This Video Of Robert Downey Jr & Jeff Bridges Rehearsing Scenes From 'Iron Man' Is One Of The Coolest Behind-The-Scenes Clips I've Ever Seen
The above video, showcasing a rehearsal for 'Iron Man' between Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, and director Jon Favreau, skyrocketed to the top of r/MarvelStudios today after being reposted this morning. It's not new, or even recently released, but I'd never seen it - and it blew me away.
I mean - how often do you get to watch a couple of world-class actors work out a scene with a legendary director like Favreau? I feel like the curtain just got pulled back on Oz! And when they snapped into character? Forget about it!
'Iron Man' is one of the best superhero movies ever made, in my eyes, but it wasn't such an easy path to get the film to that point. It actually had one of the more notoriously chaotic production processes in recent memory, and Jeff Bridges has gone as far as calling the first entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe a "$200mil student film" - as they would have to rewrite the script right before they shot on most days (due to it being shitty/unfinished) or just improvise lines once the cameras were rolling. Isn't it cool to see a peek into that process?!
These are the actual conversations that went into crafting the dynamic between Tony Stark and Obadiah Stane! These are literally the conversations that the entire MCU has been built off the back of! If this movie wasn't such a huge success, who knows where the Marvel Cinematic Universe is at right now - if it even exists!
Here's how that scene wound up in the final cut of the movie....
There's definitely a palpable sense of tension that they NAILED, mostly thanks to Bridges killer delivery of, "Tony - who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It's the only way I could protect you."
It's a shame we only got that one Obadiah Stane performance out of Jeff Bridges, because he was perfect in that role.
I wonder if there's a way to bring him into the 'Secret Wars' fold in a few years for a brief cameo. I'd love that.
Anyway, here's Bridges talking about his experience on 'Iron Man'....
Give that first 'Iron Man' a rewatch if it's been a while - it's still fucking spectacular and holds up incredibly well.