Sam Rockwell aka Justin Hammer

Sam Rockwell is one of my favorite actors. I've enjoyed his work ever since first seeing him as 'Wild Bill Wharton' in The Green Mile. He was interviewed recently and touched very briefly on Iron Man 2. He mentions in the interview that he received the Iron Man 2 script only one week before shooting (which seems like a crazy short amount of time to prepare to me), and that one way Iron Man 2 production differs from that of other big studio films is that director Jon Favreau really likes to improvise, which he says allows the actors to 'play' more than usual. Rockwell is already a star and I'm hoping Iron Man 2 vaults him into mega-star status. The guy is great.
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MMB: IRON MAN
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Video clips posted of Favreau and Downey Jr. live 'Iron Man' commentary

Jon Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. offered live 'Iron Man' commentary at Santa Monica’s Aero Theater last weekend.

Video clips thanks to WTF Gamer:
Iron Man Director/Star Commentary Introduction
Favreau and Downey Jr. Q&A 1
Favreau and Downey Jr. Q&A 2

More video clips thanks to LAist (same stuff as above, just slightly different cuts and angles):
Favreau, Downey Jr. Rock the Aero Theatre
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FURTHER READING: FILM CRUNCH

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Collider on the set of Iron Man 2

Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub was on the set of Iron Man 2 yesterday (along with a bunch of other online reporters and bloggers from various different websites; see the "more" links below) and reports back on what he can on Collider. He expresses a great deal of confidence in the entire production team after seeing whatever it was he saw on the set (he's extremely vague). He also hints that Jon Favreau will have something to show (I assume he's talking about video footage) at this year's Comic-Con in San Diego.
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Robert Downey Jr. on 'Iron Man' success; excited for 'Iron Man 2'

Robert Downey Jr. talks about keeping his head screwed on straight after the tremendous success of 'Iron Man', and his desire to get 'Iron Man 2' right.

Bid on a walk-on/extra role in 'Iron Man 2'

The organization Stand Up to Cancer, in conjunction with Marvel Studios, is auctioning off another great Marvel Movie package on eBay - this time for 'Iron Man 2'. Like the 'Spider-Man 4' package they offered a few weeks ago, this one also offers things like a visit to the set, a meet and greet with the cast, a walk-on/extra role in the film, and other neat stuff. The auction ends September 15th.
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FURTHER READING ON THIS TOPIC: STAND UP TO CANCER
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Justin Theroux on 'Iron Man' vs 'Dark Knight': no comparison

In a recent interview, the writer of 'Iron Man 2' very briefly touched upon what he sees as the differences between 'The Dark Knight' and 'Iron Man'. This defamer.com article seems to want to link up Theroux's comments with Downey's "**** DC comics" statement, but I see the quote more as Theroux's way of saying that although the two films are in the same genre, they are different enough that they don't really merit a direct comparison.

Justin Theroux on 'Iron Man 2' script: "everything's on the table"

There's a new interview with 'Iron Man 2' writer Justin Theroux up at Crave Online. For the most part he's discussing 'Tropic Thunder', but he briefly touches upon 'Iron Man 2', indicating that he's just now getting started on the script and that at this point, nothing about the story has been narrowed down.

Drama on the Iron Man 2 set?

According to an article (it contains minor spoilers so beware) on Hollyscoop, there is some friction between Iron Man 2 stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. There is so much gossip out there you never know what to believe. But if Pepper and the Widow have an antagonistic relationship on-screen, maybe the actresses not getting along off-screen will actually help with their performances. But again, who knows.
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Pictures from Japan Premiere of 'Iron Man'

'Iron Man' opened in Japan last week and Robert Downey Jr. was there to celebrate and swing hammers.
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Iron Man 2 at Comic-Con 2009: Description of footage; Scarlett Johansson interview

Read all about the Iron Man 2 footage shown at Comic-Con 2009 on Wired or AICN! And check out this interview with Scarlett Johansson:

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MMB: IRON MAN

USAToday Iron Man 2 slideshow

Check out the eight image slideshow on USAToday.com. There are a couple of quotes from the cast accompanying the slideshow that seem to indicate they are all psyched for the film and very eager to deliver the goods to a very demanding fan base.

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MMB: IRON MAN

More pics from Iron Man 2

From /Film. Looks like some kind of courtroom drama in store for the sequel. Could Justin Hammer be using all sorts of attacks on Stark, including legal ones? Or might Stark be defending himself as a result of being framed by Hammer, as he was in the comics (the "Demon in a Bottle" storyline)...?

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MMB: IRON MAN

'Iron Man' sells out?

Iron Man the superhero cannot be beat when it comes to battling evil, but evidently 'Iron Man' the film cannot be beat when it comes to product placement, according to Brandchannel magazine. Our favorite Marvel Movie this summer took several top 'honors' in the magazine's annual Brandcameo Product Placement Awards. And here I was thinking that my sudden cravings for Burger King just came out of nowhere.

No Burger King Iron Man 2 marketing initiative

Wow. I never gave one second of thought to how these things happen. Evidently the 'franchisor' (sort of Burger King 'corporate', I guess?) floats marketing ideas to the 'franchisees' (individual restaurant owners), who then vote on those ideas. Looks like the Burger King franchisees didn't like whatever Iron Man 2 marketing plan the franchisor had proposed, and voted it down. Yeah, I don't really understand what I just wrote either, but if you're into that kind of stuff, you can read about it here.
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MMB: IRON MAN

'Iron Man' receives "Hollywood Visual Effects of the Year Award"

Hats off to 'Iron Man' visual effects supervisors John Nelson and Ben Snow! The pair have earned the film the "Hollywood Visual Effects of the Year Award" at the The 12th Annual Hollywood Film Festival.
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Avengers Assemble in 2011 following Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America

The announcement of Iron Man 2 (April, 2010 release), Thor (July, 2010), Captain Amercia (May, 2011), and Avengers (July, 2011) on Marvel.com...IGN Movies interviews Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige about the Avengers movie...IGN interview with Louis Leterrier on directing the Avengers movie (WARNING: Incredible Hulk movie spoilers)...Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America and the Avengers movie pages on IMDB (not much there yet for any of the films but I would imagine that these pages will get updated regularly as the productions move along).

David Maisel may just be the right man for the job

I was reading an article at Comic Book Resources in which Milo Ventimiglia is quoted as saying: "I was actually having a conversation last night, with [Marvel Studios Chairman] David Maisel and he was talking about ‘Iron Man.’ He was basically saying that it’s a character piece where the guy just happens to be a superhero". When I read this, I realized that Maisel gets it. That one sentiment he expressed to Ventimiglia in its own way sums up everything that was right about the film version of 'Iron Man' and most of what was wrong with the film version of 'The Fantastic Four'. It's the concept that set Marvel apart from its competitors in the 1960s and onward. Hopefully, Maisel can keep this key tenant in mind as work moves forward on all of the upcoming Marvel Movies. If so, we're in for a great ride.

Iron Munn

Olivia Munn lands part in Iron Man 2.
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Cool 'Iron Man' pre-visualization/post-visualization comparison videos

Pixel Liberation Front posted some footage of their pre-visualization and post-visualization 'Iron Man' work on their website. Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Marvel reportedly makes Iron Man 2 offer to Favreau

Any concerns that John Favreau may not be back for Iron Man 2 may be unwarranted, according to Nikki Finke...read some of Favreau's thoughts on the sequel's potential villain here...some of his musings on it's potentially shared themes with this summer's "Hancock" here.