Howard Says Being Replaced Was 'Surprise of a Lifetime'

Many people were stunned by the news last week that Don Cheadle, and not Terrence Howard, would be playing the role of James "Rhodey" Rhodes in "Iron Man 2." None more so, apparently, than Terrence Howard himself.

Howard recently spoke to NPR to promote his first album, "Shine Through It," and the topic of being replaced in the sequel to the hugely popular comic book adaptation came about. And the Oscar-nominated actor sounded as confused as anyone about the rationale behind the change.

"It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation, [it] just up and vanished. And I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money... but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes. And promises aren't kept, and good faith negotiations aren't always held up." Hear the full interview >>

Marvel Studios, who produced "Iron Man," offered no comment when the story originally broke. But The Hollywood Reporter spoke to sources who stated that negotiations with the actor "fell through over financial differences," which Howard disputes.

The announcement especially confused fans of the comic book since it is widely believed the character of Rhodey will have a bigger part in the sequel. Towards the end of the first film, Rhodes looked at Tony Stark's second attempt at the Iron Man armor, the silver "Mark II" version, and said to himself, "Next time, baby." This was a hint that Rhodes would get his own armor, just like he did in the comics. His upgraded and more heavily armed suit goes by the name War Machine, and concept designs for the character have already been created.

Don Cheadle, an Oscar nominee in his own right, has not issued a statement about the casting. Cheadle and Howard both appeared in the 2005 Best Picture winner "Crash." Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are both expected to return for the sequel, as is director Jon Favreau.

For his part, Howard doesn't seem to be holding onto any grudges. He is touring in support of his album, a collection of self-penned, jazz-inspired tunes on which he sings and plays guitar. He told NPR he is trying to hold onto the calm nature he developed growing up in a tough neighborhood.

"I found a peacefulness in me, though, that -- even in getting slapped when I was a little kid, when I would get attacked -- even though I was strong enough to stop it I would never hit back, back then... Even now, I didn't hit back."

"Iron Man 2" is scheduled to open May 7, 2010.

'Max Payne,' 'Chihuahua,' 'Bees' out-poll 'W'

Sunday October 19 12:50 PM ET

1. "Max Payne," $18 million.

2. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," $11.2 million.

3. "The Secret Life of Bees," $11.1 million.

4. "W.," $10.6 million.

5. "Eagle Eye," $7.3 million.

6. "Body of Lies," $6.9 million.

7. "Quarantine," $6.3 million.

8. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $3.9 million.

9. "Sex Drive," $3.6 million.

10. "Nights in Rodanthe," $2.7 million

Movie-goers elected a "W," but it was Mark Wahlberg, not George W. Bush.

Wahlberg's action flick "Max Payne" debuted with $18 million to outdo Oliver Stone's film biography of George W. Bush, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Stone's "W." actually ran fourth, opening with $10.6 million to finish behind the family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (No. 2 with $11.2 million) and the chick flick "The Secret Life of Bees" (No. 3 with $11.1 million).

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"For me, an Oliver Stone film about George Bush doesn't necessarily scream big box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "A film like this is very tough to gauge, but this is exactly what I thought it would do."

Lionsgate's "W.," starring Josh Brolin as Bush, came in well behind the $18.7 million debut of Stone's last movie, 2006's Sept. 11 saga "World Trade Center." That movie opened in nearly 3,000 theaters, about 900 more than "W.," however.

Playing in 2,030 cinemas, "W." averaged a solid but unremarkable $5,197 a theater, compared with a $6,334 average for "World Trade Center." "W." was shot on a modest budget of $25 million.

The film had been on political junkies' radar since Stone put "W." on the fast track less than a year ago so he could have it out before the November election. Stone started shooting in May, his five-month turnaround time remarkably short by Hollywood standards, where major movies can take a year or more.

If he needed more time, Stone contractually had the option of releasing the film around the time Bush leaves office in January.

But with two weeks until the election, this is prime time for a Bush biography, said Steve Rothenberg, Lionsgate head of distribution.

"We felt it was very important to release the film after the presidential debates but before the election," Rothenberg said. "We felt interest in the election would be at its height, and interest in George W. Bush would be much greater now than after January. We feel we have a good corridor over the next two weeks."

