Tropic Thunder Making Waves In Hollywood

LOS ANGELES (AP) - It initially took some convincing for Robert
Downey Jr. to be part of "Tropic Thunder." Downey says when Ben
Stiller first contacted him, he thought it was a terrible idea for
a movie -- especially a comedy. But Stiller convinced him it could
work. Stiller plays a washed-up action hero who now leads the cast
of a Vietnam war epic. Downey plays an Australian method actor who
undergoes skin pigmentation surgery to play a black soldier. Downey
says there's nothing more "disgusting and entertaining" than
watching an actor who's taking himself very seriously. And, he says
he thinks the movie turned out to be far more entertaining than
controversial. The L.A. premiere of "Tropic Thunder" not
only drew the movie's stars, it also attracted protesters. Special
Olympics chairman Tim Shriver thinks the movie makes fun of, and
humiliates, people with intellectual disabilities. He and others
are upset by what they say is the "tasteless" portrayal of the
mentally disabled, along with the use of certain words to describe
them. "Tropic Thunder" director and co-star Ben Stiller plays a
fame-hungry actor cast in a war movie, after previously playing a
role as a mentally disabled character named Simple Jack. Co-star
Robert Downey Jr. says people have a right to protest, but he
also says artists have a right to say and do what they want.