Posted Tue Apr 27, 2010 at 12:55 PM PDT by Mike Attebery
Michael S. Palmer
Thanks to a small island nation exploding in the north Atlantic, last week Paramount was forced to cancel the 'Iron Man 2' London premier and press junket. On the upside of billions lost by the airline industry and millions stranded on distant shores, Paramount invited High-Def Digest to the Los Angeles press screening and junket. We can't review the film yet, but we did catch a few details about the impending Blu-ray, which, if it's anything like 'Iron Man', should hopefully be released in the early fall.
The bad news is that most of these international journalists weren't there to talk about Blu-rays (obviously. the film hasn't even seen theaters yet). But it's an odd environment. All these journalists just came from stuffing their faces at a generously appointed buffet, only to ask useless, or insulting questions. So let's take a little side-tangent to give High-Def Digest some gossip blog street-cred (scroll south to avoid losing brain cells):
One smart-ass tried to glean dirt from the fact that Sam Rockwell wasn't in attendance. Sam was doing a play. This question was asked twice. Snooze.
Female journalists like to ask female actors about losing weight and what it's like to be women in male-driven blockbusters. High school newspaper snooze.
Don Cheadle was forced to again repeat that he and Terrence Howard are friends and harbor no ill will towards one another for Cheadle taking over the role of Lt. Col. James 'Rhoedey' Rhoades. Military snooze.
And lastly, one person dared to inquire how RDJ's (Robert Downey, Jr.) wife became a producer on the film, implying it wasn't a deserved credit. FYI, she used to run Joel Silver's company. Seriously, wake me when it's over.
Finally, the nice lady who writes for Turkey elbowed me awake when one savvy fellow did ask about the Blu-ray, and here are the minor tidbits we know:
Much like the 2008 Blu-ray, director Jon Favreau revealed that we're in for a full on, special features LOADED disc. Favreau loves these movies, and comes from a place as a movie fan where he likes to see how they're constructed. So for you fellow fans, he documented and over-documented everything. There will be Audio Commentaries, hours of Making-of Featurettes/Interviews, and a number of Deleted/Extended Scenes. Behind-the-scenes producers are quietly working on these right now.
I wish I could provide more revelatory or exciting details because of course these standard special features are assumed to be apart of any huge studio super hero Blu-ray release. Them's the breaks.
But wait, there's more! If you call now, you get one final detail on 'Iron Man 2'
It is SPOILER-ish, and regards a scene in the 'Iron Man 2' trailer NOT in the final film, but will be included on the Blu-ray in the Deleted Scenes. For those who don't want to know, click away now, but personally, this is not story-relevant and is a pseudo-service message, as it's distracting to wait for trailer moments to arrive that never materialize… Okay, still here? Sadly, the gag involving Pepper Pots tossing the Iron Man helmet out of a plane as Tony Stark quips, "You complete me," didn't make the final cut. An alternate version of the scene is present (won't tell you where). Look for "You complete me" on the Blu-ray.
Enjoy 'Iron Man 2' in theatres -- the ultimate high-def experience -- on May 7, and remember, avoid fake IMAX at all costs.
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