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disneytva · 7 months ago

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Variety Interviews Ayo Davis, Meredith Roberts And Emily Hart On Disney Television Animation's 40th Anniversary And What To Expect On From The Past, Present And Future

40 years ago, Disney TVA was founded on the heels of challenging outcomes with features “The Fox and the Hound” and “The Black Cauldron.”

Initially, Disney TVA was restricted from using established Disney legacy characters, but nevertheless had huge successes with new shows like “The Wuzzles” and “Adventures of the Gummi Bears,” both of which became popular in syndication. As time went on, DTVA was able to use its limited rights to create shows like “DuckTales” and “TaleSpin,” which featured Disney characters. Today, the slate has evolved to include shows that travel across Disney’s streaming, linear and digital platforms, including Disney+, Disney Channel, Disney Junior and the Disney Parks

Over the 40 years of the studio has collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineering to bring beloved Disney Afternoon characters to the parks as well Mickey And Minnie's Runaway Railway and AquaMouse for the Disney Wish and Disney Treasure cruises from the Disney Cruise & Ships Line as well collaborating with Disney Yellow Two Shoes Team to redesing some heritage characters for the WDW Passholder Magnets.

Disney TVA characters also have gone to the realm of live action. In 2019 Disney Channel brought Kim Possible to the live action world as a Disney Channel Original Movie in 2019. In Spring 2022, Walt Disney Studios brought Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers to a new generation of fans trought a meta-driven live action/animated hybrid film which won an Primetime Emmy Award for Best Feature Film.

In April 2024, it was announced that Kiara from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride created at Disney TVA will make her live action debut on the motion capture/computer animated film "Mufasa The Lion King" with the character being voiced by Blue Ivy Carter. In Fall 2023, it was announced that Blumhouse Television and Atomic Monster where developing a live action reboot of Gargoyles for Disney+.

The future of the studio looks bright as the studio is slated to debut it's 100th show overall "StuGo" in 2025, as well new interations of beloved classics like The Proud Family, Phineas And Ferb, Sofia The First and Darkwing Duck trought revivals,reboots and spin-offs in the coming years with early talks of new interations of TaleSpin, Kim Possible and Recess since Early 2023.

“We have a wildly diverse development slate because we don’t have a house style,” says Meredith Roberts, executive vice president, television animation, Disney Branded Television and CEO of Disney Television Animation “Our styles are creator-driven, so that allows for real support of the artist or creator to fulfill his or her vision. Anything is possible, whether it's CGI. (“Monsters at Work”), hand-drawn 2D (“Big City Greens”,"Primos","Hailey's On It!"), rig-based 2D (“Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur”,"Kiff") and stop-motion (“Mickey Saves Christmas”,"Rhona Who Lives By The River".). Roberts continues, “We really try and solve all the problems and develop it. We look at the scripts and the story arcs. Every project has to have a strategy behind it that will complement the slate and separate it from other things. Each project has a distinct swim lane to attract an audience. And we’ve learned to meet the kids where they are, in terms of streaming and YouTube.”

Co-viewing, the viewership that happens when adults sit down to watch a DTVA show with the kids in their lives, is part of the studio’s secret sauce and long-term strategy. Many of the shows are written with jokes and plot points for both audiences so both groups will return.

“We double down on the kids and family space,” says Roberts. “We’re not just dipping a toe in the water. We’re diving in. I think we’ve seen a lot of churn with the competition, who just don’t have the patience to develop and are for this audience, which is a very specialized kid audience and co-view audience.” ("The Witchverse", "Rhona Who Lives By The River","InterCats","Fantasy Sports") Roberts reflects: “I think one of the things I’m most proud of is how stable Disney TVA has been for the last 40 years despite a lot of outside churn of the animation industry. Many of our crews feel that Disney is their forever home. I think the excitement they have to illustrate and create with this brand has been terrific because it’s harder to be funny and clean. And nowhere are we tearing down people to get that laugh. I think that’s the beauty of a Disney animated show.”

DTVA also sought to meet kids where they are by making their audience — which is made up of the most diverse generation in history — feel seen, with series such as “Elena of Avalor,” which featured Disney’s first Latina princess, and “The Proud Family,” franchise focused on the life of a teenage Black girl.

“We do have an amazing insights team that are constantly in the field, giving us general information about how kids are watching content, what they’re into,” Emily Hart (VP of Current and Development - Disney Junior) says. “Some of those things are evolving, as we know the ways kids consume content is changing. But there are some universal truths about kids, and it’s great to have that reinforced. Kids still like a lot of the same things that we like. So, there’s a combination that we’re always tracking with every new idea, and we do pilot testing. We get to sit down and talk about the content, and we invite our creators in so they can see the kids talking about it because they’re the audience and they’re the truest test of if the story is going to work.”

Ayo Davis, president of the Disney Branded Television and VP of Current and Development at Disney Television Animation says the division is a “driving force” for memorable kids and family entertainment.

“All of us at Disney Branded Television are so proud of the studio’s 40-year legacy as it continues to entertain future generations with shows like ‘Kiff,’ ‘Big City Greens’ and ‘Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2.0" --- Davis says.

Those creators who come to DTVA often stay for a long time, partnering with the studio on a variety of different projects or expanding on a hit and reimagining it for the next generation of viewers. “The Proud Family” was a standout in 2001 on Disney Channel. Creator and executive producer Bruce W. Smith is now working on the Emmy-winning “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” which is based on the original series. The show follows Penny Proud as she navigates family life and her own childhood.

“Being at Disney TVA has allowed me to realize all my artistic dreams,” says Bruce W. Smith. “As a kid, you always have hopes, thoughts, dreams, ideas and characters that can help lay out those ideas in your head. Disney has allowed me to really tap into my creative instinct, at the end of the day, you have to learn how to trust yourself. Meredith Roberts has been a true shepherd for me in all of this, allowing me to stretch my wings. Because of her belief in me and my ideas, she’s really allowed me to blossom as an artist. All that happened at DTVA.”

“They really seem to be a place that welcomes your ideas,” Dan Povenmire says of Disney TVA. “They want to find people with real strong ideas of the stories they want to tell, and then they let them tell those stories for the most part. They seem to put storytelling and characters over anything. With [‘Phineas and Ferb’], we would write jokes for the kids and the adults in the room because we knew the adults would be there too. We were just careful not to do any double entendres.”

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askrockandfriends · 5 months ago

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(Don't you think it's a little soon to be doing another one of these arcs *with* ask-dark-monita so soon after they got done with CEO Mickey?)

{{Given it's kind of a similar premise, I kind of consider it like a Part 2 of the "CEO" saga.}}

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chemist-ana · 4 years ago

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Chapter 13 The Morning After— Sams POV

Book: The Nanny Affair

Characters: Sam, Ana Schuyler (MC), Vivan and Mason Dalton

Pairing: Sam Dalton (male) x Ana Schuyler (MC)

Rating: 18+

Content Warning: NSFW, Sexual Language, Adult Language, Sexual Situations

A/N I know there are a lot of people that do not like Sam Dalton- that being said, this chapter was especially difficult for me to write, because I am trying to give him a redeeming character arc. As a person that is involved with the family business, I can understand to a degree where he is coming from with the guilt and what he chooses some of the decisions he does. BUT please do not forgot that MC is culpable and definitely at fault as well. There are definitely some cringe worthy things in this chapter- but I hope y'all love it! Also a super big thank you for @txemrn for talking me through some of these ideas and for being the queen of angst. Love you p.

Summary: In the cold light of day, will you and Ana be able to face the consequences of your actions?

Word Count: 5800

Tag List: @txemrn @secretaryunpaid @lifeaskim @aussieez @pixie88 @thefrenchiemama @sfb123 @mainstreetreader @shewillreadyou @khoicesbyk @lady-calypso @choicesficwriterscreations @somersetmummy @melalicious8383 @chrissythadon @shannonwrote @jerzwriter

The sound of my footsteps, my labored breathing, and the early morning traffic are the only sounds in my ears, as I push my legs faster through Central Park. I reach up and wipe at the sweat that is beading on my brow, silently cursing the wretched New York, humid, summer mornings.

I usually run with music blasting in my ears… but I decided this morning to torture myself, and I can’t decide whether its working. The sounds of Ana’s moans echo through my mind, as steady as my heart beats. I see a gorgeous blonde running towards me and I give her a crooked smile as our eyes connect. She just about trips on the pavement before composing herself mid stride and continues past me, avoiding my gaze.

Well that didn’t help.

I push myself harder in the last few hundred yards of my run, and when my building finally comes into view, I slow down to a walk, reaching my arms up to catch my breath.

“Good morning, Mr. Dalton.” The morning doorman greets as he opens the door to the lobby for me.

“Thanks, Felix.” I nod as I breeze past him, waving my keycard at the scanner to my penthouse elevator.

When the door dings open, I hold my breath as I walk quietly through the still living room, everyone is still sleeping. I stop outside of Ana’s door. Resting my hands on her door frame and closing my eyes. I take a deep breath, what the fuck happened last night… I walk into my master bathroom, turning the shower water on cold.

My brain delves into the guilt that is sitting heavy on my shoulders. The guilt that I have for the years I spent fucking off in college instead of setting myself up for my future. The guilt I have for losing Eva. The guilt I have for hiring Ana… And now to add more… the guilt that I have for fucking her last night. What the fuck were you thinking? I tilt my head up into the cold water, letting the shock send a shudder down my spine.

My life has revolved around this family business… watching the countless hours my father has spent building it from nothing into this global conglomerate. The knowledge that one day, this would all be mine. The endless chiding from my father to fit into his mold of what the perfect CEO would be. Married with children. I have truly never been in control of my life… even when I married Eva. I thought she was the one… but now that I have Ana… stop it you fool, you don’t have Ana… she deserves better than your spineless tricks. Fuck, fuck, fuck, what am i doing? I reach up and rest my hands on the shower wall, letting my head lull forward.

What the fuck happens next?

***

“Good morning.” I greet the twins and Ana as I round the corner into the kitchen.

“Morning, dad.” The boys look at me with defeated looks, I’m guessing it has something to do with the beige mush in their bowls.

I cast a quick glance at Ana as a blush creeps up her neck.

“Ana? Are you alright?”

She shakes her head slightly before looking at me.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about last night.” Her eyes linger on mine.

The all too clear memory of her moans and the feel of her body come flooding back into my mind again, but I quickly shove them away as I stare back at her.

“Yeah! Carter said you went to that fancy party thing with Dad!” My eyes flick to Mason as he sets his spoon down.

“Did you pull any pranks?” Mickey asks with a smile.

“Not this time. Maybe we just needed someone to show us how it’s done.” I look between them.

“I’d rather stay home and eat pizza, thanks!” Mickey’s eyes grow wide as he takes another bite of his mush, god that doesn’t look good at all.

I grab a cup of coffee and turn to walk towards my office.

“Can we talk later?” Ana whispers as she leans in close to me.

My stomach drops and I feel my body stiffen. I don’t spare her a glance before answering. “… Yes. Later.”

Without another word I head to my home office, leaving a stunned Ana behind. I can feel her gaze as I round the corner and close the door quietly behind me.

I don't know what to say to you yet, Ana…

I sit down in my Wegner chair, switching the Tiffany Lamp on. I rub my hands down my face with a sigh. The silence is broken by the ringing of my cell phone, I glance down and my fathers name is flashing on the screen.

“Hey, dad.” I set my phone on my desk and turned it on speaker.

“Sam, things in Italy are not clearing up. I need you there to fix this mess.”

I let out a sharp exhale through my teeth and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“This is pretty short notice.”

“After what happened in Milan, LEMA is having some hesitations as to our abilities to run a company that handles sensitive medical information. I don't think I need to tell you how important this deal is. We need to take care of this ourselves, unless you want me to send Robin?” I can hear the challenge in his voice as my chest constricts.

“How long do you think I will be there?” I ask, avoiding his antagonizing, my mind flashing to the boys… and then to Ana..

“Does it matter, Sam? As long as it takes. I already spoke with Sofia, she is going to go with you. I have some briefs and copies of all the contracts being sent to your office now. You will need to read them all to get caught up. I also scheduled you the jet for tomorrow morning.”

My head falls back as I close my eyes.

“Sam?”

“Yeah, yeah, dad, I heard you. I will be there soon.”

“I’ll be in your office at noon.” He ends the call.

I glance down at my watch, it's already 11. FUCK.

I look at my office door, time to do whatever needs to be done.

I walk quietly through the penthouse, running over the words in my head. I hear the twins in their room, and I decide to start with them. When I see Ana putting their laundry away, my breath gets caught in my throat. At least you only have to say this once…

“I’m about to go into the office, but I wanted to talk to you first.” I say as I walk into their room.

I watch out of the corner of my eye as Ana turns towards me. I move further into the twins room and take a seat on the edge of the lower bunk bed. Mason and Mickey stand in front of me.

“What’s wrong, Dad? You look sad…” Mason’s face drops when he notices my crestfallen expression.

“I’m not… sad. I just know you’re not going to like what I have to say.” I take a deep breath and clear my throat.

“Then you gotta just rip it off. Like a Band-Aid.” Mickey smiles.

