Yesterday on the radio, I heard that Tom Cruise has been linked to a screen adaptation of the Ironman comic.

I've never heard of Ironman. Was it a comic or a book or what?

Yeah, it's based on a comic book character by Stan Lee. He invented Spider Man, Captain America and whole bunch of other super heroes. I'm not a big fan. I just popped it on the board for the benefit of someone who might be. Apparently it's spelt Iron Man, not Ironman as I had in the heading.
  

Update can be found here

-Zavier

Iron Man director talks to MTV, here

-Zavier

I think Jon Favreau is a bit of a weird choice for director. Why Jon Favreau? Why not James Cameron or Spielberg or a director who is at least associated with sci-fi? LOL! I just think this choice is a bit off the beating track for a major super-hero film such as Iron Man.

Firstly Cameron is currently already working on a project and Spielberg as director of Iron man?

I think he's better sticking to his ET films, plus the Comic film industry use the directors and writers from other Comic book films rather than use any outsider, at least that way they know what they will be getting..

Well, I couldn't disagree with you more, Bloodprince! I don't think James Cameron would have much trouble directing Iron Man while working on Avatar. He's done this lots of times. He wrote Aliens while he was waiting for Terminator to begin production, and Rambo: First Blood Part II. And while he was planning Avatar I read that he done a rewrite of the 21st Century version of A Fantastic Voyage. And hey, he's also currently working on the Battle Angel movie, while he's prepping for Avatar!

And look at Bryan Singer. He was planning to direct the remake of Logan's Run while he was in production of Superman Returns, plus he was producing the hit TV show House at the same time. And I read somewhere that he had some input on another show, something to do with the Bermuda Triangle or something. So I think a director of Cameron's caliber could take on this film with his eyes closed.

And why not Spielberg? He's renowned for his sci-fi/alien flicks afterall! He likes doing character-driven pieces, so I don't think he would entirely hate the idea of doing Iron Man either. It's not like sci-fi isn't in his repertoire LOL!

And that part about the industry only using directors who have worked on other comic book films, I think you're wrong there. The only two directors I can think of are Bryan Singer, who worked on X-Men 1 & 2 and then Superman Returns, and Mark Steven Johnson, who worked on Daredevil and then Ghost Rider.

Beside that, Tim Burton hadn't worked on a comic book film before he took on Batman, and yet that was a success. And Christopher Nolan hadn't worked on a comic book film before he took on Batman Begins, and that turned out to be the definitive Batman film! This is the same for Ang Lee (Hulk), Tim Story (Fantastic 4) and Richard Donner (Superman The Movie), among others. Just wanted to point all that out LOL!

I think that Spielburg or however you spell it would be a good choice. Almost every movie he has been a part of has gotten great ratings and is actually very entertaining. Who cares if he's working on something else? He could start filming Ironman after his current project.

Their director choice sucks, end of discussion...  :P

I do concur, James. Well said LOL!

I don't mind Favreau directing this at all.  I think he's got the chops to handle a special effects heavy piece after seeing Zathura.

I don't know about Tom Cruise though.  He just doesn't strike me as Tony Stark.  Off the top of my head I'd prefer Clooney, but that's probably because he's more like Tony Stark in real life.

Or maybe Jim Caviezel (He was up for Superman after all) or Clive Owen.


Edit:  Jon Favreau has also been tapped to direct Jon Carter of Mars, which is another sci-fi fantasy piece.

Mike, Favreau said that he wants to go the Superman Returns route, by hiring an unknown to play Tony Stark. Now, that's one thing I agree with!

I wouldn't mind that at all, but I'm against Tom Cruise.

The other names were more or less if they were going to attach a name to it.

I stand by my point, Speilberg as director of Ironman, Somehow I do not see that ever happening. Not saying he is not a great director, but I don't think he would take something like that on.

I believe he would rather make epic films, such as Saving private Ryan. This is the kind of film he is better suited toward, his visions are more epic, Schindlers list, etc etc.

I think he would take it just because he can.

Quoted from Combichrist I stand by my point, Speilberg as director of Ironman, Somehow I do not see that ever happening. Not saying he is not a great director, but I don't think he would take something like that on.

We all know Spielberg won't take Iron Man on, simply because Favreau is already signed! But all I'm saying, and I think James is saying too, is that this film wouldn't be entirely out of Spielberg's range. It's science-fiction, it's character-driven, and if it's done with the same amount (and scale) of action that there is in the comics, it can be epic. Sounds a lot like some of Spielberg's other films to me LOL!

Iron Man director Jon Favreau confirmed at Comic-Con that the villain in the movie will be Mandarin.

"The Mandarin is one of the world's greatest scientific geniuses who is seeking world domination. Although The Mandarin has no superhuman powers, he is a superb athlete with tremendous skill in the various martial arts. For weapons, he uses ten rings he wears on his fingers that respond to his mental commands."-cs

-Zavier

edit:

First Poster from Comic-Con.  Favreau said that the armor in the pic was not the film's final design.

