Iron Man: Underneath the Armor
by Tom Burns

THE MOVIE

But enough about the funny-papers Iron Man, we all want to know about the movie Iron Man. Well, Universal was the first film studio that tried to get an Iron Man feature off the ground back in the early 1990s. Of course, this was during the era when Marvel heroes weren’t exactly seen as blue-chip film properties, as can be seen by such low-budget stinkers as 1989’s Punisher (starring Dolph Lundgren), 1990’s Captain America (starring a rubber-ear wearing Matt Salinger), and 1994’s Roger Corman-produced Fantastic Four. So, it’s no surprise that Universal wasn’t able to pull off such a FX-heavy hero as Iron Man. The film rights eventually transferred to 20th Century Fox, where they languished in development hell, despite recurring rumors that such A-list stars as Tom Cruise and Nicholas Cage were interested in playing Stark. In December 1999, Fox sold the film rights to New Line Cinema, who commissioned screenplays by Tim McCanlies (writer of The Iron Giant - how ironic) and Smallville scribes Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. A version of the Gough/Millar script (with revision by David Hayter) has made the rounds on the internet - a Latino Review analysis of the script seems to suggest that the 2008 film has little similarities to this early draft.

For a while, it really seemed like New Line was going to be the studio that finally brought Iron Man to Hollywood. They issued a press release in 2004, announcing that The Notebook director John Cassavetes would be helming the project for a 2006 release and it was rumored that Leonardo DiCaprio was interested in the role of Tony Stark. But after the production stalled, New Line let the film rights revert back to Marvel Comics. However, emboldened by the success of the Spider-Man and X-Men movies, Marvel was now a cash-flush Hollywood big shot. Marvel Entertainment Inc. brought together a $500 million dollar film fund to finance their own movies and chose Iron Man to be their first self-produced and financed feature film. Marvel selected actor/director Jon Favreau to direct the film based on a screenplay by Children of Men screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby and relative newcomers Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway. The movie began production in March 2007 and is scheduled for a May 2, 2008 release. (Paramount is handling the distribution.) The first teaser trailer, which was released at the 2007 San Diego Comic Con, made audiences - not to exaggerate - go completely ape-s***. The footage, including early ILM scenes of Iron Man flying, was the talk of the convention and made it onto the internet about 30 seconds later, attracting almost universal praise. The official trailer, which very closely resembles the Comic Con trailer, can be found at Apple.com.

OUR OPINION: Not to rip on John Q or The Notebook, but we’re really damn glad that Cassavetes didn’t end up making the Iron Man movie. Favreau ... is an interesting choice. He’s certainly good at talking the fanboy talk, using his MySpace page to deflect early criticism and prove his comic nerd street-cred. He has a lot of experience with character work (his acting, directing Made), he knows how to make crowd-pleasing fare (Elf), and he’s worked with FX before (Zathura). We’d be a lot more apprehensive if we hadn’t seen that Comic Con trailer, which, frankly, rocked the Kasbah. Jon - not only are you so money that you don’t even know it, but you’ve also been given our prestigious benefit-of-the-doubt.

CASTING:

As we mentioned previously, past candidates to play Tony Stark have included Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, and Leonardo DiCaprio, so fans did a double-take when it was announced in September 2006 that Robert Downey Jr., an actor known both for his stellar work and his off-camera substance abuse problems. Kevin Feige, President of Production at Marvel Studios, commented in a press release that "Robert Downey Jr. is one of the most talented and acclaimed actors of this generation. His versatility sets him apart and makes him an ideal fit to play such a complex character as Iron Man. We could not think of another actor better suited to bring one of Marvel's crown jewels to the big screen and be the centerpiece of our first independently produced feature." However, onlookers couldn’t help but notice the irony that now-recovered Downey, who has served prison time for his former drug habit, was set to play probably the most famous addict-superhero of all time. Jon Favreau told USA Today, "We didn't want to just go with a safe choice ... The best and worst moments of Robert's life have been in the public eye. He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That's Tony Stark."

But Favreau didn’t stop by casting an Oscar nominee as his lead. He assembled a whole ensemble of multiple award-winners that included Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Hustle & Flow’s Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes, and Jeff Bridges as Stark’s mentor-turned-villain Obadiah Stane. There are also some very high profile cameos in Iron Man - not including Favreau turning up as a security guard - that we’ll get into later.

OUR OPINION: This is, hands down, Iron Man’s strongest asset by far. Any shady producer can throw together an OK FX package and a fan-friendly script, but Favreau has pulled off some virtuoso-level casting. After seeing the trailer, Robert Downey Jr. OWNED our collective nerd asses. He’s beyond good, injecting more life, humor, pathos, and fun into a 2-minute trailer than what Tobey Maguire, Affleck, Bana, Jackman, and the entire cast of Fantastic Four put into their entire films. After the one-two punch of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Zodiac, we’ll admit we’re going to Iron Man primarily to see what Downey Jr. does with the role. We’re really, really hoping that his Tony Stark will finally be the engaging comic book movie lead we’ve been waiting for, the protagonist who transcends the FX and the action and makes us love the movie more than the merchandising.

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