By Fred Topel | Image property of Paramount Pictures
Iron Man
Gwyneth Paltrow famously told the press that she wanted to work less now that she's a mom. Doing Iron Man seems antithetical to that, since she is signed for three films and Marvel obviously expects it to be a franchise. This, however, fits her criteria.
Paltrow Working for Iron Man
"It would be great because I love these people so much and they can’t do them all in a row so I’ll have a nice break in-between," said Paltrow. "I can take everyone to nursery school and then go back to work again in a year. I sort of bet on the group and I thought, 'I bet these guys would be great to work with' and I was right. If not well, I can pay my mortgage."
Indeed, this became one of those interviews where Paltrow just raved about her colleagues, but at least she referenced a classic '80s comedy. "I got involved first because the cast and Jon [Favreau]. I love John’s movies and I really love Robert Downey, I always have since I was a teenager. There was a movie he was in, Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield and this was the kind of thing my brother and I would rent 50 times. I always loved him and I always wanted to work with him so the group of people was really the main draw for me. Then when I started to read the comic and understand the dynamic between Pepper and Tony and see how complicated their relationship was, it wasn’t just straight 'I’m your assistant' it was very emotional and kind of sexual and kind of fraternal. She plays a lot of roles for him so it’s a good part. It’s a really good part."
Paltrow did become a comic book geekess in her research for the role. "They really seemed like different comics to me. It was funny to see the kind of '60s, when he’s very dashing in smoking jackets and Pepper with her little flip hairstyle and everything, I liked all of them. There wasn’t one [favorite]. I was just trying to glean what her essence was. I was trying to find a through line in all of these but it’s funny to see how much the styles change."
With all that material out there, Paltrow simplified her task as a performer. "I feel like my responsibility is to bring Pepper to life, so I wasn’t really concerned so much with how am I going to do it and what am I going to bring? I was like who is she, what does she want, what is she getting out of this relationship with this guy, why does she stick around? So it’s really trying to understand her and obviously I’m me, so whatever that image I bring her to life."
Iron Man opens to theatres on May 2nd.
For the posters, trailers, stills and latest headlines, go to the Iron
Man Movie Page.
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