“Right, like a Band-Aid.” I keep my eyes fixed on the twins but I can feel the heat from Ana’s gaze. “I have to go to Italy for a business trip… as soon as possible.”

A silence settles over the room as the twins look between themselves..

“What? You’re fleeing the country, just like that?” Ana breaks the palpable silence.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘fleeing’. Dalton Enterprises has been in negotiations for months, and after the Milan breach… well my dad just doesn’t trust anyone else to handle it.”

“What about us?” Mason murmurs sadly.

“Aunt Sofia isn’t staying here, is she?” Mickey's eyes are wide.

“No, she’ll be in Naples with me. But don’t worry, you won’t be alone. You’ll have Ana.” I turn to face Ana and her gaze is focused on the twins, but I can see the hurt in her emerald eyes.

“Let’s not overreact here. It’s just a flight and some meetings, right? I bet your dad will be back before you know it.” A smile trains on the corners on her lips as she tries to brighten the mood.

I wish that was all…

“Actually… depending on the negotiations, I could be gone a couple months.”

“A couple months?” Mickey shouts.

“But… that’s the rest of summer.” I look at Mason and see only one thing: disappointment.

“Seriously, Sam? That’s so long! For the boys I mean.” Her eyes fall to the floor.

“My parents were often overseas for months at a time when I was younger. They’ll survive.” I hate the words as they leave my lips.

“But don't you want them to do more than just survive?” She looks up at me in concern.

“I’m trying to not let emotions cloud my judgement here. I don't have a choice in the matter.” I clench my jaw.

“You always have a choice, Sam.” Her eyes hold mine.

I take a deep breath turning my attention back to the twins.

“Can we at least come visit you while you’re gone?” Mason is picking at a piece of string that is fraying from his blanket.

“Of course, buddy. I’m sure we can work something out. In the meantime, why doesn’t Ana take you two out for the day?” I rest my hands on the twins' shoulders. “I’ve got to prepare for my trip, but we’ll have a special dinner tonight before I go. Promise.” I wrap my arms around them and bring them tight to my sides. I wish I didn't have to leave you… someday you will understand. I hope.

I walk out of the twins room, avoiding the heat from Ana’s gaze as she watches me.

***

The words all run together as I sit at my desk and try to read the briefs from Italy. My office door opens and my eyes meet my fathers’s as he strolls in and sits in the leather chair in front of me.

“Did you read all of those?” He asks gruffly, his eyes flicking down to the papers that are strewn across my desk.

I collect all of them into a stack as I avoid his gaze. “I got the jist.”

A silence settles between us and I can feel his eyes trained on me. When I finally raise my gaze, he narrows his eyes and his mouth sets in a thin line. “What’s going on with you, Sam?”

“Nothing, Dad, I’m just tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Don’t insult me, I know you better than that. You are distracted, you have been since your mother and I got back from Italy. Have you been drinking too much again?”

I raise my brow at him incredulously. “Dad.”

“Is it that pretty nanny of yours?” He says mockingly.

My eyes fall to the stack of papers.

“Oh, son. Really?”

“No, dad, it-it’s not her.” Boy that wasn't very convincing.

“Yes it is. I know that look.” A long silence stretches and I avoid his gaze. “Remember Pam?”

I meet his eyes. “Aunt Pam, your old secretary?”

He purses his lips and nods. He takes a deep breath, clearly warring with what he wants to say next. “It only lasted a few months, and your mother knows nothing about this.”

“Wait, you had an affair?”

“It’s not something I am proud of. But let me tell you something. Women like her, and your nanny…” He waves his hand dismissively. “Are only good for one thing, son.” He leans forward in his chair and arches his brow. “And it’s not making you the man that you need to be to run this company.” He leans back, steepling his fingers on his knees. “Now, a woman like Sofia, that is who is going to take you far in life, and bring you where you need to be.”

I’m fucking speechless. I can’t defend my honor, or Ana’s. Because what if he’s right?

***

My phone dings with a text, Ana.

Ana: Heading back, ETA 20 min

Ana: You need us to pick anything up on our way?

Ana: Or do you have the special dinner all planned out?

Fuck. I’m not getting out of here for at least another hour.

Sam: About that…

Ana: Why am I not surprised? This is becoming your MO.

I clench my jaw.

Sam: What’s that supposed to mean?

Ana: You’re a smart man. Figure it out.

I whisper a quiet fuck and I see Robin’s head snap up.

“Trouble at home?” He asks, as a cocky smile spreads across his face.

I ignore him.

Sam: Ana…

Ana: I’ll take care of dinner for the boys sake. But you’d better come up with an AMAZING apology dessert for them.

Sam: I am sorry to bail on this

Sam: I will bring something home for dessert.

Sam: Okay?

She doesn't respond, and I pinch my eyes closed in frustration.

I turn back to the final pages of the contract with LEMA before sighing and throwing it to the table.

“Find anything?” Robin asks.

“No. And I need to go home. I need to spend what little time I have left in the city with the boys.”

“Go, I will make sure all of this makes it onto the jet tomorrow morning.” Robin leans back in his chair. “You know dad wants me with you tomorrow, right?”

I stop in my tracks and slowly turn to him. “No. I was not aware of that.”

He shrugs his shoulders and crosses his leg over his knee. “Now you do.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, and decide against saying anything else. Can just one thing go my way today? I grab my keys and phone, stuffing them into my pocket. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“See ya.” He waves as I walk out of the door.

***

I walk into the foyer with my suitcase, setting it next to the elevator doors just as they ding open and Ana, Mason, and Mickey step out.

“Welcome back. Did you three have fun at the museum?” My eyes are locked on Ana, sadness filling her emerald eyes. My chest constricts as my thoughts are haunted by my fathers confession.

“The museum was alright but dinner was even better! We stopped at a food truck festival on the way home.” Mickey chimes.

“I tried a poke bowl!” Mason is vibrating with excitement.

“Really? Did you like it?” I ask him, surprised.

“It was amazing!” Mason cheered as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

“And we got something for you!” Mickey gestures to the bag in Ana’s hands.

“That was thoughtful of you.” I look at Ana as she hands me the bag, not meeting my gaze.

“It was their idea.” She murmurs looking down at the boys.

I look inside of the paper bag, Kung Pao… god it's my favorite. “I love Kung Pao. How did you know?”

“Just a lucky guess.” Her tone is even and neutral. Distant.

“Right.” I take a breath, clearing my throat and turning back to the boys.

“Why don’t you two wash your hands, then head into the kitchen for your special dessert?” The boy's eyes widened.

“On it!” They race toward the bathroom, leaving Ana and I alone in the hallway. Still avoiding my eyes, she breezes past me into the kitchen. I follow her slowly, watching the soft sway of her hips.

“Ana.” She stops in her tracks and I see her shoulders tense.

“Yes?” She slowly turns towards me.

“Thank you for dinner, for both me and the boys. I shouldn’t have backed out of my promise to have a special meal with them.” My apology comes out even and measured as I watch her carefully.

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She says matter of factly, her eyes finally rising to mine. She sighs softly. “And you’re welcome.”

“It really looks delicious.” I set the container on the counter, taking a big bite with a fork. My eyes are trained on hers and I can see her face soften.

“You’ve got a little…” She grabs a napkin, stepping up slowly and reaching up to wipe at my lip.

The smell of jasmine and Ana fill my senses as our breath mixes in the air between us.

“Oh…” I whisper in surprise at the intimate gesture.

“... All better.” She smiles softly up at me, her emerald eyes piercing. An electric charge lingering in the space between us.

The moment is broken when we hear the boys running towards us in the kitchen. She takes a step back, turning away from me.

“Dessert time!” Mickey cheers as he slides into the kitchen.

“What’re we having?” Mason shifts from foot to foot.

“I thought you’d like to make some s’mores…” I know they are your favorite.

“With the mega-big marshmallows?” Mickey’s eyes grow wide. God, I am going to miss these kids…

“Of course.” I match his smile and gesture towards the platter of s’mores supplies laid out on the counter.

“I’ll, uh, leave you three to it.” Ana says softly as she slowly backs out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going? You haven’t even had s'mores yet!” Mason turns to Ana.

“I don’t want to intrude on father-son bonding time with your last night together.” She smiles softly at Mason.

“You wouldn’t be intruding.” I say hopefully. Please stay…

“Still… you should have some privacy.” She holds my eyes for a moment longer before turning and walking out of the room. What have I done?

***

I am sitting in the dim lighting of my office. My fingers wrapped around a glass of Eagle Rare Bourbon as I gaze out of the window. My thoughts are a jumbled mess as I bring the tumbler to my lips. I hear the door open slowly and I glance over to see Ana enter quietly, clicking the door shut behind her.

“I thought I might see you again tonight.” I say as I turn my focus back towards the city lights outside.

“Sam, we need to talk about us.”

I can sense the sadness behind her words.

“Ana…” I sigh as I look at her with regret.

I see her shoulders tense as she balls her hands up into fists at her side. Red hot color rising on her cheeks.

“You owe me this, Sam. Don’t pretend like you don’t.” Anger drips from her every word.

I take a deep breath and give her a small nod, but I have no words. I get lost in my own thoughts again... You’re right… but I have no idea what to say to you. There is nothing I can do about this fucked up situation I put us in… I am so sorry that I dragged you into this mess. I am a selfish man that longs to be with you… but I have no control.

“We had sex last night, Sam.” Her voice cracks.

My chest tightens.

“I haven’t forgotten.” My eyes still trained on the city lights outside.

“It feels like you want to. In fact, it feels like you’re running halfway around the world because of it.”

My breathing gets shallow as she takes a step towards me, the anger rolling off of her in waves.

“You’re a lot of things, Sam, but I never took you for a coward.” Her voice laced with contempt as she stepped in front of me.

My eyes flick to hers as a new emotion bubbles to the surface: anger.

“A coward?” I whisper as I lift to my feet and we stand face-to-face.

“You heard me.” She tips her nose in the air. “You could have walked away last night.”

I can't help the humorless laugh that escapes my lips. How does she not understand that I cannot control myself around her?

“I wish that were true.” It would make my life a whole hell of a lot easier. God help me, I can’t resist you.I reach up and run my fingertips down her cheek, watching her shudder at my touch, but her expression remains guarded and angry.. “I’ve been trying to walk away from you since the moment we met. Yet somehow… I always end up back here.”

She steps back out of my reach, crossing her arms in front of her chest. My eyes scan down the length of her body.

“That’s not good enough, Sam.” Her eyes bore into mine.

God Dammit woman.

“Let’s get one thing straight here, Ana. The timing of this trip may seem suspicious to you, but I don’t want to go. I have to go.” I take a step toward her, narrowing my eyes. “And every time I look at you, it’s a reminder of what I’m leaving behind.”

Her eyes widen as her anger starts to slip. “Really? You aren’t relieved to have an escape?”

“No! This is so much worse.” I take a deep breath, trying to reign in my anger. My urge to control her and have her bare before me is making my cock twitch. I watch as Ana turns and steps to the window. The war inside of my head battles on before I finally give in. I step up behind her, running my nose along the sensitive skin below her ear before grabbing her hips and pulling her against me. I feel her body melt into mine. She turns to face me, and I place my hands on either side of her head, the cold glass a welcome reprieve from the heat coursing through my veins. I press my desire against her and I watch as her eyes darken.

“Sam, you should fire me now.” She whispers. “Neither one of us has the strength to resist. Stopping cold turkey is the only answer. You go to Italy, conquer the business world, marry Sofia. I’ll move out and find something else. We both walk away, hands clean. Well… as clean as they can be.”

I can see it in her eyes that she doesn’t believe the words she is saying, but it doesn't stop them from stinging my heart.

“My hands aren’t clean, Ana. How can they be, when I think about you every time I touch myself?” My eyes flick down to her plump, pink lips. “Or when I want to murder the next man who touches you?”

“Then what’s the endgame here? What do you want?” She pleads, her eyes shining in the dim light.

“I want you, dammit.” I confess.

She grabs the lapels of my suit and pulls me even closer to her curves,

“Prove it.” She challenges, her eyes dark.

She brings her lips to mine and our lips ignite into a frenzy of heat and frustration. I bring my arms around to her lower back and pull her hips snug to mine. A sudden feeling of regret passes through my mind and I pull back, a question in my eyes.

“Ana…” I warn.

“Don’t think. Just feel.” She purrs as she pushes my jacket off of my shoulders. She runs her fingernails across the back of my neck softly before pulling my lips down to hers again. I grab her hips, spinning her around and pinning her back against the cold glass of the window. She gasps at the sensation as I grab her wrists and pin them over her head. I use my free hand to roam the planes of her curves, her body igniting under my touch.

“Sam...” She moans as her eyes flutter shut.

I find the hem of her shirt and dive underneath, finding the lace of her bra, I run my fingers along the gentle curve of her breasts. Her chest heaving and pushing her perfect body into my eager hands.

“Has it really only been a day since I last touched you like this?” I whisper against her lips. “Already feels like a lifetime ago…”

She arches her back, pressing deeper into me as I let out an involuntary moan. God the things this woman does to me…

“Can you really go the rest of the summer without this?” I can feel her smile against my lips.

“I can’t even go the next five minutes without it.” I admit as my cock hardens uncomfortably in my pants.

