This is amazing. One of the best modern superhero movies had no script, according to actor Jeff Bridges in this interview at InContention.com.

The 2008 hit Iron Man, starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Bridges apparently relied on the actors and director Jon Favreau improvising scenes out based on a plot outline.

“They had no script, man,” Bridges exclaims. “They had an outline. We would show up for big scenes every day and we wouldn’t know what we were going to say. We would have to go into our trailer and work on this scene and call up writers on the phone, ‘You got any ideas?’ Meanwhile the crew is tapping their foot on the stage waiting for us to come on.”

“You’ve got the suits from Marvel in the trailer with us saying, ‘No, you wouldn’t say that,’” Bridges remembers. “You would think with a $200 million movie you’d have the shit together, but it was just the opposite. And the reason for that is because they get ahead of themselves. They have a release date before the script, ‘Oh, we’ll have the script before that time,’ and they don’t have their shit together.

“Jon dealt with it so well,” Bridges continues. “It freaked me out. I was very anxious. I like to be prepared. I like to know my lines, man, that’s my school. Very prepared. That was very irritating, and then I just made this adjustment. It happens in movies a lot where something’s rubbing against your fur and it’s not feeling right, but it’s just the way it is. You can spend a lot of energy bitching about that or you can figure out how you’re going to do it, how you’re going to play this hand you’ve been dealt. What you can control is how you perceive things and your thinking about it. So I said, ‘Oh, what we’re doing here, we’re making a $200 million student film. We’re all just fuckin’ around! We’re playin’. Oh, great!’ That took all the pressure off. ‘Oh, just jam, man, just play.’ And it turned out great!”

Bridges says those “suits” keep telling him, “It’s just a comic book. Maybe we’ll bring you back.”

He also talked about it on his own site in his Making Iron Man photography book, which includes some great images of one of the “script sessions”.

As I said, we were lucky to have Jon as our director. His skill as a writer/improvisor was welcomed, indeed. While the story of Iron Man was pretty much in place, the actual scenes often had to be written on the day we shot them. Once the panic subsided, it was kind of fun, really – sort of like making a multi-million dollar student film. After all was said and done, I think we came up with some good stuff.

Yay! Improv saves the day! (Sorry for the not-so-stealthy plug.)

Now Hollywood, that doesn’t mean fire all of your screenwriters. This worked because fantastic actors and improvisers were able to pull it off by collaborating with a uniquely talented director who also had a knack for improvising. So, cool trick, but use with discretion.

What’s interesting is that this method of movie-making is eerily similar to the mythic “Marvel Method” of making comics in the 1960s. Marvel Comics’ primary writer and editor then was Stan Lee, who became so overwhelmed writing nearly every book put out by the publisher that he started to similarly jam with his better artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. According to legend (some of it still hotly debated today), Stan and the artist would talk out a story idea for an issue over the phone or in person. Stan would then write up a 1 to 2-page plot outline, which would be fleshed out and expanded into a full 23-page (sometimes more) comic book. Stan would then go back and fill in dialogue and narration captions. Eventually Stan got so overworked, and the process became so reliable, that Stan let his best artists turn in full issues of their own stories with plot cues written in to help Stan script. While this resulted in the wildly successful heyday of the Fantastic Four and Amazing Spider-Man comic books of the ’60s, this process led to a lot of intense debate and resentment over who should be credited (and receive royalties) for what.

Now looking back to today, IMDb lists Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway as the screenwriters for Iron Man. Did they just write the outline? I’d be curious to hear their version of this story.

(via io9)

Your Brad Link of the Day is provided to me by my friend Brad Beacom via Google’s Gmail chat. It may or may not actually occur on a daily basis. You may or may not have already seen it. (But in those instances, some classics are worth revisiting.) You may or may not find some enjoyment in it. Essentially, I take no responsibility for anything.

Published by Jeff Leins – NewsinFilm.com

Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, two of the screenwriters on Iron Man, are working on a live-action adaptation of Japenese anime Akira.  Leonardo DiCaprio’s Appian Way is still producing for Warner Bros, though no word on whether they’re considering the double feature announced in February 2008.

