My Robert Downy, Jr. Interview (Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows)

The game is on for Robert Downey Jr. By Raymond de Asis Lo, L.A. Correspondent (The Philippine Star) Updated January 06, 2012 12:00 AM Comments (0)

Robert is back as the world’s most famous detective Sherlock Holmes in A Game of Shadows
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MANILA, Philippines- There is a small, cozy coffee shop in a little corner along Melrose Ave. near San Vicente in West Hollywood called Urth Caffe that’s a favorite among Hollywood celebrities who seek those few minutes of anonymity while doing some of the most basic errands ordinary folks do  like getting in line for a cup of their favorite coffee.

A couple of months back, while this writer was at this coffeeshop, a Hollywood power couple quietly sauntered into the shop and unassumingly took their spot in the usual long queue to order what I assume was coffee for him and hot chocolate for her and pretty much enjoyed being in a crowd where everyone was polite enough to just give them a quick recognizing look and leave them to their privacy. Unfortunately for them, we were there.

One of my friends recognized Robert Downey Jr. even if he was clad in full winter garb and a bonnet and immediately alerted us. I had to take a second look to confirm. Yes, it was Robert with his pregnant wife, producer Susan Downey.

Thrilled as were, we pretended that we were cool about this celebrity sighting  but I had to alert my Facebook friends about it, though  and kept our distance. I have met and interviewed Robert before but when you’re someone who adores the movies and movie stars like me, nothing beats the exhilaration of unexpectedly bumping into a superstar in person.

And lo and behold, a week after that fun “fan” day, I received an invitation to the press junket for Warner Bros.’ SherlockHolmes: A Game of Shadows. I was doing an interview with Robert! I didn’t have to think twice before accepting the invite, previous commitments be damned.

You just don’t say no to Robert Downey Jr.

With Jude Law, who reprises his role as Sherlock’s trusted friend Dr. Watson

The Hollywood superstar belongs to that rarefied group of actors whose name alone can command instant adulation. He is A-list in the truest sense of the word. His last four movies made nearly $1.5B in worldwide box-office! And he is so cool about it. He can even be lighthearted and funny.

At the junket, during the cast press conference, someone asked Robert who between him and his producer-wife was the boss at home and the actor replied in his typical dry humor: “First of all, I am definitely the boss at home,” he stressed with a sly smile forming on his face. “And I am also the boss on the set!”

“There is no room for discussion ever,” he continued. “I am so happy she’s sitting in the back of me right now because that’s where she belongs.” Susan, who, along with Joel Silver, has produced Robert’s string of megahits beginning with 2008’s Iron Man, was present during the junket and laughed along with everyone else.

But, no, the Urth Caffe encounter was never brought up.

Robert has enjoyed an enviable success over the past couple of years. He has two huge franchise hits to his name: Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes.


In the latter, the actor returns as the world’s most famous and smartest detective which again features the returning Jude Law, as Sherlock’s trusted friend Dr. Watson, and director Guy Ritchie, whose hyper-kinetic directorial style provided the original Sherlock Holmes a distinctive appeal.

“Robert was a great friend to me so it was with great enthusiasm that we embarked on the second one,” Guy replied when asked to describe how it was working with Robert again, “and I enjoyed it more than the first.”

Jude skipped the L.A. junket because he had a previous commitment in London.

The stunning and beautiful Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who made a splash last year when she made the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo joined the junket and was surprisingly relaxed and very articulate in person. She stars in the movie as the mysterious gypsy woman who may hold the key to Sherlock solving his current case.

This is Noomi’s first Hollywood movie (she will be appearing in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel, Prometheus later this summer) and she revealed to us how both excited and nervous she was when she learned that, for her first Hollywood outing, she was going to be in a movie with Robert, which proves that, apparently, no one is immune to Robert’s charm, even among actors.

“I was a bit nervous,” she said. “I met Robert and Susan six weeks before we started in a very intense and crazy 30 minutes in their office and Robert was on the floor trying to find a fan for me because he’s like, ‘Noomi needs a fan because it’s way too hot for her,’ and he was just fantastic from the first moment I met him.”

Robert with Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, who plays a mysterious gypsy in the film

“He was so sweet. We had a good chat. We talked about movies, dreams and what kind of things we want to do,” she added. 

To the curious, the answer is “No.” Noomi wasn’t offered nor she turned down the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She told this writer during a private conversation that she made it clear after finishing the original Swedish trilogy that she will not revisit Lisbeth Salander again because, according to her, the character and the movie took a such huge emotional toll on her.

But I digress.


Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also brings to screen Sherlock’s foremost enemy, the equally clever Professor James Moriarty, portrayed by British actor Jared Harris.

This rousing and action-packed movie jumps from London and takes the audience to an adventure in France, Germany and in Switzerland. Complementing the thrilling journey is the impressive production design, which is such a visual delight, and the original music composed by Oscar-winning Hans Zimmer, which incorporated authentic gypsy music into the score.

The sequel has retained nearly the same team from the first Sherlock Holmes. Even Rachel McAdams provides a brief cameo in the movie.

