Why Robert Downey As Tony Stark?

What made you think of Rob to play Tony Stark, and was it a challenge selling him to the studio as Iron Man?

Favreau: Sitting across from him, the lightbulb just went off over my head, and I realized this was the guy that could bring me home. This is the #1 draft pick that's going to take me to the Super Bowl. I got how to make the movie, how we were not going to just be a poor man's Spider-Man if I could get this guy.

The problem of course was far too interesting of a choice for the studio and there was an unequivocal resounding "no" when I presented him. There were people who were fans of his, and many people said, "Look, it's clearly the best choice creatively. It's just the first movie, it's too much money. Nobody knows Iron Man, so now you're going to be defining Iron Man by Robert because people know Robert more than they know Iron Man."

That was never the case with the Hulk and Eric Bana, it's not the case with Spider-Man and Tobey or with Batman and Christian Bale, so I understood their misgivings. He's ten years older than they would have liked me to hire somebody if they're starting a franchise, too. Hopefully, if this movie works well, they're going to make a lot of them.

That's many years, and he's already in his 40's, so I got it, but as we went round and round, we realized that this guy brings dimension, this is like hiring Johnny Depp to do "Pirates." People are ready for this guy to play this role. It's not him starring in "Elf," it's him as Tony Stark. That's Tony Stark. People want Tony Stark to be Tony Stark. That's why people make rap songs about him. He captures that bad boy attitude and makes this movie not be Batman.

Wanna see more ironman movie? Mark I, Mark II, Mark III...

Also in terms of the realism, there's the development of the different armors in the movie. The original armor in the comics seemed like something that would be impossible for one man to build, but you did something more jury-rigged and realistic.

Favreau: We really wanted to play into that learning curve to make it plausible. I had a big sign that said, "Plausibility," and hung that sign above my door, so that everybody who came in for a meeting would have to read that and remember that that was the tone of our film. It did have to be believable, but it wasn't like all logic went out the window just because it was a superhero film, so when he builds the first suit, we tried to make it look like the Mark I Gray Armor, "Tales of Suspense" #39, but we also wanted it to look like it actually could have been built out of the parts of his weapons that he had available to him, so it looked like a real junkyard creation.

As he got into the Mark II we wanted that to feel more like an airplane prototype, like something out of "The Aviator," and slowly we built from the endoskeleton to the exoskeleton, all with the moving flaps. Hopefully we took baby steps and developments that you could finally believe that when Iron Man steps onto the screen, you've watched it being designed and birthed and believe that the technology has evolved over the course of the film to the point that you see at the end.

What About Iron Man's Nose?

What About Iron Man's Nose?

Why Iron Man has no nose??

How does Tony Stark breath properly when he is with his armor on?

Just out of curiosity, from his first mask, Mark 1 to Mark 3, he doesn't has a NOSE in his armor??? What do you think about the Iron Man's nose armor?

Do you think Tony Stark's nose can hit the mask plate from the inside?

Do you think he has hiding a mini oxygen tank with a oxygen tube to his nose? Or...

The Iron Man's nose armor was actually the comic artist's mistake on the original armor?

Anyone know what really happened to Iron Man's armor nose?

Why not make the nose armor for Iron Man? LOL

Then how about Robert Downey when starring the ironman movie? It kinda uncomfortable.

Ironman Movie Picture

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How Gwyneth Paltrow Feels When She Is The Only Woman In The Ironman Movie

USA Weekend brought together Gwyneth Paltrow, Liv Tyler and Maggie Gyllenhaal in Iron Man, Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight, respectively for a rare round-table chat about starring in a comic book movie. All three actresses appear in big summer movies based on classic comic books.

Was it lonely being the only woman in a comic book movie?

Liv: I'm used to that world from "The Lord of the Rings," even though it wasn't really a comic book.

Maggie: Everybody on my set was a guy! I have two lovers in the movie, and they're both these gorgeous men. Come to think of it, there were a lot of powerful, manly men around, and I didn't mind that particularly. [Laughs.]

Gwyneth: Mine was definitely a testosterone-fest. I was the only girl for miles, except for the women working in the wardrobe, hair and makeup departments. I would have time off when the guys would go blow things up in the desert, and every time I went back to work, they were happy to have a girl there. They had kind of forgotten that there were women in the world.

Liv: But you got to be so sexy. Pepper Potts is so sexy and amazing ...

Gwyneth: That's sweet, but I don't know about sexy. Pepper wears Dolce & Gabbana suits ...

Liv: And, meanwhile, I was wet ... in the rain ... wearing jeans and a T-shirt ... while hanging off the back of a helicopter!

Gwyneth: That's cool! I didn't get to do anything like that.

Are there any superpowers you wish you had in real life?

Gwyneth: Hmm, flying would be good. I was going to say invisibility, but it's a little bit dishonest ...

Maggie: Yeah, because then you could just sneak around --

Gwyneth: -- and X-ray vision is definitely dishonest.

Maggie: It seems a little dirty.

Liv: I definitely wouldn't want to read people's minds.

Maggie: That could get you into real trouble.

Liv: I'd like to be Aquaman and breathe underwater.

Maggie: I might get claustrophobic if I did that. I'd probably choose flying. I'd get into too much trouble if I could read minds or become invisible or see through people's clothes.

Gwyneth: There is an ethical line you don't want to cross.

Are there any people you admire in real life who seem like superheroes?

Gwyneth: I look up to [academic and economist] Jeffrey Sachs, people like that who dedicate their lives to making the world a better place.

Maggie: Anyone who puts the good of the world before their own personal well-being, like Nelson Mandela. He risked everything and ended up having a major effect on the world and really shifting things. Just like a superhero.

