One of the many nice moments in Iron Man comes as techno-titan Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey, Jr.) is consulting with his artificial intelligence majordomo, Jarvis, about the fabrication of the newest version of the high-tech power armor Stark intends to use to stop evil and protect the innocent. Looking at a holographic simulation of the proposed design of the glittering, golden armor -- which enables its wearer to fly, lift cars, shoot energy beams, withstand bullets and includes many other clever bits of engineering -- Stark makes a brief request regarding the color scheme: "Why don't you throw a little hot rod red in there?" Stark seems to be saying Sure, it's fancy and expensive and technologically majestic and wonderful, but a little style can still go a long way. ...
And as it is with the Iron Man armor, so it is with the Iron Man movie. Marvel Comics' first foray into self-financed film making has movie stars and impressive effects and a script where every plot point you would expect meshes with its neighbors as precisely as the plates and pieces of Stark's armor do, but it's the touches of style that make it truly sizzle. Director Jon Favreau does not seem like a choice you would expect as the director of a comic-book movie; Robert Downey Jr. does not seem like a choice you would expect as the star of a comic-book film. Between the two of them, they give us something different from the comic-book movies we've come to expect; a little swagger, a little strut, a touch of self-mocking humor that never undercuts the pleasures of the thing being mocked. It's as if someone snuck a hefty slug of bourbon into your cherry cola; all of the sugar and flavor and fizz you expect from a well-made comic-book movie are there, but there's something a little more grown-up going on behind them.
Who's excited about Iron Man? We are, we are! And we know you, like us, are counting the days -- nay, the hours -- until May 2, when Iron Man hits the big screen. In the meantime, though, we have this little behind-the-scenes tidbit from Moviefone's recent Unscripted interview with the Iron Man himself, Robert Downey, Jr., Jon Favreau and Terrence Howard, interviewing each other with your questions.
The clip above (which is not included in the full interview over on Moviefone) is short, but funny -- how can you not like a video that includes Robert Downey, Jr. talking in a Jersey accent and saying, "What?! You feeling froggy, bitch? Jump!" Oh, yeah. If only I'd been there myself for this, perhaps Downey, Jr. would finally recognize his long unrequited love for me. Oh, wait, I'm the one who's had a crush on him forever ... ah, well.
Forget about all the fantastic action. Dismiss the disarmingly smart, wry screenplay, and ignore the phenomenal supporting cast. Feel free to overlook the dozen components that make Jon Favreau'sIron Man the most uniquely entertaining superhero movie in a long time ... I've got the one main reason that this flick is worthy of your two hours and ten bucks right here, and that reason is named Robert Downey Jr. Like many movie fans of my generation, I consider Downey to be sort of an old friend. We all wept when Jami Gertz noticed his odd demise in Less Than Zero, we loved watching his evolution in films like True Believer and Chaplin, and we all felt pretty great when the guy finally kicked his well-publicized drug addiction.
Downey is a survivor, no doubt, and he's also a refreshingly engaging actor to watch -- and boy was I thrilled when Marvel announced that this would be the guy to portray Tony Stark. To those who don't know the Stark character from the comic books, let me just make it clear: Downey is the perfect guy to play a smug yet charming, sarcastic yet likable, and perpetually womanizing multi-billionaire mega-genius with a bum ticker. We all know the guy can play sly, snarky, smart characters, so much of Iron Man's early stuff is light lifting for the actor -- but when he starts getting angry? Noble? Heroic? The guy is aces across the board. Bottom Line: Downey has paid his dues, he's been through a lot of hell, and now he's a freakin' superhero who delivers the best popcorn flick performance since Johnny Depp first played pirate. Sometimes Hollywood actually works.
I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for my job; having managed to successfully avoid anything even remotely 'spoilerish' about Iron Man (I was so anal I was even not watching all the trailers just in case they ruined any surprises), I finally cracked and watched four behind-the-scenes videos for the big budget comic book flick. Luckily for me there wasn't anything too revealing, although one of the videos gives you a preview of what it takes to get star Robert Downey Jr. into that suit (and let's just say it suddenly doesn't look so high tech when it takes four costume people to wedge you into the thing).
Despite starting its road to production as a low-budget comic book movie back in 1990, Iron Man has become one of the most anxiously awaited summer movies (and that is hard to do when your competition is Indiana Jones and Batman). These videos are just the latest in a series of trailers and teasers for the film, hell; there was even a VH1 satire on the Fabulous Life of Tony Stark. But all the marketing will finally come to an end, and I'm pretty sure it is going to be worth the wait. Iron Man opens in theaters on May 2nd.
