Jon Favreau Twitters from Iron Man 2 Set: The Lost Tweets

Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man knows his fan base. Comic book geeks love speculation and they love getting tidbits on new comic book movies from the internet. For Iron Man's second outing, Favreau has kept the fans up to date with nearly daily set updates on his Twitter account.

Say what you want about Twitter (or Favreau for that matter) but this level of director-to-fan involvement on a movie set is one of a kind. Sure we've had set updates and production blogs from directors in the past, but as movie production kicks into overtime these often fall to the wayside when more pressing matters come up. Twitter's "micro-blogging" allows Favreau to let the fans what he's doing, as he does it.

However, there has been a few kinks in the works. According to Favreau, Marvel executives were none to pleased when he tweeted about Scarlett Johansson's new Black Widow duds. As such, there has been some level of control over what the director has and has not been able to say. Marvel is clearly keeping an eye on their tweet-crazed director to make sure similar slips do not happen.

The result? Well, let's just say a few of Favreau's tweets never made it to the public. K is for Komics has exclusive coverage of these "lost tweets" and a sneak peek look at what is REALLY happening on the set of Iron Man 2. Take a look:

Jon_Favreau: Production was halted after only half a day when Mickey Rourke got his head stuck in a hunny jar. Oh well, better luck tomorrow!

Jon_Favreau: Who ate my leftovers from lunch? I was saving that for after wrap tonight. I'm not pointing fingers, but you know who you are (Gweneth)

Jon_Favreau: Iron Man suit working again after wardrobe malfunction this afternoon. Duct tape will be edited out in post.

Jon_Favreau: Today is wacky hat day!!!!!!!!!

Jon_Favreau: Accidently left RDJ in desert after taping tonight. Hope he's still there when we go back tomorrow. My bad!

Jon_Favreau: Terrence Howard keeps calling me, trying to get his old job back, but I'm ignoring his calls. Get the hint, dude.

Jon_Favreau: Word of advice? Sam Jackson doesn't like it when you shout Pulp Fiction quotes at him. Lost two gaffers today because of it.

Jon_Favreau: Almost blew the film's entire budget on yesterday's impromptu pizza and karaoke party. May have to shoot rest of film in my dad's garage.

Jon_Favreau: Not talking to Robert Downy Jr any longer. He knows why.

Jon_Favreau: Lazy day! Spent most of the afternoon looking at pictures of LOLcats. Don't feel like being productive.

Jon_Favreau: According to Marvel suits, the character Black Widow not actually African-American. Sorry to get your hopes up, Halle. Maybe next time.

Jon_Favreau: Suit redesigns look great! Also, new eyepatch for Nick Fury!

Jon_Favreau: Pitched my idea for the big musical finale. Rejected. :(

Jon_Favreau: People keep asking me which villain Mickey Rourke is playing and I keep telling them, I DON'T KNOW! Sheesh, figure it out for yourself!

Jon_Favreau: Robert Downy Jr apologized and we're best friends again!

How to Save the X-Men Movie Franchise

If you've been reading the blog so far, you know I have words to say about the latest movie in the X-Men movie franchise. However today, we're not going to focus on the negative. Today is all about staying positive and figuring out now what makes these recent X-Men movies so terrible, but what is needed to make future installments reclaim the franchise's former glory.

So here we go kiddies, the top five ideas that I think would get this movie series back on solid ground.

5. Scott Summers: Ultimate Badass
I used to hate the character of Cyclops. It seemed that all Scott could do in the 90's was whine about his girlfriend and be a square boy scout who got in the way of the team's number one bad boy, Wolverine. But as the millennium changed, so did Mr. Summers thanks in part to the reworking of the character under the pen of Grant Morrison. In Morrison's New X-Men, Scott had a sort of "mental affair" with Emma Frost, which separated him from his longtime companion, Jean Grey.

Whether you loved it or hated it, the new dynamic introduced a new spark to the character that carried on to the current books where Cyclops has positioned himself as a tough-as-nails protector for the last shreds of mutantkind. This character has gone from being my least liked to one of my favorite and it's something I would love to see on screen.