What do friends and family members say about you doing this kind of film?

Gwyneth: A lot of people were really confused when they heard I was doing "Iron Man." They thought I was doing an Ironman triathlon.

Maggie: My friends and my family know I don't ever want to do stupid and meaningless things, so they trusted me not to do that with Batman.

But let's face it: Aren't these movies, by their very nature, a little silly and hokey?

Maggie: Ours is not like that. We had a good script.

Gwyneth: Ours, too! It wasn't embarrassing in any way. Although there were lines that were a little bit like (screams dramatically), "No, no, press the button! Press the button!!!" Sometimes I'd go, "This line belongs in the book called 'What You Cannot Say in a Movie.'" But I suppose if you're going to blow somebody up, there's a limited number of responses you can have for that.

So you're telling us it was more than just a big payday that made you want to do this film?

Gwyneth: Well, Robert Downey Jr. (who plays the starring role in "Iron Man") called me and said, "You have to do it," and I said, "Yes, it sounds like great fun." And then he said, "And, by the way, don't you want to be in a movie that people actually see?" I wondered, "Hmm, what would that be like?" [Laughs].

What kind of powers does Iron Man have?

Tony Stark himself has no Superpowers. Yes he is an intelligent man especially in engineering. However his Iron Man "suits" have repulsor rays, all sorts of sensory equipment and Jet boosters. Each suit has been designed for different situations eg, he has a suit for under water exploration and another for space travel. However in saying this the suits are constantly up graded on a regular basics. Just to add Tony no longer needs the suits chest plate to keep him alive.

Without his armor Tony Stark possesses the normal strength of a normal human man his age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. The various armors magnify Stark's strength to superhuman levels, enabling him to lift (press) from roughly several tons to 175 tons.

Originally, the armor converted electrical energy into raw strength through miniaturized, transistor-based electro-motors. After the development of sufficiently advanced electromagnetic force-fields, however, these became the means of providing strength as well as structural integrity. This more "organic", integrated approach proved very successful, and the Iron Man-armor is quite probably the most powerful individual armor in the world today.

Iron Man's Biodata

The Real Name of Iron Man
Anthony Edward Stark and also known as Tony Stark

The Aliases Of Iron Man
Iron Knight, Cobalt Man, Hogan Potts, Spare Parts Man

Occupation Of Iron Man
Adventurer, former Secretary of Defense, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., CEO of Stark Enterprises

Citizenship Of Iron Man
United State Of America

Place of Birth Of Iron Man
Long Island, New York, U.S.A

Known Relatives Of Iron Man
Howard Anthony Stark (father), Maria Collins Carbonell Stark (mother), Morgan Stark (cousin), Isaac Stark (ancestor)

Education Of Iron Man
Masters degree in electrical engineering

Height Of Iron Man
6'1" and 6'6" when in his armor

Weight Of Iron Man
225 lbs. and 425 lbs. when in his armor

Eyes Color Of Iron Man
Blue

Hair Of Iron Man
Black

Iron Man's Chest

In Ironman movie, the big white growing circle above Ironman's robotic abs is what keeps Tony Stark alive. He has a heart condition that constantly life-threatening. It's a device that keeps his heart beating, pretty much keeping him alive from an injury he received. The unibeam in the center of his chest can emit various types of light energy.

You can see the picture that I posted in my next article, Ironman biodata, the Ironman character, Tony Stark already wearing the electronic chestplate that keeps him alive. I sure think that the movie makers did a nice job on that, plus notice the beginnings of the Iron Man Mark I armor helmet.

Since in Matt Fraction's Iron Man comic series coming out, Tony doesn't have the circle chest light but triangle chest light instead. See the pictures above.

Iron Man's Weakness

Eventually, Iron Man's heart is his weakness. Tony's heart condition is discovered by the public and cured with an artificial heart transplant. However, Stark also develops a serious dependency on alcohol.

The first time it becomes a problem is when Stark discovers that the national security agency S.H.I.E.L.D. has been buying a controlling interest in his company in order to ensure Stark's continued weapons development for them. At the same time, Stark's business rival Justin Hammer hires several supervillains to attack Stark.

At one point, the Iron Man armor is even taken over and used to murder a diplomat. Although Iron Man is not immediately under suspicion, Stark is forced to hand the armor over to the authorities. Eventually Stark and Rhodes, who is now his personal pilot and confidant, track down and defeat those responsible, although Hammer would return to bedevil Stark again. With the support of his then-girlfriend, Bethany Cabe, his friends and his employees, Stark pulls through these crises and overcomes his dependency on alcohol. Some time later, a ruthless rival, Obadiah Stane, manipulates Stark emotionally into a serious relapse.

As a result, Stark loses control of Stark International, becomes a homeless vagrant and gives up his armored identity to Rhodes, who becomes the new Iron Man for a lengthy period of time. Eventually, Stark recovers and starts a new company, Circuits Maximus. While Stark concentrates on new technological designs, Rhodes continues to act as Iron Man but steadily grows more aggressive and paranoid. Rhodes goes on a rampage, and Stark has to don a prototype suit to stop him.

When Circuits Maximus comes under assault from Stane, Stark uses the completed next-generation armor to confront Stane in personal combat. Stark's skill proves superior over Stane's unpracticed use of his own variant suit (known as the Iron Monger) and Stark regains his company when Stane commits suicide rather than be captured.

Iron Man's Head

Iron man is wearing a special helmet on his head. The helmet is pressurized so he can travel at high altitudes. Tony Stark has readouts about everything within his visual range, this includes a cascade of information coming at him. Favreau, the Iron Man movie's filmaker says, "what is fun for me is that you can cut inside the helmet and see what he is looking at."