The following post may contain spoilers, so beware!
The entire Iron Man crew are currently making the press rounds (they'll be in NYC on Sunday, so expect a slew of quotes to come flying next week), and already director Jon Favreau knows exactly where he wants to go with the Iron Man sequels -- so much so that he's dropped a bunch of hints in the first film, due out May 1. He tells Rotten Tomatoes, "I've got another two movies in my head; I'm ready to go and I know the cast feels the same way," he said. "Now it's out of the hands of us, of the filmmakers, and it's even out the hands of your readers. I know all the people who have been following this for two years are going to go and see the movie, and maybe they'll see it twice and I'm very grateful for that. If everybody comes out to see the movie and it's successful, then I'm sure Marvel's going to want to do another."
Be careful with that RT article because they do spoil some stuff, like whether Samuel L. Jackson actually shows up in a cameo role as Nick Fury. But perhaps the biggest set up for a sequel -- spoiler warning -- comes when Jim Rhodes (Terrence Howard) glances at Stark's Mark II Iron Man suit and says to himself, "Next time baby." It certainly looks like the second film would involve Rhodes in costume, possibly as War Machine, but as IGN points out, Rhodes first dons another suit in the comics. Howard told them, "If you've read the comics you'll know that that is the next phase, but there is another intermediate phase in there where he would have to put on his best friend's suit for a period of time."
The Amateurs (formerly The Moguls), the directorial debut of writer/director Michael Traeger, is an underdog comedy about a group of small-town losers who decide to raise money by making a porno film. It's got a wonderful supporting cast that includes Joe Pantoliano, William Fichtner, Tim Blake Nelson, and Lauren Graham. Cinematical recently attended a press junket with the film's stars -- Jeff Bridges and Ted Danson, who were interviewed separately. Needless to say, meeting The Dude and Sam Malone in the same day was kind of a big deal! First up was Mr. Bridges...
What attracted you to the The Amateurs and the role of Andy?
Jeff Bridges: Like most of the movies I get involved with, I resisted it as long as possible. I always try to figure out why I shouldn't do it, and with this one there were plenty of reasons not to do it. What attracted me to it in the first place is that it was so unusual. It put this porn aspect and this Frank Capra aspect together, and I thought that was really interesting, very ambitious. But I didn't know if this guy who had never directed a film would be able to pull it off. Also, I've done movies in the past that have a lot of characters, and I find them hard to follow and you wind up not caring about any of the people, and I thought that might be the case with this one. But my representatives kept telling me I should do it, so finally I said "Alright. I want you guys to organize a reading, and I want you to see that this thing's not going to work at all." So we had a table read, and it just flew, it was just great. I think it works very well.
When the release started to get delayed, did any of that old skepticism start to come back, like maybe something did go wrong?
JB: No, I didn't really get all the ins and outs of why it didn't get released, it's very convoluted and I haven't heard all the sides and the stories, but it wasn't because of the nature of the film or anything like that. I think it was more business type stuff.
After watching the new trailer for Awake, I can't say I'm any more likely to shell out my hard-earned dollars to go see this movie. But, I will give writer-director Joby Harold credit for coming up with a premise that is pretty disturbing if you think about it. I should tell you though, this is one of those trailers that makes the creative decision right up front to show you as much of the plot as possible -- I can't be alone in thinking it's a bad idea to give away any of your surprises if you can help it.
Awake stars Hayden Christensen as an affluent young man who has the unfortunate luck of being one in 700 people who stays 'awake' during a surgical procedure. As if that isn't bad enough, while paralyzed under the knife, he overhears his doctors discussing a conspiracy involving his own murder. Jessica Alba stars as his somewhat 'dazed' fiancée. I'm not really sure why she spends most of the trailer staring blankly. All I do know is that it probably won't help Christensen out in the chemistry department. Rounding out the cast are Terrance Howard as Christensen's friend and surgeon, and Lena Olin as his mother.
