I am Hollywood

[Chapter 860: The Iron Man Candidate]

Since everything was just starting out, Marvel Entertainment, located in New York, did not make any adjustments. Marvel Studios only planned to set up a simple office at Firefly Studios to handle the logistics and administrative tasks for two upcoming Marvel adaptations: Spider-Man and Iron Man.

Although both films would not begin shooting until at least the following year, the early development work on special effects had already started. The main goal of CG effects could be summed up as three types: people, scenes, and objects.

In past years, most of the focus in the development of digital technology had been primarily on the latter two categories, often leaning heavily toward the "objects" section. Special effects shots of dinosaurs, monsters, aliens, and spaceships fit within this category, while images of hurricanes, floods, and digitized architecture fell into the "scenes" column.

However, for both Spider-Man and Iron Man, as well as future films like The Hulk and Thor, there would be a significant amount of special effects related to "people." This would certainly involve motion capture technology, which was becoming increasingly common. A lot of the scenes featuring Tony Stark in the Iron Man suit would actually be shot using motion capture suits.

Motion capture technology had emerged in the 1970s, but it wasn't until the tremendous success of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings that this technology gained serious attention and began to be used on a large scale in the film effects industry. MGM planned to start the Lord of the Rings series later that year, which would also utilize motion capture technology. Eric made a point of prioritizing this technology as a focus for development and personally monitored its progress.

If they were able to accumulate sufficient technology and experience with motion capture beforehand, there would be no doubt that Digital Domain would maintain a strong-leading position in the industry for years to come, even if other effects companies caught up in traditional CG.

In addition to motion capture, completely digitized large-scale city scenes and mecha transformation effects were also on Digital Domain's research and development agenda.

Once these two special effects technologies were perfected, they could be applied not only to Marvel films like Spider-Man and Iron Man but also potentially kickstart production on Transformers ahead of schedule.

...

After their chance encounter at the Titanic wrap party, Cameron had arranged several detailed auditions for Stuart Ronkel, all of which yielded highly satisfactory results. Stuart had considerable talent and, with his years of experience, was more than capable of portraying a slightly chatty Peter Parker.

However, the contract negotiation process was bound to be complicated. Stuart's agency was still with CAA, which directly rejected Firefly's offer of a six-film deal, stating they would only agree to three films and that each one would require renegotiation of compensation. This was clearly something Firefly could not accept, leading to a temporary deadlock.

During the party, Eric had explained the signing strategy for Marvel superhero films to Stuart. He knew that if Stuart were unwilling, he wouldn't participate in Cameron's audition. The current situation perhaps mirrored what he had said then -- hoping to get through his sixteenth birthday before discussing anything further.

Given Cameron's nature, shooting for Spider-Man might be delayed until after Iron Man, thus Eric did not hurry to intervene personally, allowing Marvel Studios' representatives to continue negotiations with Stuart's agents at their own pace.

...

On the other side, Eric had also started to build the framework for the creative team of Iron Man. Jon Favreau, who was set to direct the original Iron Man, was still only making guest appearances in various indie films. Although this caused some regrets, Eric couldn't just jump the gun and assign someone completely inexperienced to direct Iron Man. However, a suitable replacement was easily identified -- Joss Whedon.

In the original timeline, Joss Whedon directed The Avengers. Although the film benefited from the allure of a gathering of Marvel superheroes, its quality was also quite remarkable. Over the years, Joss had continued his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as producer, director, and writer, and had directed two low-budget indie films as well. Plus, Joss was a huge comic book fan, making him sufficiently capable of handling Iron Man.

Beyond the director, the most important role was undoubtedly the leading man. Robert Downey Jr. was an impossible obstacle to overlook, given that his performance in the original Iron Man had been immensely successful, perfectly embodying the character of Tony Stark.

Although the age of the new Iron Man lead had been adjusted, Downey still fit that criteria. But when Eric had his assistant reach out, he learned that Downey had recently been incarcerated for the second time this year and was slated for six weeks of rehab after serving his sentence. The assistant gathered that Downey had significantly gained weight due to long-term substance abuse, showing none of the disheveled charm that characterized his portrayal in Iron Man.

Though it was somewhat disheartening, Eric could not wait for Downey to reach any sort of epiphany. Instead, he directed his team to scout new candidates for the role. After all, Hollywood had a vast number of talented actors desperately in need of opportunities.

...

It happened to be the weekend, specifically May 17th. Chris's wedding was just three days away, and Eric originally intended to fly to Maryland that day. However, upon receiving a call from Avi Arad, the CEO of Marvel Entertainment, expressing a desire to visit, he postponed his trip by a day.

The purpose of Avi Arad's visit was also related to casting for the lead in Iron Man. To Eric's surprise, he was accompanied by Paula Wagner, producer for Tom Cruise, which was evidently one of the main reasons for Avi's serious visit from New York.

At the Liberty City Shell villa, in the reception area beside the glass curtain wall, Avi Arad and Paula Wagner looked on as two girls in tennis outfits served them coffee. They couldn't help but glance a few extra times at the petite Christina but were tactful enough not to voice any opinions. Only after Miranda Kerr poured coffee for herself did they politely thank her.

