USA: Summer movie season begins as Marvel comic favorite "Iron Man" premieres in Los Angeles

Record ID: 218861

  • Title: USA: Summer movie season begins as Marvel comic favorite "Iron Man" premieres in Los Angeles
  • Date: 9th May 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARVEL COMICS CREATOR STAN LEE, SAYING: "I am my biggest fan, and everything I ever wrote was close to my heart and I loved it dearly, and I loved 'Iron Man' because I sort of did it on a dare, at the time when young readers were opposed to the war, and they hated the military industrial complex, and they hated big businessmen, I decided to make a hero who was a big businessman, part of the military industrial complex, and he makes munitions for the army, and we shoved it down their throat and we made them like him, and they're gonna love him because of our friend Robert Downey Jr."
  • Embargoed: 24th May 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA20VC5J1P320CKE5L6JFRBGR3
  • Story Text: Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow joined co-stars of their latest film "Iron Man," along with Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee, at the film's red carpet premiere in Los Angeles.
    The summer movie season begins with the red carpet premiere of "Iron Man," starring Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire playboy Tony Stark, in the first big screen adaptation of the popular Marvel comic. Downey was joined on the red carpet by co-star Gwyneth Paltrow and the film's director Jon Favreau, and told Reuters why he thinks the "Iron Man"
    character is so popular among comic book fans.
    "His superpower was really his mind and his invention, and I think that is a very typically American mythology, and also it's a scientific fact, when you're innovating and when you are doing that stuff, of course, in the context of the movie he uses it to save his own ass, which is also not a bad way to use it."
    Robert Downey Jr. has been known for his highly-publicized personal demons, which critics in early reviews say made him the perfect actor to be cast for the role of Tony Stark, whose transformation into "Iron Man" forces him to question who he is and what he stands for. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Downey's love interest in the film and like many critics, she agrees that Robert Downey Jr. was the best fit for "Iron Man."
    "I think he's the perfect actor for any role, I mean, he's so brilliant and he's so, he can do anything, and of course, our life experiences always inform what we do, but he's a genius, and he can do anything," says Paltrow.
    Director Jon Favreau thought to do a big screen adaptation of "Iron Man" because he loved the comic as a kid. He also wanted to bring the comic to light, as it is not considered a smash hit in the way that the "X-Men" and "Spiderman" comics are.
    "'Iron Man' is one of the few remaining Marvel heroes that have never been adapted to the big screen, and he wasn't that well known about a year ago to the general population, but comic book fans knew him, he's been around for forty years, and Tony Stark has been one of the most dynamic characters behind the suit of any of the Marvel heroes," says Director Jon Favreau.
    One of the highlights for comic book fans watching "Iron Man" will be the high-tech suit designed and worn by Tony Stark in the film. For actor Jeff Bridges, the character of "Iron Man" stands out because he is simply human, with no otherworldly characteristics other than his sharp wit.
    "Jon Favreau, the director, really wanted to ground it in reality and so when you see this character, he doesn't really have any magic powers or anything, he's just a guy who has enough smarts to build this suit, and the way you see it in the movie it looks like, 'oh well, we'll all be flying around pretty soon,' it's very real, very practical," says actor Jeff Bridges.
    Also attending the premiere was Marvel Comics and "Iron Man"
    creator Stan Lee, who looked forward to seeing the big-screen adaptation of his beloved comic. Lee admitted that he still loves to hear the audience react positively to films based on his ideas, and explained how he came up with "Iron Man."
    "I am my biggest fan," says Lee, "And everything I ever wrote was close to my heart and I loved it dearly, and I loved 'Iron Man' because I sort of did it on a dare, at the time when young readers were opposed to the war, and they hated the military industrial complex, and they hated big businessmen, I decided to make a hero who was a big businessman, part of the military industrial complex, and he makes munitions for the army, and we shoved it down their throat and we made them like him, and they're gonna love him because of our friend Robert Downey Jr."
    "Iron Man" premieres in the United States on May 2.
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