I reach down and cup her ass, picking her up and carrying her to my desk. I sweep everything off of my desk and lay her down. Her emerald eyes dark with desire as she watches me remove every article of her clothing, throwing them haphazardly around the room. Her chest rises and falls, and her lips are swollen with our kisses. I kiss each piece of newly exposed flesh, the soft moans coming from her lips a sound of pleasure and surrender.

“God, I want to eat you up…” I say against her hip. She looks down at me and takes her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You’ve gotta earn that privilege.” A challenge in her eyes as she sits up and places her hands on my chest, pushing me away from her. Her nearly naked body glowing in the colored light from the Tiffany Lamp.

“Ana?” I ask.

“You’ve been a naughty boy, Sam.” She purrs. “And you know what that means, I’m going to tie you up.”

“Fuck.” I whisper and her words send another surge of heat and desire through me. I watch as she gracefully slides off of the desk, motioning for me to sit down in my chair.

“Wait. Undress first.” She leans in and skims her fingers across my chest, then tugs lightly on the flap of my shirt. “I don't want to have to deal with this later.”

You naughty, fucking minx.

I quickly strip off my clothes, my eyes never leaving hers as I take a seat in my chair, resting my arms on the armrests. I watch her carefully as she digs through a drawer in my desk, pulling two spare computer cords out. I watch as her steady hands tie my forearms and wrists to the chair. My eyes travel across her barely clothed body and I think of all the things I wish to do to her perfect ass.

She steps back, a look of pride flashing across her eyes.

“Aren’t you a sight?” She smiles as she looks at me hungrily.

“Ana…” I murmur.

I tried to move my arms, but she did a damn good job tying me down.

“This isn’t fair. I want to touch you.”

“Oh… You want to talk about not fair?” She clenches her jaw as she saunters up to me, the movement of her hips accentuated by the delicate fabric. “Everything that’s happened today hasn’t been fair.” Her eyes narrow at me as she leans towards me. She is careful not to touch me but I can feel the electricity crackling between us. Her perfect breasts are right in front of my face and I know she can feel my hot breath against them. “And now you’re being punished for it.” She stands up and gracefully hops back up onto my desk.

She leans back, spreading her legs wide open, revealing every single perfect inch of her perfect body to me. I watch her fingers slide down her curves until they come to rest between her legs, slipping underneath her panties to rub at her center.

Fuck me.

“Ohmygod…” I moan as my cock hardens more than I even thought possible. The throbbing is almost unbearable as I watch her fingers spread the moisture that is pooling in between her legs. Her head lulls back as moans escape her lips.

“Ohh, YES!” She cries out, her body tensing.

My eyes are trained on her perfect cunt as she worships it with her fingers. My breathing is growing labored as I think about all the things I want to do. Her hips are bucking as she nears her edge.

“Ana, please…. Let me touch you.” I beg, my voice husky. I can’t help but lick my lips as I think about her sweetness.

Her eyes open and her fingers slow as she considers me.

“I don't know… Have you been punished enough yet?” She smiles.

“No… but I can’t make it up to you properly unless you let me touch you. Please.” I am not above begging at this point.

She leans forward, and I watch her untie the cords from my wrists. As soon as I can tell that I am free, I reach up, grabbing her body and hauling it into mine. I bring my lips to hers and kiss her deeply, tasting her, reveling in the feel of our tongues together. I stand up, pressing her back down on the desk and I grab the delicate lace of her panties and push them down her thighs.

“I haven't been able to think about anything else all day…” I whisper against her lips. I can feel her smile. “You drive me to distraction even when you aren’t spread out in front of me…”

“And now?” She asks as she arches her back up off the desk.

I trace a delicate line up her bare legs, slowly teasing my way to her center.

“And now… I can barely control myself. I want to devour you.” I growl.

She leans back and spreads her legs wider.

I stand up and run my eyes slowly over every single piece of her exposed flesh, she blushes that delicious color.

The most beautiful thing I have ever fucking scene.

“Yes… I love seeing you open like this for me.” I murmur as my eyes scan her body over and over again, lingering on her exposed cunt.

I drop to my knees, and lower my mouth between her thighs as I lap up her pooling moisture. I watch as her eyes flutter closed, her eyelashes laying like fans across her cheeks. Her breathing intensities and her moans echo around the room. She calls out my name in ecstasy.

“If you want me to make this up to you properly, then you can’t come yet.” I challenge her. “Can you do that, Ana? Can you hold back until I tell you?” I punctuate my question with a devilish twirl of my tongue and she gasps.

“Yes! Sam… bring it on. I can take whatever you have to give. Don’t hold back.” She is panting and her perfect cunt is dripping for me. Her eyes find mine and I can see the challenge accepted. Good girl.

I trail kisses back to her center, dipping and tasting her pooling wetness. So fucking sweet. Her body shivers as I continue to flick my tongue against her. I reach down and grab my aching cock, running my hand up and down the throbbing shaft.

“Oh god… I’m gonna…” Her body starts to tense and my pumping increases.

“Already? I thought you said you could take it.” I say, my lips moving against her.

I feel her body tremble as she moans.

“Ohmygod, that feels… Sam, don’t stop.”

Never, beautiful. I will never stop doing this to you.

I groan out her name as the pleasure in my body nears the edge, my tongue continuing to flick at her exposed flesh. I call out her name as I find my release and I feel her body tense as she cries out mine. We ride out each other's orgasm, ecstasy blinding me.

Eventually her body sags against the desk, her breathing rapid. I stand up and wrap my arms around her body, bringing her tight to me as our breathing slows.

I untangle myself from her and we both stand and get dressed in a silence that is thick with tension.

The reality of what just happened hits me hard as I watch her button up her silk blouse.

Fuck. Again. No fucking control, Dalton, you total fuck up.

Without a word she moves towards the door, lingering with her hand on the door knob.

“Sam, I-”

“I’m sorry, Ana. I didn't mean to get so carried away. It won’t happen again.” I interrupt her, saying the only thing I can think of at this moment… words I regret as soon as they escape my lips.

I watch as confusion spreads across her face and she gives me a silent nod.

“My flight leaves early. I’ll be gone before you wake up…” I say softly.

“Oh. I see. I guess this is… goodbye.” She looks down at the floor, her fingers playing at the hem of her shirt. She wraps her arms around herself and slowly begins to slip out of the door.

“I shouldn’t have dragged you into this mess. You deserve so much better than me.”

My words halt her in her tracks. She looks over her shoulder at me, and I see her eyes shining.

“I can decide what I ‘deserve’ for myself.” She walks out of the room without another word, and I am left even more pissed with myself than I was this morning. I sit down at my desk and run my hands through my hair.

She’s right… you are being a coward. I am avoiding this shit storm I created for myself by running away…

I sip another glass of bourbon as I come to the only solution I can think of: postpone my trip to Italy, and even though it will probably bite me in the ass… Ana and the boys have to come with me. My stomach sours at the thought of Robin getting a hand on this before me… but I shove the thought aside.

That's it.

***

I nurse my second cup of coffee as I watch the sunrise through the windows. I hear soft footsteps walking down the hallway and I swallow my nerves. Ana rounds the corner and stops short when she sees me, a glimmer of hope and surprise flashing through her eyes.

“Sam?! What’re you going here? I heard you leave this morning…”

“I did a lot of thinking last night, but I didn’t come to a conclusion in time to cancel my car earlier.” I try to control my excitement.

“What conclusion?” She asks carefully.

“That you were right. I was being a coward and running away from my problems. I sent Robin ahead and postponed my meetings to next week so I could do this right. I’m turning this business trip into a family vacation for all of us.” Her face lit up.

“You mean…” A smile playing on her lips.

“Pack your bags, Ana. You’re coming with me to Italy.”

#choices the stories you play #choices sam dalton #choices #choices fanfiction #choicestna #fanfic #choices fanfic writers creations #n*fw #the nanny affair #sam dalton #m!sam dalton #m!sam x mc

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adultswim2021 · 3 years ago

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Sealab 2021 #26: “Return to Oblivion” | November 16, 2003 - 11:15 PM | S03E05

Return to Oblivion is the sequel to Swimming in Oblivion that nobody asked for. It also hearkens back to other episodes, like All That Jazz and Tinfins with Kid’s appearance (but not Play). This one is about a network suit showing up to the set of Sealab while they are shooting a sequel to All That Jazz. The suit witnesses terrible criminal behavior everywhere, including illegal meatpacking, child endangerment, standards and practices violations, and just plain drunken negligence.

Here Adam Reed (playing himself; except I think he’s actually Matt Thompson? does that carry over from the original Oblivion episode? I didn’t even notice them referring to him by name at any point, and the Sealab wiki doesn’t even bother listing his character, which makes me think I’m not the only one who’s confused) has gone off the deep end, sporting one of those beer can straw helmets but with bottles of whiskey. He also has a golden pistol which he raises to his head at end of the episode after the Sealab set has been destroyed.

Everyone’s arc ramps up until everyone begins destroying themselves, and the network suit is now obligated to clean house by dousing the set with gasoline and setting it ablaze while much of the cast and crew is still inside. Every scene along the way is kind of building off beats from the first Oblivion episode. Everything is a little more heightened and harsher and way more dysfunctional. It’s a little jarring, and not THAT funny. The only conceptual thing that could possibly save this episode is if this were indeed the final or one of the final episodes of the series. I’m not sure what the point of all this is, honestly. Redo the first one but add a dude with tentacles and make it as mean-spirited as the actual Sealab show?

I can’t shake this feeling that this is sorta like when DC Comics introduced Earth Prime, which was supposed to just be the real world we actually exist in where DC Comics are published and there’s no superheros, but then they couldn’t resist but to start populating that reality with superheros and having superhero shit happen there too. Like, I guess the first episode isn’t THAT much better, looking back. But the idea here is they’re presenting the “real life” counterparts of these characters and they’re just behaving in the exact same way, and the writers are just making the exact same jokes they normally would. Where’s the fun in that?

MAIL BAG

What would you like to see in your mailbag? Ask yourself a question for a change.

I would appreciate it if whenever I dryly recount a DVD extra or make some pedantic point about intended episode orders that people would send nice notes of encouragement. “Thank you for telling me about that DVD commentary track, here is a thousand bucks” and also: I’m not asking for NUDES per say, but if any women wanted to just send me short videos of them smiling and eating an ice cream cone that would be cool

hello this is adult swim ceo michael ew-leen, i want you to know i am rebooting the brak show! and as a certified adult swim "sexpert" i thought i should run some ideas by you: 1. pickle brak! 2. brak goes to "mickey" donald's and sings a jaunty song about his favorite food, szechuan sauce 3. brak FINALLY meets his match - mr. meeseeks! i hope you like p.s. what do you think of the films of michael haneke

I think the show should be in the spirit of Michael Haneke and just have an entire episode of Brak glumly trying to shoo a pigeon out of his Parisian loft, getting fed up with it not leaving, and crushing it do death under a blanket. That’s like something that would happen in one of those movies, right

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #sealab 2021

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guerilla935 · 5 years ago

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Review: Iron Man 2 (Spoilers)

This is another movie that I had come into not really expecting a whole lot and I spent a good portion of the last few days deciding whether I actually even enjoyed the movie all that much. The movie has a great cast but doesn’t manage to achieve a lot with it. It does create a good step to the greater plot of the MCU with the introduction of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson). Anyways this will probably be a shorter one because I really don’t have a whole lot to say about a majority of this movie.

Iron Man 2 starts with an easy premise to grasp, Tony Stark has created a super weapon that he believes nobody else could perfect faster than he has time to advance the technology. The main villains being jealous arms dealer Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) and revenge seeking scientist Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) who try desperately to fell the empire Tony has built on the idea that nobody could ever stand up against Iron Man. I think that Sam Rockwell is an amazing actor and his charm adds a good amount of flavor to an otherwise dull character but it doesn’t save him from becoming anything but a plot device. Whiplash on the other hand is an awesome villain that uses big ambition to fuel ego-eccentric visions. The whole of the first four fifths of the film revolves around Tony finding a suitable element to perfect his arc reactor that has become a part of him. This is supposed to be a little suspenseful because he is dying but is ultimately overshadowed by a slightly more interesting power dynamic between himself and Pepper Potts taking hold as CEO of Stark Industries. Even this plot is pretty average being again overshadowed by the introduction of SHIELD and the reveal of Natasha as the nimble Black Widow and I’m going to say that it is probably because I already knew from the beginning but even that reveal fell flat for me. Even when Tony goes through the reconcile of finding out that his father actually did trust him to carry a legacy I felt like other lesser plots blended it into something I barely had time to process. Iron Man 2 starts and finishes at least 3 major plot lines that all get swirled into something that is hard to fully comprehend. I was watching this film with 3 other people and they all fell asleep 30 minutes into it which to me is where I say, maybe as a movie that sets out to be entertaining they should put more focus on keeping the audience engaged.

