Iron Man (film)
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Iron Man is a 2008 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Directed by Jon Favreau, the film stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and master engineer who builds a powered exoskeleton and becomes the technologically advanced superhero, Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his personal assistant Pepper Potts, Terrence Howard plays military liaison James Rhodes and Jeff Bridges plays the villainous Obadiah Stane who becomes Iron Monger.
The film was in development from 1990 at Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, and New Line Cinema, before Marvel Studios reacquired the rights in 2006. Marvel put the project in production as their first self-financed film. Favreau signed on as director, aiming for a naturalistic feel, and he chose to shoot the film primarily in California, rejecting the East Coast setting of the comics to differentiate the film from numerous superhero movies set in New York City-esque environments. During filming, the actors were free to create their own dialogue because preproduction was focused on the story and action. Rubber and metal versions of the armors, created by Stan Winston's company, were mixed with computer-generated imagery to create the title character.
Marvel and Paramount Pictures, the distributor, planned a $50 million marketing campaign for the film, which is modeled on Paramount's successful promotion of Transformers (2007); Hasbro and Sega will sell merchandise, and product placement deals were made with Audi, Burger King, LG and 7-Eleven. Reviews have been overwhelmingly positive, particularly praising Downey's performance. The film's stars have signed on for two sequels, the first of them scheduled for release on April 30, 2010, and Downey also cameos as Stark in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk.
Contents |
Plot
During a business trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate Stark Industries' new weapon, the "Jericho" cluster missile, Tony Stark's convoy is attacked. As he tries to escape one of his own company's bombs lands near him and explodes. The blast causes him to lose consciousness and embeds several pieces of shrapnel in his chest, one fragment dangerously close to his heart. He wakes up some time later with an electromagnet attached to his chest. Hooked up to a car battery, the electromagnet keeps the shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him.
Stark has been captured by the terrorist group Ten Rings, who order him to build a Jericho missile for them. Instead, he and fellow captive Dr. Yinsen secretly build a crude but strong power armor fueled by a miniature "arc reactor", a smaller version of a power source previously invented by Stark. The arc reactor supplies energy to an electromagnet which prevents embedded shrapnel from reaching Stark's heart, which would kill him. Dr. Yinsen is killed in the ensuing escape attempt when he stalls the guards to buy Stark enough time to power up the suit. Using the suit, Stark kills several terrorists, destroys their weapons stockpile, and escapes, though his suit is destroyed as he crash lands in the desert. Upon being picked up by the Air Force and returning to the United States, Stark declares that his company will no longer manufacture weapons. His father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane, tells him that this move is blocked by the board members shortly after.
Stark retreats from public view, focusing on the design of his power suit, refining its size and flight capability. He also builds a more powerful and reliable mini-arc reactor to power both his life support and the suit. During his first public appearance since his return to the United States, he is accosted by a reporter who shows him pictures of Stark Industries weapons in the hands of terrorist groups, including the Jericho missiles he refused to build for them. He also discovers that Stane has been "dealing under the table", supplying weapons to both the U.S. troops and the terrorists, as well as being the one to shut Stark out of the board while he recovers. Faced with the realization of what his company has done, Stark dons the power suit and flies to Afghanistan, rescuing Yinsen's village from the Ten Rings. In destroying their weapon stockpiles, he accidentally draws the attention of the United States Air Force and his friend and company military liaison, Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes. Two F-22 Raptors are ordered to take out the unknown target and during the confrontation one of the Raptors loses its left wing when it collides with Stark. The pilot ejects shortly afterward but his parachute jams. Realizing this, Stark dives down to help the pilot safely land and escapes afterward.
Determined to make amends for his mistakes, Stark sends his assistant Pepper Potts to find the shipping records of Stark Industries, so he can track down the illicit shipments and destroy them. While hacking into the system she discovers that it was Stane who hired the Ten Rings to kill Stark, but they had reneged on the deal when they realized who the target was. She also discovers that Stane has recovered the power suit prototype and has reverse engineered his own version. However, his team of scientists, not possessing Stark's genius, cannot engineer the miniature arc reactor to power the new suit. Stane, upon realizing Pepper's discovery, steals Stark's own arc reactor from his chest to power his new suit, leaving Stark to die. Using his first reactor, which was not designed to power his latest armor, Stark battles with Stane atop Stark Industries and the surrounding streets, defeating him when the full-sized arc reactor that powers the lab is deliberately overloaded by Potts. Afterwards, Stark's alter ego is dubbed "Iron Man" by the press. Stark holds a press conference where his S.H.I.E.L.D. contacts advise him to state that Iron Man is Stark's bodyguard (the cover story used for years in the comics). However, he ultimately ends up going public, revealing his secret identity.
