Doc Samson
Superhero Psychiatrist
- Joined
- May 23, 2007
- Messages
- 5,624
- Reaction score
- 369
- Points
- 73
Pardon if it's already been posted
http://newsquake.netscape.com/2007/06/18/iron-man-monitoring-the-machine/
Iron Man: Monitoring the Machine Jun 18th 2007
By Stephen Head
It's not very often that you see the screenwriter--that notoriously low man or woman on the totem pole--on the set of a big-budget Hollywood movie. It's even less common to see the screenwriter there on a daily basis, conferring with the powers that be. The production of Iron Man, however, is different, with screenwriter Mark Fergus in constant attendance.
Just what is he doing there? Director Jon Favreau has allowed his actors--Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges--a certain improvisational freedom. But should they venture too far beyond the boundaries of their established characters and Marvel Comics lore, Fergus is there to reel them back in. And perhaps add a few new lines.
The idea, says Fergus, is to prevent "too much drift." He elaborates: "I'm not there to defend what I've written. You have to be open to creative input. That's part of being a screenwriter. Robert and Terrence will come up with things--but we want to be sure that whatever they do works for the character and the Marvel universe."
The initial process of getting Iron Man on down paper was a "fantastic collision of ideas," says Fergus, who cowrote the screenplay with Hawk Ostby. (The two also collaborated on Children of Men and the forthcoming John Carter of Mars.) "We have a process where we write all of the elements we like first," he explains. "The first and second drafts we wrote on our own. We didn't look at other's drafts. We didn't talk about it. We wanted to get everything we loved down on paper before there was a collision of ideas. Then we would meet and compare notes. Some things we'd keep, some we'd trash."
In the transition from comic-book page to big screen, says Fergus, the character of Tony Stark is relatively unchanged. And this superhero has his issues: "He's trying to come to terms with himself, personally and emotionally. It's a breakdown and rebuild. In a way, the film is about a hero who doesn't always make the right decisions."
But Jim Rhodes, the character played by Terrence Howard, has been thoroughly reimagined. "We cover his evolution," says Fergus. "He's the only character in the movie with substantial cuts and changes from the comic. I'm excited about it. We've turned him into more of a three-dimensional character."
Fergus seems less focused on Marvel minutiae. "I'm not into comic-book nostalgia so much," he allows. "We didn't want bog the movie down, but there's certainly enough to make the purists happy."
In the meantime, he's got his hands fall, having recently made his directorial debut with the psychological thriller First Snow, starring Guy Pearce and Piper Perabo. But what about the future of Iron Man? Will there be a sequel? "There's been some talk about that," he says. "They want to do it. We've talked about where things might go. I haven't been asked yet, but it seems like a natural progression."
Sounds pretty cool to me...
http://newsquake.netscape.com/2007/06/18/iron-man-monitoring-the-machine/
Iron Man: Monitoring the Machine Jun 18th 2007
By Stephen Head
It's not very often that you see the screenwriter--that notoriously low man or woman on the totem pole--on the set of a big-budget Hollywood movie. It's even less common to see the screenwriter there on a daily basis, conferring with the powers that be. The production of Iron Man, however, is different, with screenwriter Mark Fergus in constant attendance.
Just what is he doing there? Director Jon Favreau has allowed his actors--Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, and Jeff Bridges--a certain improvisational freedom. But should they venture too far beyond the boundaries of their established characters and Marvel Comics lore, Fergus is there to reel them back in. And perhaps add a few new lines.
The idea, says Fergus, is to prevent "too much drift." He elaborates: "I'm not there to defend what I've written. You have to be open to creative input. That's part of being a screenwriter. Robert and Terrence will come up with things--but we want to be sure that whatever they do works for the character and the Marvel universe."
The initial process of getting Iron Man on down paper was a "fantastic collision of ideas," says Fergus, who cowrote the screenplay with Hawk Ostby. (The two also collaborated on Children of Men and the forthcoming John Carter of Mars.) "We have a process where we write all of the elements we like first," he explains. "The first and second drafts we wrote on our own. We didn't look at other's drafts. We didn't talk about it. We wanted to get everything we loved down on paper before there was a collision of ideas. Then we would meet and compare notes. Some things we'd keep, some we'd trash."
In the transition from comic-book page to big screen, says Fergus, the character of Tony Stark is relatively unchanged. And this superhero has his issues: "He's trying to come to terms with himself, personally and emotionally. It's a breakdown and rebuild. In a way, the film is about a hero who doesn't always make the right decisions."
But Jim Rhodes, the character played by Terrence Howard, has been thoroughly reimagined. "We cover his evolution," says Fergus. "He's the only character in the movie with substantial cuts and changes from the comic. I'm excited about it. We've turned him into more of a three-dimensional character."
Fergus seems less focused on Marvel minutiae. "I'm not into comic-book nostalgia so much," he allows. "We didn't want bog the movie down, but there's certainly enough to make the purists happy."
In the meantime, he's got his hands fall, having recently made his directorial debut with the psychological thriller First Snow, starring Guy Pearce and Piper Perabo. But what about the future of Iron Man? Will there be a sequel? "There's been some talk about that," he says. "They want to do it. We've talked about where things might go. I haven't been asked yet, but it seems like a natural progression."
Sounds pretty cool to me...