There are two parts of the movie that I thoroughly enjoyed however, these being the fight scenes with Whiplash and War Machine. The fight scene with War Machine is a really fun fight because Tony is actually finally revealed to be the villain and you are exposed to this huge grey area of character development where Rhodes (now Don Cheadle) is learning to trust in his friend more, and Tony is learning to finally weigh the gravity of the danger he has put the world in and finally act like he is not wearing a suit, but a gun. This fight is not only a badass fight between two equal opponents but also a moral climax of the film that puts characters in positions of real growth. The fight with Whiplash is just awesome, it doesn’t make sense and it doesn’t have to at this point. We have made it to some cherry blossom garden for some reason and Whiplash appears after a swarm of military drones fail to kill Iron Man and Whiplash is dressed in a cool suit that is armored like a samurai. This is an awesome fight that uses character development from the War Machine fight to come around in full circle to help Tony defeat his the ghosts of his fathers past. In the end, it doesn’t matter how ridiculous the final confrontation is because it puts such a worthwhile battle at the end of an otherwise subpar experience.

Iron Man 2 is a big bittersweet episode in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A shame in that it is possibly the best acting of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Marvel career and that it shows off great talent like Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell only to be bogged down by underwhelming plot advancements. The movie is awesome in its incredible fights but refuses to let any of it really amount to any building over arching plot. Iron Man 2 tries and succeeds to tell a lot of Iron Man stories in short and underwhelming ways. This movie will always be welcome as an important chapter in the MCU but won’t be praised as an achievement in superhero story telling.

#iron man #iron man 2 #marvel #mcu #movie review #tony stark #robert downey jr #rdj #pepper potts #nick fury #black widow #shield #whiplash #sam rockwell

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dukereviewsmovies · 5 years ago

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Duke Reviews: Iron Man 2

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews, Where We Are Continuing Our Look At The Marvel Cinematic Universe...

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As We See The First Sequel For Tony Stark, Otherwise Known As Iron Man Called Iron Man 2...

Taking Place 6 Months After The First Film And Before The Events Of The Incredible Hulk, Tony Resists All Phone Calls From The U.S Government...

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(Start At 0:45, End At 0:51)

To Hand Over His Iron Man Tech While Also Dealing With His Declining Health From The Arc Reactor In His Chest As The Element That Powers It Is Slowly Killing Him. Meanwhile, Rogue Scientist Ivan Vanko (Played By Mickey Rourke) Has Developed The Same Technology And Built Weapons Of His Own In Order To Pursue A Vendetta Against The Stark Family, Will Tony Get The Government To Back Off And Stop Vanko At The Same Time?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Iron Man 2...

Starting In Russia In The Room Of Anton Vanko Who Watches The Ending Of The First Movie. Calling His Son, Ivan To His Room, Anton Tells Ivan That That Should Be Him And That All He Can Give Him Is His Knowledge Before Anton Dies...

After That We Watch A Montage Of Ivan Making An Arc Reactor Before We Get A Title Card...

6 Months Later, Tony Stark Makes A Fantastic Enterance And A Maaaarvelous Introduction At The Opening Of The Stark Expo Which (According To Psylocke Disguised As A News Reporter) Is Going To Be Going On All Year...

Signing Autographs While We Get A Stan Lee Cameo...

Stan Lee Cameo!

Tony Eventually Makes It Out To His Car Where He's Confronted By A U.S. Marshal (Who Is Actually Sue Storm From Fan4stic) Who Gives Tony A Summons To Appear Before The Senate Armed Services Committee...

Which Actually Should Be Called The Larry Sanders Show...

And The Next Day In Washington D.C., Stark Meets With The Committee, Headed By Larry Sanders Himself, Gary Shandling Who Tries To Get Tony To Turn Over The Iron Man Suit To Hydra...

Oh, I'm Sorry I Meant To Say The American People, (Laughs) Have No Idea Why I Mentioned Hydra, Let's Just Forget I Ever Said It...

Having Their Primary Weapons Contractor, Justin Hammer (Played By Sam Rockwell) Make A Speech Why Tony Being Iron Man Is A Bad Idea, They Soon Have Rhodey (Now Played By Don Cheadle) Enter The Chamber As Over The Past Year Rhodey Has Made A Report On Iron Man...

Having Rhodey Read A Specific Paragraph In His Report (Despite Them Telling Rhodey That He'd Be Testifying In A More Comprehensive And Detailed Manner) He Reads It, However Despite The Senator Telling Rhodey To Stop He Goes On To Read Another Paragraph That Shows The Good Of Tony As Iron Man Than The Bad...

Showing Photos That Show That Enemies Around The World Are Making Manned Copies Of The Iron Man Suit, Tony Soon Shows That All Those Copies Are Years Behind Him And Will Most Likely Never Come To Fruition...

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(Start At 3:13, End At 4:39)

Back In Russia, Ivan Starts Production Of His Electric Whips, Which He Manages To Get On-Line...

Meanwhile At Tony's Malibu Home, We Discover That The Arc Reactor That's Keeping Tony Alive Is Apparently Killing Him And Tony's Continuing Use Of The Iron Man Suit Is Accelerating His Condition As Another Palladium Core Has Been Depleted And Despite Running Simulations No Other Element Can Be A Suitable Replacement For The Palladium Core...

With Pepper Coming In To Talk About Buisness, Tony Finds It Completely Boring And Decides To Make Pepper CEO Of The Company. Completely Speechless And Not Knowing What To Say, She Eventually Says Yes...

As Ivan Buys A Ticket To Monaco, Tony Boxes With Happy...

Even Though The Last Time Jon Favreau Was In A Boxing Or Wrestling Ring He Got His Ass Handed To Him And His Girlfriend Broke Up With Him Because He Wouldn't Quit, Even Though He Had Broken Every Single Bone In His Body...

While Pepper Tries To Get Tony To Sign Over His Company While Also Hiring A New Assistant For....Tony....

This Is Natalie Rushman, (Played By Scarlett Johansson) Who Quickly Becomes Tony's Assistant After Kicking Favreau's Ass Again...

Seriously, Jon, How Long Can You Stand In A Ring Without Getting Your Ass Kicked?

And Tony Finds Some Hot Pics Of Natalie That Defiantly Belong In A Victoria's Secret Catalog...

Going To Monaco With Pepper And Natalie For The Monaco Grand Prix, They Run Into Elon Musk And Justin Hammer And His New Squeeze, Christine Everhart...

While In The Bathroom, Tony Decides To Pull A Bruce Wayne In The Dark Knight Returns And Race His Own Racecar During The Race, But Unbeknownst To Tony, Ivan Vanko Is There And He Is Out On The Race Track With The Intent To Kill Tony...

Knocking Tony's Race Car Off The Road, Vanko Tries To Kill Tony Despite Tony Trying To Fight Him Even Without His Suit But When Happy And Pepper Arrive, They Give Tony His Mark 5 Suit So He Can Fight Vanko...

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Going To Prison To Talk With Vanko, He Tells Tony That He Comes From A Family Of Butchers And Thieves And That His Father Is The Only Reason That He's Alive, Saying That If You Can Make God Bleed, Then People Will Cease To Believe In Him...

After Tony Leaves, Vanko Gets Dinner Along With A Note That Tells Him To Enjoy The Potatoes Only To Discover That The Potatoes Are An Explosive Device...

Killing Some Guy The Guards Placed In His Cell That Looks Like Him, Ivan Sets Up The Explosive Device And Walks Out Of His Cell As It Blows Up...

Getting Grabbed By 2 Guards, They End Up Taking Ivan To Justin Hammer, Who Busted Ivan Out Of Jail Because He Liked What He Did To Tony And He Wants To Be His Benefactor To Which Ivan Accepts...

Back At Tony's Malibu Home, The News Is All Over The Monaco Incident, And It's Gotten So Bad That Rhodey Has To Tell Tony To Get On This Or Else The Army Is Going To Take Tony's Suits Whether He Likes It Or Not...

However, Noticing That His Friend Is Not Doing So Well, Tony Eventually Tells Rhodey What's Going On With Him, Which Leads Rhodey To Worry About Him Saying That He May Like Lone Gunslinger Thing But He Doesn't Have To Do This Alone, But Tony Just Tells Rhodey To Trust Him And That He Knows What He's Doing...

Meanwhile At Hammer Industries, Hammer Shows Ivan Where He'll Be Working While Also Showing Him His Own Brand Of Iron Man Suits That He Wants Ivan's Help With Stating That He Wants To Make Iron Man Look Like An Antique Which Ivan Tells Him That He Can Make That Happen

Later That Night, Tony Prepares For His Birthday Party With Natalie As Tony Asks Her That If She Knew That This Was The Last Birthday She Was Ever Going To Have, How Would She Celebrate It And Natalie Tells Him That She Would Do Whatever The Hell She Wanted Whomever She Wanted...

And Boy, Is She Going To Regret That!

Tony Gets In His Iron Man Suit And Gets Stonefaced Drunk To The Point It Takes Rhodey In The Mark 2 To Stop Tony...

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(Start At 0:46, End At 3:29)

Well, At Least All Life Didn't Stop Instantaneously And Every Molecule In Their Bodies Didn't Explode At The Speed Of Light...

With Rhodey Flying Away With The Mark 2 And Placing It In The Military's Hands, Tony Goes Out For Doughnuts Only To Have A Conversation With Nick Fury (Played By Samuel L. Jackson) Who Reveals That Natalie Rushman Is Really Natasha Romanov Otherwise Known As The Black Widow, Who Gives Tony Some Lithium Dioxide To Take The Edge Off While He Finds A Way To Fix The Problem...

Telling Fury That He's Gone Through Every Element To Try To Replace The Palladium But None Are Feisable, Fury Tells Tony That He's Wrong And He Hasn't Tried Everything...

Meanwhile At Hammer Industries, Hammer Sees How Ivan Is Doing On His Iron Man Suits Only To Discover That He Has Turned Hammer's Suits Into Drones. Not Happy About This, All Hammer Tells Him That They Better Be Impressive....

Returning To His Mansion With Fury, Natasha And Coulson, Fury Tells Stark That The Arc Reactor Is Based On Unfinished Technology That His Father Said Was The Stepping Stone To Something Greater And Something So Big It Was Going To Make The Nuclear Reactor Look Like A AAA Battery...

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(Start At 1:15, End At 3:32)

With Fury And Romanov Leaving Tony With Coulson And A Box That's Been In Their Custody For Ages, Tony Figures What The Hell And Gets To Work As The Military Gets Justin Hammer To Update The Mark 2 With His Weapons...

Back At His Malibu Mansion, Tony Watches A Film Reel Of His Father That Looks More Like Howard Stark's Funniest Home Videos At First But Then It's Soon Revealed To Be A Secret Message To Tony...

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(Start At 2:13, End At 2:59)

Visiting Pepper At Stark Industries, Tony Tries To Tell Her Everything Even The Point That Natalie Is A Spy (To Which She Tells Tony To Drop Dead In Russian) But Pepper Just Doesn't Want To Hear It From Tony Anymore To The Point That She Goes Back To Work...

But Before Tony Leaves, He Looks At His Father's Model Of The Original 66 Stark Expo And On It, It's Enscribed That The Key To The Future Is Here, Which Has Tony Thinking That Whatever His Father Left For Him Has To Be In The Model So, Tony Decides To Take The Entire Model Back To The Mansion, So J.A.R.V.I.S. Can Make A 3D Model Of It...

Flipping It Upward We See That The Model Looks Like An Arc Reactor, Getting Rid Of Nearly Everything On The 3D Model Except For The Pavilions Which He Uses As Protons And Neurons As The Framework To Discover The New Element...

J.A.R.V.I.S. Tells Tony That The New Element Will Make A Viable Replacement For Palladium If Synthesized, So, Tony Gets Back Into Construction Mode In Order To Do So

With Coulson On His Way To New Mexico For The End Credits Scene, Tony Gets To Work On Synthesizing The New Element And Succeeds With The Reactor Accepting The New Element...

Back At Hammer Industries, Ivan Gets To Work On Some New Electric Whips As Hammer Calls Him To Say That Larry Sanders Wants To Pop By To See The Drones But Telling Hammer That The Drones Won't Be Ready By The Time They Arrive, Hammer And His Men Pay Ivan A Visit...

As Hammer Says That He's Going To The Stark Expo And When He Gets Back They're Going To Renegotiate Their Deal And If He Doesn't Make Good On It, He's A Dead Man. Leaving Ivan With 2 Guards, He Takes Care Of Them Before Calling Tony...

Tony Tries Tracing The Call But Ivan Hangs Up Before The Trace Can Be Completed. Believing That Hammer Might Be Involved With Vanko, Tony Puts In The New Arc Reactor And Tells J.A.R.V.I.S. To Put A New Suit Together...

That Night At The Stark Expo...

Honestly, If Justin Hammer Was Going To Come Out To Music Why Wasn't It This Music?

Anyway, Justin Hammer Begins His Presentation By Introducing The Hammer Drones...

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(Start At 1:32, End At 3:20)

But Before Hammer Can Finish What He Was Saying, Tony Arrives In His Brand New Mark 6 Armor To Tell Rhodey That Vanko's Alive And He Believes Hammer Is In Cahoots With Him, But Before Rhodey Can Do Anything His Suit Locks Up And The Drones Go On-Line And Start Attacking Not Just Tony But Everyone Else...

Tony Tries Hacking Into Rhodey's Shot But He's Unable To And So Is Hammer, Who Is Attempting To Get The Drones Back On Line As Pepper And Natasha Arrive To Figure Out What's Going On But Not Wanting To Tell Them, Natasha Puts Hammer In An Arm Hold Which Makes Him Tell Everything...

