Iron Man Peppered with Paltrow
What's a modern-day superhero movie without a little Oscar cred?
Gwyneth Paltrow has joined the cast of Iron Man, the upcoming Jon Favreau-directed flick starring Robert Downey Jr. as the armor-clad crime-fighter.
The Shakespeare in Love Oscar winner will play Virginia "Pepper" Potts, executive assistant to Iron Man's regular-guy alter ego, billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tom Stark. Pepper Potts is one of the few people in Stark's fast-paced, fragmented life who can keep up with him, often serving as his moral center. And, of course, the two share a secret attraction.
"Gwyneth is the embodiment of a leading leady," Kevin Feige, president of production for Marvel Studios, said. "She brings intelligence, poise and an incredible range of talent to this role."
It will help if she can also scream, look distressed and provide witty comebacks on cue. All of which should be no problem for the seasoned 34-year-old, who most recently was in theaters in the big-screen adaptation of the dysfunctional bildungsroman Running with Scissors and in that other Truman Capote biopic, Infamous.
Next up for the mother of two (she also took time out in April to have her second child with hubby Chris Martin) is the romantic comedy The Good Night, directed by her brother, Jake Paltrow.
While adding the doe-eyed blonde to the film has some Iron Man fans up in arms ("Tony Stark is a playboy when he's not in the armor—he shouldn't even be noticing his assistant," ThePete wrote on one message board), general Paltrow fans and those who just loved her in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow think she is a fine choice to play Potts.
"Frankly I think the gal's a doll, and I think it'll be fun to see her and Robert Downey dancing their way through a big-time superhero adventure," cinematical.com's Scott Weinberg wrote.
The studio agrees that casting Paltrow was a slam dunk.
"We've talked to our prototype for Pepper, and we kept mentioning 'someone like Gwyneth Paltrow,' and it was relatively recently that it came to our attention that maybe we should go to Gwyneth," Feige told the Hollywood Reporter.
"It happens rarely in this business where you get exactly who you wanted and where it happens very quickly. We have a lot of actors and filmmakers who are very happy, myself right among them."
Production on the big-budget action adventure, also starring Terrence Howard as Stark's best friend, Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, is scheduled to begin in March in Los Angeles in preparation for a May 2, 2008 release.
This will be Marvel Entertainment's first time financing an entire film based on one of its in-house characters. Paramount is on board to distribute the finished product.
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