Since the press release, there has been very little news of the continued project after a seven figure deal with Katsuhiro Otomo, the manga series author, original anime director, and now executive producer.  One report a few months ago even declared it “dead as a doornail,” at least in its previous form.

The update comes from Collider, who confirmed the setting is still post-apocalyptic Manhattan in “the near future” (the previous film was in 2019).  It will definitely include the famous motorcycle and a teen biker gang member subjected to government experimentation.

The article says WB is planning an “event movie” and will make this a priority financially and logistically sometime in 2010 for a possible 2011 release.  Ruirai Robinson was originally set to make his directorial debut, but I don’t know if that’s still the case.  No casting has been decided either, so rumors of DiCaprio or Joseph Gordon-Levitt co-starring in anything but Inception are false.

Fergus and Ostby have also been tapped to write Cowboys and Aliens for Robert Downey Jr. and possibly director Jon Favreau.  The team also contributed to Children of Men

Mark Fergus e il suo collaboratore Hawk Ostby, sceneggiatori de I figli degli uomini e di Iron Man, scriveranno la sceneggiatura del live action di Akira. Anche se è ben chiara una cosa, sarà difficile che il progetto potrà prendere corpo entro la fine del 2010 e addirittura 2011. Ciò non toglie però che i diritti acquistati dalla Worner Brothers saranno ben utilizzati. Sembra infatti che proprio il progetto in questione sia prioritario per l’azienda cinematografica stessa. Anche Otomo sarà parte integrante del progetto.

Dopo un pò di problemi iniziali oltre all’abbandono del primo regista scelto Ruairi Robinson, sembrava che il progesso fosse stato accantonato. Gli accordi iniziali prevedevano, oltre ad un probabile Leonardo Di Caprio nel cast, anche la realizzazione di ben due live action. Per ora, come potete immaginare non è ancora possibile parlare di un possibile cast, ma di certo il progetto prosegue.

fonte: animeclick

Well apparently, according to Collider, there have been news on new screenwriters for the Akira live action movie. Warner Bros. Pictures is still going along with the development of this film and hired screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. The duo co-wrote the first Iron Man movie and Children of Men.

Akira is based on anime artist Katsuhiro Otomo’s six-volume graphic novel masterwork. The film is said to take place in “New Manhattan,” a metropolis that was rebuilt after being destroyed 31 years ago. The famous motorcycle will also definitely be a part of the film. This is one of the most praised anime of all time, so we’ll see what they can do with this. Can the original be justified in live action form?

]]> http://ktarsis.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/akira-sigue-en-marcha-y-consigue-dos-nuevos-guionistas/ Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:56:44 +0000 Pablo Gutiérrez http://ktarsis.wordpress.com/2009/09/09/akira-sigue-en-marcha-y-consigue-dos-nuevos-guionistas/

Parece que después de mucho tiempo parada, la película de acción real sobre el mítico manga Akira está un poquito más cerca de hacerse realidad. Desde principios de 2.008 no sabíamos nada de este proyecto, pero ahora Warner Bros ha dado un nuevo paso contratando a dos guionistas que se hagan cargo del libreto de la película. Se trata de Mark Fergus y Hawk Ostby, que ya trabajaron justos con gran éxito en títulos como Iron Man y la imprescindible Children of Men. Con este currículo los fans del original de Katsuhiro Otomo se pueden quedar algo más tranquilos. Anteriormente Akira se iba a dividir en dos películas, producidas por la compañía de Leonardo Di Caprio y dirigidas por el desconocido Ruairi Robinson. Ambas se iban a ambientar en Estados Unidos en lo que se calificó como una mezcla entre Ciudad de Dios y Blade Runner. Con el nuevo guión ya en marcha la película podría empezar su producción el próximo año.