Here is a new casting rumor. According to Quint over at Ain’t It Cool News, "A few days ago there was word that reached my ears about the role of Tony Stark in Jon Favreau's IRON MAN being offered to a very interesting actor. The word was that IRON MAN was being offered to Hustle & Flow's Terrence Howard."

More on the rumor More on the rumor  here.

-Zavier

This story has been confirmed by the trades and Jon Favreau himself, on his MySpace page. Tony Stark will be played by Robert Downey, Jr.

Click on the link above for more info.

-Zavier

I just read this on AICN. I actually surprised myself by thinking that Downey is not a horrible choice. He's not a favorite actor of mine, he always comes off like a spoiled jerk to me, but that's a plus when playing Tony Stark. Sure, he's kind of small and far from muscular but that'll all be covered by some cool armor, so it won't matter.

It seems that the earlier rumor of Terrence Howard making an appearance in the Iron Man movie wasn’t complete bull.

According to Variety, the actor has signed on for the ‘buddy role’ in “Iron Man”. Howard will play Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, the best friend of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Drugfree Jr), the billionaire industrialist who becomes the superhero known as Iron Man.

So far, so good Mr. Favreau.

-Zavier

That's pretty cool. Terrence Howard is an amazing actor. I don't know the lore of Iron Man, I had never heard of it until they announced the director. But its certainly attracting a lot of attention, with the likes of Robert Downey Jnr and Terrence Howard signing on for leading roles. Could be quite the adventure, assuming the script is up to snuff.


Cheers, Chism.

I think Robert Downey Jr is a great pick as is Terrence Howard.  

With luck it'll do good and in the second one we can see Downey's Tony Stark succumb to the bottle and have Howard take up the armor in his place.

The first pic of the Grey Suit ( Stark's first suit ) can be seen over at Ain't It Cool News.

Is he supposed to look so... clunky? I dunno. If I were a billionair superhero, I would've gone for something a little more flexible. I'm no expert on the Iron Man comics, but is that what he looks like in the comics?


Cheers, Chismeister.

Stark's first costume was built out of scrap metal and pieces of junk while he was held prisoner.  After he freed himself, he built better suits.  In the comic book, the first Iron Man suit wasn't much more than a tin can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_man


Phil

Thanks for that, Phil.

Good old Wikipedia.


Cheers, Chismeister.

Click on this newly released picture to check out an awesome article from USA Today on Jon Favreau's Iron Man movie.

Entertainment Weekly has revealed the new Iron Man Armor (red and yellow), which was designed by Oscar-winning F/X guru Stan Winston.

Check it out here.

Now that looks cool. This movie is shaping up to be something cool.

Actually looking forward to it now.


Cheers, Chismeister.

Click the spy pic below to check out an awesome Iron Man Spy Report over at IESB. The article contains more pics and Iron Man caught on video. They probably won't be up for long.

Another pic.

Apple wasn't supposed to post this until tomorrow. The trailer was supposed to premier on several shows during prime time tonight and then hit the interwebs.

Click here to check out a very awesome trailer.

Holy cow that's one hell of a trailer.

Good thing Apple posted early.

This flick looks pretty damn decent.


Matt.

It's good to see Robert star in a possible blockbuster. He's a great actor and he deserves to have a higher profile.

Robert Downey Jr. had a very high profile.  His fall was due to problems and, even after Hollywood gave him another shot, he still fell from grace.  After what happened on Allie McBeal, they cut him loose.


Phil

Yeah being on Ally McBeal was quite a fall from grace. Lol.
But seriously I always felt he was a little under rated as an actor. Anyway, he seems to have been on the straight and narrow for awhile now.
    

Being on Allie McBeal wasn't the problem.  In fact, everyone thought he was terrific in it.  Prior to it, he his drug problem caused him to cancel out of some other project very late in the game.  He lost a lot of work as a result.

He voluntarily entered rehab and supposedly cleaned up his act.  He couldn't get work afterwards until he did AM.  He was on for half a season (maybe more) when he suddenly disappeared.  The show has to rewrite the scripts in the middle of a big story arc.  Major PITA.

Turned out he was getting stoned for a week somewhere.

It was hard for him to get good work afterwards.


Phil

I don't really care if he's hard to work with or not, I'd rather see a selfish stoner who can act on the big screen than a really nice guy who can't. Like Keanu Reeves.

Hollywood better keep giving him second chances.

Quoted from Death Monkey I don't really care if he's hard to work with or not, I'd rather see a selfish stoner who can act on the big screen than a really nice guy who can't. Like Keanu Reeves.

You may not care, but Hollywood does.  Do you think doesn't mean anything when an actor disappears for a couple of days when he has to work?  That costs big money for the studios.  They want to deal with reliable people as much as talented people.


Phil

Yeah I agree the trailer looked really promising. Iron Man himself is a pretty cool superhero. The problem with the Iron Man IP though is that he has bad villains.

