Writer-director reunited with Iron Man

MANILA, Philippines - He has long been considered one of the pioneer screenwriters of the modern-action genre. Shane Black made his breakthrough at the age of 26 when he wrote the screenplay of Lethal Weapon in 1987 and set up one of the most successful action-comedy franchises of all time.

Black subsequently wrote the screenplays of Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout, Last Action Hero and The Long Kiss Goodnight. In 2005, he wrote and directed the well-received Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which marked the return to the big screen of Robert Downey Jr.

Now, he reunites with Downey Jr. as he directs the actor in (as well as writes the screenplay of) Marvel’s Iron Man 3. Find more about Black’s directorial journey in the interview below:

What was your impression of the first Marvel’s Iron Man as an outsider/friend of the actor and not as a filmmaker?

“I was very happy for Robert when I found out he was going to be Iron Man. It’s one of those why-didn’t-I-think-of-that situations where you have certain actors that when you hire them, you get what you pay for. With Robert, you never quite know what you’re getting but he always seems to elevate the material and that’s what’s great about him.

“Robert came to me early on with Jon (Favreau). They had a version but they were looking for some ideas. I like to think I contributed very little. I just sat and talked with them about the movie. I was impressed just how gung-ho they were to do this thing in kind of a realistic style and make a real-world film, not just a comic book film.

“Robert elevates anything he takes on. He is one of those people who is very personal about it. He’s very passionate and intense about not just giving you a performance you recognize from his last performance. I think he’s one of our great actors and the idea that he can do something that is as intimate and wonderful as Chaplin and then also do Iron Man and not be cynical about it, is remarkable. But Robert is Iron Man; he really committed to it.”

What was it like as a director working with an actor who is so involved in the filmmaking process like Robert Jr.?

“Robert shows up to play ball, and you’ve got to be pretty alert in the morning, which I’m not generally. I remember standing outside his trailer like jumping up and down a couple times, gulping down coffee because I knew I had to go in and face this guy. No matter where you go in the room he’s going to be two inches away from your face. He has his ideas and we collaborate, and we’ve done it before, but he’s a force of nature to be reckoned with.

“He’s an adult. He’s a child. He’s a genius. He can be the most hyperactive, kinetic guy who is limitless in his energy. Basically, he’s a phenomenon. He’s remarkable to work with, and he shows up to play. You’ve got to be on your game, because when he walks in, it’s not about chewing the fat and drinking coffee. He wants to go. And so, that was our challenge — just to be ready on set for him. When he walked in, we had to be up to it.”

What attracted you to Tony Stark/Iron Man?

“My initial exposure to Iron Man was probably early ’60s. I was addicted to those old superheroes, especially the Hulk and Iron Man but more so Iron Man because he was high-tech and cooler. I also had this love of robots. I love robots that look like Iron Man and that sort of meld in like cyborgs. I loved the ‘Six-Million Dollar Man’ or what it could have been. So there’s always this sort of Michael Crichton high-tech love I’ve had for that sort of superhero.

“Tony Stark has so many troubles, so many foibles, but only later on did I come to appreciate that. That’s what makes the character such a tight fit with Downey and it’s what I respond to now. Once you have everything, what do you really have and as you sit there sipping your champagne, looking out the huge plate-glass window at the world you essentially own, what’s really going on in your head? All the firepower in the world at your disposal and you’re hanging with chicks getting drunk. It’s a level of fantasy that I think people really respond to because here is a guy who maintains a conscience even though he essentially has the ability to be a robber baron. He comes around and he says, ’No, I still have the responsibility to do the right thing.’”

In what direction did you take the Tony Stark character in Marvel’s Iron Man 3?

“In The Marvel’s The Avengers, there’s a bit of an other-worldly element. There’s kind of a fantasy element and it gets very big and almost flamboyant in its sci-fi aspect. There was an idea to back off a little from that with Iron Man 3 and say that this is a standalone movie. We’re not saying that this is not the same Avengers universe. We’re saying, ‘Okay, he did that last summer but this summer maybe he’s concerned with something a little less extraterrestrial.’ But at the same time, to make it a thriller that has that pulp element to it, it still has to be framed in terms of the comic book. I think we have a creepy type of menace in this one that is sort of outlandish and comic book but also backed up against a real world environment of international war, international arms and international terror.”

Opening in theaters on April 24 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theatres, Iron Man 3 is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount