Robert Downey Jr. Gets Emotional; Zoe Saldaña Clarifies; Scream 2 Turns 25

Robert Downey Jr. talks about the emotional ride that his film Sr. takes viewers on; Zoe Saldaña would like to revise her statement about being “stuck”; Happy 25th birthday, Scream 2. All in today’s Movie News Rundown.

Robert Downey Jr.: Says he “can’t handle” the last 20 minutes of Sr., the documentary he and his wife, Susan Downey, made about RDJ’s late father, Robert Downey Sr. It’s just such an emotional ending that it makes him tear up, Downey Jr. said — although he didn’t mean for it to be “tear-jerky,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in a Q&A after the screening. “We weren’t trying to make some tear-jerky thing. It’s just the way that it unfolded was really evocative,” he said, adding, “We were just trying to strike the right balance.”

Zoe Saldaña Clarifies: Her comment she made in late November to Women’s Wear Daily about feeling “stuck” in big franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Trek and Avatar. She’d like to set the record straight now, telling Deadline on the red carpet of Avatar: The Way of Water premiere, “I feel grateful and like the luckiest girl in this town knowing that I was invited to join films with special directors in a special cast. And they resonated with people so much so that we get a chance to come back again and come back another time. If anything, I’ve reaped all the benefits of that, I’ve gained friends. I still have mentors that I call and I lean into.”

Happy 25th Birthday, Scream 2: You are only one year younger than me. Enjoy 25 while it lasts. The sequel to the original scream came out 25 years ago yesterday, on Dec. 12, 1997. Here’s a clip of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character getting brutally murdered shared by a kind Twitter user. Oh, and if you’re interested in a modern Scream queen, check out our interview with Jenna Ortega.

Whale Fears: After months of great press, critics are starting to turn on Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. Vulture‘s Nate Jones doubts whether the film will get a best picture nomination at the Oscars to go along with Brendan Fraser’s all-but guaranteed best actor nom. “Since the Academy expanded Best Picture, only one Best Actor winner, Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart, has not seen their film also nominated in the top category,” Jones writes. “Will this season test that record? Darren Aronofsky’s film has blanked at almost every precursor, and now that it’s finally out, critics are unleashing their harpoons. (‘Brendan Fraser deserves an Oscar for The Whale, but the movie? She blows,’ cracks Slate).”

May I Editorialize? I saw The Whale and I thought it was an absolutely wonderful film — one of my favorites of the year. And I’m not easy to please. I didn’t think it was just Brendan Fraser that made it good, either, though of course he’s incredible and I will riot if he doesn’t win the best actor Oscar. But the other actors were amazing, too, and the story was just beautiful. I especially love the way screenwriter Samuel D. Hunter weaves in the Moby Dick thread so expertly from start to finish. I’m looking forward to watching it a second time.

Taylor Swift, Director: The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter opened up about her journey to becoming a director in Variety’s Directors on Directors conversation opposite Banshees of Inisherin director Martin McDonagh. She revealed that she ended up directing her first music video, 2019’s “The Man,” because all the female directors she wanted were busy. “So I was like, ‘I could do it, maybe.’ And when I did direct, I just thought, ‘This is actually more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined.'” She went on to direct many more music videos and her first short, “All Too Well: The Short Film.” Now, she’s lined up to direct her first feature film for Searchlight Pictures.

Main Image: Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scream 2. Photo credit: Dimension Films