After the credits, S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury visits Stark some time later to discuss the Avenger Initiative.
Cast
Robert Downey Jr. plays Anthony "Tony" Stark / Iron Man: A billionaire industrialist, genius inventor, and consummate playboy, he is CEO of Stark Industries, a chief weapons manufacturer for the U.S. military. The son of a Manhattan Project engineer, Stark is an engineering prodigy, having built a circuit board at 4 years old and an engine at 6 years old, as well as graduating from MIT summa cum laude at the age of 17, shortly after which he inherited Stark Industries following his parents' deaths. He builds a suit of power armor to escape his Afghan captors after being kidnapped while performing a weapons test in the country and decides to help mankind as Iron Man.
Favreau had planned to cast a newcomer in the role,[2] but ultimately chose Downey (a fan of the comic)[3] because he felt the actor's past made him an appropriate choice for the part. "The best and worst moments of Robert's life have been in the public eye," the director explained. "He had to find an inner balance to overcome obstacles that went far beyond his career. That's Tony Stark. Robert brings a depth that goes beyond a comic book character who is having trouble in high school, or can't get the girl."[3] Favreau also felt Downey could make Stark a "likable asshole", but also depict an authentic emotional journey once he won over the audience.[4]
Downey had an office next to Favreau during pre-production, which allowed him greater involvement in the screenwriting process.[5] He brought a deeper sense of humor to the film not present in previous drafts of the script.[6] He explained, "What I usually hate about these [superhero] movies [is] when suddenly the guy that you were digging turns into Dudley Do-Right, and then you're supposed to buy into all his 'Let's go do some good!' That Eliot Ness-in-a-cape-type thing. What was really important to me was to not have him change so much that he's unrecognizable. When someone used to be a schmuck and they're not anymore, hopefully they still have a sense of humor."[7] To prepare, Downey spent five days a week weight training and practiced martial arts to get into shape,[3] which benefitted him because "it's hard not to have a personality meltdown [...] after about several hours in that suit. I'm calling up every therapeutic moment I can think of to just get through the day."[8]
Terrence Howard plays Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes: A pilot friend of Stark, and the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the department of acquisitions. Favreau cast Howard because he felt he could play War Machine in a sequel.[9] Howard prepared for the role by visiting Nellis Air Force Base on March 16, 2007, where he ate with the pilots and observed HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters and F-22 Raptors.[10] While Rhodes is roguish in the comics after he met Stark, his earlier disciplinarian character forms a dynamic with Stark, and he is unsure whether or not Stark's actions are acceptable. "Rhodey is completely disgusted with the way Tony has lived his life, but at a certain point he realizes that perhaps there is a different way," Howard said. "Whose life is the right way; is it the strict military life, or the life of an independent?"[8]
Howard and his father are Iron Man fans, partly because Rhodes was one of the few black superheroes when he was a child.[11] He was a Downey fan since he saw him in Weird Science, and they competed physically on set: "Robert and his competitive ass almost tore my shoulder trying to keep up with him. Because I'm forty or fifty pounds heavier than him, so I'm in there lifting and I pushed up about 225 and knocked it out ten times. Robert wanted to go about 235, and he did it. So I'm going to push it up to about 245. I took him out running and gave him some nice cramps. He couldn't walk after a couple of days."
Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane: Stark's second-in-command, who wants control of the company. When Stark declares he will no longer manufacture arms, Stane steals the blueprints for the Mark I armor to create his own, bigger version. Bridges read the comics as a boy and liked Favreau's modern, realistic approach. He shaved his hair and grew a gray beard for the role, which was something he had wanted to do for some time. Bridges googled the Book of Obadiah, and he was surprised to learn retribution is a major theme in that particular book of the Bible, something which Stane represents.[13] The character was called Iron Monger in the comics when he used his armor, but the codename is only referenced in the film when Stane describes himself and Stark as "iron mongers".
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Virginia "Pepper" Potts: Stark's personal secretary and budding love interest. Paltrow asked Marvel to send her any comics that they would consider relevant to her understanding of the character, which she considered to be very smart, levelheaded, and grounded. She said she liked "the fact that there's a sexuality that's not blatant." Favreau wanted Potts' and Stark's relationship to be reminiscent of a 1940s comedy, something which Paltrow considered to be fun in a sexy yet innocent way.
