Favreau brings ‘Iron Man’ to life on big screen
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Actor-turned-director Jon Favreau (“Elf”) will develop and direct a big-screen adaptation of “Iron Man,” a Marvel Studios project based on the comic book about an armored hero with issues.
The project originally was set up at New Line with Nick Cassavetes directing.
In the comic, Iron Man’s real identity is that of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, who develops an armored suit that lets him fly and shoot “repulsor rays.” The comic debuted in the 1960s, and Iron Man’s origin involved Stark being a prisoner of the Viet Cong. The comic evolved into Stark fighting spies, both political and industrial, while also battling alcoholism.
Favreau, who appeared as “Foggy Nelson” in Marvel’s 2003″Daredevil” movie, most recently directed the effects-heavy family adventure movie “Zathura: A Space Adventure.” Notwithstanding that picture, his sensibilities have been to eschew computer-imaging in favor of an almost retro aesthetic, but “Iron Man” will see him changing his tune.
“I’ve always been very reticent to use CGI to the extent that it has been used by other filmmakers,” Favreau said in an interview. “I think that now, through motion-capture and the integration of miniatures with CGI, like in ‘King Kong,’ I’m starting to be a lot more convinced by what the technology can do. But the idea of using CGI and relying solely on that to tell your story, those days are past. I think that integrating practical filmmaking and augmenting it with CGI is the key to making it an emotionally involved story.”
“Iron Man” will be Favreau’s next movie, and he hopes to go behind the camera early next year.
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