Iron Man 2 poster was just released...



*squeals with girl-nerd happiness*

Iron Man + War Machine = FUCKING AWESOME. All I can say is, in addition to having the obviously required Sabbath "Iron Man" in the movie, I want to hear AC/DC's War Machine when he's revealed for the first time (or shortly thereafter.)

I cannot wait for this movie. Did I mention that?

username wrote:

don cheadle > terrence howard

This. He's brilliant. As long as he takes it seriously (and he's said he's a comic fan), we're gonna have a hell of a War Machine. Also, the reason Howard left is he was having pay and/or attitude issues with the studio and/or director, depending on exactly which version you listen to.

I have to disagree on the villains of Batman Begins being boring. Personally, and this may be blasphemy, but I enjoy BB a lot more than TDK. Nothing wrong with TDK you understand, I just enjoy the story of BB a lot more. Liam Neeson was brilliant as Al'Ghul, and Cillian Murphy was the most fantastic Scarecrow you could ask for. I wish he had been in it more. Not to take away anything from a great performance as Joker, but he's always been...kind of a meh villain to me. (Well okay, unless Mark Hamil is playing him.) Give me Scarecrow or Riddler or Al'Ghul any day.

Well, let me amend that: the Joker FEELS meh in most of the movie versions. He's played either too light and there's no threat (see: Ceaser Romero, although admittedly that was kind of the point) or just too dark (like in TDK and "The Killing Joke" comic), and he feels like a generic psychopath in clown makeup with nothing particularly special about him.

Personally the only people to get him just right are Mark Hamil and the Animated Series. PERFECT blend of insane, childish humor, and psychopathic danger. THAT is the Joker I really like. Failing that, like I said, Scarecrow or Riddler. Both have very interesting origins imho, and a fantastic gimmick with all kinds of story possibilities.

^ Oh without a doubt Romero was fantastic. He's a great actor, and the character fit the series and its spirit perfectly. That character just wasn't, you know, the JOKER Joker. (Although I have to say, thinking back on it just now, he did do quite a good job of making his Joker a lot more menacing than he really had a right to be, so good for him.)

I disagree about TAS though. The Joker was spot-on from the very first episode I ever saw him in, and that development lasted 20 minutes. Not even 2 hours.

Doddsino wrote:

I believe Terrence Howard wanted EQUAL salary to Robert Downey Jr. Which is like me wanting equal pay to my fucking boss, despite me not doing nearly as much work or even rising to the occasion like he could.

Actually according to what I read, he wanted MORE. I actually heard he was the highest paid person in the cast, but I simply can't wrap my head around that. The ONLY way I could see him being payed more than Robby Jr. is if Downy is so damn expensive to insure that he has to work for a lot less than he's worth. I dunno.

Syd Lexia wrote:

And Hawk, EVERYONE says they're a comic book fan when they do a comic book movie. No one ever says, "I have no idea what this shit is, I'm just here for the paycheck."

Not entirely true. I know lots of actors who say they hadn't really been into comic books before they were cast. Cillian Murphy, for example, had never picked up a comic book before being cast in "Batman" (although he was of course aware of the character.) Of course, being a good actor who does his homework, he sought out a bunch of comics once he was cast so he could get some perspective on the story and his part. Same thing with Robert Downy and Christian Bale if I remember correctly. I KNOW Willem Dafoe had never read a Spider-Man comic before playing his part. George Clooney, on the other hand, is a big fan. Hmmmm.

Maybe the best people to cast in these roles are ones who don't bring any preconceived notions to the character, but who are smart enough to respect the source material...? (The writer of a comic-book movie pretty much has to be a fan though I think. It would be hard to get a good script otherwise.)