Tony Dodges Rhodey And The Drones Attacks While Natasha Goes With Happy To Hammer HQ To Deal With Vanko...

Eventually We Get A Scene Where Tony Saves A Young Boy In An Iron Man Mask (That's Supposed To Be A Young Peter Parker) From A Hammer Drone...

Yeah, This Is One Theory I Don't Buy Even Though Marvel Confirmed This Because The Age That This Kid Is Now And The Age Peter Is In Civil War Don't Seem To Add Up To Me....

Tony Continues To Dodge Attacks From Rhodey And The Drones As Natasha Arrives With Happy At Hammer HQ...

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(Start At 1:19, End At 3:19)

When Natasha Eventually Arrives At Vanko's Room, She Finds Him Gone Which Gives Natasha An Opportunity To Both Shut Down The Drones And Get Rhodey Back On-Line To Which She Succeeded At That...

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(Start At 1:31, End At 4:38)

With Hammer Arrested, Vanko Arrives In A Brand New Suit And Starts To Give Both Tony And Rhodey Trouble Eventually Leaving Them With Only One Option Left And That's Crossing The Streams...

(Imitating Bill Murray In Ghostbusters) I Love This Plan!, I'm Excited To Be Apart Of It!, Let's Do It!

With Vanko Near Death, He Sets His Suit And All The Drones To Self Destruct, Knowing That Pepper Is Near One Of The Drones Tony Races Off To Save Her...

Saving Pepper In The Nick Of Time, She's Not Exactly Happy To See Tony Saying That She Can't Handle The Pressure Anymore To The Point That She Quits Her Job, Understanding Why Tony Accepts And Kisses Her...

The Next Day, Fury Has A Meeting With Tony To Show Him Romanov's Assessment Of Him For The Avengers Initiative To Which She Decides That Iron Man Should Be Involved But Tony Stark Shouldn't. This Leads Fury To Decides To Use Stark As A Consultant...

Refusing At First Because Fury Can't Afford Him, Tony Says He'll Do It On One Condition And That's That Larry Sanders Gives Him Their Medals In Washington That They've Earned For Saving Everyone And He Makes It Happen...

In The End Scene For This Movie, We See Coulson Arrive In New Mexico Where He Makes A Phone Call To (Maybe) Nick Fury To Tell Him That They've Found It Only For The Camera To Zoom Out To Show Us Thor's Hammer...

This Movie...Is Okay..

It Has It's Good Moments And It's Bad Moments, I Love The Fight Scenes In This Movie, The Stuff Between Tony And Nick Fury Is Interesting Along With Most Of The Story Where The Rest Is Just Okay Or Groan Worthy And To Tell You The Truth I Can And I Can't See Why People Hated The Movie So Much, Yeah, It's Iron Man Against Another Guy In A Suit Of Armor But So What? The Scene Was Awesome And I Really Liked It, The Story Doesn't Go Anywhere? Bullshit, It Doesn't!, Black Widow Was A Wasted Character? Yeah, Kind Of But In A Movie About Iron Man, You Can't Make It Completely About Her And Not Focus On Iron Man, Some Complaints May Be Stupid And Others May Be Right But Either Way I Still Love Watching This Movie And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...

#Iron Man 2 #robert downey jr #gwyneth paltrow #don cheadle #mickey rourke #Scarlett Johansson #sam rockwell #samuel l jackson #marvel cinematic universe #MCU #marvel #Iron Man #Whiplash #nick fury #Black Widow

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wazafam · 4 years ago

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Villains are just as central to a story as the lead characters themselves. It seems the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) knows as much. Hence, it has been careful to craft villains with layered backstories that explain their motivation to unleash evil. Not to mention, some of them even look better than their comic counterparts.

RELATED: MCU: 10 Stormy Relationships From The Movies, Ranked From Worst To Best

And while some of these villains may not be as powerful as they think they are, the MCU has also been careful to make sure they as relatable to audiences as possible. As a result, they tend to suffer from problems that everyone can understand.

10 Whiplash

Ivan Antonovich Vanko (Mickey Rourke) a.k.a. Whiplash appears in Iron Man 2. For him, the motivation to seek revenge against Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is simple. A long time ago, his father, Anton (Eugene Lazarev) had worked with Tony’s father, Howard (John Slattery) on the arc reactor. But then, Howard gets him deported and Ivan’s family falls on hard times. Despite this, he pursues physics and becomes determined to bring Tony and Stark Industries down, especially after his father pointed out that he would have been the CEO of Stark Industries.

9 Justin Hammer

Admittedly, Iron Man 2 is not the most successful film from the Iron Man franchise, but it does a good job of giving fans more insight into Tony’s evolution from an arrogant playboy to someone who cares more deeply about those around him. As the arrogant playboy, Tony definitely attracted the ire of Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Tony’s business rival. Basically, Justin just wants his business to have the same success as Stark Industries, so he wanted pertinent information on the Iron Man suit and arc reactor technology. He also became determined to gain favor with the U.S. military.

8 Darren Cross

MCU fans were introduced to Darren (Corey Stoll) in the 2015 film Ant-Man. He started out as a protégé of Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and in a sense, he was looking for approval from Hank. While speaking with Mom Does Reviews, Stoll confirmed as much saying, “He’s trying to buff himself to impress this Father figure and it’s exactly the opposite of what a Father figure wants.”

RELATED: 10 Reasons Marvel’s Phase 3 Might Disappoint Fans

Later on, Darren also gets greedy, ousting Hank from his own company as he tries to replicate the Pym Particles and sell them for as much money as possible.

7 Thanos

Thanos (Josh Brolin) is among the powerful villains in the MCU. Sure, he may look different than everyone else (he’s big and purple) but his reason for snapping half of the world into existence is, in some ways, rooted in reality. In Thanos's view, the universe is overpopulated, thereby taking a toll on the supply of resources. Hence, in his view, the population had to be reduced to improve the quality of life. That said, the problem with Thanos’ argument is that he could have devoted his life to finding ways to creating more resources instead.

6 Obadiah Stane

Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) was a prominent figure in MCU’s Iron Man and for good reason. Obadiah had been Howard Stark’s longtime business partner. When he died, Obadiah served as Stark’s Industries’ interim CEO, essentially keeping the seat warm for Tony. As he stayed with the company, Obadiah grew to believe that he himself could be the company’s future. The only problem was Tony was in his way. This is precisely why Obadiah went to great lengths to kill Tony. At the same time, he also desperately tried to copy his Iron Man technology.

5 Aldrich Killian

Iron Man 3 sees Tony take on another deranged businessman. This time, it’s Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a man who has found a way to exploit terrorism so that his own organization could make more money. He did so by introducing the world to a supposed terrorist known as the Mandarin, a character that’s expected to feature heavily in the upcoming Shang-Chi film. Early on in the film though, viewers get a glimpse of Aldrich’s motivation for targeting Tony. When he was younger, he tried to get support from Tony, but Tony ignored him instead. This struck a nerve.

4 Hela

As the goddess of death, people may think that there’s anything about Hela (Catherine Blanchett) that’s relatable. Certainly, no one is capable of taming a gigantic wolf. And no one can singlehandedly trigger the destruction of an entire country.

RELATED: MCU: 5 Scenes That Prove Peggy & Steve Work As A Couple (& 5 That Show Sharon Was A Better Choice)

That said, one might also remember that Hela’s motivation for all her evil deeds is rather easy to understand. When she was younger, Hela was heavily favored by her father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Over time though, they didn’t see eye to eye and then she was banished by him. Odin then favored his son Thor (Chris Hemsworth), leading to Hela’s revenge.

3 Mysterio

Even in the Spider-Man movies, Tony’s enemies appear and try to seek revenge one way or another. Case in point is Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) who appears in Spider-Man: Far From Home. In the movie, he takes on the superhero identity of Mysterio who pretends to rid the world of evil. As it turns out though, Quentin is nothing but a disgruntled former Stark Industries employee who just wants to achieve the same level of fame and notoriety as his old boss. That was pretty much his motivation for creating an elaborate spectacle where Mysterio can show off his fighting skills.

2 Killmonger

Since the release of MCU’s Black Panther, much praise has been said about the film’s main antagonist, Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Basically, Erik feels like Wakanda’s royal family has wronged him his entire life, having left him to survive all by himself in the outside world. That’s because he has always known he has a claim to Wakanda’s throne even if they’ve never heard of him before. His rage ultimately propels him to set in motion a sequence of events that would bring him to Wakanda. He takes the throne after dueling with T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman).

1 Loki

Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is one villain who has practically been around since the beginning. Over the years, Loki has done some nasty things, such as making Thor (Chris Hemsworth) believe that their father has died and that he banished Thor from Asgard prior to his demise. Not to mention, Loki was also responsible for a certain alien invasion in The Avengers. What many may not realize, however, is that Loki had done all this simply because he was jealous of Thor. More importantly, he wanted attention and affection from their father.

NEXT: Marvel: 10 (Non-MCU) On-Screen Villains That Are Nothing Like Their Comic Book Versions

MCU: 10 Villains With The Most Realistic Problems | ScreenRant from https://ift.tt/3rgRJIK

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my-super-hero-life · 4 years ago

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Resenha nostálgica #3 – “Homem de Ferro 2”: Preparando o terreno para os Vingadores

Dois anos depois da estreia de “Homem de Ferro”, em 2008, a Marvel não quis perder tempo e já lançou sua continuação. A ideia era aproveitar que o personagem ainda estava fresco na memória do público e, mais uma vez, debruçar-se no carisma de Robert Downey Jr. para alavancar a franquia nos cinemas. Engana-se, porém, quem pensa que “Homem de Ferro 2” teria o simples papel de dar continuidade à história do herói. Não, tinha uma função muito maior que essa, que era cimentar o caminho que levaria até o primeiro filme do grupo de heróis mais poderosos da Terra: os Vingadores. O longa seria fundamental na apresentação da S.H.I.E.L.D – organização que teria uma participação chave dois anos mais a frente – e também de uma personagem que faria parte do time de heróis, Natasha Romanoff, a Viúva Negra. Leia mais: Resenha nostálgica #1: “Homem de Ferro”: O início de tudo

Após os eventos do primeiro longa, Tony Stark agora comanda as indústrias de sua família não mais no ramo armamentista, mas sim de energia renovável – a mesma que abastece o eletroímã de sua armadura e impede os estilhaços de um explosivo de chegarem ao seu coração. No entanto, o herói sofre em silêncio. Isso porque o núcleo de paládio do reator arc em seu peito está o envenenando aos poucos, o que leva o brilhante cientista a buscar um novo elemento que possa substitui-lo e impedir sua iminente morte. Pensando no futuro da empresa sem ele, Tony nomeia Pepper Potts CEO da companhia, mas não conta sobre sua condição. O filme então foca nessa busca de Stark por salvar sua vida, enquanto um novo vilão (ou novos vilões) emerge(m) sem seu conhecimento.

Aqui, diferentemente do primeiro filme, temos dois antagonistas trabalhando juntos. Em “Homem de Ferro”, Obadiah Stane, interpretado pelo notável Jeff Bridges, foi o suficiente para representar uma grande ameaça ao herói. No segundo, Justin Hammer, vivido por Sam Rockwell, une forças com Ivan Vanko, de Mickey Rourke, para tentar derrubar o protagonista. Hammer é um fabricante de armas de uma empresa rival às Indústrias Stark, enquanto Vanko é um físico russo e ex-presidiário que foi capaz de desenvolver a mesma tecnologia de Tony para abastecer uma armadura criada por ele, com chicotes elétricos nos braços. Apesar de visualmente interessante – e uma clara inspiração no vilão Chicote Negro, das HQs – Vanko, mesmo em parceria com Hammer, não supera à ameaça do Monge de Ferro do longa anterior. A prova de que quantidade nem sempre se traduz em qualidade.

“Homem de Ferro 2” também traz pela primeira vez James Rhodes como o Máquina de Combate. O que havia ficado apenas sugerido no filme anterior, quando o personagem – ainda interpretado por Terrence Howard – vê a armadura e, literalmente, diz: “Fica para uma próxima”, se consuma na sequência. Mas quem tem o prazer de vestir o traje é Don Cheadle, que substituiu o colega de profissão após divergências com a Marvel. O que se disse nos bastidores, na época, é que o ator queria um salário igual ao de Robert Downey Jr., o que, obviamente, a empresa não estava disposta a pagar. Em entrevista, Terrence chegou a acusar Robert, nas entrelinhas, de o ter traído e, de certa forma, “tomado” a verba que seria destinada a ele, já que seus vencimentos aumentaram consideravelmente do primeiro para o segundo filme. A história nunca foi esclarecida, mas o que importa é que Cheadle não decepcionou no papel. Leia mais: Resenha nostálgica #2 - “O Incrível Hulk”: Filme mais esquecível do MCU

Mas o ponto mais importante do longa foi, de fato, a introdução da S.H.I.E.L.D, dirigida por ninguém menos que Nick Fury, que havia aparecido na cena pós-créditos do antecessor. A organização secreta, que tinha planos de montar uma equipe de heróis que pudesse proteger a Terra no momento em que fosse necessário, tem participação destacada e ajuda Tony a conter a ameaça. Principalmente na figura de Natasha Romanoff, apresentada inicialmente como uma secretária das Indústrias Stark – infiltrada pela própria S.H.I.E.L.D, é claro. A personagem então revela-se como uma agente secreta na metade do filme, algo que para quem acompanha os quadrinhos, não chegou a ser uma surpresa. Scarlett Johansson exibe todo o seu talento, charme e vigor físico, mostrando-se a escolha perfeita para o papel e dando início ao arco de evolução da espiã que teria o seu ponto mais alto em “Vingadores: Ultimato”.

