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It sounds like the next big male star to come to Chicago could be Robert Downey Jr., if he lands the role of Hugh Hefner in a big-screen biopic now in the works.

It’s not a 100 percent done deal, but sources say Hefner has signed off on Downey to play him in the movie, with the working title “Playboy.”

He took a liking to the actor after seeing “Iron Man” and admiring his humor and skill in showing his vulnerability.

Chicago is expected to be used for the shooting of scenes focusing on the early years of Playboy magazine. A Chicago native, Hefner grew up in Galewood and launched Playboy here before moving the California.

No word yet on when the cameras actually will begin rolling, but it could happen as soon as next summer — depending on Downey’s “Iron Man 2″ filming and the finalization of the Hefner script.

With “Iron Man” a box-office smash, Downey is very much in demand. A representative for the actor said he’s interested in the Hefner project but is unlikely to commit to it until a script is done and a director is named.

Brett Ratner (”Rush Hour”), announced last year as the “Playboy” director, is no longer attached to the project but may return to it. Brian Grazer is among the film’s producers.

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He has always been one of my favorite actors.  I’m so glad he’s cleaned himself up, and he’s having such great success with Iron Man!  Bravo Robert!

Robert Downey Jr signs autographs while leaving Mr Chow restaurant after having dinner with Jon Favreau to celebrate the weekend box office success of ‘Iron Man’.

WENN

The 2008 summer movie season started off on a historic note as Iron Man opened with huge box office numbers that propelled it to a weekend win and landed it in the company of the most impressive movie premieres of all time. The Marvel comic adaptation grossed $101 million from Friday to Sunday, according to early estimates. When Thursday evening’s screenings are added in, the film’s full weekend total comes to $104 mil.

Needless to say, that’s a huge debut, much bigger than pretty much any prognosticator had predicted. Unspooling in a whopping 4,105 theaters, Iron Man enjoyed the 10th-best three-day opening ever, the 10th movie premiere to exceed $100 mil, and the No. 2 debut of all time for a non-sequel (behind only Spider-Man’s $114.8 mil). And when you consider just superhero flicks, this movie scored the fourth top opening in history, following those of Spider-Man 3 ($151.1 mil), Spider-Man ($114.8 mil), and X-Men: The Last Stand ($102.8 mil) — all of which are Marvel properties, though Iron Man is the first film to be fully financed by the comic studio. (Teensy caveat: Though Iron Man’s all-time rankings likely wouldn’t be affected, its weekend total could drop below $100 mil when Paramount releases final numbers on Monday.) Oh, and overseas, the action-fantasy brought in an additional $96.7 mil, propelling its worldwide total to $201 mil in five days.

To call this the biggest opener ever for star Robert Downey Jr. is an understatement: The actor has never even fronted a movie that grossed $100 mil during its entire run, let alone in one weekend. It’s also a big boost for director Jon Favreau, who had yet to truly capitalize on his previous hit, Elf, which bowed in 2003 with $31.1 mil, before topping out at $173.4 mil. Iron Man succeeded on the strength of wide critical approval and a stellar CinemaScore grade of A from audiences. Interestingly, however, it did all this despite failing to appeal to what industry insiders call ”all four quadrants” — that is, its audience was not evenly divided between men and women, young people and older folks (a whopping 71 percent of ticket buyers were men and 64 percent were over the age of 25). Still, with such substantial goodwill added to the press that it generates from this big bow, Iron Man may just repeat at No. 1 when it goes up against Speed Racer next weekend.

Meanwhile, this frame’s other freshman film, Patrick Dempsey’s Made of Honor, banked a respectable $15.5 mil at No. 2. Talk about successful counterprogramming, the romantic comedy drew a crowd that was three-quarters female — almost exactly the opposite of Iron Man’s audience. But those ticket buyers gave Made of Honor a merely okay B+ CinemaScore grade, so don’t expect the film to hold up particularly well against next Friday’s new rom-com, What Happens in Vegas.

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WENN

At the star-studded Hollywood premiere for the film Iron Man on Wednesday, the movie’s star, Robert Downey Jr., told OK! he has finally figured out the secret to “the good life.”

“Happy wife, happy life!” Downey Jr. said yesterday, outside Hollywood’s Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The 43-year old actor has been married to wife, Susan Levin, since 2005. But when OK! asked Mrs. Downey if she and her Iron Man were considering having any “Iron” babies, she coyly replied, “Oh I don’t know, talk to my mom! She’s asking me too!”

One thing is for sure, Iron Man–which also stars Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges– is expected to blow audiences away when it opens today!

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WENN

Not every kid can say his dad’s a superhero—but Robert Downy Jr.’s son can. Downey, who takes on the title role in the new Marvel Comics superhero film Iron Man said that his son Indio is surprisingly unaffected by his dad’s star power.

“That’s the funny thing. People say, ‘How is your son affected by your big self important narcissism?’ and I go, ‘He’s not thinking about me!’” Downey told Extra.

His son did notice his dad’s increasing size. Downey had to bulk up for the Iron Man part and used a combination of exercise and creatine. “I’m a big martial arts guy. but as far as looking good on screen. I started taking this creatine from Sweden. It’s a legal thing. People say it [creatine] bloats you. So you are putting on size, but you also look like you just ate five strombolis. But this stuff is non-bloating creatine. When I was taking it, I looked really jacked and then four hours after taking it, I looked like a shrunken monkey again. But I also worked my a** off doing it!”

Downey’s next role is sure to garner controversy: He’ll be playing a black man in the Ben Stiller-directed comedy Tropic Thunder. Downey was initially unsure about whether to take the role. “Ben is like, ‘White Chicks.’ I go, ‘I know but is this wrong? Have we come far enough along?’ He’s like, ‘Wayans Brothers, Eddie Murphy.’ I was like, ‘But we can still get it wrong.’He goes, ‘By the way Downey, this is the least offensive script in the movie.’”

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