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Jeff Bridges' Cool Photography

Like Variety's H.A.L. blogger, I too miss Jeff Bridges' set photography from the now defunct Premiere magazine. He's posting it now to his very interesting website. Check out his photographs from Iron Man!

Hat tip: Variety's H.A.L.

Why was Terrance Howard dumped for Iron Man 2?

The Movie Blog has some insight on what happened with the casting change for War Machine in Iron Man 2. I like both Terrance Howard and Don Cheadle, but it was one of those WTF? moments as to why the change. Word is leaking out:

According to Entertainment Weekly some new information is surfacing regarding WHY Howard was dumped.

Turns out it was for 2 reasons.

#1 - He was the highest paid actor on the movie
Yes, according to Entertainment Weekly, Terrance Howard was signed for MORE than Robert Downey Jr and everyone else on the movie. This isn’t too surprising because the studio wasn’t sure how the public would react to Downy at the time and Howard was, quite frankly, the bigger name. Still… a minor character getting more than the leads?

#2 - Howard was difficult on set and bad in the film
It’s being reported now that the studio, and director Jon Favreau himself did not like the performance Terrance Howard gave nor liked working with him that much. According to the story, Favreau spent a lot of time cutting and re-editing Howard’s scenes to make them work. It was so bad, that even though the original plan was to have a BIGGER role for Howard in the second film, Favreau had been working to make Howard’s role SMALLER. This was the final straw that made the studio pull the trigger and make the change.

Damn. Terrance Howard was the highest paid on that movie for minimal screen time? That is a WTF. At the time of casting, it was a very different story than it is today. Now, Robert Downey Jr. is on top of the heap, but back then he was a real risk. But let's review, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges were also in Iron Man and Howard was the highest paid? WTF?!

Iron Man vs. Batman

Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Reel Geezers Review Iron Man

Have you seen the Reel Geezers yet? These are two octogenarians, titans of Hollywood, who have started their own YouTube channel reviewing movies.

Lorenzo is actually Lorenzo Semple, 84. One of Hollywood's top screenwriters in the 1970s, he helped write movies for virtually every star of the day, notably Warren Beatty ("The Parallax View"), Robert Redford ("Three Days of the Condor"), Steve McQueen ("Papillon") and Paul Newman ("The Drowning Pool"). His foil is Marcia Nasatir, 81, a longtime agent, pioneering woman production executive and producer of such films as "The Big Chill" and "Hamburger Hill."

And as Lorenzo notes in this clip, he wrote the Batman TV series.

Iron Man scores! Eighth best opening weekend gross EVER

I am so happy for Robert Downey, Jr.!!
From Variety Box Office:

Paramount and Marvel Studios' summer tentpole "Iron Man" mined enough in its box office debut to join the pantheon all-time highest openers, grossing an estimated $104.2 million domestically and $96.7 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $201 million in its first five days.

The film biz couldn't have asked for a better start to the summer season, with "Iron Man" mirroring the birth of the "Spider-Man" franchise.

Domestically, the Robert Downey Jr. topliner grossed $100.7 million for the weekend--particularly on the strength of older males--and another $3.5 million from select Thursday night shows.

That gives "Iron Man," directed by Jon Favreau, the 8th best opening weekend ever, and the second-best debut for a non-sequel after "Spider-Man," which opened to $114.8 million on the same weekend in 2002.

Iron Man Blasts Off!

Although today in Chicago was in the 40's and rainy, it was the first day of summer to me. It's the start of the summer movie blockbuster season. It used to be that the summer movie season started with the Memorial Day weekend, but now it's this weekend, the first weekend in May. I was bouncing up and down in my seat with my family, the biggest kid of all. The theater was packed for an afternoon show, and from accounts, that's the way it was everywhere. Iron Man had such advance demand that it played not just at midnight shows on Thursday, but starting at 8:00 p.m.

"Iron Man," the latest Marvel comics title brought to the big screen, grossed an estimated $32.5 million from its first full day in North American theaters, independent box office analysts reported on Saturday.