If there was ever a song that had to be played in a specific trailer, it was Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" that had to be played in the spot for Paramount and Marvel's Iron Man. Well, Apple has the first trailer up -- apparently a good 12 hours earlier than planned -- with the appropriate tune and far more footage than I could have hoped for. For something called a teaser trailer, it shows us a lot: a fairly comprehensive montage of the first act; a battle scene in which Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) wears his first Iron Man suit; the final suit and a cool flight sequence in which it is showcased. Plus, there's jokes. Myspace jokes, gang sign jokes, Da Vinci jokes. It is obvious that Robert Downey Jr. was the right choice for the lead. Of course, as it is technically a teaser, we don't see more than a few quick shots each of Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges (bald and Malovichy!). But I think they also accidentally slipped in a party shot from Downey's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
I have to admit for the umpteenth time that I never cared for Iron Man in the comics, but in the movie he looks pretty cool. For those of you who aren't familiar with the character, Tony Stark is a millionaire weapons maker who develops an armored suit, which he uses to fight crime as Iron Man. Paltrow plays Stark's secretary/love interest, Pepper Pots. Howard plays Stark's best friend and future superhero, Jim Rhodes (aka War Machine). As the villain, Bridges plays Stark's rival, Obadiah Stane. Also in the film are Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Hilary Swank, Ghostface Killer and, of course, Stan Lee. The comic book adaptation was written by Arthur Marcum & Matt Holloway and Children of Men scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and it was directed by Jon Favreau (Elf). Iron Man hits theaters May 2, 2008.
Update: It seems Apple may have realized their error in putting the trailer up too early, because the Quicktime pages no longer seem to be working. Check out tonight's episode of The Hills on MTV in order to see the trailer, or wait for tomorrow to see it online. Meanwhile, you can see some screen caps from the trailer on MajorSpoilers.com.
Update II: Forget the first update. Perhaps too much traffic is causing the Quicktime files some stress.
How do you make a comedy about a hideous Civil War? Are TV journalists automatically 'sexier' than print journalists? How much time does a director have to devote to 'method hair'? What's it like filming in a Holiday Inn pockmarked with bullet holes? And is it easier, or harder, to make a movie with the suits from the studio an ocean away? Cinematical had the chance to speak with director and writer Richard Shepard about The Hunting Party, his follow-up to the Sundance breakthrough hit The Matador.The Hunting Party stars Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg as three journalists of wildly varying experience and wildly varying ethics who choose to search for a notorious Balkan war criminal -- but are they looking for the story, or for something more? Articulate, animated, and never ambivalent, Shepard spoke with Cinematical in San Francisco; you can download the interview right here.
The latest film from Neil Jordan is called The Brave One, but I'd be willing to bet money that the working title was The Stranger, since the word stranger is used repeatedly throughout the film to describe the alienated condition of the main character, a sotto voce radio personality played by Jodie Foster who turns into a piece-packing thrill-killer after being beaten nearly to death by some punks in Central Park and seeing her fiancé murdered by the same punks. That premise is oddly dated, of course, thanks to the extreme Disneyfication of New York City in the 90s, and TheBrave One isn't brave or creative enough to simply posit an alternate 2007 in which those reforms never happened. Instead, the pre-existing societal ills that fuel Foster's character are laid out during a radio commentary she gives over the opening credits: chief among them is the fact that the Plaza Hotel is being closed down and her memories of Eloise are being tarnished! This is Death Wish meets Sex and the City, with all the seriousness that implies.
By choosing not to paint a portrait of a New York roiled by crime again -- at one point, a radio caller notes that the emergence of the vigilante is actually welcome, since New York has become so dull -- the film has little recourse except to make Foster's character one of the most unlucky people alive: after the brutal beating and murder in the park by a small gang of hoods -- her fiancé is played in a few early scenes by Naveen Andrews -- she becomes, in short order, the victim of knife-wielding, would-be rapists on the subway, walks in on a first-degree murder in progress and must defend herself against the killer, and happens upon a murderous pimp who mistakes her for a hooker. It's like a blood-and-guts version of that Lindsay Lohan movie where the main character's luck inexplicably turns to pot overnight. As long as the film has trouble looking for Foster instead of Foster looking for trouble, it's not saying much, really. It's only when her character starts to enjoy the violence that things start to get (mildly) interesting.
At the beginning of the month, we brought you the ultra-wordy poster for The Hunting Party. No, it isn't some flick about rifles and the hunt for gamey meat, but instead, the hunt for notorious bad guys. Aside from having tons of words, the poster actually answered its own question, which is both weird and funny. They asked: "How can they find the World's most wanted war criminal when they C.I.A. can't?" This is followed by some journalistic style: "[by actually looking]." The poster -- it's alright, but it isn't half as cool as the trailer that is now out.
The film stars, get this -- Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg as a few risk-loving journalists and a cameraman who decide to find the top war criminal in Bosnia. (I'd go see it just for the cast alone!) The trailer is all about the irresistibility of danger, mixed in with some good, old-fashioned American cover-ups and humor. This is the first time in eons that I've been intrigued by Gere in a role, and I love seeing him with Howard, who usually picks great movies and Eisenberg, who is just plain awesome. While it doesn't seem to really tread new ground, Hunting looks pretty entertaining and fun -- and it's based on an Esquire article called What I Did on my Summer Vacation by Scott Anderson. What's even better -- you don't have to wait too long to check it out. The film comes out September 7.