He has the Mandarin, who is ok but I don't think he translate well into the movies (or this time period). As I recall from the cartoon he basically had magic rings and was a Fu Manchu knock off. I think I read he was confirmed as the villain in this movie, does anybody know what they're going to do with him? I think he's going to need a lot of work to be taken seriously by a non comic book audience.

I'm looking forward to the squeal that will no doubt pit Iron Man against War Machine, I think that'll be pretty bad ass. It'll be that or Fin Fang Foom...(cringes)

sheepwalker

Quoted from dogglebe You may not care, but Hollywood does.  Do you think doesn't mean anything when an actor disappears for a couple of days when he has to work?  That costs big money for the studios.  They want to deal with reliable people as much as talented people. Phil

Well then it's fortunate I wasn't talking about what Hollywood cares about. I was talking about what I care about. I want to see him on the screen. I could care less what Hollywood wants.

I can neither better nor worsen his work ethic, just like I can neither better nor worsen Hollywood's so I'll just opine on his acting instead...

Quoted from Soap Hands ..I think I read he was confirmed as the villain in this movie, does anybody know what they're going to do with him?

IMDb has Jeff Bridges listed in the cast as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger.  I'm assuming he'll be the villain in the first installment.

Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) will also be making an appearance.

Very fortunate for you.  Unfortunately, Hollywood foots the bill and those that cause problems generally fade away into oblivion.

If everything in Hollywood came down to talent, there would be a whole different crowd of people starring in movies.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe If everything in Hollywood came down to talent, there would be a whole different crowd of people starring in movies. Phil

My point exactly.

Quoted from Mike Shelton IMDb has Jeff Bridges listed in the cast as Obadiah Stane/Iron Monger.  I'm assuming he'll be the villain in the first installment. Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) will also be making an appearance.

Don't remember an Iron Monger (not sure if he was even in the cartoon but it was a long time ago) Anyway, after reading up on him it seems like hes pretty similar to War Machine so this should be pretty cool, although a part of me really wanted to see the Mandarin. Also, if  they do this it will lessen the impact of a War Machine VS Iron Man movie(if they do it) which I remember being pretty cool.

link to article on Iron Monger(good chance of story spoilers):
http://www.marvel.com/universe/Iron_Monger

And Sam Jackson as Nick Fury is going to be badass( I think the ultimate version of nick fury is based on him anyway), I hope to god they do a spin off with him, he's born to play Nick Fury, he gets to wear an eye patch! Thats bad ass!

sheepwalker

Here is the trailer just shown during the Super Bowl.

p.s. Go Giants  :P

I saw that and it is awsome! Also, go Giants!

~Zack~

Very cool teaser. Looks like a wild ride. ;D


Matt.

The full trailer can be seen here. In my humble opinion, this kicks the shit out of the TDK trailer.

Oh yeah! Now I'm really looking forward to this movie!

~Zack~

Sweet trailer. Robert Downey Jnr. will be awesome as always, let's just hope Jon Favreau knows what he's doing.


Matt.

That looks worthy...

Quoted from chism Sweet trailer. Robert Downey Jnr. will be awesome as always, let's just hope Jon Favreau knows what he's doing. Matt.

I thought Favreau was a good choice when I first heard he was directing.  After seeing Zathura, he definitely has the chops to handle a big budget/FX heavy movie, so this should turn out rather well, I think.

Quoted from Shelton I thought Favreau was a good choice when I first heard he was directing.  After seeing Zathura, he definitely has the chops to handle a big budget/FX heavy movie, so this should turn out rather well, I think.

Well the most exposure I’ve had to Jon Favreau is that episode of The Sopranos where he played himself, so I wouldn’t know much about that.


Matt.

I was disappointed he didn't bring along John Debney, who'd scored his recent films. Iron Man really needs a huge orchestral sound. Instead the composer of TV's Prison Break is supplying a Zimmer-esque score, so am not as excited to see this as I had been.

Well, the critics have spoken. Iron Man currently has 95% at http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/iron_man/

I have a feeling this movie will be this years Transformers... only better!

~Zack~

yeah, i just saw on tv that this is the best reviewed movie of the year, I would have never yhought that.  anyways gonna see it tomorrow :)

Me too! I may skip work just to see it!

~Zack~

Hmm I'm in too minds about this film.  On one hand the trailer looks kick ass and I just love big budget blockbuster superhero movies, especially ones based on Marvel comics.

On the other hand... I have always disliked Iron Man.  I always found him unlikable because of the way Marvel seemed to give him to many problems such as arrogance, womanizing and being an alcoholic... they overdid him (not to mention the way he acted in Civil War).

I've seen it twice already!

s a person unfamiliar with Iron Man in every way but in passing through MARVEL character lists and merchandising, I have to say that IRON MAN was an wonderful example with what great entertainment can be created with a lesser known superhero concept. It was fresh and snarky, and Robert Downy was an inspired choice to play Tony Stark. Gwenneth did nothing for me, personally, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

GREAT first start for the newly christened MARVEL STUDIOS!


-Artemis Hunter

bert's edit:  No longer a "Rumor".  Skip over the the "Review" board for additional commentary.