That guy from “Swingers” is now that director of “Iron Man.” Jon Favreau’s career has taken some interesting twists over the past decade-plus, but mostly in impressive directions. Besides being a solid director and occasional actor, the affable Favreau is just someone actors want to work with, which explains his ability to lure the elite of Hollywood into just about every project he directs. Favreau’s “Iron Man” was originally set to star in “Cowboys & Aliens,” but when that didn’t work out, his sub wasn’t too shabby either. He explains to The Playlist, “‘Sherlock Homes’ hit and [Robert] Downey Jr. had to clear his slate for ‘Sherlock 2.’ The script wasn’t written yet [and] he was just kind of attached in theory. I met with [Alex] Kurtzman and [Roberto] Orci actually here last year at Comic-Con and they were talking about ‘Cowboys & Aliens.’ It sounded like a really cool concept. I read the script and I loved it.”
Once aboard, Fav flexed his star drawing muscle, quickly landing Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford for the lead roles. Yeah, that’s right, James Bond and Indiana Jones in the same movie. Not bad. “I loved Craig’s take on Bond and really enjoyed ‘Layer Cake,’” he told The Playlist during Comic-Con this past weekend. “We pulled it together and once he came on board it gave a tone to the lead because Daniel Craig has a certain presence to him. And then with Harrison, it was just one of those things where it worked out to do a movie with him. I’m a huge fan of his, there was an opportunity and the timing was right. He came on board and it’s been a dream.”
One stipulation to Favreau from the notoriously cagey Ford was that he would not be making the trek to Comic-Con. But the director would not be deterred from his pilgrimage to geekland with Han Solo. “That’s sort of an inside joke between us,” says Favreau. “I said, ‘You’re coming to Comic-Con with me’ and he said, ‘I’ve never been there. I’m not going. If you’re going to bring me, you’ve got to bring me in handcuffs.’ I showed up with handcuffs yesterday on the set from the prop man. And so he came and wore the handcuffs on stage.”
Btw, Faveau said he’s opting for 2D over 3D. Thank goodness.
Interesting concept, great cast. Now if they can only ditch Jon Favreau, the man is an enemy of composition. His form is absolutely amateur and an embarassment to filmmaking.