‘Tropic Thunder’: Kaua‘i helps Robert Downey Jr.’s comeback

In 2007, Kaua‘i opened it’s arms to Oscar-nominee Robert Downey Jr. (“Less than Zero”), Jack Black (”Kung-Fu Panda”) and Ben Stiller, who acted in, co-wrote, co-produced and directed “Tropic Thunder.”

 Although meant to be Vietnam, featured in the movie is Anahola and the Kaua‘i Sands Hotel. In a shot just after the film’s start, we see a pool, and the camera follows a girl into an office. To me, the girl is my good friend Suzanne. If you look closely enough, the pool is filled with Kaua‘i people.

The cast and crew stayed across the street from Safeway. I know a local business owner in Kapa‘a who told me, “Robert Downey Jr. would come by and order food and talk story with me. He returned with colleagues and friends multiple times to eat. It was nice see Downey Jr. helping stimulate the local economy. It was fun to talk story with such a nice, down-to-earth guy.”

Downey is the best thing about this satirical-slash-action-slash-comedy epic that spoofs Hollywood war films. Once again, (like “Raiders of the Lost Ark”) Kaua‘i was the place for cinema history.

This time, it was the seed for the comeback of Downey. Over the years, Downey had faced troubles not worth repeating. Now was his time to climb back to the top of the mountain, and he garnered an Oscar nomination for this movie, while in the same year setting box office records for “Iron Man.”

“Tropic Thunder signified he was back and here to stay.

Cited online as Kaua‘i’s biggest movie production to date, with a budget of $92 million, the film grossed only $110 million. But reportedly, there was $60 million spent on Kaua‘i’s economy.

I had a close friend working on “Tropic Thunder,” and she told me Downey was cool to everyone, full of aloha. It’s inspiring to know that, once again, Kaua‘i contributed to movie-making history.