That tally, generated from Friday showings in some 4,100 U.S. and Canadian cinemas, put "Iron Man" on track to meet or exceed the $85 million-plus opening weekends posted by sequels to two other Marvel franchises -- "Spider-Man" and "X-Men."

The movie, which cost about $150 million to make and another $75 million to market, co-stars Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow and has drawn mostly favorable reviews.

Distributed through Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures, the film is the first self-financed production from Marvel Studios and is being closely watched as the first major release of the summer movie season.

So, is the movie worth your $9 or $10? Most definitely. It's a spectacle picture that needs to be seen on the big screen -- and loud! I would agree with the 3 and a half star reviews. Robert Downey, Jr. is just perfection as Tony Stark. I love that this is not another "coming of age" superhero movie like Spiderman or Superman. This is the story of a man who'd already lived, and something happens to rock his world and change his view of his life. Casting Robert Downey, Jr. is a shorthand to so much. We see him and we already think hard living, partier -- and smartass. Favorite line to his assistant played by Gwyneth Paltrow when she finds him taking off the Iron Man suit: "Let's be honest, this isn't the worst thing you've caught me doing. "

Gwyneth is surprisingly good as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's long suffering assistant and Jeff Bridges is a serviceable villain, but not one for the ages. Terrence Howard doesn't have much to do, but I was amused that the director, Jon Favreau appears in a cameo as Tony Stark's bodyguard and driver.

Since the film is due to do well, sequel plans are already in the works:

Paramount honcho Brad Grey has apparently stated that as long as the flick does "as well as expected" (and there's no reason to think it won't), the studio wants to get a sequel in theaters for the same May weekend in 2010.

Of course, IRON MAN isn't actually a Paramount movie -- it's Marvel's first self-financed project to hit screens, with Paramount distributing. But with the buzz so far, it's no great surprise they'd all want to get Downey back in the super-suit ASAP. Director Jon Favreau has already said he planned a loose structure for three movies, with Mandarin presumably making a villain appearance along the line.

Iron Man set to have big weekend

The reviews are pouring in, and Iron Man is getting raves! All the papers in Chicago give it 3 and a half stars. I won't be able to see it till Saturday, but I CAN'T WAIT! The summer movie season is starting with a bang! Made of Honor is not getting the best reviews, however. They're calling it a My Best Friend's Wedding with the genders reversed, and a retread. Will there be any oxygen left for Made of Honor? They're trying the counterprogramming for women, but Iron Man should make over $70 million this weekend, especially since they had an early start with 8:00 p.m. showings Thursday night!

Early Iron Man Review from Variety

W00T!! Variety likes Iron Man!

Finally, someone's found a sure-fire way to make money with a modern Middle East war movie: Just send a Marvel superhero into the fray to kick some insurgent butt. The powerhouse comicbook-inspired actioner "Iron Man" isn't principally about this fantasy, but it won't hurt at least American audiences' enjoyment of this expansively entertaining special effects extravaganza. Having an actor as supercharged as Robert Downey Jr. at the center of such a tech-oriented enterprise reps a huge plus, and Paramount should reap big B.O. rewards by getting out ahead of the summer tentpole pack with such a classy refitting of an overworked format.

Snapping off lines as crisply as Bugs Bunny might bite into a carrot, the sculpture-bearded Downey invigorates the entire proceedings in a way no other actor ever has in this field. Initially conveying Tony's Matt Helm lifestyle as if it's second nature, Downey possesses a one-of-a-kind intensity that perfectly serves the character's second-act drive and obstinacy. His Achilles' heel is his heart, at first threatened by shrapnel and later central to his superpower and his submerged romantic relationship with ever-loyal assistant Pepper Potts, who Gwyneth Paltrow, in an unexpected casting move, endows with smarts and appeal.

Iron Man World Premiere!

My favorite Tasmanian YouTuber, Blunty3000 was able to attend the world premiere of Iron Man in Sydney, Australia. He took video on the red carpet and was able to interview Jon Favreau, the director, and Robert Downey, Jr. His verdict, spoiler free, is that it is AWESOME! Due to restrictions on YouTube, he posted the video on his CoolShite.net site.