Howard said in the interview that finding out about the casting change in the trades "was the surprise of a lifetime. It really was. I was like, 'Wait a minute. How did this take place?' There was no explanation, but it was gone." He went on to talk about the reason this happened (he doesn't really know): "I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money or something. But apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on sometimes." Howard also compared losing the sequel to the state that many other Americans are in during the current economy: "And now the challenge is not to be angry, but just... keep moving forward. And, like a lot of Americans, I lost my 401(k) basically, because that was a very promising thing. But to have to keep working, that's even more promising." A movie star and Oscar nominee who is promoting his latest music project comparing his not getting to be in what will probably be one of the top-grossing films of whatever year it's released to Americans who have lost 40 percent of their life savings is not scoring Howard any points with me -- and probably not with many other Americans. I get where he was going with that, but he should realize that many Americans are in an actual dire situation in this economy. I'm pretty certain that he is not.

When Simon asked Howard -- who is most famous for playing a pimp in Hustle & Flow -- if the business principles are any different than those in Hollywood, Howard responded, without hesitation: "No. Promises aren't kept, and good-faith negotiations aren't always held up. Even friendships -- people that you support -- when it comes down to it, the only true support that you have is your work that you've done -- the laurels of your work -- and the ethics by which you stand."

I was really annoyed at the news that Howard would be replaced in the film, partially because I hate characters being recast unless it's something like James Bond, where a new guy comes in every now and then to invigorate an old franchise. But I was also angry because I thought Howard was great in the first film, and he deserved his chance to actually get to be War Machine. Nothing against Cheadle, who's a fine actor and who will certainly bring his own magic to the role, but it was Howard's role and it's not really fair for Marvel & Co. to recast at this point. Howard signed on for the first film before it was a big hit. Now that it is, they're casting him off. And that really stinks, no matter what you think about the guy or his performance in the film.