Okay, so Cyclops was "killed" off in X-Men: The Last Stand. So what? This is a comic movie and the death happened off camera anyway. Bring Famke Janssen back for a cameo showing that at the last second, Jean stopped the Phoenix from killing Scott and, oh I dunno, sent him hurtling through the Canadian wilderness. Alone, injured and rendered blind by his lack of visor, his psychic rapport with Jean calls out for help... and is answered by Emma Frost.

For all its missteps, X-Men Origins: Wolverine did have the right idea by trying to bring in two of the comic's biggest characters in cameos by a young Cyclops and Emma Frost. Get a decent actress to play a grown up Frost (may I suggest Lost's Elizabeth Mitchell?) and bring back James Marsden to play Cyclops, only this time make him the badass leader of mutantkind that he gets to be in the comic books.

4. Put a Cap on Cameos

When I first saw X2, I was a little disappointed that the only new mutant we were really going to get to see in detail was Nightcrawler and Deathstryke. The bad guy was a human and his mutant son was sort of a melting pot of a few different characters. There were drive-by cameos by a few characters like Colossus and Siryn, but for the most part, all of the major muties had been introduced in the first movie. X-Men has always had such a giant cast, I felt coming out of it that the movie was spectacular, but that I wanted more and more mutants to show up.

X-Men: The Last Stand granted my wish for more mutants and I immediately wanted to take it back. X-Men Origins: Wolverine took it a step further and brought in beloved characters like Deadpool, only to make them suck beyond belief by the end. Leaving that mess, I yearned for the days of X2, when guest mutants were treated with serious gloves and where quality was more important than quantity.

Bring barely explored characters like Angel, Colossus and Shadowcat into the forefront instead of packing in new mutants to walk on, do a power and then leave. And trim the cast where appropriate. Rogue takes the cure? Fine, get out of there. Beast works in the government now? See ya!

And we all love Hugh Jackman and we all love Wolverine, but he's had FOUR movies to himself. It's time to relegate him to calvary status and let the other characters shine. Don't worry, the Wolverine toys will miraculously still sell!

3. Look to the Future

One of the reasons that X-Men Origins: Wolverine fell so flat was because, let's face it, for the most part prequel pictures suck. There's no suspense when you know, flat out, that none of these characters are going to die. Instead of making us suffer through X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Tokyo Drift, they should look to the future instead.

The distant future.

Days of the Future Past is one of the most beloved X-Men stories of all time. Not only has it been adapted for the 90's cartoon, but it has pretty much been the entire basis of the newest X-Toon, Wolverine and the X-Men. And let's be honest, Heroes did it! If this storyline holds the attention of Joe Q. NBCviewer, then it will hold the attention of his cousin John Q. Moviegoer as well.

Start the movie with a dystopian future full of giant Sentinels and mutant outlaws. Throw in Forge to create some sort of time travel device and do the story right. Taking a cue from the original comics, this would be a great way to do a Shadowcat-centric movie and Ellen Page has the acting chops to pull doubt acting duty as spunky present-day Kitty and her hardened future counterpart, Kate.

And if studio heads demand more cameos, you've got a great chance to do so in the future scenes as mutant outlaws running for their lives. Any stupid changes or weird flaws in character can be easily written off as being a product of such a devistating environment, and altogether erased when the X-Men are able to stop the assassination of insert government person here.

2. Roll out the Villains

I love Ian McKellen as Magento, let me make that clear. He's a phenomenal actor and the fact that he's gay brings a certain level of passion to the role that's obvious in his acting. Despite the fact that he's a little old for the part, he's pretty much the real deal.

But let's get some new villains in here, shall we? With Xavier out of the picture and Magneto cured (for now...dun dun dun!) its time for the X-Men to take on new adversaries. Afterall, with so many years of continuity there's a plethora of great villains to choose from.

