As some of you may know, I have had a modest connection to the Iron Man franchise.
I was fortunate enough, since moving to LA last year, to make some valuable connections with the folks at Marvel Studios as a result of my association with Iron Man over the decades.
As it turns out, so many of those folks are serious aficionados of the original comics material and the producers and cast have been very gracious to allow me to participate in various functions relating to the film over the last year.
The night of April 26th was no exception as I walked the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere of Iron Man 2.
It was definitely a no-holes-barred extravaganza as Marvel Studios and Paramount pulled out all the stops to make this the Hollywood event of the year.
For me, a guy who spends most of his time behind a drawing board or word processor, it was a surreal experience to stand in front of hundreds of paparazzi and rub elbows with Hollywood's elite.
Although the outdoor event quickly turned into a media-frenzied madhouse, I had the opportunity to reconnect with some of the stars that I've met over the last year including Robert and Susan Downey, Sam Rockwell and Jon Favreau. While I was on my way down the carpet, I ran into actor/comedian Dane Cook, who turned out to be a huge fan of the Iron Man comics and one super-cool dude. I also had a chance to thank producers Jeremy Latcham and Kevin Feige for including many of the Iron Man comic creators in the screen credits. I also got an opportunity to chat with the delightfully-scrumptious Olivia Munn. I rarely meet someone that hot AND who is also up-to-date on the comic scene. But she definitely is!
The after-party lasted a couple of hours and I had a chance to chat with a lot of behind-the-scenes folk and a few other celebrities, like "The Hurt Locker" star Jeremy Renner.
Unquestioningly, the IM2 premiere was a rousing success and I was thrilled to be a part of it.