Ktoś w Hollywood nie może się zdecydować. W czerwcu br. serwisy branżowe trąbiły o upadku projektu ekranizacji mangi/anime Akira. Teraz pojawia się światełko w tunelu. Jak możemy wyczytać na Colliderze, scenarzyści m.in. Ludzkich dzieci: Mark Fergus i Hawk Ostby, intensywnie pracują nad skryptem tej aktorskiej adaptacji. Nie wiadomo nic o obsadzie i reżyserze. Podobno projekt ma szansę trafić do produkcji w 2010 r., a do kin rok później.

Hello KittAkira

Last I heard the live action Akira movie was dead and gone. However, like Neo-Tokyo it has risen once more from the ruins before it.

Last November I posted a review of an old script for the film that wasn’t so hot and Joseph Gordon Levitt (Brick, 500 Days of Summer) was rumoured to be starring in it back then, but things change.

Collider have the news that screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby (Children of Men) are about to turn in their version of an “Akira” movie and the reason why the project has been so quiet is they’ve been hard at work trying to get the script right.

They also have confirmation that the story is still set in post-apocalyptic Manhattan in the near future and that the big red motorcycle is definitely a part of the film. Still not sure why they had to change it to Manhatten.

If the script meets with approval the movie could go into production in 2010 with a release date in 2011. Also, this isn’t going to be some mid-range budget movie. If the film goes into production, it’s going to be one of those BIG event movies.

Still very early days on this one, but if things go to plan we just may have an excellent adaption of the classic anime film. Fingers crossed.

Are you ready for a live action Akira? Who could play the main characters?

By Dave Campbell

It looks as if the chemistry of the Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau partnership isn’t limited to the Iron Man franchise. Today it is being reported in the trades that the pair will re-team immediately after Iron Man 2, for Cowboys and Aliens.

Creators Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley published the indie comic Cowboys & Aliens in 2006 with Platinum Studios. The story surrounds the wild west Arizona landscape in the mid-1800s. An extraterrestrial species crash lands with the intent of enslaving humans, but the Cowboys and native Apache who’ve previously been battling each other have other plans for the invading aliens.

Downey Jr. has been attached to the production since announcements of the project surfaced in the summer of 2008, but no director has been attached until the news broke that Favreau was in final negotiations to direct. Iron Man writing team Hawk Ostby and Mark Fergus have been involved as one of the seven writing teams attached to the screenplay since Universal and Dreamworks gained the rights in 1997, before the comic was published.

The current draft is being penned by box office darlings Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are the team responsible for the Star Trek (2009) and Transformers franchises. This is all being backed by a producer dream team of Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Alex Kurtzman, Richard Marincic, Roberto Orci, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Damon Lindelof, Ervin Rustemagic, and Steven Spielberg.

Amazon Specials!

The Hollywood Reporter is, well, reporting that Jon Favreau will direct the graphic novel adaptation of “Cowboys & Aliens” and Robert Downey Jr. will star, re-teaming the duo that has made Iron Man one of the hottest film properties around.

The story is an alternate history tale that begins in the 1880’s in America, where a conflict between cowboys and Native Americans is raging when suddenly a UFO appears. Now the previously warring groups join forces to extinguish the aliens, who out match them in weaponry. Sounds fun.

Want even better news? Hit the jump.Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, writers behind the amazing “Star Trek” and the box office smashes of both Transformers, are already penning the screenplay along with “LOST” writer Damon Lindelof.

How about some icing on that cake? The adaptation is being worked on by “Iron Man” co-screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. Oh, and here is the cherry: you can read the entire Platinum Studios Comics graphic novel, written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley, online.

Now that is some sweet news. The DreamWorks/Universal film is set for a 2011 release, with Paramount likely to opt in for a co-distribution deal.

ระเบิดความมันส์กันไม่ยั้งสำหรับผู้กำกับ Jon Favreau และ Robert Downey Jr. ที่กลายเป็นเพื่อนซี้กันไปแล้ว ที่จับมือกันสร้างภาคต่อของซุปเปอร์ฮีโร่มหาประลัยหุ้มเกราะเหล็กเหินฟ้า Iron Man 2 ที่กำลังถ่ายทำในขณะนี้ และหลังจากจบโปรเจค Iron man 2 แล้ว พวกเขาร่วมมือกันอีกครั้ง กับโปรเจคที่เตรียมการสร้างมานานแล้ว โดยเป็นการร่วมมือกันระหว่าง Universal และ Dreamworks กับ The Cowboys & Aliens !!