Compared to Miranda, who stood at nearly 5'7", Christina -- just over 5'1" and clearly no longer sprouting -- could easily be mistaken for a minor. But little did they know, Christina was actually three years older than Miranda.

With a cherubic face accented by a hint of youthful allure, Christina did leave Eric feeling a bit exasperated. "They're growing up so fast!" he thought, feeling a lack of satisfaction in raising a "loli."

As he watched Miranda playfully pour a cup of coffee for herself, Eric promptly said, "Go play tennis; you don't need to help us here."

Christina, setting down the coffee pitcher, asked, "Eric, will the guests stay for lunch?"

"Of course! Please have the chef prepare something special," Eric replied, then turned to Avi Arad and Paula Wagner. "Avi, Paula, do you have any preferences?"

Paula shook her head, saying, "Anything is fine."

Avi echoed, "Me too."

"In that case, let's leave it at that," Eric waved them off. "You two can go have fun."

Once the girls left, Eric first turned to Avi Arad. "You must have chatted with Joss Whedon. What do you think?"

"A talented young man," Avi nodded, "Though he lacks experience, I believe with your guidance, there won't be any mistakes."

Eric smiled, then focused on Paula Wagner. "So, Paula, how have you been? I heard Tom is filming a new movie in New York?"

Avi Arad had arrived in Los Angeles the previous afternoon and had already discussed Paula's purpose for coming in on the phone.

Although Firefly had yet to officially announce its plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it had not remained a secret in Hollywood, especially with Firefly's various movements. Some media outlets even ventured small-scale reports on the project.

Perhaps inspired by Warner Bros.'s recent three Batman films, which had performed relatively well at the box office, Tom Cruise had developed an interest in Iron Man.

In Eric's recollection, Iron Man actually once was in Cruise's pocket, but Marvel's constant delays and hesitation, coupled with a script he found unsatisfactory, led to a parting of ways.

It must be said that for an actor, opportunity proves to be incredibly important.

Take Tom Cruise and Kevin Costner, for example. Historically, after the box office flop of Waterworld, Costner gradually slipped from being a leading star. Conversely, due to the protection of the Mission: Impossible series, though Tom had faced setbacks, he managed to bounce back with each sequel.

However, now the Mission: Impossible series belonged to Kevin Costner, saving his career after also enduring setbacks with Waterworld.

On the other hand, Tom Cruise had not been as fortunate. Although he remained a top-tier star, his recent attempts at big-budget projects produced only mediocre results. Gradually, even Paramount, which had worked closely with Cruise, preferred to cast him in mid to lower-budget films, as he had consistently failed to gain Oscar recognition. Still, his dramatic indie films were guaranteed to pull in decent box office returns.

The new film that Tom Cruise was shooting in New York, which Eric had just mentioned, was also an indie drama with a budget of around forty million dollars.

But Tom clearly didn't want to continue down this path; after all, big-budget commercial films in Hollywood could often reach global box office numbers in the seven hundred million or even a billion range. In contrast, indie films, even if performing well, usually only scraped around three hundred million globally. The financial stakes could not compare.

Paula Wagner took a small sip of her coffee and nodded. "Right, this is a biopic. Tom is hoping to make another Oscar push."

Eric chuckled lightly but held back from commenting further. "So, why are you interested in Iron Man this time?"

"Eric, don't you think Tom is the perfect fit for this role?" Paula said, producing several photos from her purse, which she handed over.

Eric looked at them and was surprised to see renderings of Tom Cruise in the Iron Man suit. Clearly, these were produced with Marvel's assistance, as only Marvel executives had access to the armor design drafts at that point.

If disregarding height, Tom Cruise bore a striking resemblance to Tony Stark from the comics.

After reviewing the photos, Eric raised his eyes to Paula. "Paula, since you've obtained these design drafts, then you must have heard about my vision for Iron Man."

"Of course," Paula nodded. "Eric, while it's a bit of a departure from the image, you're aware Tom has the power to command this role. You both collaborated on Running Out of Time, didn't you?"

Eric nodded in agreement, acknowledging Paula's point. Apart from Tom Cruise's somewhat criticized controlling nature, Eric held relatively few biases against him. Even though Cruise remained an A-list Hollywood star, there was now a noticeable difference in their weight classes. He wouldn't hold past details against him.

Truth be told, before meeting with Paula Wagner, Eric was not inclined to cast Tom Cruise as Tony Stark. He needed a rogue, not a flawless hero.

But Cruise's on-screen persona was characterized by that very idealism of a perfect American hero. Such ingrained perceptions might cause Eric to wonder if audiences would accept a sudden change.

Naturally, Cruise's salary posed a significant dilemma as well. Although Eric had stated he would not shy away from collaborating with A-list stars, Cruise represented one of the more difficult contracts to negotiate. His longstanding entanglements with Paramount over the Mission: Impossible franchise were a clear indicator of that.

*****

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