The movie received mixed reviews, with critics surprised at how relatively tame it turned out coming from liberal firebrand Stone, who made the paranoia-laden presidential tales "JFK" and "Nixon."

Brolin's Bush has some buffoonish moments, but Stone showed empathy for the president, casting him as a man with serious daddy issues but an unshakable relationship with wife Laura to fall back on.

Among the weekend's other new movies, 20th Century Fox's "Max Payne" averaged $5,332 in 3,376 theaters and Fox Searchlight's "The Secret Life of Bees" did $6,945 in 1,591 cinemas.

Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," which had been the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, raised its total to $69.1 million.

Adapted from the video game, "Max Payne" stars Wahlberg as a New York City cop hunting the killers of his wife and child.

"The Secret Life of Bees" stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo in a drama about a troubled teen learning life lessons through the beekeeping operations of three Southern sisters.

"Max Payne" had a predominantly male audience, "The Secret Life of Bees" played to women, "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" continued to grab family crowds and "W." was the choice for politically minded adults.

"You've got all kinds of pictures out there," said 20th Century Fox distribution executive Bert Livingston. "When this business is great is when there are a lot of different pictures out that people want to go see."

Hollywood's overall revenues rose for the fourth-straight weekend. The top-12 movies took in $86.4 million, up 10 percent from the same weekend last year.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.

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Black Men Revealed - Finally, The Ladies Go Stewin'! #9 (Season Finale)

Black Men Revealed - Finally, The Ladies Go Stewin'! #9


Episode 209 - Finally, The Ladies Go Stewin'!
The season finale welcomes women to the show's cast for the first time, as our carefully-selected group of ladies include comedienne Sheryl Underwood and life stylist Bevy Smith, with their strong opinions and passionate points of view deliver some fresh and feminine perspectives on this season's hottest topics.

