After Anderson Cooper’s opening remarks at Elton John’s Enduring Vision gala last night, we found Hugh Jackman at his table, eagerly anticipating dinner. Shooting on his Woverine 2 begins early next year, he explained, and he’s bulking up: “Expect to see four chicken breasts and a whole pile of steamed broccoli on my plate,†he told us. “I’m starting; I’m having my six meals a day.†With Darren Aronofsky directing, he says that Wolverine 2 will not be a “usual†X-Men movie: “This is, hopefully for me, going to be out of the box. It’s going to be the best one, I hope,†he said, and then paused. “Well, I would say that, but I really do feel that, and I feel this is going to be very different.â€
Also, Jackman doesn’t think that Aronofsky’s penchant for dark drama is at odds with the big-budget action franchise. “This is Wolverine. This is not Popeye. He’s kind of dark,†Jackman said. “But, you know, this is a change of pace. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script, so that’ll give you a good clue. [Aronofsky’s] going to make it fantastic. There’s going to be some meat on the bones. There will be something to think about as you leave the theater, for sure.â€
Meanwhile, Jackman says he had fun working with boxing robots in next summer’s Real Steel: “There were a few little mishaps, but mainly just me being clumsy and hitting them and knocking things over,†he said. “I had to pretend like I knew exactly how to run these things and put my hands in the back and figure them out, and, of course, I was pathetic.â€