The Cowboys & Aliens เป็นภาพยนตร์ที่สร้างจากหนังสือการ์ตูน จากงานเขียนของ Fred Van Lente และ Andrew Foley เป็นเรื่องราวในเมืองซิลเวอร์ซิตี้ รัฐอาริโซน่า คาวบอยตะวันตกและเผ่าอินเดียแดง เกิดการปะทะกันเพราะเรื่องการครอบครองที่ดินที่ตกลงกันไม่ได้ จนเกิดการต่อสู้กัน และระหว่างนั้น ก็เกิดมีจานบินขนาดใหญ่มาจากนอกโลก กับกองทัพเอเลี่ยนอันน่ากลัว เพื่อหมายจะยึดครองโลก โดยยึดดินแดนแห่งนี้ก่อน จึงจับตัวกลุ่มคนทั้งสองฝ่ายทุกคนให้มาเป็นข้าทาสรับใช้ และแล้วคาวบอยตะวันตกและเผ่าอินเดียแดงก็ต้องร่วมมือกัน รวบรวมนักสู้ และอาวุธประจำกายเท่าทีมี ออกต่อสู้ เพื่อกำจัดพวกวายร้ายเอเลี่ยนนี้ให้พ้นไปจากดินแดนของพวกเขาให้จงได้ เพื่อความสงบสุขของโลก!!!

นอกจากผู้กำกับ Jon Favreau และ Robert Downey Jr. ยังมีทีมสร้างระดับหนังดัง ๆ อย่าง Roberto Orci และ Alex Kurtzman จากภาพยนเรื่อง Star Trek (2009) มารับหน้าที่โปรดิวเซอร์อีกด้วย และความน่าสนใจน่าจะอยู่ที่ ที่ได้มือเขียนบทคู่หู Hawk Ostby และ Mark Fergus จาก Iron man มารับหน้าที่เขียนบทในภาพยนตร์เรื่องนี้ ทั้งสองเคยทำบทดีๆ จนส่งผลให้ Iron man ภาคแรก เป็นม้ามืดทำรายได้แบบคาดไม่ถึงมาแล้ว ยิ่งทำให้ภาพยนตร์น่าสนใจมากยิ่งขึ้น กับโปรเจค The Cowboys & Aliens !! น่าจะเริ่มงานได้ในช่วงซัมเมอร์ปีหน้า 2010 และคาดว่าน่าจะเสร็จสมบูรณ์ออกฉายได้ในปี 2011 ในปีถัดไป ต้องติดตามกันต่อไปครับ!!!!

ที่มา : /FilM

ภาพประกอบจาก DrunkDuck.com

Rating: ****½

Review by Justin Smith

May 19, 2009

Iron Man is a superhero film unlike any I have seen in recent years. With Robert Downey Jr. in the lead, Iron Man takes a direction which is both entertaining and more believable than most superhero films of this decade.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the head of a weapons manufacturer, aptly named Stark Industries. After the death of his father, who started the company, Tony, along with business partner Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), took over the leading position with Stark Industries.

While giving a weapons demonstration for U.S. troops  in Afghanistan, Tony is captured by terrorists and held captive. The terrorists demand he build one of  his new missiles, the Jericho. In his captivity he finds a friend and assistant  in his cellmate, Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who saves Stark’s life and aides him in building his first Iron Man suit, and the mini arc reactor which power both the suit and Stark’s heart.

After Stark’s escape and rescue,  his feelings about weaponry change and he decides to help others with his knowledge instead of developing weapons. Obadiah Stane, Stark’s business partner, is not happy about this new outlook and we begin to see Obadiah turn on Stark and eventually become his nemesis. Meanwhile Stark begins work on a new Iron Man suit, working out the kinks, and eventually setting out to make the world a safer place.