Shaun Toub plays Dr. Yinsen: Stark's fellow captive in Afghanistan. He is a surgeon who has traveled the world and was kidnapped by the Ten Rings terrorist group. He saves Stark from death when Stark was injured by shrapnel, and uses an electromagnet to suspend the shards he couldn't remove, lest they cause fatal damage to Stark's heart. He assists Stark in creating the Mark I and keeping it a secret from their captors. He also acts as Stark's mentor, showing him humility during their time together, and his death being one of the principal reasons behind Stark's decision to change the direction of his company. In the comics, Yinsen is Chinese and a physicist, but in the film, he comes from an Afghan village called Gulmira.
Faran Tahir plays Raza: A terrorist hired by Stane to kill Stark, who then orders Stark to build a Stark Industries missile system for his organization, the Ten Rings. Tahir is a fan of the comics, and wanted to bring humanity to the henchman. "I tried to find ways to show that although he may be the bad guy, there might be a moment or just a hint of vulnerability at times, where he hasn't made the right calculations or there's a certain amount of doubt. Jon was very receptive to that kind of layering."
Paul Bettany voices J.A.R.V.I.S.: Stark's personal AI, which assists him in the construction and programming of the Iron Man suit. The name of the character is a reference to the comic book character Edwin Jarvis, Stark's butler. Bettany did the part as a favor to Favreau (whom he worked with in Wimbledon) and claimed he did not know what film he was recording the lines for during his two-hour recording session.
Leslie Bibb plays Christine Everhart: A Vanity Fair columnist whom Stark sleeps with before he leaves for Afghanistan. Later, she appears again, to tell Stark of the Ten Rings in Gulmira and at the end, suspecting Stark of being Iron Man.
Clark Gregg appears throughout the film as Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Samuel L Jackson appears as their head Nick Fury following the credits. Other cameos include Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee (whom Stark mistakes for Hugh Hefner at a party), and director Jon Favreau as Stark's bodyguard/chauffeur Happy Hogan. Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who provides additional guitar music for the film, has a brief cameo as a guard. Jim Cramer, star of CNBC's Mad Money also appeared as himself, commenting on the investment opportunities ("Sell, Sell, Sell") of Stark Industries. Rapper Ghostface Killah cameoed in a scene where Stark briefly stays in Dubai while returning to Afghanistan, but it was cut for pacing reasons.
Production
Development
In April 1990, Universal Studios bought the rights to develop Iron Man for the big screen. Stuart Gordon was to direct Universal's low-budget film. By February 1996, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights from Universal. In January 1997, actor Nicolas Cage expressed interest in being cast for the lead role, and in September 1998, actor Tom Cruise had expressed interest in producing as well as starring in the film debut of Iron Man. Jeff Vintar and Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee co-wrote a story which Vintar adapted into a screenplay. Jeffrey Caine (GoldenEye) rewrote Vintar's script. Director Quentin Tarantino was approached in October 1999 to write and direct Iron Man. With no deal made, Fox eventually sold the rights to New Line Cinema the following December. By July 2000, the film was being written for the studio by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, and Tim McCanlies. McCanlies's script used the idea of an Ultimate Nick Fury cameo to set up his own film. New Line entered talks with Joss Whedon, a fan of the character Iron Man, in June 2001 for the possibility of the director taking the helm. In December 2002, McCanlies had turned in a completed script. "We worked with Michael Crichton's researchers to find a grounded realistic way to deal with the suit. The idea was he needed the suit to stay alive. He’s the same guy we used with Spider-Man 2 to come up with Doc Ock's inhibitor chips and what the arms are made of and how they work. [...] Mandarin was an Indonesian terrorist who masqueraded as a rich playboy who Tony knew." —Alfred Gough on his draft for Nick Cassavetes's and New Line's aborted version
In December 2004, the studio attached director Nick Cassavetes to the project for a target 2006 release. After two years of unsuccessful development, and the deal with Cassavetes falling through, New Line Cinema returned the film rights to Marvel. Screenplay drafts had been written by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and David Hayter, but they were not retained. New Line's script pitted Iron Man against his father, who becomes War Machine. In November 2005, Marvel Studios worked to start development from scratch, and announced it as their first independent feature, as Iron Man was their only major character not depicted in live action.