Weekend Box Office Actuals (U.S.) Sep 26 - 28 weekend

This Wk Last Wk Title Dist. Weekend Gross Cumulative Gross Rlse Wks # of Theaters 1 - Eagle Eye Paramount Pictures $29,150,721 $29,150,721 1 3510 2 - Nights in Rodanthe Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $13,418,454 $13,418,454 1 2704 3 1 Lakeview Terrace Sony Pictures Releasing $6,966,711 $25,667,507 2 2467 4 - Fireproof Samuel Goldwyn Films $6,804,764 $6,804,764 1 839 5 2 Burn After Reading Focus Features $6,196,269 $45,567,391 3 2649 6 4 Igor The Weinstein Company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) $5,383,912 $14,222,701 2 2341 7 3 My Best Friend's Girl Lionsgate $3,882,912 $14,611,423 2 2636 8 5 Righteous Kill Overture Films $3,709,480 $34,711,327 3 3011 9 - Miracle at St. Anna Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $3,477,996 $3,477,996 1 1185 10 6 Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys Lionsgate $3,125,620 $32,761,276 3 1604 11 8 Ghost Town Paramount Pictures $2,930,904 $9,221,951 2 1512 12 7 The Women Picturehouse $2,646,716 $24,072,805 3 2642 13 9 The Dark Knight Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International $1,664,421 $524,474,684 11 1406 14 - Choke Fox Searchlight Pictures $1,319,286 $1,319,286 1 435 15 10 The House Bunny Sony Pictures Releasing $1,247,662 $47,358,203 6 1918 16 11 Tropic Thunder DreamWorks Pictures $1,184,950 $108,768,665 7 1354 17 14 Vicky Cristina Barcelona MGM Distribution Company, The Weinstein Company $665,544 $20,411,318 7 443 18 12 Mamma Mia! Universal Pictures Distribution $577,185 $142,195,370 11 717 19 32 The Duchess Paramount Vantage $563,075 $830,007 2 55 20 18 Journey to the Center of the Earth Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $519,737 $99,785,882 12 510 21 17 Fly Me to the Moon 3-D Summit Entertainment, LLC $502,645 $11,636,668 7 431 22 13 Death Race Universal Pictures $410,150 $35,638,800 6 667 23 15 Traitor Overture Films $255,428 $22,942,933 5 596 24 26 WALL-E Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $244,023 $220,834,460 14 308 25 22 Mirrors 20th Century Fox $243,986 $30,219,828 7 362 26 20 Disaster Movie Lionsgate Films $240,077 $13,961,640 5 402 27 25 Get Smart Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $239,678 $129,814,244 15 301 28 19 Babylon A.D. 20th Century Fox Distribution $226,208 $22,165,980 5 423 29 29 Kung Fu Panda Paramount Pictures $206,782 $215,207,213 17 294 30 16 Bangkok Dangerous Lionsgate $194,676 $15,070,789 4 396 31 24 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $187,722 $34,742,666 7 315 32 - The Lucky Ones Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions $183,088 $183,088 1 425 33 21 Pineapple Express Sony Pictures Releasing $174,611 $87,341,380 8 236 34 34 Space Chimps 20th Century Fox Distribution $165,448 $29,810,973 11 283 35 33 Tell No One Music Box Film $148,131 $5,483,489 13 98 36 28 Appaloosa Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $146,568 $480,270 2 14 37 38 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Paramount Pictures $141,122 $316,849,472 19 204 38 30 Elegy MGM Distribution Company, Samuel Goldwyn Films $121,347 $3,266,752 8 101 39 41 Towelhead Warner Independent Pictures $114,614 $277,354 3 100 40 27 The Longshots Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (MGM) $105,798 $11,242,193 6 227 41 64 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D IMAX Corporation $102,687 $25,900,522 158 1 42 39 Man on Wire Magnolia Pictures, Discovery Channel Productions $99,128 $2,388,576 10 81 43 37 Frozen River Sony Pictures Classics $92,126 $1,905,400 9 76 44 35 Transsiberian First Look Studios $87,912 $1,938,805 11 82 45 44 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure N/A $75,727 $19,082,737 52 30 46 36 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $59,428 $43,857,625 8 160 47 43 Iron Man Paramount Pictures $58,364 $318,298,180 22 121 48 46 Battle in Seattle Redwood Palms Pictures $54,080 $125,013 2 22 49 61 Deep Sea 3D Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution $53,422 $36,399,496 135 8 50 40 Bottle Shock Freestyle Releasing $48,941 $3,939,185 8 61 51 42 I Served the King of England Sony Pictures Classics $40,521 $412,379 5 30 52 60 U2 3D National Geographic World Films $35,760 $9,537,281 36 13 53 53 Dolphins and Whales 3D: Tribes of the Ocean 3D Entertainment Distribution Ltd. $33,687 $4,750,589 33 10 54 51 Trouble the Water Zeitgeist Films $33,325 $285,709 6 14 55 48 A Secret Strand Releasing $32,834 $210,148 4 7 56 - All Roads Lead Home N/A $31,614 $31,614 1 46 57 - Humboldt County Magnolia Pictures $25,933 $25,933 1 9 58 45 The Rocker 20th Century Fox Distribution $25,888 $6,382,543 6 79 59 75 A Thousand Years