O embate final entre “mocinhos e bandidos”, por sua vez, deixa um pouco a desejar. O duelo de armaduras entre Tony Stark, James Rhodes e Ivan Vanko – com sua frota de robôs projetada com a tecnologia de Justin Hammer – foi construído durante toda a trama para ser o clímax do filme, mas além de durar pouco, não entregou tudo aquilo que prometeu. Penso que o fato dos rostos dos atores quase não serem mostrados na ação, propriamente dita, contribuiu para a ausência de um peso maior, já que sem as atuações o combate físico perdeu em intensidade e emoção. São apenas bonecos em CGI brigando entre si, como em um video game. Entretanto, em uma visão mais ampla, não chega a comprometer a obra como um todo, que se encerra com mais uma cena pós-créditos de ligação com o novo herói que estaria por vir.

Agente Coulson, interpretado por Clark Gregg, encontra um objeto inusitado em uma cratera no meio de um deserto, no Novo México, e reporta à S.H.I.E.L.D. Conforme a câmera se afasta, vemos a primeira aparição do martelo Mjolnir, o que só poderia indicar uma coisa: o “Deus do Trovão” estava a caminho. No fim das contas, “Homem de Ferro 2” é, definitivamente, inferior ao primeiro, mas ainda sim importante para a construção e a expansão do universo de heróis da Marvel nos cinemas. Trata-se de um filme de transição e de preparação para o que se veria no futuro, mas que também solidificou ainda mais a imagem do protagonista nas telonas. A sequência atestou – de uma vez por todas – a força do carisma de Robert Downey Jr., que seria o fio condutor que levaria, não só o ator, mas a franquia do MCU ao estrelato em poucos anos.

Por @PV_Vasconcellos

#homem de ferro 2 #resenha #nostálgica #tony stark #Vingadores #marvel mcu #MCU #Viúva Negra #Robert Downey Jr.#universo cinematográfico de marvel

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rosiep66 · 7 years ago

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"IRON MAN 2" (2010) Review

”IRON MAN 2” (2010) Review I must say that I am grateful to Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) showrunner Kevin Feige and the filmmakers of ”IRON MAN 2”. I am grateful that they only waited two years to make this sequel to the 2008 hit film, “IRON MAN”, instead of three years or more. But even if they had made the movie more than two years after the original film, I believe the movie proved to be worth any wait. Some IRON MAN fans and film critics had expressed the opinion that ”IRON MAN 2” was inferior to the original 2008 movie. I certainly feel differently. I believe that this movie was superior to ”IRON MAN”. Mind you, this new film had a few flaws. One, I was baffled by Tony Stark’s reluctance to join S.H.I.E.L.D. I had assumed after the appearance of the organization’s leader, Nick Fury, in the original film’s Easter egg sequence that he was eager to join. Even Tony’s appearance in 2008’s ”THE INCREDIBLE HULK” seemed to hint this. So what happened? Is it possible that screenwriter Justin Theroux failed to see the last ”HULK” film? One would think so. It took me another year to discover that “THE INCREDIBLE HULK” is supposed to be set a few days or a few weeks after the events of this film. Only . . . why? Why did Feige make this convoluted move with the franchise’s timeline? I found it so confusing. The movie’s score, like the 2008 film, sucked. As much as I was impressed by Matthew Libatique’s cinematography, I must admit that I did not find it as impressive as his photography in the 2008 film. But I will discuss this subject in greater detail, later. Nor was I that impressed by Tony’s initial behavior toward Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow. I found it slightly sexist and somewhat tacky. Even Pepper Potts’ snarky response that he would open himself up to a sexual harassment lawsuit could not erase ugly taint that surrounded his comment. ”IRON MAN 2” may not have been perfect; but as I had stated earlier, I believe that it is superior to the first film. Do not get me wrong. I loved ”IRON MAN”. I still do. But in an article I had written about some of the Summer 2008 movies, its plot struck me as simple and a little unoriginal. I cannot say the same about its sequel. Thanks to Theroux and director Jon Farveau, ”IRON MAN 2” focused upon the consequences of Tony Stark becoming and admitting to being Iron Man in the last film. During the six months since the end of the last film, Iron Man’s actions as a superhero has allowed him to maintain world peace. His actions have also attracted the attention of a U.S. Senate committee, led by Senator Stern, who demanded that Tony release the Iron Man technology for military application. Stark refused, claiming his competitors are years away from successfully recreating the technology. But more trouble seemed to plague Tony. The palladium core inside the miniaturized arc reactor that he had created to power his Iron Man armor and prevent the shrapnel from a disastrous Afghanistan trip in the last film from reaching his heart . . . was slowly poisoning his blood system. Foreknowledge of a possible early death led Tony to acts of excessive and dangerous behavior – including re-instituting the Stark Expo first initiated by his father back in the 1970s, appointing his personal assistant Pepper Potts as the new CEO of Stark Industries, in and participating in the Monaco Grand Prix, at the Circuit de Monaco. It is in Monaco where Tony has his first encounter with Ivan Vanko, a Bratva member and Russian physicist who happened to be the son of another physicist and former Stark Industries employee, Anton Vanko, who was fired by Howard Stark and deported back to the Soviet Union. Anton Vanko had also worked on the original plans of the arc reactor with Stark Sr., but the plans remained in the hands of Stark Enterprises. Vanko Sr.’s death at the beginning of the movie sent Ivan into a spiral of grief, leading him to create his own suit containing an arc reactor. Vanko used his new suit to attack Tony at Monaco. The attack attracted the attention of another weapons industrialist named Justin Hammer, an arch-rival of Tony’s. Hammer arranged Vanko’s escape from jail and recruited the Russian physicist to design drones similar to the Iron Man armor for the Stark Expo. Tony also has to deal with the return of S.H.I.E.L.D. in his life. Unbeknownst to him, the organization’s leader, Nick Fury had assigned one of his agents to infiltrate Stark Enterprises to assess Tony as a possible agent. His spy turned out to be Tony and Pepper’s new assistant, Natalie Rushman aka Natasha Romanoff. Although Fury has become reluctant to recruit Tony for membership in S.H.I.E.L.D., he managed to provide vital materials to the industrialist to allow him to develop a safe element for his arc reactor implant that also provides superior power. One would begin to wonder if the screenwriters had dumped one too many plotlines in the movie’s script. Some critics have complained that the movie possessed one too many villains. I would disagree. ”IRON MAN 2” simply had a complex plot that did not – in my opinion – struck me as difficult to follow. In fact, I believe that the plot’s complexity allowed the movie to be superior to the 2008 film. As for the number of villains, there were two – Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer. ”IRON MAN” also had two villains. Robert Downey Jr. reprised his role as Tony Stark aka Iron Man. I am trying to think of something to say about his performance. But what is there to say? He was magnificent as always by skillfully portraying every aspect of Tony’s personality – both the good and the bad. Yes, Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was a charming, caring, brilliant and strong-willed man. But he was also narcissist, egotistical, and somewhat self-centered. This is a man who used his Iron Man technology to bring about world peace, instead of using it for personal gain and who had enough trust in his personal assistant to name her as the new CEO of his company. Yet, this same man resorted to alcohol to escape from his demons and was thoughtless enough to give his new CEO strawberries as a gift – completely forgetting that she is allergic to the fruit. Downey Jr.’s performance as Stark seemed to be among the best comic book hero portrayals I have ever seen on the silver screen . . . back in 2010. In one of the last scenes in ”IRON MAN”, Tony said the following to his personal assistant, Virginia “Pepper” Potts: ”You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become. She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me.” In ”IRON MAN 2” Pepper certainly discovered how stressful her life could be as the object of affection (or desire) of a celebrated costumed hero. Gwyneth Paltrow returned to the role of Pepper Potts, Tony Stark’s personal assistant-turned-new CEO of Stark Industries. And I have to say that the actress did a skillful job of conveying the stress and anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her character. One of my favorite scenes featured a moment when Pepper’s emotions finally overwhelmed her, as she tendered her resignation in an angry tirade. As everyone knows, Marvel Entertainment had decided to replace Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle for the role of Tony’s best friend, Lieutenant-Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes U.S.A.F. I will not discuss the circumstances that led Cheadle to replace Howard. I will say that Cheadle gave a top notch performance as Rhodey. Do I consider him to be a better choice than Howard? No. I would say that the quality of both actors’ performances struck me as equal. Not that I find that surprising. Both Cheadle and Howard are excellent actors with a strong screen presence. I did notice that Cheadle’s sense of humor never had the opportunity to flourish, until the movie’s final scenes. And his screen chemistry with Downey Jr. did not seem as strong as the Downey Jr./Howard pairing. But he certainly did not disappoint. I must confess that I have only seen Mickey Rourke in three other movies, besides ”IRON MAN 2”. Aside from his award winning performance in ”THE WRESTLER”, I was never that impressed by him. When I had learned that he would be cast as the main villain, Ivan Vanko, I had qualms about Jon Farveau and Marvel’s decision. In the end, I found myself very impressed by his performance. He managed to portray a menacing, yet emotional personality in a suitably low-key manner. However, I could barely understand some of his lines through the thick Russian accent. It is a major pity that Marvel/Disney did not keep him around. Sam Rockwell was as volatile as Rourke was low key. And surprisingly, his volatile performance perfectly suited his character, Tony Stark’s fellow defense contractor – Justin Hammer. What I especially enjoyed about Rockwell’s performance was his ability to inject a raging inferiority complex underneath the gregarious personality. Scarlett Johanssen had the opportunity to strut her stuff as Natalie Rushman aka Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow, Pepper’s new assistant and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. I must admit there were times I wondered if Johanssen’s character had a personality. It finally dawned on me that she simply possessed a no-nonsense persona that could kick ass.

Director Jon Farveau returned as Tony’s bodyguard and chauffeur, Happy Hogan. Thankfully, he got to do a lot more in ”IRON MAN 2”, which included coming to Tony’s rescue with the Iron Man suit during Vanko’s attack during the Monaco Grand Prix, and assisting (somewhat) Natasha during the latter’s breach at Hammer Industries. Samuel L. Jackson’s role as head of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury, was increased in this second film. And all I can say is . . . thank goodness! I really enjoyed his strong screen presence and lively conversations with Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark. I got the feeling that the two actors really enjoyed working with one another (unless I happened to be wrong). Clark Gregg returned in the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson. Not only was he his usual quiet and assuming self, but also deliciously snarky. John Sterling of ”MAD MEN” made an appearance as Tony’s father, the late Howard Stark, in old film clips viewed by Tony. Slattery’s Howard Stark struck me as lively and witty as Downey Jr.’s Tony. His performance made it easy for me to see the genesis of Tony’s own personality. And the late Gary Shandling tossed aside his usual comic persona to convincingly portray U.S. Senator Stern, a determined politician who wants the Iron Man armor in government hands. However, he was allowed a rather snarky and very subtle joke in the film's last scene. As I had stated earlier, I was not that impressed by Matthew Libatique’s cinematography in ”IRON MAN 2”. Mind you, I did not find it terrible or a travesty to the art of motion pictures. But I cannot recall viewing any fantastic airborne sequences that were featured in ”IRON MAN”. Aside from Rhodey’s arrival at the Edwards Air Force Base in the War Machine armor, the movie did not feature any daytime aerial scenes, just slightly confusing night time sequences near the beginning and the end of the film. But, as I will point out later, there was one exception. However, I found most of the film’s action sequences very exciting – especially Vanko’s attack upon Tony in Monaco; the birthday brawl between Tony and Rhodey in the Iron Man and War Machine suits; Natasha’s fight against Hammer’s security guards; and the aerial chase sequence over the Stark Expo between Iron Man and the Vanko-controlled War Machine. I must be one of the few who, to this day, still regard “IRON MAN 2″ as better than the original 2008 film. I also regard it as one of the better films of 2010, despite its few flaws. It would also proved to be the second to the last time in which I would truly enjoy Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark aka Iron Man.

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martens-movie-reviews · 7 years ago

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Released: May 7, 2010 Running Time: 2 hours 4 minutes

“With the world now aware that he is Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from all sides to share his technology with the military. He is reluctant to divulge the secrets of his armored suit, fearing the information will fall into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts and “Rhodey” Rhodes by his side, Tony must forge new alliances and confront a powerful new enemy.”

In honour of the latest movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe being released on November 3, 2017, I decided that I wanted to review all of the previous MCU films, and it was also a wonderful excuse to rewatch all the movies again. My girlfriend and I wanted to watch it with a group of friends, however there was no time that we could all agree on, and to space it all out didn’t work, so we watched the MCU movies during the month of September and October so that we would be ‘all caught up’ for Thor Ragnarok.