I've always been a fan of (Mr.) Sinister and I think there are a number of plots that could be done with the character. His role as a geneticist could mean that cured mutants might seek him out to get their powers back, which he grants at a price. There's also the fact that he's got a vested interest in Jean Grey and Scott Summers. His tinkering with their DNA could be a way to bring the two characters back in way. Or how about a movie version of the Mutant Massacre? With Storm as the leader, this would be a great way to do a focus story around her by introducing the Morlocks, only to have them picked off by the Mauraders. It could even end with Angel getting his wings severed, leading him to be turned into Archangel, which could be a lead in to another villain.

I think Apocolypse, if done properly, could be one hell of a great villain to use to jump start the series. Start the movie with some archeologists in Egypt uncovering a sleeping En Sabah Nur and you've got the set up for an epic showdown against the first mutant in existance.

His horsemen could be an excuse to trim down the giant cast into a likeable size. Do the whole Archangel thing and use Wolverine, Storm and a resurrected Xavier (thanks to Apoclypse!) as the other horsemen. That way the conflict is in the X-Men having to fight their allies and lets the movie use all these characters, but just in different ways.


1. Make Mine Marvel!

When Fox Studios first made X-Men, comic book movies were rarely done and rarely good. Nowadays, Marvel Comics has its own movie studio and clearly has a better handle on its own characters than executives in outside companies do. The best way to get the movie franchise back to its previous glory is to the let the rights revert back to Marvel so that they can get their own version out.

However, as far as I know, Fox pretty much can hold out on the rights just as long as they keep making movies. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was an obvious attempt to keep the franchise in Fox's pocket by avoiding the mess that X-Men: The Last Stand created altogether. With announcements for a Wolverine sequel and a Deadpool spin-off, it looks like Fox will have a tight grip on this franchise for years.


That doesn't mean Marvel shouldn't attempt to wheedle in more creative control over what happens to their characters. After all, X-Men is one of the comic giant's biggest franchises. Letting Fox haphazardly squeeze money out of this limping movie series is helping to tarnish the brand. Get in there Marvel and convince the Fox executives they need to be treating the material like The Dark Knight with innovation, power and gravitas. Not slash slash cameo slash NOOOOO!!! like we've been getting.

Movie Review: Boldy Go to the Theater and see Star Trek

Let me just preface this post by saying that I am not a Trekkie, a Trekker or a Trekvestite in any way shape or form. I was a Star Wars kid, so Star Trek never really appealed to me. I'm sure you can love both equally, but that was never the case with me.

That doesn't mean that I haven't dabbled with the franchise before. I've seen a great deal of the movies and have enjoyed the good ones. Star Trek: First Contact was one of my first exposures to the canon and is a stellar sci-fi movie.

Having only a little bit of experience with Trek lore, I was ready to take the complete plunge this weekend to see director J.J. Abrams' take. From all the previews and commercials it looked like it would finally inject a bit more action into a franchise that's always seemed a little tame compared to the flash and dazzle of Star Wars. I caught the late show on Sunday night and I was completely blown away.

Star Trek provided a much needed mouthwash to get rid of the dirty taste that X-Men Origins: Wolverine left behind last week. Both movies have a lot in common. They both are based off of existing properties and both serve as origin prequel stories. Both films strive to be special effects showcases, but only Star Trek manages to pull it all off. If this were a battle on Iron Chef where the secret ingredient was "origin," then X-Men Origins: Wolverine would be the paltry "good effort" dish served up by the challenger while Star Trek is the masterpiece crafted by the Iron Chef (probably Hiroyuki Saki cause that dude always won.)


What makes Star Trek work is just a great formula of rebooting the franchise that I welcome in any and all future reboots. Instead of trying to tie the movie in with years and years of Star Trek continuity, the film boldly picks what works and leaves the rest behind. This is all thanks to big baddie Nero (played by Eric Bana) who comes back in time to change the course of history. Unlike most other film franchises, he succeeds at doing this and now everything we know and love about Star Trek happened in another universe.

