

Thunder Still Roars at Box Office
 Thunder Still Roars at Box Office

Thunder Still Roars at Box Office

Stiller flick stays on top

(Newser) - Tropic Thunder kept rumbling this weekend with an $11.5 million box office score and a hold on the top spot, Variety reports. The Vin Diesel vehicle Babylon AD debuted in second with $9.5 million, while third-place Dark Knight made history as the second flick ever to bank $500...

Thunder Rolls at Box Office
Thunder Rolls at Box Office

Thunder Rolls at Box Office

(Newser) - Hollywood spoof Tropic Thunder bombarded the box office this weekend by banking $26 million in top spot, Variety reports. Batman flick The Dark Knight fell to second but raked in $16.8 million and became the second-highest grossing domestic pic ever. Filling out the top five were Star Wars: The ...

How Thunder 's Joke Hurts the Disabled
How Thunder's Joke Hurts
the Disabled
OPINION

How Thunder's Joke Hurts the Disabled

'Retard' a painful word for mother of daughter with Downs

(Newser) - Patricia E. Bauer suffers every time her Downs syndrome daughter hears the word "retard." When Bauer saw ads for Tropic Thunder, which jokes about retardation, they echoed every insult that her blond, blue-eyed daughter had endured for 24 years. After weeks of debate, Bauer remains stunned by ads...

Cruise's Partner Quits UA
 Cruise's Partner Quits UA

Cruise's Partner Quits UA

Actor's new role is trying to revive his own career

(Newser) - The next mission impossible for Tom Cruise may be reviving his own career, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Cruise's business partner Paula Wagner is quitting her job as CEO of United Artists just weeks after her husband, Cruise's agent Rick Nicita, left CAA. The changes likely reflect the star's unhappiness...

Tropic Thunder Declares Comedy War
 Tropic Thunder
 Declares Comedy War
MOVIE REVIEW

Tropic Thunder Declares Comedy War

No targets are safe in Ben Stiller's gross-out war comedy

(Newser) - The action comedy Tropic Thunder, a send-up of Vietnam War movies, crosses some lines—intentionally. In fact, Peter Hartlaub writes in the San Francisco Chronicle, "if you're not offended by at least one aspect of this film, then you're probably not getting out enough." But it has a...

The 'Summer of Downey'
 The 'Summer of Downey'
Glossies

The 'Summer of Downey'

For the first time, he's a genuine superstar

(Newser) - After "many long, cold, hard winters," it's finally the "summer of Downey," writes Erik Hedegaard in Rolling Stone. The success of Iron Man has turned the 43-year-old mercurial actor into a certified mega-star, raising the question of how he will deal with it all. "I'm...

Advocates for Disabled Protest Tropic Thunder

Protests, boycott planned over depiction of mentally disabled

(Newser) - Advocates for the mentally disabled are calling for a national boycott of Tropic Thunder, Reuters reports. The film features a character named Simple Jack, played by Ben Stiller, who is repeatedly called a “retard” in the film. "We are asking people not to go to the movie and...

Studios Bet Big on R-Rated Comedies

Risqué humor draws smaller crowds, but stars can cut loose

(Newser) - Movie studios are gambling on R-rated comedies more than ever as audiences open up to raunchier humor and stars push to showcase their talent in a less restricted setting, the AP reports. PG-13 flicks almost always draw bigger crowds, but R-rated features like Sex and the City, Wedding Crashers, and...

A Comic Star is Born?
 A Comic Star is Born? 

A Comic Star is Born?

Much to his surprise, Danny McBride finds himself in demand

(Newser) - He didn’t plan it this way, but Danny McBride will end up in three of the summer’s biggest comedies, the LA Times reports. In The Foot Fist Way, Pineapple Express, and Tropic Thunder, viewers will see McBride get beaten, shot, blown up with a grenade, and tortured—all...

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