Marvel Cinematic Universe – Source – Marvel

You can find all of the reviews for the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the link here. At that link, you can also find the dates that the other reviews for the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be posted. My plan is to release one every single day, and because I’ve already reviewed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 here, and Spider – Man: Homecoming here, they will not be included in the two weeks leading up to Thor Ragnarok.

As such, I will now move onto the actual review of the film, and I hope you enjoy!

Iron Man 2 Trailer – Source: Paramount Pictures & Marvel Entertainment

Cast and Crew

This film was helmed by returning director Jon Favreau, who has since directed feature films such as 2011’s ‘Cowboys & Aliens’, 2014’s ‘Chef’, and 2016’s ‘The Jungle Book’. He turned down the job to direct Iron Man 3 after having too many requests and ‘chefs in the kitchen’ during the making of this film. Iron Man 2 was written by Justin Theroux, mostly known for his acting roles, had previously written ‘Tropic Thunder’ in 2008, and has since written ‘Rock of Ages’ in 2012, and ‘Zoolander 2’ in 2016.

From Left to Right: Don Cheadle as Colonel James Rhodes & Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer – Source: Paramount Pictures

The cast featured Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, John Slattery, Garry Shandling, Paul Bettany, Leslie Bibb, Jon Favreau and Stan Lee.

Review

Robert Downey Jr. continues to get into the skin of Tony Stark and displays the various emotions that is required for the character in this film. I found that the character puts on this mask of being invulnerable, while slowly dying due to palladium that is powering the arc reactor in his chest, and was able to play both sides of that coin very well. There’s not much more to say about his performance and the nuances that he brings to the character, other than to say that I believe that it was Robert Downey Jr. and not Tony Stark that was proclaiming to the world that he is Iron Man at the end of the first film.

Making Pepper Potts the new CEO of Stark Industries is something that definitely fits within the MCU Tony Stark character, however, I feel that it added unnecessary drama to the film, and it was only done because Stark felt that he would have nothing to leave behind other than the suit after he died due to the poisoning. Paltrow did a good job at being constantly annoyed with Stark, and having a few humorous parts, but for the most part she was the ‘straight man’ in a comedy duo. Favreau’s role seemed to have diminished slightly during this film, however I feel like he continued to bring levity to all the scenes that he was in, and I appreciated the banter between Stark and Hogan.

John Slattery as Howard Stark – Source: Paramount Pictures

The introduction of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff was something that I’m conflicted with because while I enjoyed the performance and enjoyed seeing her being a plant in Stark’s company and then kicking ass later on in the film. While on the other hand, I wish that the movie didn’t try to insert different storylines into the movie and overcrowding it as much as they did. Seeing Samuel L. Jackson return after a brief cameo during the end credit scene of the first Iron man was nice, and I feel as if it would have been enough to just include him in setting up the Avengers.

There are problems with this movie, and the casting of Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko was one of the few casting mistakes that the MCU has done. There was no problems with the actor, but doesn’t fit the character that Marvel themselves had created for this movie in the comics. (Anton in the comics) Vanko is young (ish), athletic, and not obsessed with his stupid bird. I understand that this movie was extremely rushed, and had ‘a lot of hands in the pot’ for this movie, and it shows in it’s quality of its script and overall product.

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko / Whiplash – Source: Paramount Pictures

Bringing in Don Cheadle to replace Terrence Howard after he left the franchise after reportedly being offered a lot less money to appear in the second film was disappointing at first, but Cheadle did a good job at making the character his own, and not trying to mimic Howard’s performance. At the end of the day, because we’ve now seen Cheadle’s version of Howard in more films, it’s safe to say that a lot of people might slightly forget that he wasn’t in the first one to begin with. Sam Rockwell as the poor man’s Tony Stark when it comes to weapon manufacturing and charisma, Justin Hammer was well performed. I feel like he did as good of a job as he could with what he was given. I feel like if given the time and the right script, he could do a great job at portraying the Justin Hammer from the comic books at being an evil mastermind, supplying the villains of the world with weaponry.

Two short but fun ‘long cameos’ came from Clark Gregg reprising his role as Agent Phil Coulson, and John Slattery being introduced as Howard Stark, with a video from the last time there was a Stark Expo. I enjoy every minute I watch whenever Coulson is interacting with the ‘Superheroes’ in this world because he’s either fawning over them (Avengers with Captain America), or putting them in their place (every interaction with Tony Stark). Slattery is something of a mixed bag for me, one because I enjoyed his comedic yet serious portrayal of Howard Stark, I feel like because the only time we actually see him was during video playbacks, they could have waited a bit longer to get the guy that they cast as Howard Stark for Captain America: The First Avenger – Dominic Cooper, which went into production around the time this movie was set to be released.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man – Source: Paramount Pictures

In January 2010, Marvel Comics decided to reinvent the Whiplash character, and name him Anton Vanko (no relation to the original Crimson Dynamo), as a lead up to the release of this movie. The original Whiplash, Mark Scarlotti, was employed by Hammer Industries, and released from prison. The new Whiplash’s story would have been a much better story for Iron Man 2, where Tony is framed for the death of Vanko’s father and the destruction of his village, and then reverse engineers a suit with the lashes out of the amour that the guilty party utilized. Once again, these are my personal opinions regarding the movies, and what I think would have suited the movie better if they were adamant about using the Whiplash character as the villain for Iron Man 2. As seen in the pictures below, you can see the original Whiplash from 1968, and the reinvented Whiplash in 2010.

As you may have noticed in the one of the previous paragraphs, one of the glaring problems with this movie was Vanko’s obsession with his bird that actually had 7 scenes throughout the film where that stupid bird was one of the topics discussed or featured. Now, I don’t have any problems with birds in general, but when it becomes a distraction in a superhero movie, that’s something that I have a problem with.

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Original Whiplash’s First Appearance – Source: Tales of Suspense #97 (1968) – Marvel Comics

Reinvented Whiplash’s First Appearance – Source: Iron Man vs Whiplash #1 (2010) – Marvel Comics

The overabundance of storylines in this film, the misuse of Whiplash, and the obsession of a stupid bird is what hurt this movie the most. Now, you might say “Alex, it seems to me that you’re the one obsessed with this bird”, and my reply would be “See, it’s annoying, right?”. If I could go back and re-edit this film, I would make the following changes. Use the story from the comic book Iron Man vs Whiplash, for him to get motivation to hunt down Stark. Remove the Romanoff scenes (while entertaining, could have been left out (introduce her at the end of Captain America instead of the girl from the Mentalist)). Keep the Stark killing himself with palladium and finding a cure, but focus on him trying to figure out how to stop himself from dying, keep the deleted scenes involving that. Cast a younger actor for Whiplash to make him more athletic.

I enjoyed the themes of Stark trying to find out what kind of legacy that he wants to be remembered for, and the self doubt, because that makes him relatable, even as a billionaire genius. I’m not trying to say that the I would do a better job, because I wouldn’t, I would think my idea is better, just as every fanboy does, but that’s a great thing about movies, is that people can talk about them, disagree on things, and speculate about what could have been.

From Left to Right: Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury & Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man – Source: Paramount Pictures

When you have a soundtrack that was done mostly by AC/DC, you know that it’s going to be a rock filled soundtrack. As I mentioned in the past two reviews, with Iron Man having music that was rock centric, which fit extremely well with Tony Stark’s character, and then following that up with erratic music in the Incredible Hulk, which fit Banner’s personality and inner war with himself, I feel like keeping the rock music for Stark is a brilliant move, and I continued to enjoy the thematic music that fits the personalities of the titular hero of the films in the MCU.

The score for Iron Man 2 was orchestrated by John Debney, picked up right where Ramin Djawadi had left off, and just made the score more than Iron Man. I feel like the score was more of everything to showcase the increase in the Armours, the increase in the speed of Stark’s life, and the instability of his character health issues.

Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man – Source: Paramount Pictures

While I enjoyed the fact that this movie once again displays Tony’s intelligence when he works with clues that was left behind by his father, in rediscovering a new element ‘Vibranium’ (the Vibranium steel alloy is what Captain America’s Shield is made of), that he could use as a new power source for the arc reactor in his chest, and wouldn’t poison him. This movie should have focused more on the deleted scenes (you can find on Youtube), about Tony trying to find a replacement rather than the bird scenes or the overabundance of Avenger hints, in my opinion.

As already mentioned in the ‘Spider Man: Homecoming’ review linked here, Marvel has retconned that Peter Parker was actually the young child who was at Stark Expo pictured below that Tony saves from one of the Hammer Drones.

From Left to Right: Iron Man, young Peter Parker, Hammer Drone – Source: Paramount Pictures

Rhodes finally fulfills the promise to himself from the first film and gets in one of the suits, and takes it for his own. Armoured by Hammer Industries, which is the new weapons manufacturer for the United States military after Stark shut that part of Stark Industries down during the first Iron Man.

The buddy team up scene with War Machine was fun to watch, and great to see Stark interacting with another ‘Superhero’ for the first time, and watching them easily take on a ton of drones, as well as having a bit more difficulty in handling Whiplash, but still defeating him rather soundly at the end.

From Left to Right: Tony Stark / Iron Man & Colonel James Rhodes / War Machine surrounded by Hammer Drones – Source: Paramount Pictures

The action scenes involving Romanoff and Hogan was brilliantly executed and displayed two different fighting styles. When Stark told Happy to teach her a few things in the boxing ring, Happy was trying to play it cool and try and show off, however got his ass handed to him in style. The other action scene involving them, we get to see Black Widow come to play and kick 11 henchmen’s butts, while Happy is dealing with the one guard that was at the front door. I wish there wasn’t as many takes as they had during the fights, as it was just too erratic and showing too many angles that it was confusing as whether I’ve just seen the same hit twice or not.

In every Marvel Studios property that has had the problem of ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’, has been a lower quality film, such as Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Those three films, are arguably the worst of the MCU. Granted, they are not bad movies, just the bar that was set high by the rest of the MCU was too high for that trio. Marvel has let the directors make their own film, while having a guiding hand for the overall story arc of the current phase they are in, and they’ve had to relearn it a couple of times, however, they seem to be on the right track with what we’ve heard about Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther

Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow – Source: Paramount Pictures

Another problem I had with this movie was that it was basically shoving in our faces the fact that they would be doing a team-up movie soon, called the Avengers. It’s something that they did for the general audience to get excited for, as not everyone knew about the end credit scene with Nick Fury at the end of Iron Man. Personally, I think it was unnecessary to pour it on so thick, as this just added too much to the movie, and had too many stories going at the same time.

The Post credit scene which was set up earlier in the film, when Coulson tells Stark that he was being reassigned to New Mexico, finds him at a crash site for Mjolnir, the hammer of Thor Odinson, and setting up the next film in the MCU, Thor.

Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson – End Credit Scene- Source: Paramount Pictures

Overall, this movie was entertaining while still having more flaws than what I would have wanted from it. The story wasn’t great, and its use of the villains that they had wasn’t handled properly. The music, acting, characters, and general tone of the film was great, but the quality of the film suffered too much for me to give this film even a 7/10. At the end of the day, this film is the third worse of the entire MCU, and I give this film a score of 6.75/10.

What did you think of the film? Are you excited for Thor Ragnarok? Let me know in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Alex Martens

Iron Man 2 Review Released: May 7, 2010 Running Time: 2 hours 4 minutes "With the world now aware that he is Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from all sides to share his technology with the military.

#Comic Book Movie #MCU #Movie Review

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hoshinomulti · 5 months ago

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"Time to show this creep why you don't mess with the fans! Game on!"

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#【 ic 】 ❝ think you can stop me? ❞ ᴇʟᴇᴋᴛʀᴀ #askrockandfriends

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njawaidofficial · 7 years ago

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Alex Rodriguez on Rebooting His Image: "You Have to Own Your Shit"

http://styleveryday.com/2017/08/03/alex-rodriguez-on-rebooting-his-image-you-have-to-own-your-shit/

Alex Rodriguez on Rebooting His Image: "You Have to Own Your Shit"

He made $500 million playing baseball then became a scandal-plagued Yankees pariah. Now, Rodriguez is on ABC, CNBC and Fox Sports, rebooting himself as more than a jock turned broadcaster (and J.Lo’s beau), and he may have the secret to a successful second act: “You have to own your shit.”

Alex Rodriguez raises an arm to keep an errant basketball from hitting a reporter. We are seated courtside in plastic chairs at the gym at Wayside Baptist Church — a complex of low-slung white stucco buildings in Kendall, Florida, a suburb southwest of Miami, near where Rodriguez grew up. It is a Thursday in July, and Rodriguez wears dark-wash jeans and a navy polo shirt with a small white A-Rod Corp logo — an abstraction of the erstwhile Yankee slugger’s signature arching swing — on his left breast.

Today he is filming a pilot for CNBC called Back in the Game, a concept that has Rodriguez mentoring down-and-out former athletes. The first episode features Joe Smith Jr., a 1995 NBA No. 1 draft pick whose peripatetic career included an unfortunate salary-cap scam with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Rodriguez will enlist Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank to help Smith realize his ambition to start a youth basketball academy. We are at Wayside’s youth camp so producers can film Smith interacting with the kids. Most of the roughly 100 youth present don’t know Smith, but they of course know Rodriguez, one of the most famous (and, to many, infamous) athletes of his generation, so they’re asking for autographs and selfies.

