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Entries in Iron Man (30)

Deleted 'Iron Man' Scene Every Man's Fantasy

With Iron Man hitting video shelves on September 30th, Marvel and Paramount have leaked a deleted scene from the film to generate a ton of free publicity. And here's the best part: They were holding out on us. This scene actually rocks.

Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow are the featured performers, however, I can't take my eyes off their co-stars, and I think that's by design. Billionaire industrialist and bad boy Tony Stark takes home three ready and willing brunettes in the scene. That's right: It's our first Marvel foursome ever captured on film. Or the build-up to that, anyway.

It also provides a much-needed plot point, transitioning Stark from the West Coast to the Middle East. The scene takes place at Stark's home in Dubai, which just adds to the whole billionaire-who-could-score-a-foursome mystique of the character. But Marvel has never had a hero with this kind of sexual appetite before, so cutting the sequence out for theatrical purposes makes some sense, too.

Still, if it debuted on Access Hollywood, I think it would've been just fine to leave it in the film.

Again, an all-the-bells-and-whistles Iron Man is coming to DVD on September 30th, and you just watched the best commercial for it money could - but did not have to - buy. (Thanks to Trailer Addict for the video.)

Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 at 03:54AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Video, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow |

1 Comment

Iron Man Just Doesn't Get 'The Dark Knight'

"'I'll burn that bridge when I come to it' is my favourite phrase I've ever coined," admitted Robert Downey Jr. recently in an interview with Moviehole.

It's hard to argue that anyone is enjoying a better year in Hollywood, both in current box office stature and when you consider the sorts of roles he's lining up for down the road. This would be that time in someone's career when they might begin to "play the game" to protect the little empire they've suddenly found waiting for them. But Downey is apparently not going to start kissing ass anytime soon, even after the tremendous success of Iron Man and his almost immediate follow-up as an Australian playing an African American 35 years in the past in the new comedy Tropic Thunder.

In an interview that covers a lot of ground, from the inspirations of his character Sgt. Osiris in Thunder to the not-too-distant Sherlock Holmes reboot with Guy Ritchie, the most interesting comments Downey makes are about another movie, one he has no part in.

"My whole thing is that I saw The Dark Knight," he begins. "I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.'"

Gasp: Iron Man taking a swing at Batman? Just wait: It gets better.

"I loved [director Christopher Nolan's] The Prestige but didn't understand The Dark Knight. Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I'm like, 'I get it. This is so high brow and so f--king smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.' You know what? F-ck DC comics. That's all I have to say and that's where I'm really coming from."

Classic. Sounds like he came to that bridge just in time to set it on fire.

Posted on Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 01:26AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Batman, DC Comics, Dark Knight, Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr |

48 Comments

Marvel Talks Future Projects, Mum on 'Spider-Man 4'

When you get to be Marvel big, you get to talk about how much money you're making and somehow it's legitimate news. Yahoo! Business covered Marvel's second quarter earnings conference call, and during the meeting, studio chief David Maisel talked not just about the second quarter of this year (which, of course, included both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk as theatrical releases), but also about the future.

He touched on the sequel to Iron Man, plus the company's plans to make Thor in 2010, as well as The First Avenger: Captain America and the ensemble Avengers flick, both of which are scheduled for 2011. We know, for example, that Iron Man 2 is the only movie on the books right now through which Marvel is using the services of Paramount, and it will kick off the blockbuster 2010 summer.

We also know that Maisel didn't become a chairman of a big company because he answers every question directly. Dig his response to whether or not Spider-Man 4 would conflict with the studio's summer '11 slate. Sony wants the movie to kick off summer in early May, right around the time Captain America is scheduled to be released, which itself will set up The Avengers later about six weeks later.

"(W)e always have a lot of options now that we control green light and our destiny with these films. Obviously we can't respond to hypotheticals and what we would do with various either competitive moves or partner moves, like Sony with Spider-Man," argued Maisel. "So at this point, I'd just have to say once a move like that happens, we'll obviously let our response be made publicly but it wouldn't be constructive to respond to a hypothetical."

Huh?

I think what he's saying is "We have no comment, and when we do have a comment, we'll comment at the appropriate time. But until then, I can't really say, because we have no comment."

Obviously, this would send that summer into a tizzy. Marvel may be kind of backed itself into a corner with their Sony deal, and they have a lot more flexibility with many of their newer projects, which Marvel likes to finance itself and rely on studios for distribution. Sony/Columbia bankrolls some of the Spidey Empire, so it's tougher to finagle.

But Spider-Man is still Marvel's crown jewel, as it is for Sony, so we may see a late April release for Spidey or a slight shift for the other Marvel movies that summer. Obviously, nobody's prepared to push Spider-Man up a year, and if you do it in 2012, Tobey Maguire will be almost 37. Does anybody really want to see that, especially since he didn't even bother getting in shape for the third one?

