All in all the Golden Globes were fairly mundane. There weren't any real surprises and nobody seems to think that the outcome will have any serious effect on the Oscars. One winner who did stick out, though, was Robert Downey Jr., who won the award for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy. Bringing all of the cocky smarm he could muster, his acceptance speech was surprisingly funny and flipped the standard, lamenting the fact that he could have been busing tables instead of winning awards for his acting. (see the whole video here). So what movie news did his speech bring to the table? None. It's his goatee that is causing the whispers.
CHUD has pointed out that the facial hair Downey Jr. was sporting was that which we now associate with Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man. This wouldn't be news, as Iron Man 2 has only recently wrapped production, but for the fact that the actor was sporting a clean-shaven look while promoting Sherlock Holmes back in December. So what does this mean? One of two things: either secret re-shoots have begun for Iron Man 2, or - and this is where it gets fun - Tony Stark might find himself doing a cameo in Kenneth Branagh's Thor.
The word "re-shoots" has become a dirty word in Hollywood (just look at the hubbub that was sparked around The Wolf Man), but may not be the worst thing in the world. Back in December, Jeff Bridges claimed that the first Iron Man had no script and was a result of RDJ and Favreau breaking down the details right before shooting the scene. This indicates that Favreau is happy to let Downey Jr. get into his character and improvise what he feels is right. While it may all work on-set, however, it might not have the same effect in the editing room, meaning that re-shoots could be necessary just to clean it all up a bit.
Now on to the more exciting option. Thor began shooting in Los Angeles just last week, and with all of the Marvel movies set to join together in The Avengers, there needs to be a scout who comes to watch Thor play. RDJ has already played this role once, his cameo at the end of The Incredible Hulk all but permanently stamping 2008 as the greatest superhero summer ever, so could he be the guy to reign in the God of Thunder? Sadly, it is doubtful. With Samuel L. Jackson's nine picture deal as Nick Fury and the recent announcement that Clark Gregg would be returning as Agent Coulson, there are already two major S.H.I.E.L.D agents ready to take Thor under their wing.
Who knew some whiskers could rustle up such interesting rumors? At this point the first option seems much more likely, but an appearance in the next Marvel film could potentially add even greater star power to a movie that already stars the likes of Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba and Rene Russo. Or maybe this is all just silly gossip - he could just like how it looks.
