Hollywood What If Chapter 533
At The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The set was great, decorated in shades of red and gold, with a large LED screen behind Ellen displaying Iron Man's poster.
The audience was buzzing with excitement as the talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres, a charismatic person, adjusted her expression and introduced the guests. Ellen was the most good person in Hollywood. She was good to her employees and never raised her voice at them. She was never a bully... Right?
"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the cast of Iron Man! First up, he's the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, on screen, of course, Robert Downey Jr.!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as Robert Downey Jr. walked onto the stage, his trademark smirk plastered on his face.
Dressed in a suit, he waved to the audience, making a playful bow before taking his seat on Ellen's white, comfortable sofa.
"Next, the man who performed the role of Iron Monger, Jeff Bridges!"
Jeff Bridges stepped out, his bald head shining under the stage lights. He greeted Robert with a hearty handshake and shared a laugh with Ellen before sitting down.
"And finally, she's the heart of this movie, the brilliant and beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow!"
The audience clapped loudly as Gwyneth walked gracefully onto the stage, dressed in a red dress. She gave a warm smile and a wave before taking her seat beside Robert.
"What an amazing lineup of a cast! Now, Robert, I have to ask, what was it like in the role of Tony Stark? Did you feel any pressure?"
Robert Downey Jr. leaned against his seat and smirked. "Pressure? Nah. I mean, sure, it's a big deal to play one of Marvel's most iconic heroes. But let's be honest, Tony Stark and I have a few things in common. We're both... handsome."
The audience laughed, and Robert gave a flirty wink at the camera.
Ellen smiled and then asked the other cast members.
"Jeff, your character, Obadiah Stane, brings a lot of weight to the story, erm, no pun intended. How did you approach playing such a morally complex character?"
Ellen's question made it sound like Iron Man was a serious movie and not a superhero genre. Well, Jeff played along. After all, they attended this show to promote the movie.
Jeff Bridges nodded and replied.
"Well, you know, Obadiah isn't just a villain. He's a man who believes he's doing what's right for business. I wanted to bring out that humanity, even if he's, you know, building a giant suit to take down his young friend."
The host chuckled. He kind of expected that Jeff would respond seriously to a serious question. As for bringing out humanity... Iron Monger was just a jealous guy who wanted an Iron Man suit for himself.
However, no matter how simple the characters were, actors had to be professional and understand the characters' inner hearts. So perhaps Jeff Bridges really found humanity in Iron Monger's character.
"Gwyneth, you play Pepper Potts, who is not just Tony's assistant but also his leading lady. How was it working alongside Robert and bringing that dynamic to life?"
Honestly, Pepper Potts was a fucking ugly name. Like, it was a level lower than Cassandra Hoecrap.
"Robert made it so easy. He's so quick and witty that our scenes felt like a real back-and-forth. Pepper is a simple character, so it was a fun contrast with Tony's better-than-anyone persona." Gwyneth giggled, giving a side look at Robert.
Ellen's questions were standard at best. The show was actually paid to promote Iron Man, so the director already prepared safe questions for the cast.
The audience clapped, clearly enjoying the chemistry between the cast.
These were the only ones who attended the talk show because the other cast members had different jobs to promote the movie. Actually, Terrence Howard was expected to attend the show, but he had a disagreement with Marvel Studios.
Ellen turned to the audience.
"Now, before we wrap up, I've heard we have an exclusive sneak peek of Iron Man. This is different from the trailers you've seen on TV, exclusive here on The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
The crowd erupted in cheers as the lights dimmed and a never-before-seen clip from Iron Man played on the screen. The audience gasped as they watched Tony Stark take flight for the first time and unleash a beam of light. Then, on the trailer, Ellen was free falling in the sky while wearing a clown costume and Iron Man had to save her.
As the lights returned, the audience gave the cast a standing ovation.
"Iron Man, now in theaters! Make sure you don't miss it! Your kids will love it. You will love it! You'll make love to it!"
The cast waved to the audience, smiling and laughing as they exited the stage. The buzz of excitement lingered after they were gone.
"Now, after interviewing the cast of Iron Man, everyone, let's all welcome my lovely friend. I attended most of his parties because his parties were amazing. Let's welcome P. Diddy! Just like what LeBron said, there's no party like Diddy's party!" Ellen smiled to the fullest.
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As the introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man received a great reception at the box office.
On its first day, May 2, the movie grossed $38 million.
The people related to the creation of Iron Man were already jumping when they saw the first day's result. However, they were still not confident. After all, the first day's result was just the start, and they couldn't determine the trajectory of the box office in just the first day's result.
They had to wait for a week to see a clear prediction.
On Saturday, May 3, Iron Man reached $76 million.
On Sunday, May 4, Iron Man grossed over $102 million.
The first weekend seemed great, and people grew confident in the movie.
On the fourth day, Monday, May 5, Iron Man grossed $109 million. The movie earned around $7 million on Monday, which was not bad, honestly, since weekdays were not popular days to watch movies in theaters.
Tuesday, May 6, the movie grossed $115 million.
Wednesday, May 7, the movie grossed $121 million.
Thursday, May 8, the movie grossed $126 million.
After seven days of screening, Iron Man grossed over $126 million. This time, both Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox were celebrating since the movie had a promising start.