Favreau Updates on IRON MAN Flying Rumor
By: Jarrod Sarafin, News EditorDate: Sunday, September 16, 2007
Source: Jon Favreau's Official Blog, Variety
It seems that David Cohen over at Variety published an erroneous statement, something uncommon for the trade magazine, regarding IRON MAN. In a news story Friday, the columnist said there would be no flying Iron Man in the finalized version of the film reporting that the scenes with him flying alongside fighter jets in the much talked about trailer was a special scene created just for the Comic Con promo, not the film. This type of special promotional footage isn't unheard of inside the industry and has been frequently used before leading fans of films to recall a trailer that had footage never appearing the final film. Most of the time, it's assumed it was edited out by the director but in some cases, it was never intended for the film.
Here's what Cohen had to say on the subject of the flying Iron Man footage..
The trailer for Paramount's May tentpole "Iron Man" debuted last week, generating buzz among superhero fans.
The trailer features a generous helping of Robert Downey Jr. as sardonic arms dealer turned armored-warrior Tony Stark, glimpses of his armor and an impressive sequence where Iron Man flies, outracing fighter jets.
The sequence had to generate buzz, since that's the only reason it exists. It won't be in the movie. In fact, it wasn't even made for the movie.
A spokesman for Industrial Light & Magicconfirms that the flying Iron Man shots are not "finals" (completed, delivered visual effects) and were only made for the film's Comic-Con promo reel.
There's a tradition of creating material just for the trailer: Savvy scribes have long known that some scenes they write are likely to be in the trailer but not make it into the final cut.
One wag says he's often asked to write what he calls the "So Far" scene, where the lead might tell his best buddy, "So far, I've built a suit of armor that makes me a superhero, but I'm spending so much time fighting crime my girlfriend thinks I'm cheating on her."
Development execs like such scenes: They're useful in the trailer and superfluous in the film. But advance promotional shots are a bigger headache for visual f/x companies. Trailers have to go out months ahead of the f/x delivery date, at a time when the shop may still be in the midst of critical R&D. Temp effects and promotional shots eat up resources and time. And they're nitpicked by millions at a point when f/x pros might prefer not to be showing anything to anyone outside the office.
But they do grab fans' attention, as the "Iron Man" teaser did. So look for more stunning visuals in tentpole trailers to come.
Just don't count on them being in the film.
This news story had fans looking forward to the film scratching their heads in confusion. Some news outlets echoed the very same questions and finally someone asked Favreau himself over at his official blog. The director shot down the Variety piece having this to say on the subject..
It's in the movie. It's true that the shots were rushed for Comic Con, but the F-22 dogfight has been in the works for over a year and was the furthest along of the film's set pieces. That's how we were able to get it on the screen nearly a year before the premiere.
To see the official trailer over at Apple, click here.
IRON MAN hits theaters everywhere May 2, 2008.





Can anyone tell me if the comic Iron Man has the ability to fly?