Among the characters he has portrayed, Robert considers Sherlock among his favorites. “I am not particularly like Sherlock,” he said, “I think the great thing about it is Jude and I found a lot of escapism and aspects of ourselves in Holmes and Watson.”

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows opens Jan. 8. in theaters.

My Laura Dern Interview

Laura Dern gets Enlightened By Raymond de Asis Lo L.A. Correspondent (The Philippine Star) Updated January 04, 2012 12:00 AM Comments (0)

Laura Dern with Luke Wilson, who plays her good-for-nothing ex-husband.
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MANILA, Philippines - Just because one is an activist, that doesn’t mean one has to sacrifice one’s sense of style. For award-winning actress Laura Dern, who is a staunch supporter of the Healthy Child Healthy World organization, a worldwide campaign to provide protection and care of children affected by environmental disasters, the stylish way to do it is by donning the luxurious Italian brand Prada — occasionally, that is.

“Save the planet and a few dresses,” the beautiful star joked during an interview in Beverly Hills a few months ago before coyly adding, “we have our own weaknesses,” to the delight and understanding of the international press present during theHBO event held in July.
Laura’s choice of wardrobe was excusable. She had to look lovely as she was doing press for her new TV series, the comedy-drama Enlightened, which premiered this month in the Philippines and airs every Tuesday at 10 p.m. on the HBO Signature channel.

The Hollywood veteran is a life-long advocate for social activism and her new series is a culmination of her long-held dream to reach out to as many people as possible: Challenge her audience to think about issues vital to society, make them aware of what’s going on and, if possible, get them to act and be catalysts for change.

“I want to play a woman who is so enraged by the apathy in this country — which seems to just be a given now, like, we never march on the streets; it’s gone!” the actress offered when asked what was her motivation for Amy, her character in the series, which she co-wrote with acclaimed filmmaker Mike White. (Note: this interview took place during the middle of summer, a couple of months before the Occupy Movement was launched in Wall Street and inspired similar Occupy protests all over the world. Laura must have had a wonderful holiday seeing how many people seemed to have been reawakened to societal inequities and started demanding for real change.)

“It’s just tragic,” she added. “Maybe the blessing of what we witnessed in Egypt is, ‘Oh, we can actually do that again and it will start to transform things,’ but in the last so many years, we all witnessed that America stopped being angry and so, I thought, ‘What does it take to actually use your voice,’ especially for women because there are issues on what women are supposed to be like.”

Laura co-stars with real-life mom Dianne Ladd in the HBO series

Laura, despite growing up in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and being the daughter of great actors Bruce Dern and Dianne Ladd, was someone who was always aware and who always exercised her position in the industry to stir attention in the social causes that she believes in.

She stars as Amy in Enlightened, a self-destructive health and beauty executive who, feeling all trapped and unable to cope with pressures to her personal life, had a very public workplace meltdown and spent a few months at a treatment center. After she recovered, she returned and surprised everyone by just casually picking up the pieces of her old life and uncharacteristically deciding to take on a different personal path — one that she hoped would reshape the world around her.

She is “a rager (sic) who becomes a whistleblower,” was how she described her character. “I think we all share something that my character shares. It’s a character who turns on CNN and is devastated at every moment because something horrific is going down and she is the kind of person who feels everything in an enormous way which is a cause for great comedy as well as sadness because she can’t contain it.”

Laura’s real-life mom, Diane, is also starring in the series along with Luke Wilson, who plays her good-for-nothing ex-husband.

This is not Laura’s first HBO project. She previously appeared and received numerous awards in the 2008 television movie Recount, which was based on the contentious 2000 US presidential elections.

The actress is widely known to film enthusiasts for her startling turns and memorable performances in several David Lynch classics (Blue Velvet, Wild At Heart, Inland Empire) and her record-setting 1991 Oscar nomination for Rambling Rose. That recognition was significant because she was nominated for Best Actress in the Martha Coolidge drama while her mom was cited for Best Supporting Actress — the first time a mother and daughter tandem ever received Oscar nominations on the same year!

Over the years, she appeared in several Hollywood blockbusters (Jurassic Park, Little Fockers, etc.) but she most notably thrived as one of the best actresses working in smaller independent movies and, in Enlightened, she continues her association with independent filmmakers by working with noted directors Jonathan Demme, Miguel Arteta and co-writer Mike White, whose own nervous breakdown partially inspired the story, too.

In a career spanning nearly four decades, Laura has seen Hollywood rise and fall. Independent filmmakers come and go, and in the present, she, along with many independent artists, considers HBO her home.

“Working for a big studio is not where I get to tell a story now,” she explained when asked to assess her experience in the business. “Now, HBO is the Fox Searchlight because all the studios had their indie companies disappear because the hedge funds disappeared and the banks disappeared in America. Luckily, HBO is willing to do very brave content and has the money to support it.”

The leading cable network, HBO, has produced some of the best, very popular and most provocative series on television in recent years: True Blood, Hung, Sex and the City, Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, among many others.

