The original plan for coverage for the Iron Man 2 press conference on April 23 was for it to be the inaugural edition of what will be a regular feature here on the blog, "Press Junket Potluck"--for certain press junkets, in particular those featuring large press conferences as opposed to more writer-friendly roundtables, I would cut to the chase and forego all of the would-be florid prose and simply offer an assortment of the most interesting, amusing, and/or informative of the quotes served up by the talent. Paramount and Marvel Studios' press day for the big superhero sequel appeared to be the ideal event on which to use this format, as it was a large group of people--stars Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, and Mickey Rourke; director Jon Favreau; screenwriter Justin Theroux; and producer/Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige--being grouped in a fairly limited span of time.
However, with this sharp, affable bunch, this event became something to behold that random quotage would simply not do justice. While offering some choice tidbits about the production, more than anything this talk evolved into quite the entertaining show, with most everyone ready to drop a witty quip at any given moment. While the folks at Paramount and Marvel have graciously offered video of the session for site posting (and I have done so below), it must be noted that this is not the entire session--and, in fact, it omits what was the best moment of the whole event. During the last two questions of the day, the large banner behind the cast suddenly came crashing down, and the good natured fun that ensued was a testament to the cast's infectious sense of humor and, above all else, the quick-thinking improvisational genius of one Mr. Downey Jr. Hopefully Paramount and Marvel will allow Favreau to include footage of that priceless moment on the DVD.