But is that too much Marvel in one summer? Will comic book movies still be the trend three years from now? And if Marvel has three movies in two months, which ones will do well? We saw what happened this year with just two movies. I doubt they want a repeat of The Incredible Hulk's performance.

(Thanks to IGN for their coverage of this story).

In related news, the Iron Man DVD will be released on September 30th in the convenient "Ultimate Edition," which frankly, is pretty ultimate. A seven-part documentary on the making of the film, six featurettes on the origins of the character, quizzes, deleted scenes, Robert Downey Jr.'s screen test, the entertaining Onion article, "Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted into Full Length Film," and more.

Posted on Saturday, August 9, 2008 at 01:32AM by

Colin Boyd in Comic Book Movies, Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, Marvel Comics, Tobey Maguire, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, Spider-Man |

6 Comments

Samuel L. Jackson Talks Up Nick Fury and the Upcoming Marvel Movies

Samuel L. Jackson is just full of good news this week. The star of the upcoming graphic novel adaptation The Spirit is attending Comic Con in support of that flick (due out at Christmas), and there's news about another Afro Samurai project as well as a Nick Fury/Avengers update.

Ace Showbiz says that Jackson aims for us to see more of Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. in all the upcoming Marvel movies, culminating in "the big one," as he calls it, 2011's The Avengers.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to making that character a bit more integral, in terms of the other stories that are happening," says Jackson, who'll be in his early 60s by the time The Avengers gets here. "Iron Man 2, Captain America, Thor, and hopefully the big one that's coming in 2011, when they put everybody together."

Apparently, Jackson's dying to start crankin' out the cameos, too. He says, "Iron Man 2 is coming sooner! I'd rather go to work than wait three years and be in The Avengers. I'm looking forward to going to work soon."

Getting to work soon hasn't been a problem for Jackson, who has averaged one movie in theaters every three months since Pulp Fiction was released back in 1994. That's quite a run. One other character he's honing, although it won't be seen in theaters, is Afro Samurai. Jackson voiced the title character in the original, and the sequel is due to premiere on Spike TV next January. Lucy Liu and Mark Hamill will contribute their voices to Afro Samurai: Resurrection, as well.

In the meantime, the never dormant Jules Winnfield will pop up in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Lakeview Terrace, Soul Men, and of course, The Spirit between August 15th and December 25th.

Posted on Friday, July 25, 2008 at 11:34PM by

Colin Boyd in The Spirit, Comic Book Movies, Samuel L. Jackson, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Thor, Captain America, Avengers |

2 Comments

'Iron Man 2' Zeroes In On New Writer

We all know that Iron Man 2 is on the way - hell, we kind of knew that before the first Iron Man hit theaters - so I'm a little puzzled that the band is already being broken up a bit. Instead of bringing screenwriting duos Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and Art Marcum and Matt Holloway, The Hollywood Reporter says that actor-writer Justin Theroux is taking over the script for the sequel.

Though you probably don't know his work in front of the camera as well if at all, you'll soon be slapped in the face by a steady stream of Theroux; he's a producer and co-writer of Tropic Thunder, which hits theaters on Wednesday, August 13th.

We know Robert Downey will be back (he had a sequel clause in his first contract, so this was never open to discussion), and we heard last week that Marvel and Jon Favreau have agreed in principle to terms that will bring the director back for another film.

But I can't help thinking that the transition between the first and second films should have gone more smoothly. Favreau has already moaned about not having enough time to get the second film ready in under two years (which might not be the strongest argument, really, when a Transformers sequel can do it). There is validity behind what he's saying, however, and it's a tone that says Marvel should have been a little quicker to act and a little more on point this summer prepping the next movie instead of basking in its own glory and announcing a slate of films for the next three or four years.

Nothing against Justin Theroux, but Tropic Thunder is his first screenplay to make it into theaters, and he co-wrote it with Ben Stiller...who had the original idea 20 years ago, and has written plenty of things over the years. It just seems like it makes more sense to work with some of the writers who crafted a screenplay mainstream audiences really enjoyed and comic book fans praised for its accuracy. And for anyone who automatically assumes this sequel will be fine and a change at the most important creative position doesn't mean anything, look how quickly the Spider-Man franchise turned ugly between its second and third installments.

I'm a big believer in the notion that if you can make a better movie, do it. Sounds practical to me. If Marvel thinks this is the way to do that, great, but if it's not...

Posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at 12:23AM by

Colin Boyd in Sequels, Comic Book Movies, Iron Man, Marvel Comics, Robert Downey Jr, Jon Favreau |