Viewers will see more of Laura because Enlightened has just been renewed for another season by HBO.

— With reports from Anselmo Manosca

My "New Year's Eve" Coverage

New Year's Eve stars share their New Year's resolutions By Raymond de Asis Lo L.A. Correspondent (The Philippine Star) Updated December 09, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (0)

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MANILA, Philippines - Call it cliché or whatever but nearly everyone has his own resolutions to get better, be nicer, smile often, love more, hate less and all the usual promises as the year draws to a close — and when this writer says everyone, I mean, everyone, even the A-lists of Hollywood, that is.

And yes, oh yes, they do! Just this Sunday, the stars of New Year’s Eve, Warner Bros.’ latest star-studded movie from well-loved director Garry Marshall, shared their New Year’s resolutions (and because this movie celebrates one of the biggest holidays of the year, some also shared their favorite holidays to this writer’s delight) during the movie’s press junket in Beverly Hills.

For Hollywood superstar Michelle Pfeiffer, who graces the big screen again after a brief absence, the last few days of the year are the perfect opportunity for her to reflect on the things and events of the past year although, unlike many others, she doesn’t keep a list of things to do.

“It’s pretty much the same every year,” the beautiful actress says. “My resolution is always to reflect back and look at ways that I can simplify my life and find ways that I can just appreciate the many blessings that I have.”
She adds, “It’s easy to get caught up in the rat race of everything that you forget that it’s all good, you know. Maybe not all of it is good but most of it is really, really good. There’s a lot of blessings we have and a lot to be thankful for.”

Michelle leads the all-star ensemble cast that includes Oscar winners Halle Berry, Robert de Niro and Hilary Swank. Music superstars Jon Bon Jovi, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Common are also in the cast, along with teen favorites Lea Michele, Zac Efron and Abigail Breslin. Handsome screen leading men Ashton Kutcher and Josh Duhamel are also in the stellar cast along with sexy and beautiful actresses Katherine Heigl, Jessica Biel and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Katherine Heigl

Garry, whose resolution is “to stop swearing at inanimate objects” and who also gave us last year’s similarly star-studded Valentine’s Day, has assembled another dizzying array of stars to give life to Katherine Fugate’s intertwining stories of love, hope, forgiveness, second chances and fresh starts amid the chaos and charm of New York City on the most exciting day of the year, New Year’s Eve.

Asked how he managed to gather all these stars together, the 77-year-old director replied in his usual humorous style. “Well, I don’t want to startle you but we do pay them,” he said, eliciting chuckles from everyone including Hilary Swank, who said that she would love to work for Garry anytime.

Hilary is cast in the movie as the person overseeing the biggest job in the world on New Year’s Eve, the “ball drop” in Times Square.
The two-time Oscar-winner shared that her favorite holiday is not New Year’s Day but Thanksgiving “because there’s so much to be thankful for.”

She remains thankful even if she had a particularly rough time this year. The star was embroiled in an ugly controversy when she made an appearance at a party honoring a Chechen dictator. This regrettable incident was attributed to poor judgment by several of her management team with whom she has severed ties already.

Sarah Jessica Parker

Hilary likes Thanksgiving more because “you don’t have that pressure of finding the perfect gift for that person even though that’s one thing you want to do but there’s so many people that you have in your life and that can become a real stress. So the idea of everyone that you love just getting together and being with your family around the kitchen table is my favorite thing to do.”

“To sit with my family and friends just around the kitchen table over a great meal is, hands down, always my favorite, favorite holiday,” she adds.

As soon as Hilary finished telling us her Thanksgiving stories, the screenwriter immediately announced that she has just finished writing another screenplay called Thanksgiving to the amusement of everyone.
There was a running joke during the junket on what big holiday will Garry decide to make next. Josh suggested Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

However, for Oscar-nominated teen star, Abigail, Halloween would be it. Even if she considers it the “most stressful” holiday of all, she still considers it her favorite. The 15-year-old star recalled how during one Halloween she had difficulty choosing what costume to wear and when she finally decided on one, all the houses in her neighborhood were already either closed or out of candies that she ended up going to the 24-hour store and just bought candies instead.

Hilary Swank

On the topic of New Year’s resolutions, teen heartthrob Zac, who delighted everyone when he obliged Michelle’s request to perform the “dougie” (a type of dance which the good-looking actor spelled out for me when me met in the bathroom later), would want to spend more time with his family this year.

“I really want to make an effort to spend more time with my family because I just feel like they’re so, so instrumental in my life and I never get the chance to go out with them individually. I want to take them on the Appalachian Trail,” Zac says of his goal. “I also want to spend some time with my mom, solo.”

For Glee sensation, Lea, who proudly shared that she made a successful resolution a few years ago not to go to bed wearing girl’s boxers and T-shirts and wear “something nice so that I feel good after” said that her resolution this year is to “continue to be healthy and work hard… but also to spend time with my family, it’s important!”

New Year’s Eve is now showing in theaters nationwide. Make it your resolution to catch this fun and heartwarming movie.