When I first saw the trailer for Iron Man I had mixed feelings. I am always happy to see Robert Downey Jr. on the big screen, however, I thought the idea of another superhero film was played out and this one looked cheesy to the hilt. I am here to tell you, I no longer have mixed feelings about Iron Man. It is one of the best superhero films I have ever seen.

Although credit is due to the writers and Jon Favreau, who directed the film, I believe most of the credit is due to Robert Downey Jr.’s amazing performance. Downey does a few things in this film that are not easy for any actor. First, he takes a despicable self-centered prick of a character and makes him likable. We know Tony Stark is a womanizing, wise-cracking, jerk who has more money and power than he deserves, but we like him anyway, and that is a testament to Downey’s acting. Also, Downey was able to pull of the whole superhero thing without coming across as cheesy or overly dramatic. Downey’s dialogue (much of which was ad-libbed) also fits perfectly with the character and gives him a realistic human quality. Tony is someone we can identify with, even though he is a billionaire genius with a shop full of toys and gadgets.

Robert Downey Jr. is not the only one who deserves praise in Iron Man. The casting was spot on, there really is not a bad performance in the film. Jeff Bridges does and excellent job with Obadiah and creates a smooth transition from business partner to nemesis.  We don’t normally see Bridges in this kind of roles, but he made a believer out of me.

Gwyneth Paltrow, as Tony Stark’s assistant, Pepper Potts, brought a realism to the role with the potential sexual tension between her character and that of Tony Stark. We believe they have known each other for years, and they have come to terms with the possibility of hooking up, but have never acted on it. This made for a nice dynamic as the filmed refused to take the typical route to pair them as lovers.

Terrence Howard was enjoyable as Rhodey, the friend and cohort of Tony. Howard was not given a lot to work with in this film. He was more the straight man, but in the sequels (yes, there are plans for an Iron Man trilogy) I think we will see him shine as Rhodey.

Although we never see him in the film, Paul Bettany lent his voice for a entertaining performance as Jarvis, the HAL 9000-esque butler/assistant to Tony Stark, however, unlike HAL 9000, Jarvis does not go crazy or attempt to kill anyone.

We see four variations of the Iron Man suit throughout the film. Each one has it’s own unique design, all of which look amazing and would be a great addition to any superhero fans’ collection. The first suit (Mark I), created by Tony Stark and Yinsen, has a great retro-future (or if you prefer, hi-tech, low-tech) feel, think Robocop (1987) meets Brazil (1985). The second suit (Mark II) has a sleek design and is a prototype of the final third suit (Mark III), which we see on all the DVD covers, it is a sleek stylized version which looks sharp and functions properly, it even flies like it should. The fourth suit (Iron Monger) is a monstrous creation by Obadiah which looks and acts like a well oiled machine, complete with hydraulics.

The majority of the visual special effects were handled by George Lucas’ ILM (Industrial Light & Magic), which means every shot is painstakingly detailed and flows smoothly.

The sound and music in the film are top notch. The sounds used for the movements for each suit have a mechanical quality which kept me aware I was watching men in robotic suits. Ramin Djawadi’s score contains a hint of industrial which blended perfectly to what was happening on the screen.

During the credits, there is an animated sequence, which shows the details of the Iron Man suit and eludes to a suit which will appear in the sequal, as a matter of fact, there are several moments throughout the film which hint to the sequels. Speaking of credits and sequels, be sure to stick around after the credits as there is a scene you will not want to miss.

Despite all of the above praise, I have a few complaints about Iron Man. There were several times throughout the film when the pacing seemed to crawl. There was too much time spent on Tony Stark’s trial and error in his shop/lab. This was a result of director Jon Favreau feeling many superhero films do not contain enough of these scenes. Also, during these scenes, there are several slapstick sight gags, some of them work, however, many were predictable and failed to get a laugh as a result. I realize there is a need for scenes showing the development of the character, and I welcome those scenes, but in the case of “Iron Man” the balance shifted too much on the side of build up, taking away from the action.

