New York Magazine seems to think that Mickey Rourke is a lock to win Best Actor on Sunday, which might be why he was so kind to give them a big scoop about his participation in Iron Man 2. Apparently the financial negotiations are just as bad as we thought, and Rourke told them yesterday "Right now, we're not doing Iron Man 2."
It sounds like Rourke would still be interested in doing the role, if they would offer him more than peanuts and free opening night movie tickets to be in the role. OK, maybe they're not shortchanging him quite that badly, but this production's reputation for stiffing key talent-- first Favreau, then Jackson, now Rourke-- is really getting out of control. Rourke seems to be borrowing Jackson's tactic of talking, vocally, to the press about the troubles, and that might help them win out. But if we're deprived the sight of Rourke and Robert Downey Jr. shooting the shit onscreen, Marvel Entertainment is really going to be on notice.