In April 2006, Jon Favreau became the film's director, with Arthur Marcum and Matt Holloway writing the script.[37] Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby worked separately, with Favreau compiling both team's scripts,[38] and the script received a polish by John August. Comic book staff Mark Millar, Brian Michael Bendis, Joe Quesada, Tom Brevoort, Axel Alonso and Ralph Macchio were also summoned by Favreau to give advice on the script.
Favreau had wanted to work with Marvel producer Avi Arad on another film after the Daredevil adaptation.[5] Favreau celebrated getting the job by going on a diet, and lost seventy pounds. The director found the opportunity to create a politically ambitious "ultimate spy movie" in Iron Man, citing inspiration from Tom Clancy, James Bond and RoboCop. Favreau also described his approach as similar to an independent film, "[if Robert Altman had directed Superman", and also cited Batman Begins as an inspiration. He wanted to make Iron Man a story of an adult man literally reinventing himself, and realizing the world is far more complex than he believes. Favreau changed the Vietnam War origin of the character to Afghanistan, as he did not want to do a period piece.
Choosing a villain was difficult, because Favreau felt Iron Man's archnemesis, the Mandarin, would not feel realistic, especially after Mark Millar gave his opinion on the script.[40] He felt only in a sequel, with an altered tone, would the fantasy of the Mandarin's rings be appropriate.[44] The decision to push him into the background is comparable to Sauron in The Lord of the Rings,[42] and Palpatine in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Favreau also wanted Iron Man to face a giant enemy. The switch from Mandarin to Obadiah Stane was done after Bridges was cast.[21] Stane was intended to become a villain in the sequel. Crimson Dynamo was also a villain in early drafts in the script.[6]
Filming
Production was based in the former Hughes Company soundstages in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. Favreau rejected the East Coast setting of the comic books as many superhero films were set there, and he wanted to avoid repetition in his film. Hughes was one of the inspirations for the comic book, and the filmmakers acknowledged the coincidence that they would film Iron Man creating the flying Mark III where the Hughes H-4 Hercules "Spruce Goose" was built.
Filming began on March 12, 2007,[46] with the first few weeks spent on Stark's captivity in Afghanistan. The cave where Stark is imprisoned was a 150-200 yard (150-200 m) long set, which was built with movable forks in the caverns to allow greater freedom for the film's crew.[9] Production designer J. Michael Riva saw footage of a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan, and saw the cold breath as he spoke: realizing remote caves are actually very cold, Riva placed an air conditioning system in the set. He also sought Downey's advice about make-shift objects in prison, such as a sock being used to make tea. All this created greater authenticity.[13] Afterwards, Stark's capture was filmed at Lone Pine, and other exterior scenes in Afghanistan were filmed at Olancha Sand Dunes. There, the crew had to endure two days of 40 to 60-mile an hour (60 to 100 km/h) winds.
Filming at Edwards Air Force Base began in mid-April, and was completed on May 2. Exterior shots of Stark's home were digitally composited on footage of Point Dume in Malibu, while the interior was built at Playa Vista, where Favreau and Riva aimed to make Stark's home look less futuristic and more "grease monkey". Filming concluded on June 25, 2007 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Favreau, a newcomer to action films, remarked "I'm shocked that I [was] on schedule. I thought that there were going to be many curveballs." He hired "people who are good at creating action", so "the human story [felt] like it belongs to the comic book genre".
There was much improvisation in dialogue scenes, because the script was not done when filming began (the filmmakers had focused on the story making sense and planning the action). Favreau acknowledged this would make the film feel more natural though. Some scenes were shot with two cameras to capture lines said on the spot. Multiple takes were done as Downey wanted to try something new.[21] It was Downey's idea to have Stark hold a news conference on the floor,[8] and he created the speech Stark makes when demonstrating the "Jericho".
When shooting the Nick Fury cameo, Brian Michael Bendis had written three pages of dialogue for the scene, the best lines of which the filmmakers chose. The cameo was filmed with a skeleton crew in order to keep it a secret, but rumours appeared on the Internet only days later. Marvel Studios's Kevin Feige subsequently ordered the scene deleted from all preview prints in order to maintain the surprise and keep fans guessing.[51]
Effects
Favreau wanted the film to be believable by showing the construction of the suit in its three stages. Stan Winston, a fan of the comic book, and his company built metal and rubber versions of the armors. They had previously worked on Favreau's Zathura. Favreau's main concern with the effects was whether the transition between the computer-generated and practical costumes would be too obvious.[52] Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) was hired to create the bulk of the visual effects with additional work being completed by The Orphanage and The Embassy; Favreau trusted ILM after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Transformers.
