Tropic Thunder (2008)

Director:

Ben Stiller

Writers (WGA):

Ben Stiller (screenplay) &
Justin Theroux (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

13 August 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | War

Tagline:

The movie they think they're making... isn't a movie anymore.

Plot:

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Drugs | Southeast Asia | Rescue | Heroin

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 16 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 28

6:15 PM

MAX

Cast

Jeff Kahn	...	Snooty Waiter - Fatties Trailer
Robert Downey Jr.	...	Kirk Lazarus - Hot LZ
Anthony Ruivivar	...	Platoon Sergeant Shot in Head - Hot LZ
Jack Black	...	Jeff Portnoy - Hot LZ
Jay Baruchel	...	Kevin Sandusky - Hot LZ
Brandon T. Jackson	...	Alpa Chino - Hot LZ
Ben Stiller	...	Tugg Speedman - Hot LZ
Eric Winzenried	...	Chopper Pilot - Hot LZ
Steve Coogan	...	Damien Cockburn - Vietnam Crew
Valerie Azlynn	...	Damien's Assistant - Vietnam Crew
Matt Levin	...	Cameraperson - Vietnam Crew
David Pressman	...	First Assistant Director - Vietnam Crew
Amy Stiller	...	Script Supervisor - Vietnam Crew
Danny McBride	...	Cody - Vietnam Crew
Dempsey Silva	...	Special Effects Assistant - Vietnam Crew

Also Known As:

Una guerra de película (Argentina) (Peru) (Venezuela) [es]
Tonnerre sous les tropiques (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Jaja w tropikach (Poland) (poster title) [pl]
Tempestade Tropical (Portugal) [pt]
Troopiline kõu (Estonia) [et]
Tropik firtina (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Tropiki kataigida (Greece) [el]
Tropska grmljavina (Croatia) [hr]
Trovão Tropical (Brazil) [pt]
Una guerra muy perra (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violent content and drug material.

Runtime:

107 min | USA:121 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:15 | Ireland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Sweden:15 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-13 | Brazil:16 | Singapore:M18 | Japan:PG-12 | Portugal:M/12 | South Africa:16LV | Germany:12 | USA:R (NO. 44367) | Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | France:U | Malaysia:18PL (cut) | Argentina:16 (DVD rating) | South Korea:18 | Austria:12 | Denmark:15 | Ireland:15 (DVD rating) | Hong Kong:III | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

In his 'full-blown retard' Oscar monologue, Kirk cites Peter Sellers' performance in Being There (1979). While Sellers received a Golden Globe award, he did not win the Best Actor Oscar that year, which went to Dustin Hoffman for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): At one point, Tugg says one actor may win a Teen Choice Award, and claims that "they'll slime you and everything!". Teen Choice Award winners get surfboards. The Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards show is famous for sliming winners.

Quotes:

[opening line]
Four Leaf Tayback: In the Winter of 1969, an elite force of the US Army was sent on a top secret assignment in Southeast Vietnam. The objective: rescue Sgt. Four Leaf Tayback from a heavily guarded NVA Prison Camp. The mission was considered to be near-suicide. Of the ten men sent, four returned. Of those four, three wrote books about what happened. Of those three, two were published. And of those two, only one got a movie deal. This is the story of the men who attempted to make that movie.

Movie Connections:

References The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990)

Soundtrack:

The Name Of The Game

Funny spoof of every war film ever made

Saw this at the Washington, DC screening on the 10th.

And Got Some I did. A comedy that is not Apatow's is refreshing nowadays. A relentless hard R comedy that fuses elements of practically every famous war film ever made. Beginning with trailers a la Grindhouse for every major character was already a sign of a hilarious film. While most of the humor was "funny-but-i'm-not-laughing" the same amount of laugh out loud humor and gags was provided as well, courtesy of mostly Stiller and Downey Jr. Who I wholeheartedly feel - stole the show. I can't say I've ever seen any character like his in a film of this genre, which already I feel will enter the classics. What's refreshing about Thunder is that it's actually original in certain aspects of the storyline; such as when they decide to shoot the film guerilla style in the jungle only to have the director of the film....- I'll leave this at that. A spoof of war films that isn't tireless or idiotic like the recent Epic/Date films... which do not even deserve to be called "spoofs". And be prepared for Cruise, who plays the most radical role of his entire career.