What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this shit late at night, what do you expect?

There are few things that demand to be as celebrated as grown men wearing lipstick and dresses for public entertainment. Fortunately, Robert Downey Jr also knows that, happens to be a fan of Some Like It Hot, and came up with the idea of Sherlock Holmes going under cover under some ladies’ undergarments. Even more revelations came to light about the production when Entertainment Tonight went on the set, and they’ve delivered unto the world a video of their exploits. Try not to let the last comments seem too much like Downey Jr claiming he and Jude Law could beat up Noomi Rapace. Even though that’s what he says. Plus, if you stay through the video, ET teases some hot pics of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie at the Golden Globes, plus pictures of Jennifer Aniston with her shirt unbuttoned. Both promise to be hard-hitting.

To get more hits on this article, I considered calling it “Ricky Gervais & The Golden Globes, Sandra Bullock nude, Ryan Reynolds break up, chicken fight.” But we’re above that sort of stuff here at FSR, or at least that’s what I’m told when all my work gets edited down. Anyway, some of you reading this may care about awards shows. If that’s you, then you probably watched the Golden Globes on Sunday and I feel bad for you because why do you care about awards shows? Did you win your office pool? Nice/Better luck next time. So if you watched the show, or just read about it later, you know that comedian Ricky Gervais is catching some heat over his presentation. Apparently a few celebrities and some Hollywood Foreign Press members (who put on the show) thought that his jokes and barbs crossed a line, proving they don’t know who Ricky Gervais is.

The movie world is so affected by Jon Favreau’s departure from the Iron Man franchise that there’s even speculation that some sort of BFF break-up between the director and Robert Downey Jr was to blame. That will most likely never be proven (until the tell all book comes out in three decades), but it’s clear that fans are reaching for any sort of explanation that rationalizes why the man who was at the forefront of the Marvel solo launch would choose to walk away from his creation in its adolescent phase. The reason, however, is less important than the simple fact that leaving was absolutely the right thing to do.

Earlier this week, director Jon Favreau told MTV that he had no clarity on what another sequel in the immensely successful Iron Man franchise would look like. “In theory, Iron Man 3 is going to be a sequel or continuation of Thor, Hulk, Captain America and Avengers,” said Favreau at the time, “This whole world … I have no idea what it is. I don’t think they do either, from conversations I’ve had with those guys.” Flash forward to today, when Vulture has confirmed with sources close to the situation that Favreau has informed Marvel that he will not direct Iron Man 3.

Somehow this one slipped by us this week – Robert Downey Jr. officially jumped ship on Alfonso Cuaron’s outer space survival thriller Gravity, and has moved on to producing and possibly starring in How to Talk to Girls, a film based on a book by 9-year old Alec Greven. No ink has been committed to paper just yet, but sources say that Downey is circling the project with great interest. Shawn Levy, who is also slated to produce, has said that the script (written by Ben Karlin and Stu Zicherman) is in the tone of Big. And anything “in the tone of Big” is worth paying attention to, even if it was written by a 9-year old. [THR]

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law no longer feel anything like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. If you have been privy to the world of Sherlock, as seen through the eyes of Steven Moffat and his team at the BBC, you know exactly what I’m talking about. With the release of the first official image from Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes 2 (seen above), we are reminded that there’s another Holmes out there in the world who is not played by Benedict Cumberbatch. It feels off, to say the least.

At first glance, Due Date might seem a lot like Roadtrip for Schmucks. There’s an uptight, business-savvy prick who has an important goal to achieve, and there’s a moronic man-child that continues to ruin things for him. The difference between the two movies is related to the casting and the mind of director Todd Phillips. What would happen if Dinner for Schmucks was filmed on the road, and instead of giving Zach Galifianakis a side role, they made him the co-lead against someone not nearly as huggably soft as Paul Rudd? The result is exactly what you might expect. Two leads that aren’t particularly likable, but who spend the entire road trip across the country earning, losing, and re-earning each other’s trust or (at least) toleration.

It turns out that Due Date might be a test run for heading out into the wilderness with the threat of death (and an annoying asshole with a lap dog) around every corner. It will be great preparation for Robert Downey Jr who’ll be producing an adaptation of the book “Emergency! This Book Will Save Your Life,” and might end up taking the lead role. The book is the work of Neil Strauss (the same guy behind pick-up artist tome “The Game”), and it tells the story of a man who faces the same world we face today and decides the only real response to all the economic disaster, terrorism, and cultural upheaval is to become completely self-sufficient. It’s written in the same style as “The Game,” where Strauss does long-term investigative journalism in order to get himself ready for the worst. Based solely on the paranoia needed and the antics that might ensue, it sounds like a decent role for Downey Jr. Hopefully, Zach Galifianakis can cameo as a bearded lunatic.