It's no surprise to anyone that Leonard Nemoy shows up as an older Spock to bridge the gap between the new school and the old school. I'll admit, it's a little hokey, but the placement of this important revelation in the middle of the movie is really interesting. I'm already involved in this world, these characters, so throwing old Spock at me isn't going to ruin the good time I've already had and it certainly only adds to the powerful ending.

Excitement is the name of the game here, and Abrams delivers in abundance. I've always felt Star Trek movies lacked this particular element and to see it brought to the level it should be at was a treat. Case in point, the phasers. I've always thought this particular weapon was completely lame, especially compared to a lightsaber. It always looked like a bunch of pauncy actors pointing remote controls all over the place. However, in this film, when Spock and Kirk storm the villain's ship, they're jumping around firing shots all over the place like they were transported directly into the middle of Die Hard in Space. And as I watched it, all I could think of was "Finally!"

The director can't take all the credit, however. The cast is as much to blame for this movie's success as anything. Each of these actors delivers their own take on the characters in such a great way that you completely forget about their predecessors. Chris Pine makes a unbelievable Kirk, taking what worked about William Shatner's portrayal and upping the cockiness tenfold. I went into the theater with little expectation for his portrayal, tricked by his Matt Damon-esque looks into thinking they had just casted yet another hollywood hunk to walk through the movie. I couldn't have been more wrong. The humor, the charm, even the boldness in his speech, it was all there.

Main character aside, Star Trek has always been about the ensemble and this cast could not have done a better job. Zachary Quinto was most likely born and bred in a laboratory to be able to one day play the perfect Spock. Consider your experiment a success, Paramount scientists! Zoe Saldana knocked me off of my feet as a powerful, confident and sexy Uhura. Here's hoping we see more of this actress in the future. The best part is, just when you're so far into the movie that you've forgetten about Scotty, here comes everybody's favorite actor Simon Pegg who then manages to steal every scene he's in.

There are a few downsides to the film. Often times it tries a little too hard to amp up the action and it comes off a little hokey. When Sulu pulls out a switchblade katana it's a little too much. The badguys are also a bit generic. They brood around in their big sinister pointy ship being dark and sinister looking. Eric Bana could have very well been some extra from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I don't think there would have been much of a difference. And while cameos by Star Trek alums such as Leonard Nimoy are fun, unexpected celebritry cameos like Tyler Perry and Winona Ryder ellicted more chuckles than necessary.

All in all, by the time the credits are running that that classic theme music is playing, you're left craving more. The movie gives you enough time with all of the characters to get attached, but desperately waiting for the sequel. There's no way this won't be the next big sci-fi franchise.

As I said before, I grew up on Star Wars, but the recent slew of movies has left me lukewarm (get it?) to that particular franchise. It's great to have a new sci-fi movie series to get behind, even it it is technically over 40 years old. I thought I could get through the whole post without saying it, but it needs to be said. Here's hoping this new universe that J.J. Abrams has created lives long and prospers.

How to Make "Spider-Man 4" Not Suck

As you may or may not know, Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire have officially signed on to do a fourth "Spider-Man" movie because apparently the people who front the money for these things never saw the dancing scene from Spider-Man 3. While there is some small shred of hope that movie will actually be good, that Raimi might be able to re-capture what made the first two so good, I wouldn't hold my breath just yet. I mean, you guys DID see the third movie, right?

I think that Raimi is going to have to be extra careful this outing if he has any intention of doing a good film. Having already blown his Venom wad and with both Osbornes now pushing up daisies, there isn't a whole lot of meat left to Spider-Man's rogue's gallery. Sure there's almost a dozen different costumed criminals he could fight, but none of them have the capacity to hold a movie by their lonesome.

So what's a Sam Raimi to do? Simple! There's a few storylines that the movies haven't explored yet that could really reinvigorate the franchise. If they did any one of these things, then we might just have good summer blockbuster coming to theaters and IMAX in 2011.

