Iron Man 2

"I just talked to Jon Favreau a bit ago, and he said that while there hasn't been an formal announcement on the sequel to "Iron Man," he's begun developing it. "We're working on it now," he said, "which hasn't been officially announced. It will be released in 2010."

No surprise there, of course. The first film in the franchise has pulled in well over a half-billion dollars in worldwide box office and was met with strong reviews.

Favreau is also busy these days championing a political cause. Here's the top of a story that I have in tomorrow's print edition of The Times.

As the state's budget crisis continues, Sacramento certainly has money on its mind, but it's hardly star-struck when it comes to Hollywood and its problems with runaway production.

Nevertheless, "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have become unexpected partners in a push to create tax breaks for film and television shows in an effort to keep their production in California, a political cause that has very little traction with state lawmakers and, to the governor's chagrin, even less footing in celebrity fundraising circles.

There's been a 40% decline in the number of film production days shot on location in Los Angeles since 1997, and the stampede east by the makers of high-profile projects is intensifying after New York Gov. David Paterson signed a bill in April delivering a lush new package of incentives.

Favreau is one the nice guys in the industry, and I think he has a lot of credibility. But I also think he will have a hard slog with this cause".

-- Geoff Boucher
Source: latimesblogs.latimes.com