As awesome as that headline is there aren’t really plans to pair Downey Jr. with a spectral McQueen for an upcoming cinematic adventure. Sadly. But per Deadline Grasshopper Junction there are plans of another kind that tie these two Hollywood stars together. Downey’s production company has acquired and is moving forward on a project originally started by McQueen before his death in 1980. Yucatan is an adventure film about a “renegade deep-sea salvage expert hired to steal a mysterious hidden treasure hidden deep underwater in the Mayan ruins of Yucatan.” Apparently McQueen had amassed 1500 pages of notes and storyboards which were discovered in an old trunk five years ago by his son Chad. Anthony Peckham has been hired to write the script based most likely in part on the fact that he co-wrote Downey’s Sherlock Holmes blockbuster. Peckham’s previous work includes Don’t Say A Word and Invictus. So, yeah. Good for him. The project is obviously in the very early stages but two questions already come to mind. How will this project differ from The Deep? And can it even hope to be as PG-13 sexy as Into The Blue and Fool’s Gold?

After Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron has the unique position in the art form of commanding audiences to see anything he makes ever. If I caught wind of a youtube video of him fly fishing, I’d drop everything I was doing to go see it. And it would probably be a fifteen minute, single take shot of incredible fly fishing action. It appears as if he’ll be heading back in that direction (to science fiction. I have no idea what his vacation plans are.) with Gravity, a thriller set in outer space which sees an astronaut trying to get back home after a catastrophe on board a space station. While Robert Downey Jr is already attached to the script, and Warners is producing, there are two young acting talents that are vying for the lead role as the astronaut lost in space. Blake Lively, who looks to be launching her film career brilliantly with a hard-hitting drama (The Town) and a big budget superhero movie (The Green Lantern), and Scarlet Johansson, who basically did that to get to the level she’s at now, are both in contention as the top two choices.

Three days ago, Marvel Studios assembled its team of Avengers. And right there on the stage in Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center, they lit fires in the hearts of 6,500 fans present and countless others as word began to ripple across the internet. I’m sure that it was a sight to see. And from a distance, even I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anticipation for the superhero team-up — one that will put Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans) and The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) on screen together. The 2012 film will be a cinematic event unlike anything ever attempted before. There’s no doubt about that. Never has a studio embarked on a comic adaptation quite so ambitious. Then again, there’s never been a studio making comic adaptations quite the way young Marvel has done. It all seems as if planets are aligning, deities are smiling and harmony between the world of comics and the world of movies has finally come to pass. But when we wipe away all of the manufactured bliss created on stage by Marvel Studios on Saturday, we realize quickly that there are still plenty of questions on the road ahead. In fact, there are more than questions — for Marvel, there are giant speed-bumps in the form of two films yet to be finished and released, and an entire team-up film to be planned and executed. It’s no small task. And even though the [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The combination of Todd Phillips and Zach Galifianakis worked once with The Hangover. Why can’t it work again? I don’t see why it wouldn’t, especially considering the fact that their next film Due Date includes the charismatic and very talented Robert Downey Jr. Together, Iron Man and bearded guy play two schmucks who are trying to get back to their home city before one of them (Downey) becomes a father. For whatever reason, they are stuck together. And despite a few jokes that land flat in this first trailer, most of it hits — at least it gave me a case of the sillies. I guess you’ll have to watch it for yourself, then decide. The full synopsis and trailer await you after the jump.

Paramount Pictures is remaking the 1991 comedy Soapdish. This is the word from the generally reliable folks over at Pajiba. Just when you didn’t think they’d hit the bottom of the barrel yet, this would be your sign.

Is Iron Man 2 an escapist, crowd-pleasing piece of big-budget popcorn entertainment, or a two-hour ad for neo-capitalism? Can it be both?

Favreau isn’t locked in as director yet, but he wants the job, and he wants the biggest bad guy of them all.

You know the deal, we like movies, but not necessarily every little bit. Iron Man 2 comes out on the positive side with 10 things we liked, but 5 we didn’t.

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr welcomes the summer movie season by handing out a grade to Iron Man 2.

The ass-kicking superhero sequel Iron Man 2 opens and gives the Fat Guys a chance to talk about the kick-off of the summer movie season. They also lay down a Fat Guy Five about awesome superhero sequels… which was a lot harder than they thought it would be.

The wait is over. Summer 2010 has officially begun today with the release of Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2. Now all we need in order to complete the cycle is your review.