The Weinstein Co. just sent Cinematical the first poster for the upcoming comedic thriller The Hunting Party, starring Richard Gere and Terrence Howard, and opening in limited release on September 7th, and then wide on the 21st. Based on an Esquire magazine article about three journalists who made an attempt to capture a Bosnian war criminal on their own, the film was originally titled Spring Break in Bosnia. The trio, which includes Gere, Howard and Jesse Eisenberg, begin a search for the elusive criminal but eventually get mistaken for a CIA hit squad and find themselves being hunted by the person they thought they were hunting. Diane Kruger, the face that launched a thousand ships in Troy, has the female lead in this one, and the film was written and directed by Richard Shepard, who wrote and directed the Pierce Brosnan crime comedy The Matador. Click on the image above to get the full-sized poster.
Terrence Howard might be playing Tony Stark's close friend and military ally, but if you've read the comics then you know that if they make a sequel to Iron Man, he'll be playing War Machine, and possibly going toe to toe with the Man or Iron himself. You can click on Terrence's picture to listen to the audio from the interview, he even provides his own fanfare.
Some highlights our interview with Terrence include:
He's signed on for several sequels, possibly with an eye to making this a trilogy. Everything between him and Tony is set up in this first picture, and the sequel is, obviously, contingent on how well this one does.
He compares Iron Man to the Kenny Rogers song, "The Coward of the County". Sometimes you have to stand up and fight.
He calls Iron Man "the only hero that any hero can kid can become." Most other heroes have a special event that gives them their gifts. Tony Stark actually makes himself a hero. (Let's not forget Batman, and a slew of other heroes, though. But I get his point.)
He actually gives a really good explanation of how the repulsors work in the movie.
"Everything is special effects in the mind", he says, "so now you can see things on the screen instead of having to imagine them." (Is this necessarily a good thing?)
He got to fly an F-16 with a wingman next to him and threw up seven or eight times. Talk about realism.
It's nice to hear the respect and admiration he has for the Air Force, who worked with them on the film.
One of his most mind-blowing moments, going from small budget films like Crash and Hustle & Flow was having an entire Air Force base at their disposal. They spent $10 million dollars in one day, which was greater than the budgets of both of those films.
To be honest, I don't quite know what to think of the new trailer for The Brave One. Directed by Neil Jordan, the film stars Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, and Naveen Andrews, an actor who has been popping up all over the place lately. The story centers on Foster's character, who after the loss of a loved one, goes on a somewhat "Bronsonesque" revenge spree. If you like to remain unspoiled about these kinds of things you might want to skip the trailer for now; I took the plunge and now I think I know way too much about the movie already. Not to mention an ending that almost manages to unravel any mood that the trailer managed to set.
I usually don't get excited about movies based on comic books I'm not familiar with, but I have to admit I'm really, really looking forward to Iron Man. Despite the fact that its based on one of the few Marvel titles I never got into, the adaptation stars three of my current favorite actors, Robert Downey, Jr., Terrence Howard and Jeff Bridges. It also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, who I certainly don't mind looking at for any extended period of time. With an Oscar-winning actress and three Oscar-nominated actors, Iron Man won't be just another comic book movie; it has the opportunity to be one of the best.
Entertainment Tonighthas scored one of the first looks at the movie, including some behind-the-scenes footage of Downey goofing around on the set with a motor bike and Howard firing a M2. 50 caliber machine gun from atop an army Hummer. There's no new Paltrow material for you to feast your eyes on, but while being interviewed by ET, Downey does discuss a kissing scene he filmed with the actress.. When asked if he should have serenaded Paltrow to get her in the mood, Downey states that there's no way he could compete with Paltrow's husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin.
Iron Man is being directed by Jon Favreau, and I've been trying really hard not to associate his involvement with the fact that he appears in an awful Marvel Comics adaptation, Daredevil. That pic marked the last time I looked forward to movie based on a comic book character unfamiliar to me. I am confident, though, that my expectation for Iron Man will not result in similar disappointment.
You can check out the movie on May 2, 2008. You can check out the EW clip after the jump.
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After watching the 
If there was ever a song that had to be played in a specific trailer, it was Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" that had to be played in the spot for Paramount and Marvel's 
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At the beginning of the month, we brought you 
To be honest, I don't quite know what to think of the 
I usually don't get excited about movies based on comic books I'm not familiar with, but I have to admit I'm really, really looking forward to 