It’s nearly exactly a year since Rodriguez played his last game at Yankee Stadium after a record-making, scandal-plagued major league career that began in 1994, when he was 18. “It’s night and day how content and happy and proud I am,” he says. “You being here, that would have never happened before.”

Rodriguez, contemplating his dramatic rehabilitation — from pariah to pundit, a credible TV star with a Hollywood girlfriend — continues: “It starts with being accountable. When people can see that you’re genuine, that’s when they pay attention. You have to own your shit.”

I ask whether he ever thinks about the arc of his career from superstar to outcast, and he shoots me a look that says, “Every second of every day!” Then he grabs my notebook and pen. Turning it sideways, he jots down five dates: 1994, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2017. (Curiously, 2009, when he won his only World Series, is not included.) He draws a jagged line under the numbers; 2000 (he hit 41 homers and had 132 RBIs, powering Seattle to the ALCS against the Yankees) and 2004 (his first season with the Yankees) are high points. When he gets to 2014 (when he sat out the season during the longest suspension in baseball history for using performance-enhancing drugs), he drags the pen to the bottom of the page then brings it back up to 2017. No doubt: 2014 was rock bottom. “There were nights in Miami when I was close to tapping out,” he admits.

•••

Once the sport’s biggest outcast, in two years Rodriguez has managed to recast himself as a trusty TV presence and MLB ambassador. (Eight days earlier, during All-Star Game weekend in Miami, he opened a refurbished field at the Miami-Dade Boys & Girls Club with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, who in 2013 led the investigation that resulted in Rodriguez’s suspension.)

It is a rebirth that few — least of all Rodriguez, 42 — would have thought possible a few years ago. He had made more money than anyone in baseball (nearly $500 million), dated famous women (Madonna), been caught taking banned substances (twice), repeatedly lied about it on TV and the radio, faced an investigation that turned up a cast of seedy characters and endured a public fall, a painful exile.

Now, he’s not out of place in the congenial confines of daytime and late night (guest hosting Live With Kelly Ripa; playing Egg Russian Roulette with Jimmy Fallon) and soon makes his debut as an ABC News contributor. (Rodriguez is viewed as an asset by ABC execs for his relationships with C-suite luminaries like Warren Buffet and Starwood Capital Group chairman Barry Bernlicht, whom he counts as mentors. The network hopes he’ll leverage access and conduct a different type of interview than a traditional correspondent.) He has carved out a reputation as a savvy businessman. He’s in the throes of a made-for-social media relationship with Jennifer Lopez, someone whose star wattage equals his own. He’s entering the reality TV circuit, but not on vacuous unscripted shows. The CNBC program matches his mission to help athletes prepare for life after the huge checks stop coming. And he’ll get to display his CEO persona as a “guest shark” on the upcoming season of ABC’s Shark Tank. “He was far more entrepreneurial than I expected,” notes the show’s Mark Cuban.

But it’s his role as an analyst on Fox Sports — which began as a guest stint during the 2015 postseason and where he has teamed with Kevin Burkhardt, Frank Thomas and fellow stigmatized hit machine Pete Rose — that arguably has done the most to repair his image as baseball’s biggest sinner.

“He goes on TV, and he’s really good,” says Bill Simmons, an avowed Red Sox loyalist and no fan of A-Rod as a player, who in 2009 wrote a column for ESPN positing that Rodriguez united the Yankees clubhouse because he was the one guy they all loved to hate. “We’ve seen this with all kinds of athletes; they can reinvent the legacy of their career just by being on TV. It just doesn’t feel like he has the baggage of some of the stuff that he did. You look at [Barry] Bonds, [Roger] Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire; these guys are synonymous with steroids. A-Rod is the only one who has come out of the abyss.”

If any baseball fans didn’t already know that Rodriguez possesses a savant-like knowledge of and reverence for the game, they learn that after watching him as an analyst. “When he was playing and I would see him, all he ever wanted to do is talk about the great players of the past,” says Rose. “He loves the history of the game. He would love to ask me about Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron. I used to play against those guys all the time.”

For a journalist, this manifests in a stream of questions. At our first meeting, Rodriguez asks me to describe my workouts, where I come from, with whom else I have talked about him (and what they said), how this interview is going to go down. “I’m a reporter at heart,” he laughs.

But what has surprised many observers (and detractors) is how he plays well with others. “Having done studio shows, a lot of success or failure comes through how well you can sell everybody else and how well they sell you,” says Simmons. “And he’s good at selling the other people, which I would not have expected. Because you would have thought A-Rod would just be like, ‘Oh, I’m in it for myself. It’s not my job to make Pete Rose look better.’ But he’s actually good at selling them. The man’s full of surprises.”

Rodriguez brings the same relentless work ethic he exhibited during his career to his new job; his prep includes dozens of phone calls — to players, managers, trainers, other broadcasters, even the batboy. (“Clubhouse kids and batboys give you the greatest information in the world,” he says.) People joke on set that Rose has zero notes and Rodriguez shows up with a stack of them.

“A lot of people come in who think TV is easy, and they want to show up 20 minutes before the red light is on and wing it,” says John Entz, president of production at Fox Sports. “Alex prepares hours before, he watches the tape afterward, he wants to be critiqued, he wants to hear what was good, what could be worked on.”

Earlier this year, Fox signed him to a multiyear deal as a full-time analyst. But he wasn’t looking for a broadcast job when the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs in 2015, partly because he didn’t think he’d be good at it. It’s a running theme in Rodriguez’s life: his inferiority complex. It’s his Achilles’ heel — and what drives him.

“He needed reinforcement that he was the best,” says Rose. “Some players just want be told every day how good they are. I mean, Alex was so good, I don’t even think he understood how good he was. He always needed that little pat on the back to substantiate that.”

The effort seems to be paying off. Says Entz: “One of the comments we heard most frequently, either from people who didn’t like the Yankees or Alex, was along the lines of, ‘Man, I turned on the show, I really didn’t want to like Alex, but he was so good. I can’t help but like him.’ “

Further validation came in May when Fox’s World Series coverage won an Emmy. Adds Entz, “He’s changed a lot of people’s minds.”

Adds Rodriguez, referring to Entz: “He took a lot of shit. The people who took a chance on me early on when everybody was running the other way, those are the people who I go to war for.”

In February 2015, Rodriguez knew it was time to wave the white flag and get to work on a new incarnation of himself: owner of his own mess, charitable do-gooder, fan favorite. He was due at spring training; he released a letter of apology to fans. True to quirky form, it was handwritten. It was a complete reversal of his grievance-filled statement from a year earlier when he vowed to take his fight with baseball to federal court.

“When the thing that you love more than anything in the world is taken away from you, even if you did it to yourself, you really have to take a look at who you are and what you’re doing,” says Suzyn Waldman, the longtime Yankees play-by-play announcer. “When they took baseball away from him, something changed.”

His year of banishment was spent “turning the lens inward,” he says. He saw a psychoanalyst, he kept a journal, and he spent a lot of time with his daughters, Natasha, 12, and Ella, 9, who live nearby in Florida with their mother, Cynthia. (She and Rodriguez divorced in 2008 after five years of marriage; their split was tabloid fodder, courtesy of his then-liaison with Madonna. But they remain close, and Rodriguez mentions more than once how important it is for them to effectively co-parent.)

Never having gone to college is a source of great insecurity for Rodriguez, so during his time off, he took classes — at Columbia (value investing) and the University of Miami (marketing). He got advice from such friends as Jim Sharp, a septuagenarian lawyer who has represented polls (George W. Bush) and players (Rodriguez’s friend Andy Pettitte) and told him to give up the fight and take his punishment, and erstwhile CNN anchor Jessica Yellin (whom he met through a friend), who advised him that reporters are human beings not Schadenfreude-seeking destroyers of lives. “She told me, ‘Lean in to the media; they are people just like you; they have a job, just like you; connect with them, be yourself.’ “

He spent a lot of time apologizing — to his family, teammates, league execs. I ask Manfred if it seems surreal to be opening ballparks with Rodriguez after being on the opposite side of the trench. “When you come up in the side of the business that I did, where you have conflict with people, you learn to move on,” reasons Manfred. “It doesn’t seem surreal to me. I’m not a grudge-holder. It feels perfectly natural to me.”

Key to the reinvention narrative was that A-Rod returned to some approximation of his one-time MVP form when he rejoined the Yankees, not so easy for a “broken-down 40-year-old” who had weathered two hip surgeries and two knee surgeries. Many predicted (or hoped) that he would not make the starting lineup. By September, he had tied Hank Aaron’s record for the most 30-homer seasons of all time.

“It’s probably too soon for me to say this, but maybe in 10 years I’ll be able to say that the ‘ ’14 sabbatical’ was one of the best things that happened in my life,” he says. When I ask if he doesn’t believe that already, he adds, “I’ll say this: That year off I just had to fucking change and stop being a jerk.”

•••

Rodriguez’s work ethic was instilled by his mother, Lourdes Rodriguez, who worked as a secretary, taking a night job waiting tables after his father left the family when Alex was 10. As a child, he delighted in counting her tip money and was impressed when, at the end of the week, her tip pouch could have as much as $60 in it. “I would feel like the richest family in the neighborhood. And it left a mark on me.”

He was recruited out of high school by the University of Miami but signed a three-year, $1.3 million contract with the Seattle Mariners with a $1 million signing bonus. “I knew my mother was tired,” he says. “My responsibility was to sign that contract.”

Among the first things he did was buy his mom a house and a car. “We were constantly moving from apartment to apartment because they were always raising the rent,” he says of his childhood. “It always felt like it was the first of the month. And I remember praying to God to slow down time for my mother.”

Today, A-Rod Corp, the holding company he started 15 years ago, includes a Miami-based real estate and construction firm, Newport Property; fitness centers in Mexico; and a real estate investment and management firm, Monument, that owns 8,500 apartments and manages 13,000 in 12 states, mostly in the Southeast and Midwest.

Buffett has been a mentor for years — ever since Rodriguez placed an unsolicited call in 2001 upon learning that one of Buffett’s companies insured his early 2000s contract with the Texas Rangers. “I called the office and said, ‘Hey, I just want to say thank you.’ “

Buffett called back, and meetings with the Oracle of Omaha soon became a part of Rodriguez’s off-season routine. “We would sit there and go through all my businesses; he would give me all this advice. Then we would have dinner at his favorite steakhouse. At the end, I would have to eat one of those big ice cream sundaes.”

These days, when Rodriquez isn’t on the road for Fox Sports, his time is spent hopscotching among L.A., Miami and New York, where he and Lopez had their first official outing together in May when they appeared on the red carpet at Anna Wintour’s Met Gala. “There was a great deal of paparazzi,” he says. “They were telling me to get the hell out of the way so they could get a good shot of Jennifer.” He’s reluctant to say much about their relationship; they binge-watch TV together is as far as he’ll go. When I ask who asked whom out, he deflects: “You’ll have to ask her that.”

Their social media feeds are populated with pictures and videos of each other and their children. Lopez, 48, has 9-year-old twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony. “We both appreciate where we are in our lives,” he says. “We appreciate being parents, and we’re so similar; we’re both kind of workaholics.” (During one of our interviews, Lopez FaceTimes Rodriguez. “Oh look,” he says, turning his iPhone toward me, “Say hi.”)

He still watches baseball obsessively and often has the East, West and Central time zone games on simultaneously. “My girls are like, ‘Dad, this is too much. Where is the Disney Channel?’ “

He’s wistful about his distance from the game. “I miss my four at-bats every day. I miss the fans, the clubhouse, the boys. But I don’t miss the travel. I don’t miss waking up in pain every day.”

•••

The six-paneled TV in the screening room of Rodriguez’s Coral Gables home beams a huge visage of O.J. Simpson. It is July 20, the day of Simpson’s parole hearing. And the TV is tuned to ESPN, one of nearly a dozen networks carrying the hearing live. It’s jarring watching the fallen superstar in prison-issue clothes while in Rodriguez’s 11,000-square-foot, art-filled home. (Warhol and Basquiat hang on the walls; a Sarah Lucas sculpture featuring a white porcelain toilet is mounted in the entryway.) Rodriguez emerges wearing a black Tom Ford jacket and white cotton shirt. “Turn that O.J. stuff off,” he says to an assistant. “We’ve had enough of O.J.”

In the next room, the production crew from Back in the Game will shoot Rodriguez and Smith discussing the plan for Smith’s youth basketball academy. There is a dry-erase board on an easel; Rodriguez’s housekeeper spreads a freshly ironed white tablecloth on a folding table. “We want to tell the world who Joe Smith is,” explains Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has spent 22 years trying to tell the world who he is. If he has been misinterpreted, maligned (unfairly or not), vilified, perhaps it’s because he didn’t really know himself. “When I came back [after the suspension], I wanted to be a different person.”

And his legacy in the pantheon of America’s pastime? “I think that is to be determined,” he says. “But I left it all on the field. My best two years happened at 19 and as a broken-down 40-year-old. I hadn’t played in basically two years, two hip surgeries, two knee surgeries, scandal. And if you think about that arc, that tells you a hell of a story, right? The mistakes I’ve made are loud and clear. But one thing I am proud of is, I did not let those mistakes define who I am. I kept getting up.”

This story first appeared in the Aug. 2 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.

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