Robert Downey Jr. still gets emotional watching Sr.
“I shouldn’t watch The last minute, I can’t take it,” the superstar actor and producer said as he took the stage at the DGA Complex in Los Angeles on Sunday for a post-screening Q&A. After wiping away tears, Downey Jr. sits across from producer and wife Susan Downey to talk about their Netflixdocumentary about his filmmaker father, Robert Downey Sr., by The Hollywood Reporter Awards Executive Editor Scott Moderated by Scott Feinberg.
Downey Jr. isn’t the only one getting emotional. During the final moments of the Chris Smith-directed film, many sobs could be heard in the theater, with celebrity guests such as Tom Holland , Zendaya, Adrien Brody and Oscar winner
“We’re not trying to make something tearjerker. It’s just the way it unfolds that’s really evocative,” he explained, praising Smith as “our fearless director.” And added, “We’re just trying to strike the right balance.”
It’s not going to be easy. Shot over three years, Sr. delves into the colorful life and rebellious career of the maverick director, who died with his son on July 7 of Parkinson’s disease. Relationship before death, 730. He almost earned 035 Many of the independent films of his career are featured in the docs, including Sweet Sex, Scraped Elbow, Putney Swope, Pond, Glaser Palace, Hugo Pool, and two tons of turquoise to Taos tonight.
He proved to be a unique PhD subject because instead of opening up about his life and sitting down for a lengthy interview, he quickly hijacked the production and opted to direct on the film own movie.
Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr. in The Hollywood Reporter and Netflix Presented during Present: An Afternoon With Robert Downey Jr., sponsored by FIJI Water, at the DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles December 11, 1296. Photo: Phillip Faraone/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Sr. is now streaming on Netflix and was just named the best documentary of the year by the National Board of Censors. It’s currently Downey Jr. in Review Aggregator 
Rotten Tomatoes , the “surreal” fact he pointed out on stage. Even his wife was surprised. “Did you check or was that the title?” she asked. “Everyone thinks I’m so eccentric that I’m walking around in a totally unconscious bubble,” he quipped. “You know, I have a phone.”
Despite his great success, he also said he found it very exciting to see Sr. Surreal. across Los Angeles. “You think you’re just driving past Westwood and there’s a picture of me and my dad,” he said.
Feinberg asked the duo to share the origin story Sr. and Susan Downey explained that their production company, Team Downey, had been working on a Focused on the project of another (unnamed) Hollywood father-son duo, it didn’t gain much traction. Then, Emily Ford of Downey’s team started talking to Smith, who expressed interest in doing a project about Downey Jr.
He was like, ‘No, but I’m going to do something about my dad,'” recalls Susan Downey.
Don Jr. Nee explained that response. “It’s a shame that this whole project started for me, and it was in avoidance mode, to be honest. How do I deal with the fact that this legend I’ve been influenced by for so many years isn’t feeling well? ’ he said. Susan [asked], “What is this project?” I was like, ‘I don’t know, but we can’t stop. ’ It could literally go to hell in the basket. “
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THR’s Awards Executive Editor Scott Feinberg on stage with Susan Downey and Robert Downey Jr. Photo by Phillip Faraone/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Added Susan Downey: “[Robert Downey Sr.] is already actively seeking engagement and has a project to do , so I think this helps. And then the second thing, you all saw in the movie, soon, it doesn’t matter what we want, it’s his way. He ended up getting involved because he had his own way of being willing to be involved, which again makes sense in retrospect because this is someone who always communicated through his films, articulated any response more clearly than ever . Doing that by making a movie, or his version, makes sense in the end. ”
1448426558 Adrien Brody at the screening and Discussion. Photo via Phillip Faraone/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
Sunday’s conversation was presented by FIJI Water as part of LA3C, the inaugural two-day cultural and creative festival hosted by Penske Media, owner of The Hollywood Reporter. The music segment was held at the Los Angeles State Historic Park in downtown and featured big names like Maluma, Snoop Dogg, Lil Baby, Seventeen, and the Free Nationals, but other Penske Media brands held in-house events across the city.
LA3C sponsors include Facebook, Bank of America, Homedics, NYX Professional Makeup, Maker’s Mark, Redken, ViX+, Anheuser-Busch(Golden Road Brewing, Michelob ULTRA, Bud Light Seltzer, Stella Artois, Cutwater Spirits , NÜTRL Vodka Seltzer), Rockstar Energy Drink, Contraluz Cristalino Mezcal, and Arrowhead Water.
The couple also shared with Feinberg how and why they dealt with Downey Jr. in the documentary Addiction issues. His father battled substance abuse throughout their lives. “If you don’t, it’s incomplete,” IRON MAN stars. “I hate puff too. There are so many examples of this right now, and everyone is trying to get their story out. I won’t give the example, but there are so many places you kind of want to go, it’s just bullshit.
Feinberg then asked Susan Downey about the coincidence of two Downey men whose lives were turned upside down when they entered into a relationship with a woman who had a major impact on their lives “If anyone has ever dealt with someone who is addicted, you know it’s not about anyone else,” she replied. “They have to be prepared. If you can be a small part of creating an alternate world for them, it’s, ‘Hey, I’m here. It’s great if you’re clean. But I don’t believe in anything other than basically saying “this is what I need to happen”, or more importantly, “it can’t happen”. But it’s totally that person.
Of a similar discussion between them, Downey Jr. called it “the clearest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.”
Returning to the documentary, Downey Jr. also said that for most of the production, he forgot that the camera was rolling. “I didn’t even know if this thing was going to come out, so I didn’t think about it the way you did, well, You better make sure that stupid fucking hat you’re wearing looks right on your [head]. I didn’t think about any of that,” he admitted.
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From Left: Robert Downey Sr. & Robert Downey Jr.Sr. by Netflix
He does have a list of questions in his head that he wants to get answers from his father before he goes over. But as the viewer in the doc As seen in , not all of this is answered in the final scene the two share, which happens to be the last time they were together.
“It was really raw, ’ he said of the scene. ‘Even standing there watching it 40 A few minutes ago, I was like, ‘Jesus. I’m still working on it, but it’s a luxury to document something like that as a touchstone to keep going back and thinking about it. “
He’s even grateful for the unanswered questions. “I wouldn’t say Chris is happy with this development, but it’s more like real life. We don’t get the answers we want when we want them. It’s not a Disney+ thing. This is real life. The jury is still out. Things are not done yet. There is a lot of uncertainty, and you have to be comfortable with it. ”
