Robert Downey Jr. Talks IRON MAN 3; Praises Shane Black, Jon Favreau And Sir Ben Kingsley
Recalling Iron Man 3 director Shane Black's contribution to the first film, actor Robert Downey Jr. also praises the performances of Jon Favreau and Sir Ben Kingsley in the action thriller. Check it out!
“I adore him. I’ve been a fan of Shane Black since I saw Lethal Weapon. When we were doing the first Iron Man, Jon Favreau and I used to call up Shane Black. We had two lifeline calls; one was to [Star Trek Into Darkness director] J.J. Abrams, which was about the third act [of Iron Man]. And for the other call, we went to Shane’s house. We couldn’t afford him, so in exchange for helping us with a few key scenes, he asked for a piece of Salmon and fresh blueberries.”
Recalling Shane's contribution, the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang actor continued, “For instance, in the Iron Man scene where Tony Stark comes back from captivity and calls a press conference, and then asked everybody to sit down, the speech Stark gives all came from Shane Black. So to get him to do Iron Man 3, it has just been this awesome experience and one of my favorite working experiences. Iron Man 3 is going to be a very, very bold genre film, from the storytelling.”
“Jon Favreau reprises his role as Happy Hogun,” said Downey, after acknowledging that Favreau’s no longer in the director’s chair. “Happy has an amazing arc in this movie. In fact, probably the best two bits of acting in the movie, so far from what I can tell...which sucks because I’m in every frame, are Favreau as Happy Hogun...I can’t give away much, but it’s ridiculous. And also Sir Ben Kingsley [as the Mandarin]. Kingsley is amazing. And a lot of that had to do with the way that Shane crafted the role for Sir Ben. I think that people are gonna be not [totally] surprised, but they’re gonna be just reinvested in what a brilliant actor Kinglsey is.”
Back on the subject of Iron Man 3’s co-writer and helmer, Robert Downey Jr. concluded, “Shane Black really knows the superhero genre, but I think the main thing [that’s great about him] is that he’s always looking at complexities within complexities [and so on]. And he always likes it when a film kinda stops for a reason you can’t understand and then kinda picks up and goes in a direction you’ve never imagined. Usually when you have a straight-forward narrative, if at act 1, 2 or 3, ‘There’s Tony, Tony’s in trouble, where’s Pepper, Tony wins,’” Downey laughed. “By the time we were doing the 2nd one, I was like ‘where’s Pepper.’ Shane is just a genius!”
Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man? Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968. “Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures & DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing & Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Stephen Broussard, Victoria Alonso, Alan Fine, Charles Newirth, Stan Lee & Dan Mintz are exec producers. The film hits May 3, 2013, & is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pict.