The scenes featuring Iron Man where wonderfully executed and left me wanting more. I am hoping this want will be meet with the sequels, since we already have the background, hopefully we’ll get more of the great action sequences we saw so little of in this film.

Despite it’s few shortcomings, Iron Man is bound to be one of the best superhero movies you will ever see.

Director: Jon Favreau

Writer: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow

MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, and brief suggestive content.

Runtime: 126 minutes

Year: 2008

Copyright © 2009 criticplanet.org

Iron Man: DVD Features

Rating: ****½

Disc 1: Film & Special Features

Menu

• The menu screens for Iron Man feature a 3-D panoramic view of Iron Man while images from the film scroll across the screen. If this is your first time viewing the film, there is not much worry of seeing anything that would give away to much about the film.

Film

• This edition of the DVD includes only the widescreen presentation of the film (as God intended), which is shot in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Set up

• Audio in English 5.1 Surround, French and Spanish.
• Subtitles in English, French and Spanish

Special Features

Deleted/Extended Scenes

• Convoy Ambush: This is an extended cut of the scene from the film, with some alternate dialogue and more shots of the ambush.
• Craps Table With Tony & Rhodey: An extended cut of Tony Stark in the casino at the craps table and the roulette table.
• Tony & Rhodey on Stark Jet and Military Ceremony: Another extended scene featuring more drunken dialogue between Tony & Rhodey, along with more interaction with the women on the jet. The military ceremony is a boring and useless segment which was cut for obvious reasons.
• Rhodey and General Gabriel: A deleted scene which shows Rhodey and General Gabriel discussing Rhodey’s decision to go back and look for Tony Stark after his abduction.
• Tony Comes Home: A deleted scene where Tony arrives back home after his abduction. He finds a watch from Obadiah sitting on a table and there is some interaction between Tony and Jarvis.
• Tony Begins Mark II: Deleted scene featuring a few machines working in Tony’s shop.
• Dubai Party: Deleted scene of a party taking place at Tony’s house in Dubai. The scene features rapper Ghostface Killah and expounds on Tony’s womanizing.
• Pepper Discovers Tony as Iron Man: Deleted scene of Pepper walking through the house and discovering Tony sitting in a chair wearing the Iron Man suit.
• Obadiah Addresses Scientists: Deleted scene of Obadiah giving a ‘pep-talk’ to the scientists working on his Iron Man suit and the arc reactor.
• Rhodey Saves Iron Man on Freeway: Extended scene featuring Rhodey coming in to help Tony as he battles Obadiah.
• Rooftop Battle: Extended scene of the rooftop battle featuring more dialogue and screentime between Tony and Obadiah. This is a good scene, I’m guessing it was cut for time.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures

• A trailer for Iron Man: The Animated Series, which is scheduled to appear on Nickelodeon in 2009.

Previews

• You cannot select trailers individually, once you select Previews, they begin to play automatically.
• Teaser trailer for Star Trek
• Trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
• Teaser trailer for The Incredible Hulk

Easter Eggs

• From the Main Menu select Special Features. On the Special Features menu, highlight Main Menu. Then press Left on your remote. You will see a yellow symbol appear between Previews and Main Menu. Press Enter to view a segment featuring Robert Downey Jr. and Stan Lee on the set of Iron Man.

Disc 2: Special Features

I Am Iron Man

• The Journey Begins (20 min.): An in-depth look at the pre-production of Iron Man with focus on the suit.
• The Suit That Makes the Iron Man (10 min.): Focus is on actors wearing the suits during filming.
• Walk of Destruction (22 min.): Covering the first few weeks of shooting, finishing with a great segment showcasing the stuntman in the Mark I suit shooting flames.
• Grounded in Reality (15 min.): Focus is on the filming of scenes in Tony’s shop/lab.
• Beneath the Armor (15 min.): Focus on supporting cast and end of principal photography.
• It’s All in the Details (14 min.): Post-production at Skywalker Ranch. Prologue Films creation of Jarvis interface and title sequence.
• A Good Story, Well Told (12 min.): Post-production meeting, last minute post-production and a few words from director Jon Favreau about his anticipation of the films release.

