There was a flight simulator in one corner, a life-size statue in the other, fans dressed up as their favourite superhero and stars a-glittering on the red carpet – ladies and gentlemen, the first blockbuster of the summer has arrived.
The UK premiere of Iron Man, Marvel’s first blockbuster assault of the year, drew the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jon Favreau to London’s Leicester Square for a night of flesh-pressing and, in one hilarious moment, Oliver Twist pushing (the sight of a bunch of young musical star wannabes from the BBC’s I’ll Do Anything being forced to scatter as Paltrow posed for the photographers was the undoubted highlight of the night).
“It’s great to be here, it’s very exciting to see everyone turn up and it’s nice to be in a place that I call home,” said Paltrow before laying praise at the feet of her co-star Downey Jr. “He’s probably the best actor I’ve ever met. I’ve always wanted to work with him, he’s great.”
“Well, I never had it so good,” said Downey himself, the physical manifestation of comicdom’s genius inventor Tony Stark. “It’s a remarkably civilised crowd.”
So what was it that spurred him to take on a superhero role?
“This might seem ironic, so to speak, but this was a big challenge for me. It’s a genre that’s so hard to get right and when it does, it can be quite an amazing thing.”
Any thoughts on the inevitable sequel?
“I really would like to do another one, but right now I just want to finish up this tour and get back home and get back to basics with my family,” he said.
As for Terrence Howard (and this was grabbed as he strolled by, so forgive the succinctness of his answer), what are the chances of him donning the metal suit to play Iron Man’s sometime fighting partner War Machine?
“Yeah man, definitely,” he said.
So there you have it, short but sweet but definitely boding well for old Shellhead’s second big screen outing.