The big screen outing for Marvel comic book superhero Iron Man might be a long way off (due for release in 2008) but as anticipation builds amongst fans, director Jon Favreau has taken time to answer questions about the project on his Myspace site:

Fan:
1. Will Tony inherit his forturne a la Lex Luthor, or will we see him earn his fortune throughout the course of the film?
2. The classic Kill Bill question: Is Tony Stark’s pretending to be Iron Man or is Iron Man pretending to be Tony Stark?

Jon Favreau:
1. Inherits
2. Tony is the dominant personality.

Fan:
I know it starts in Afghanistan, but wouldn’t a fictional Middle Eastern State be better? I mean wouldn’t it date the movie eventually or am I reading too much into it. It’s minor I know, but I was curious.

Jon Favreau:
You make a very good point and one that we’ve been wrestling with. Is it better to keep the specifics of geography a bit ambiguous in order to afford us more leeway in the storytelling? I think a balance needs to be struck between reality and comic book fantasy. The books were always non-specific while alluding to definitive aspects of our collective cultural subconscious. Stark was visiting a “non-specific Asian/American conflict” in the mid-sixties. This might be the way to go for the movie as well.

Fan:
I know you announced Mandrin as the villan. Please don’t use some guy who can’t speak english as Mandrin. I know he’s suppose to be Chinese, but it really turns me off to see some guy who’s suppose to be asian always played off as this stereotyped bad accented, kung fu kicking, fortune telling, obnoxious, emasulated wienie of a man who no woman would be interested in. Please have someone who can a) speak english without a bad accent b) look evil and scary without looking like a wussy c) be cool in his own way. So my point is just, don’t play Mandrin as the super asian stereotype as in the comics. Create a new image of Mandrin. Most people don’t know who Mandrin is anyway. I doubt even the most geeky of comic book fans know who the Mandrin really is or even have any feelings one way or another on the character.

Jon Favreau:
I’m glad that I set up this group for no reason other than to answer questions like these.

We live in a different society than when the Mandarin was originally conceived. We in no way want to prepetuate any ridiculous stereotypes. The aspect of the Mandarin that is appealing to us is his mysterious and formidible nature. He is the most powerful and definitive of the Iron Man villians. He also allows us to weave in other fan pleasing “personalities” as he is a mastermind and not simply a brutish thug. The Mandarin presents the best opportuntity to write a complex and colorful character. It has always been my feeling that the villian is the most fun character to play, write for, and watch. If we create a great character, a great actor will hopefully follow. These are our goals. I happen to think that any portrayal of this villian similar to the early books would be comical at best and offensive at worst. Neither result is what we are going for. I hope to update the paradigm and create a character who is a villian because of what he does, not where he’s from or what he looks like.

Fan:
Scooper Shan wrote me today from the Comic Con with a scoop regarding the possibility of Tom Cruise still being involved in IRON MAN.

Jon Favreau:
If by “in the bag” they mean drunk, I think they’re referring to Mr. Gibson in Malibu. I’ve never even met Tom Cruise, though I do think he is a great actor. He doesn’t seem to fit with what Marvel is looking for at this time, but you never know what will happen. The rumor is false as far as I know.

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Posted by Elgar in Iron Man, Movies • Add to del.icio.us Add to Digg