The Invincible Iron Man

• Origins (8 min.): A few words from Stan Lee and others at Marvel about the beginnings of the Iron Man comic and character.
• Friends and Foes (3 min.): Discussion of other characters in the Iron Man universe.
• The Definitive Iron Man (5 min.): Discussion of the development of Iron Man through the years. Editor’s Note: This segment ends abruptly almost mid-sentence.
• Demon in a Bottle (1 min.): A few words about an issue of Iron Man which addressed alcoholism.
• Extremis and Beyond (25 min.): Discussion of the Iron Man: Extremis graphic novel (upon which the film is largely based) and the major changes it brought to the character, as well as discussion with current Iron Man writers and artists.
• Ultimate Iron Man (4 min.): Brief discussion of the Ultimate Iron Man comic and final thoughts on the character.

Wired: The Visual Effects of Iron Man

• A 27 minute featurette on the visual effects created by ILM: Industrial Light & Magic, The Orphanage, and The Embassy.

Robert Downey Jr. Screen Test

• A six minute segment featuring Robert Downey Jr. performing lines with other actors from three scenes in the script.

The Actor’s Process

• A four minute segment featuring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges and director Jon Favreau working out how a scene should be played.

The Onion Wildly Popular Iron Man Trailer to be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

• A humorous two and a half minute segment from The Onion (a parody news publication) discussing the fears fans have of the trailer being turned into a feature film.

Galleries

• Art and photo galleries divided into Concept Art, Tech, Unit Photography, and Posters.

Credits

• DVD credits

Set Up

• Subtitle Options, which include English, French and Spanish.

Overall this is a strong two-disc DVD. It contains a film which is on a par with the Batman franchise and it contains many informative and worthwhile special features. My only complaint is the lack of an audio commentary. It would have been great to her Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau commentating on the film.

Copyright © 2009 criticplanet.org

Title: Children of Men
Year: 2006
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, based on the novel by P.D. James
Starring: Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Clare-Hope Ashitey
Music: John Tavener
Distinctions: currently #187 on IMDb’s Top 250
Synopsis: people try to survive in a dystopian near future
Length: 109 minutes
How I saw it: on video twice (rented from Netflix), most recently January 2009
Subjective Rating: 9/10
Objective Rating: 9/10 (1 point off for characters)

Best. Cinematography. Ever. An amazing movie in almost every respect. The first time I saw it, it felt like there wasn’t much story arc, and it ended up seeming slow, although I didn’t feel that way at all the second time.

Title: Iron Man
Year: 2008
Director: Jon Favreau
Writers: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, based on characters by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow
Music: Ramin Djawadi
Distinctions: formerly on IMDb’s Top 250
Synopsis: an amoral weapons manufacturer builds a super suit
Length: 126 minutes
How I saw it: in the theater, May 2008; on video (rented from Netflix), November 2008
Subjective Rating: 7/10
Objective Rating: 7/10 (points off for cinematography, special effects/design and music)

I’m kind of torn. I was crazy about this movie after seeing it in the theater. The second time around, knowing that it wasn’t going anywhere took a lot of the fun out of it. It’s a great origin story, but he never really gets around to any superheroing. The good guys are all great characters, but there is no villain worth mentioning. The build up to the action scenes is great, but the action itself is cartoon robots punching each other. The music… is fitting for a character with a Black Sabbath song named after him.

Tony Stark recovers from his first prototype in "Iron Man".

(Jon Favreau, 2008)

March 17, 2009

by Joel Crary

In the golden age of comic books, it was enough to amaze readers and fans with spectacle and science fiction. Nowadays, people seem heavy on the demand for humanity in their superheroes. Heroes who are heroes by their own ingenuity rather than by an accident that changes their genetic makeup have it a bit easier when meeting this demand. We have so far seen Batman don a suit to wage war on crime syndicates that were in one way or another responsible for the deaths of his parents. Now, in “Iron Man,” another millionaire playboy seems to follow suit.