The Mark I design was intended to look like it was built from spare parts: particularly, the back is less armored than the front, as Stark would use his resources to make a forward attack. It also foreshadows the design of Stane's armor. A single 90 pounds (41 kg) version was built, causing concern when a stuntman fell over inside it. Both the stuntman and the suit were unscathed. The armor was also designed to only have its top half worn at times. The Embassy created a digital version of the Mark I. Stan Winston Studios built a 10 feet (3.0 m), 800 pounds (360 kg) animatronic version of the comic character "Iron Monger" (Obadiah Stane), a name which Obadiah Stane calls Tony Stark and himself earlier in the film. The animatronic required five operators for the arm, and was built on a gimbal to simulate walking. A scale model was used for the shots of it being built.
The Mark II resembles an airplane prototype, with visible flaps.[21] Iron Man comic book artist Adi Granov designed the Mark III with Phil Saunders.[54] Granov's designs were the primary inspiration for the film's design, and he came on board the film after he recognized his work on Jon Favreau's MySpace page. Saunders streamlined Granov's concept art, making it stealthier and less cartoonish in its proportions. Sometimes, Downey would only wear the helmet, sleeves and chest of the costume over a motion capture suit. For shots of the Mark III flying, it was animated to look realistic by taking off slowly, and landing quickly. To generate shots of Iron Man and the F-22 Raptors battling, cameras were flown in the air to provide reference for physics, wind and frost on the lenses. For further study of the physics of flying, skydivers were filmed in a vertical wind tunnel.
Box office
In its opening weekend, Iron Man grossed $98,618,668 in 4,105 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #1 at the box office, making it the eleventh-biggest movie opening weekend of all time, ninth widest release in terms of theaters, and the second highest-grossing opening weekend of 2008 behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It grossed $35.2 million on its first day, making it the 13th-biggest opening day. Iron Man had the second-best premiere ever for a non-sequel, coming behind Spider-Man. It had the fourth-biggest opening for a superhero movie.[85] Iron Man was also the #1 film in the United States and Canada in its second weekend, grossing $51.1 million[80], making it the 12th-best second weekend of all time and the fifth-best for a non-sequel.[86] In its third week of release, it dropped out of the #1 spot, coming in at #2 behind The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
As of June 1, 2008, Iron Man has grossed $519,166,336 worldwide — $276,166,336 in the United States and Canada and $243,000,000 in other territories. It is currently the highest-grossing film of 2008.
Sequels
Jon Favreau planned Iron Man as the first in a trilogy, and has signed on all the original actors.[9] The day following the first film's highly successful opening weekend, Marvel Entertainment announced a release date of April 30, 2010, for Iron Man 2. Thor will cameo. Favreau feels depicting Iron Man's nemesis, the Mandarin, who was created as a metaphor for communism, will be challenging, as he finds the character dated. He also wants to streamline the effort it takes for Stark to put on his armor, considering the "assembly line" effort he makes in the first film. Terrence Howard said he would like to follow the slow arc of the comics with Rhodes temporarily becoming Iron Man while Stark succumbs to alcohol, joking, "I don't want to introduce War Machine too early for my own monetary benefit."
Favreau believes the sequel will allow a latitude in tone, and explore darker story elements such as alcoholism, which he intentionally set aside from the first film. Downey noted "the next one is about what do you do with the rest of your life once you've completely changed. [...] I think the drinking and all that stuff would be a good way to confront his age, to confront his doubts, to confront the fact that maybe Pepper gets a boyfriend." Downey and Favreau met with Shane Black, who suggested they model Stark on Robert Oppenheimer, who became depressed with being "the destroyer of worlds" after working on the Manhattan Project.
Downey will make a cameo appearance as Stark in the 2008 film version of The Incredible Hulk,[93] while Favreau has expressed interest in directing Downey as the character in The Avengers (planned for 2011). The director considers The Avengers as the third film; "It's very difficult to keep these franchises from running out of gas after two [movies]. The high point seems to be the second one, judging by history: If you just look at the consensus in the reviews, you see that X-Men 2 and Spider-Man 2 are sort of seen by the fans as the sort of high point of both franchises... But to be able to fold it into an Avengers is something you just couldn't do in another studio, and I think what Marvel is about is stuff you can't do at a bigger studio.