Iron Man director Jon Favreau posted updates on the movie’s MySpace group forum confirming details about the superhero’s famed suit and the recent photo revealed by USA Today of star Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark (photo at right; click for larger view).

The movie will contain both the gray suit and the gold and red. The light you see in the photo on Robert’s chest in the USA Today article is the chest piece glowing through his shirt. He is in captivity and forging the mask of the Mark 1. Both suits have been built practically by Winston Studios and are busily at work as we speak.

Cremated remains of Star Trek actor James Doohan and Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper launched into suborbital space.

The cremated remains of Star Trek actor James Doohan were launched into suborbital space today aboard a rocket in New Mexico.

The Legacy Flight memorial spaceflight, which also included the ashes of Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper along with those of 200 others, took off at 8:56am local time. Since it was a suborbital flight, the rocket soon parachuted back to Earth, coming down at the White Sands Missile Range.

The MTV series Pimp My Ride tricks-out car to give it a Silver Surfer theme.

As part of a promotion for the upcoming Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the tuner experts on the MTV series Pimp My Ride will transform a viewer’s car into a Silver Surfer-themed vehicle complete with a built-in plasma screen and an Xbox 360.

I’m guessing Fox’s decision to go the car route with FF2’s promotion had something to do with the Fantasticar. The Fantastic Four’s proton accelerator-powered hovercraft will make its first on-screen appearance in the FF sequel, opening June 15, as does the cosmos-surfing silver herald of Galactus.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

USA Today has posted a first look at Robert Downey Jr. in the role of Tony Stark in the Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man movie.

The 42-year-old Downey, who’s had several stints in drug and alcohol rehab, is getting in shape to play the hard-bodied recovering-alcoholic millionaire. To prep for the role of Stark — an arms manufacturer who dons a jet-powered, missile-launching suit of armor to fight evil as Marvel superhero Iron Man — the actor lifts weights five times a week and practices martial arts.

Make no mistake: though I am not a comic book reader or collector, I have always admired the genre and I am generally thrilled that Hollywood has adapted so many comic books into films. I have to wonder about how long this should continue, though. How much of a good thing is too much?

Let us consider the past and near future of live-action films based on comic books. In the last 30 years, Hollywood has given us five films each for Superman and Batman; three for X-Men; two for Spider-Man; and one each for Supergirl, Hulk, Daredevil, Elektra, Fantastic Four, Punisher, Judge Dredd, and Ghost Rider.

Additionally, Hollywood is planning films for Wonder Woman, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor, as well as upcoming sequels to Fantastic Four, Spider-Man with Hulk and Batman sequels up in the next two to three years. This list also only includes major Hollywood films about well-known comic books with significant longevity. There are a raft of movies about lesser-known comic books, graphic novels, and limited series (e.g. Sin City).

Hollywood is going to mess up a comic book one of these days, and do it badly. I’m not talking about a horribly poor execution of a decent idea or potential franchise, like Batman & Robin, Supergirl or Superman IV: The Quest For Peace. I’m thinking more along the lines of a poor idea that should never even be made into a script. I can see it now: a hotshot movie producer and a studio executive will be sitting around over drinks.