Where Batman’s story is sprung from a particular brand of tragedy, Tony Stark’s springs from another – a man grows in the shadow of his father’s accomplishments into arrogance. He misses the chance to say goodbye to his father, but we have the impression that an act of such humanity is out of Tony Stark’s scope. A second-generation weapons manufacturer, Tony sees things in terms of the dollar and puts trust in American moral superiority where his own knowledge falls short. “The best kind of weapon is the one you only have to fire once,” he announces in the film’s opening scenes. “That’s how dad did it, that’s how America does it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far.”

These scenes are shot in the Olancha area of the California desert. We are told it is Afghanistan, and it’s convincing. The grittiness of the scenes surrounding Tony’s capture by Afghani militants, which make up the first third of the film, intercut an element of horror into Tony’s sardonic wit and attitude. As the film opens, he is being transported away from a missile test site in the back of an armored terrain vehicle with a glass of brandy in his hand. Part of the weapons deal is a case of liquors with glass and ice dispensers. In Tony’s mind, the exchange of weapons for capital is second in concern only to the toast that follows.

The character of Tony Stark finds a pivot between his charm and ego, which are obvious, and his abilities as an actual engineer, which only surface when his life depends on it. A brief montage at an awards ceremony tell us that he is gifted, but only when he is casting material for an artificial heart do we get a sense of Tony’s full capability. “You lost something in that cave,” Tony is told by his long-time business associate. It is a heart that he gains. After building an iron suit prototype and blasting his way to freedom, Tony returns to America and announces the end of Stark Enterprises’ weapons division. The weapons are ending up the hands of terrorists and he accepts the responsibility.

Tony’s decision to move full throttle into the superhero life makes sensible use of both facets of his personality. The film’s second act requires that he perfect his suit prototype, and we are given scenes in which he flies around his garage, crashing into his expensive cars and taking out edifices with the unexpected power of his boots and gloves. There are also some funny moments that involve Tony chastising the robot assistants of his own creation. It is gratifying to see an engineer get back to his roots and have a little fun along the way. An exceptional sequence shows Tony on an apparent direct course to the moon before the temperature freezes his suit to the point of incapacity, the melting of Icarus’ wings on the flipside of the thermometer.

What “Iron Man” has to do is make Tony Stark’s humanity a focal point of its story. It accomplishes this to a respectable extent. Robert Downey Jr. might be the only actor capable of playing this part to the fullest. He has a great comic timing for his macho bravado, but not to the point where we don’t believe in his injuries when he asks for a battery change. The challenge, though, is making the audience care for a millionaire playboy who decides to make right on his ignorance.

We need to see the man behind the suit. Moreover, we need to see the man behind the money. The film’s action sequences are impressive; in particular, a scene in which Tony flies to rectify a small village scourged by terrorists carries with it a certain rush of justice being delivered. The spectacle is grand, but there are other scenes in which we simply see robotic men throwing one another into buses, playing with the toys that only they could afford. It’s a smart decision to give a glimpse of Tony’s face during these scenes as they tend to get carried away with themselves.

Jeff Bridges is effectively creepy as Tony’s partner, representing the evil and perverse remnants of his father’s machinations. With a shaved head and mighty beard, Bridges looks massive and intimidating. He wants Tony’s heart to make a war machine out of the suit design. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Tony’s extraordinarily tolerant assistant Pepper Potts, a name that only a comic concerned with spectacle could think up. Terrence Howard is also on board as an Air Force colonel specializing in weapons development. The film is directed by Jon Favreau, who has an impressive comedic resume and shows his love for the comic genre in his execution.

The movie, however, hinges on Robert Downey Jr.’s performance from start to finish. His is a great story of an actor overcoming his own demons to take a role that will be long remembered in film. And good for him. He’s as good as Tony Stark can be, in as interesting a story about a spoiled engineer who discovers his own humanity and sticks it in a cold, expressionless suit can be.