of Good Prayers Magnolia Pictures $20,829 $35,327 2 6 60 59 Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Picturehouse $20,469 $17,641,820 15 53 61 49 Beer for My Horses Roadside Attractions $19,957 $616,411 8 54 62 62 The Children of Huang Shi Sony Pictures Classics $18,895 $969,364 19 22 63 47 Swing Vote Walt Disney Pictures, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $18,446 $16,133,912 9 79 64 77 Legend of God's Gun N/A $17,628 $150,251 11 3 65 56 A Girl Cut in Two IFC Films, First Take (IFC) $17,166 $251,618 7 14 66 52 When Did You Last See Your Father? Sony Pictures Classics $16,118 $1,053,895 17 21 67 50 The Wackness Sony Pictures Classics $15,291 $2,057,969 13 20 68 58 Flow Oscilloscope Pictures $15,080 $80,954 7 11 69 71 Hounddog Empire Film Group $12,207 $31,469 2 4 70 54 Hamlet 2 Focus Features $11,467 $4,881,867 6 29 71 70 Meet Dave 20th Century Fox Distribution $11,424 $11,794,100 12 27 72 67 Space Station 3-D IMAX Corporation $11,415 $76,487,567 337 8 73 - Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story N/A $10,939 $10,939 1 2 74 73 August Evening Maya Releasing $10,113 $28,418 4 3 75 89 Encounters at the End of the World ThinkFilm, Image Entertainment $9,367 $915,395 16 20 76 65 Brick Lane Sony Pictures Classics $9,345 $1,067,339 15 12 77 69 Greetings From the Shore Newstyle Releasing $8,784 $89,005 3 7 78 66 The X-Files: I Want to Believe 20th Century Fox Distribution $8,561 $20,975,101 10 33 79 91 Roving Mars Buena Vista Pictures Distribution $8,383 $9,612,912 140 5 80 57 College Lionsgate, MGM Distribution Company $7,794 $4,673,892 5 30 81 63 The Flyboys N/A $6,767 $117,282 7 6 82 92 Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! N/A $6,458 $87,387 5 4 83 68 Sixty Six Universal Pictures, First Independent Pictures $5,615 $211,585 9 6 84 78 The Visitor Overture Films $5,327 $9,413,262 25 14 85 88 The Last Mistress First Take (IFC) $5,215 $780,737 14 9 86 90 The Pool N/A $5,050 $45,851 4 8 87 93 Up the Yangtze Zeitgeist Films $4,872 $774,710 23 3 88 80 Mister Foe Magnolia Pictures $4,496 $47,998 4 5 89 87 Loins of Punjab Presents Emerging Pictures $4,012 $30,010 3 3 91 72 In Search of a Midnight Kiss First Take (IFC) $3,735 $148,840 9 8 92 85 Save Me N/A $3,511 $31,780 4 2 93 79 Henry Poole Is Here Overture Films, MGM Distribution Company $3,480 $1,820,756 7 33 94 121 Tuya s Marriage Music Box Film $3,136 $74,247 26 2 95 82 Moving Midway First Run Features $3,012 $26,227 3 3 96 86 The Edge of Heaven Strand Releasing $3,004 $734,123 19 5 97 - The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela Regent Releasing $2,700 $2,700 1 2 98 102 Baghead Sony Pictures Classics $2,679 $134,304 16 14 99 108 Elite Squad IFC Films $2,560 $8,060 2 1 100 74 Walking on Dead Fish Variance Films $2,501 $15,237 2 1 101 83 Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Magnolia Pictures $2,296 $1,214,727 13 6 102 116 Dare Not Walk Alone N/A $2,083 $38,841 15 2 103 107 Elsa & Fred Mitropoulos Films, Distrimax Inc. $1,881 $186,875 14 4 104 - Whaledreamers Monterey Media $1,797 $1,952 1 4 105 96 Momma's Man Kino International $1,779 $73,924 6 1 106 106 I.O.U.S.A. Roadside Attractions $1,678 $718,886 6 2 108 113 Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired ThinkFilm $1,467 $59,192 12 1 109 76 Ping Pong Playa IFC Films $1,239 $77,012 4 2 110 118 Cthulhu Regent Releasing $1,154 $12,254 6 2 111 128 What We Do is Secret Peace Arch Films, Vitagraph Films $1,109 $56,430 8 2 112 - Louise Bourgeois: The Spider, The Mistress and The Tangerine N/A $1,083 $67,076 10 2 113 133 Monsieur Verdoux The Film Desk $878 $30,646 29 2 116 101 Love and Honor FUNimation Productions, Ltd. $778 $57,245 22 1 117 122 To the Limit First Run Features $774 $18,254 15 1 118 126 Kabluey Regent Releasing $664 $81,074 13 3 119 104 Chris & Don: A Love Story Zeitgeist Films $655 $211,639 16 1 120 120 Girls Rock! Shadow Distribution $554 $159,271 30 2 122 99 The Fall Roadside Attractions $524 $2,257,203 21 4 123 - Bab'Aziz - The Prince Who Contemplated His Soul N/A $305 $84,893 34 1 124 110 Everybody Wants to Be Italian Roadside Attractions $244 $345,105 4 1

Web Favorites The charts below measure searches and clicks across Yahoo! Movies to determine popularity. ALL RANKINGS AS OF 10/01/2008 Top Movies 1. Eagle Eye 2. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People 3. Fireproof 4. My Best Friend's Girl 5. Nights in Rodanthe 6. Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys 7. Iron Man 8. Lakeview Terrace 9. An American Carol 10. The Women Top Cast/Crew 1. Amanda Peet 2. Angelina Jolie 3. Brad Pitt 4. Johnny Depp 5. Ryan Reynolds 6. Nicole Kidman 7. Leonardo DiCaprio 8. Diane Lane 9. Orlando Bloom 10. Cameron Diaz