5. Spider-Man: Public Enemy

You know what scene from Spider-Man 3 just really didn't work for me? The one where the city has declared "Spider-Man Day" and webhead gets to lock lips with the policeman's daughter. Aunt May said it best in the first movie, the guy's not Superman! Spider-Man's not supposed to get no respect, you know what I mean? He's smeared in the papers, the police aren't sure to thank him or arrest him, Spider-Man works best when he's an underground legend instead of a public figure. With the events at the end of the last movie, Raimi could easily begin with Spider-Man being a wanted man for the death of Harry Osborne and spend the movie not only chasing bad guys, but being chased by the cops.

4. Bring Back Venom!

They blew it with this guy! Just blew it! Most fans would have rather there not been a Venom at all than a measly fifteen minutes with the character slapped into the final moments of the movie. So fine, they wasted Venom and killed him and Eddie Brock off to boot. Vaporized even. Well, what about the sample Peter left with Doc Connors? What if that attached itself to someone else.

Right now, Venom is a character being spotlighted in Marvel's Dark Reign story-arc as he plays the role of Spider-Man in Norman Osborne's Dark Avengers. However the person in the suit is not Eddie Brock, but Mac Gargon, who used to go around as the villain Scorpion. Why not introduce Scorpion at the start of Spider-Man 4 and turn him into Venom through the course of the film. That way the movie has just one villain, but gets to explore two sides of him.


3. Spidey vs Sinister Six

Throughout the years there have been several incarnations of the super-villain sextet called the "Sinister Six." Having Spider-Man fight six villains at once is a true testament to his strength and can provide an ultimate special-effects showdown worthy of IMAX 3-D. It's simple, just get six of the villains who couldn't hold their own movie and throw them together. Almost all of Spider-Man's rogues gallery are just a couple of mooks or hired goons in either a suit (Rhino, Vulture),has some sort of powerful weapon (Shocker, Mysterio,) or gets powers in an unfortunate accident (Electro,Hydro-man.) Their origins are never that special and they never do much but rob banks or work for smarter guys. So how about this, have them each be the leaders of crime syndicates or gangs who find a bunch of Oscorp gadgets and decide to team up to take out Spider-Man. Simple, easy and more importantly fun. Because honestly, does anyone think they'd be compelled to sit through the origin story of the Shocker when it'd be easier to just make him a criminal in a suit? Isn't that the character in a nutshell anyways?

2. Hunter and Prey: Kraven and the Lizard

If there were ever two characters that deserved to be in the same movie, it's Kraven the Hunter and the Lizard. Doc Connors has been a mainstay of the series since the first movie, so turning him into the Lizard seems like a long time coming anyways. But to be honest, I'd rather stay home than spend two hours watching Spidey chase Hulk-lite around the sewers. A Spider-Man vs Lizard story is always the same thing-- chase, chase, fight, web, transform, rinse, repeat.

Throwing the additional element of Kraven the Hunter could make for an interesting dynamic. Bring him in as some obssesed big game hunter trying to hunt down Doc Connors, but soon develops a taste for the Spider instead. You need something else to add to the tired old Jeykyl and Hyde dynamic of the Lizard that's been done a million different times and in a thousand better ways. Crazy guy with lion's mane seems like a unique enough twist.


1. Black Cat Fever

You know what I'm getting reaaaaalll tired of seeing? Kirsten Dunst in a red wig. Take a cue from the comics and send Mary Jane packing within the first five minutes. That love story is a dead horse that has officially been beaten to nothing but a sick pink pulp. Put her on a plane headed for a better life as an actress in Los Angeles and keep the emo-Peter to a minimum this time.

Instead, inject some sex appeal by introducing a new dynamic to the Webhead's love life-- the lucious Black Cat.

Now, I'm gay, but I can still admit a little T&A inject can only help this series at this point. With Black Cat, you've got a completely different take on the tired Peter Parker love storyline by giving him a mate that is his superhero equal. He doesn't have to worry about enemies coming after her because she can protect herself. Just avoid any of the same pratfalls that the horrible Catwoman fell into and you could have a decent character here-- with the possibility of a new franchise.


So there you have it. If you're Sam Raimi and you borrow one of these ideas, I'm not going to make a big stink. I'll just be glad, like everyone else in the audience, that you were able to redeem yourself.