More on the Case of Terrence Howard v. Marvel
Entertainment Weekly has another update to the ongoing debate on why Terrence Howard was cut out of Iron Man 2 (he wouldn't take a pay cut and wasn't that good at acting, apparently):
Hollywood insiders believe the exit stems from Terrence Howard's difficult behavior on the set of Iron Man. But those with intimate knowledge of the situation suggest a far more dramatic backstory: Howard was the first actor signed to the film and, on top of that, was the highest-paid. That's right: more than Gwyneth Paltrow. More than Jeff Bridges. More than Robert Downey Jr. And once the project fully came together, it was too late to renegotiate his deal. It didn't help that, according to one source, Favreau and his producers were ultimately unhappy with Howard's performance, and spent a lot of time cutting and reshooting his scenes. (Favreau could not be reached for comment, while Howard's publicist says: ''Terrence had a tremendous experience working on Iron Man.'')As such, when Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux went to map out the sequel they found themselves minimizing Howard's story line. Once Marvel learned that Favreau was thinking of curtailing the role, the studio went to the actor's agents with a new and drastically reduced offer — a number that's similar to what supporting cast members were paid for the first movie. The agents, according to sources, were so taken aback by this new figure — estimated at somewhere between a 50 and 80 percent pay cut — that they questioned it. Why did they blanch? Multiple sources say that Marvel execs never told Howard's reps that they had issues with the star's on-set conduct. (Marvel would not comment for this story.)
So much drama. Who's at fault here? Should Terrence Howard have taken less pay and done a better job acting? Should Marvel have at least told him before they recast his role? If I'm having a party, should I invite them both and risk them getting into an awkward argument when Marvel shows up with Don Cheadle? Is it possible Marvel found out that Terrence Howard is a skeleton wearing a magical flesh suit to blend in with the general population until he can ready his skeleton army? These are the questions we must answer before Iron Man 2 comes out.