Iron Man: My 2 Weeks on the Set of this Robert Downey Jr. Action Film

The call came in from Kids' Management in April 2007, for a few Middle Eastern-looking boys and girls to play frightened villagers in John Favreau's action movie, Iron Man. The Marvel Comic Book hero would be played by seasoned actor Robert Downey Jr. and also would star Terence Howard as Jim Rhodes. The cast, as it might seem, is a long list of Hollywood's finest and is billed as the movie to watch in 2008. It opens around the same time as the long-awaited Batman, starring Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger.

My son, Layne, and I were thrilled to hear that filming (at least for us) would begin at the California Speedway in Fontana, a mere 30 minutes from home. Nonetheless, ten days before shooting our first scenes, we were directed to Playa Vista Stages for a wardrobe fitting. Kid's Management graciously took care of the gas for the one-hundred-mile journey and a couple of hours extra pay was gratefully accepted.

April 23, 2007, early in the morning, under a blanket of stars, we drove off to Fontana. Layne was curled up under a sleeping bag and fell asleep. My young actor has learned to take naps whenever, and wherever , he can since most of the time we are on the road for more than four hours and call time is usually 6:00 or 7:00am.

In any case, we reached our destination, California Speedway, within 40 minutes and were directed beyond the tracks to the old factories behind. The sets were pretty elaborate and after the children (about ten of them) had breakfast, and wardrobe then makeup turned them into young refugees they were led into the tunnels. Parents were halted a little before the tunnel leaving our kids in the hands of their teacher and assistant director.

The tunnel was gutted in some parts with a few man-made caves along broken tracks--a small battlefield. A tank was driven on top of a cave where a couple of terrified kids were hiding from insurgents. Moms were a little worried but honestly, all precautions were taken. Paramedics were stationed close by and a Fire Chief was on scene to make sure all children were safe. This of course brings little comfort to moms who see smoke coming out of the tunnel's mouth and stunt men rushing in with machine guns aimed carelessly at our children. It was quite an experience and one particular mom did a lot of crying. In stark contrast, a few giggles escaped from my lips as I knew Layne would utterly enjoy the moment.

At any rate, after the kids dragged themselves into the school trailer, gun fire and bombs shattered the silent sky. Again, this was one of the safety measures taken as no bullets, even though they were blanks, were fired around the kids. The only health issue we were worried about was the chemicals they were subjected to. Each child was constantly breathing smoke although they were all provided with masks and countless bottles of cold water. Layne said he had no problem with any of it especially when he was told he would receive extra money for his trouble. Nevertheless, always know what your children are getting into. The production company will let your manager or agent know what is required for filming, so prepare yourselves and ask beforehand.

On the fifth day, which in affect was the last day of filming at California Speedway, we were told to grab a good dinner and go home early. Reason why? The pyrotechnic special effects people were prepared to blow up the tank. They had one shot to do it right and minors were not allowed anywhere near this dangerous event. We might have seen it from the parking lot, however. I'm just saying. It was rather a huge explosion-looked much like a small nuclear bomb going off. So ended filming at California Speedway.

Eight months later, December 2007, we received a callback. One more week of shooting was needed. Wardrobe was shocked, however, to learn that Layne had grown eight inches in those months which presented them with a little bit of a problem. But rumor had it that all the scenes shot at California Speedway was not going to be used. Whatever the case might have been, they kept Layne for the re-shoot. Only four children were asked back plus a new little girl and the son of actor, Faran Tahir. Mr. Tahir plays bad guy Raza.

I had a chance for a short conversation with Tahir about the day's shoot and what he thought of the movie. Basically he said that this version of Iron Man was going to be very edgy and not so "cartoonish." He had already seen the trailer and I would presume bits and pieces of the unedited film as well.

In any event, filming took place at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in Santa Clarita who's client list includes CBS's CSI, Paramount for JAG, NBC's Boomtown, Lock & Key Productions with Fear Factor, Disney shoots there, Warner Brothers' Without A Trace and the list is too numerous to mention.

The set of Iron Man was a closed one, to say the least, but somehow a few photographers still found us on location. They planted themselves high on the mountain surrounding the make-believe Middle Eastern village. Security quickly put an end to that. Nonetheless, Iron Man videos and photographs were leaked onto the internet. Even the car Tony Starks (Iron Man) drives was hard to keep a secret. The Audi R8 will be as much of a star in this block buster as its human counterparts.

Nevertheless, Layne got to work with a few amazing stunt men who tossed him around. Most of the falling and flying, however, were done by the expert stunt men themselves. A little over half a day was taken to film one of the guys crashing into the second story of a bombed out hotel. These men are mighty tough.

At the end of the week, we were all tired and very sad to leave each other. We inhaled smoke and chemicals, endured wind and snow, heat and chill, gunfire and ear shattering bomb blasts. But we should be blessed to ever work with this bunch of actors, wardrobe crew etc, directors, PA's and stunt men again. One can only hope. The summer of 2008 will see the return of some heavy duty block busters. On the bill is Iron Man, of course, Batman which will no doubt be the sentimental favorite of movie goers and the return of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, will probably break a few more box office records. Save your money and we'll see you in theaters across America.