Tropic Thunder (2008)
Tropic Thunder was the link movie connecting Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Linked through Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr..
Both Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. appeared in Tropic Thunder.
About Tropic Thunder
"Get Some."
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. After ballooning costs force the studio to cancel the movie, the frustrated director refuses to stop shooting, leading his cast into the jungles of Southeast Asia, where they encounter real bad guys.
Directed by Ben Stiller
Written by Ben Stiller, Justin Theroux, Etan Cohen
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video
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Top cast
Behind the camera
Box office
Awards
Robert Downey Jr. received nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics' Choice Movie Award; both Downey and Tom Cruise received Golden Globe nominations. No wins are listed in the article.
Soundtrack
Score by Theodore Shapiro
Movie trivia
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1
Ben Stiller developed Tropic Thunder’s premise during production of Empire of the Sun in spring 1987 and later enlisted Justin Theroux and Etan Cohen to complete the script.
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2
Filming took place in 2007 on the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi over thirteen weeks and was the largest film production in the island's history.
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3
The film's extensive marketing campaign included faux websites for three main characters, a fictional television special, and selling the in-film energy drink 'Booty Sweat'.
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4
The final script satirized Vietnam War films such as Apocalypse Now, Rambo, Missing in Action, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill, and The Deer Hunter; early drafts focused on actors returning from mock boot camp with PTSD.
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5
Casting choices shifted during development: Stiller originally planned Keanu Reeves as Tugg Speedman and himself as Rick Peck; Etan Cohen created the role of Kirk Lazarus to lampoon extreme method actors, and Kevin Hart turned down Alpa Chino because he did not want to play a gay character.
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6
Robert Downey Jr.'s character Kirk Lazarus undergoes a 'pigmentation alteration' to darken his skin; makeup designer Rick Baker created the Osiris makeup while John Blake and Greg Nelson handled on-set application, and Downey modeled Lazarus on Russell Crowe, Daniel Day-Lewis and Colin Farrell, developing a jive-esque ragged bass voice he auditioned for Stiller over the phone.
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