On Wednesday, we pointed your attention to reports of renewed, possibly contentious negotiations between Robert Downey Jr. and the good-but-stingy folks at Marvel over future Iron Man and Avengers sequels. Today, more Marvel inside baseball, this time volunteered freely via Avengers lord of the realm Joss Whedon.
See, during the chatter about Downey’s paychecks, as well as the paychecks for his superhero friends, the number $100 million was thrown out for Joss. As in, $100 million to make another Avengers. $100 million?! For the guy who can barely keep a show on the air for more than a season?!! No, you’re right, it was too good to be true. And Joss himself set the record straight, in his trademark cheeky manner. From his comment on the site Whedonesque (via EW):
Hi guys.
I was going to let it slide, but I’ve got this sour taste in my mouth. (Mmmm, lemonade!). Some facts are not facts. I’m not going to go into the whole thing, but jeepers, I’m not getting $100 mil on Avengers 2. If I were, I would come on this site and laugh and laugh and laugh. I’m not making Downey money. I’m making A LOT, which is exciting. I’m not pretending to be a poor farmer, an Everyman, an ANYman. But that number is nuts. A few other things about me that have been “reported” that people should take with a grain of salt:
That I throw wild Hollywood parties where everyone is naked and dancing and wild and I remember to serve enough snacks.
That I can get a movie greenlit by sighing and staring into the middle distance.
That I ate a unicorn and made it winter for three years.
That I “can write.”
Well, that’s a load off. Sorry to get so personal — the whole thing’s a bit tawdry. But honestly, it bugged me. I’m off for a nice juicy steak. There’s a place downtown that does it with rosemary butter, it tastes just like unico — like a steak.
BYE-ee! J.
And the most important element of this whole thing? Why, of course, it’s the coining of the perfectly apt phrase “Downey money.” Braggadocious, hip, topical; it’s great for everyday conversation and Tumblr names and tattoos alike. And so the countdown for some plucky young rapper to appropriate the phrase for a mixtape jam of the same name begins right now.