The Event (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 9:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), “Two and a Half Men” and “Mike & Molly” (CBS), “Lone Star” (Fox), “Gossip Girl” (The CW)

Starring: Jason Ritter, Sarah Roemer, Blair Underwood, Laura Innes, Scott Patterson, Ian Anthony Dale, Zeljko Ivanek

Producers: Steve Stark (“Medium”), Evan Katz (“24”), Nick Wauters (“The 4400,” “Eureka”), Jeffrey Reiner (“Friday Night Lights,” “Trauma”)

Network’s Description: an emotional, high-octane conspiracy thriller that follows Sean Walker, an Everyman who investigates the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, Leila, and unwittingly begins to expose the biggest cover-up in U.S. history. Sean’s quest will send ripples through the lives of an eclectic band of strangers, including: newly elected U.S. President Martinez; Sophia, who is the leader of a mysterious group of detainees; and Sean’s shadowy father-in-law. Their futures are on a collision course in a global conspiracy that could ultimately change the fate of mankind.

The Buzz: NBC ain’t playing around with this one: the big question of the summer for TV fans has been, “What is ‘The Event’?” Most of those who’ve seen the pilot seem to at least be hooked enough to come back for Episode 2, though I’m sure no one is counting on finding out what ‘The Event’ is anytime soon. On a related note, there’s some very reasonable concern from folks about whether they’re going to be let down by a promising sci-fi pilot that starts strong but then either peters out early in the season or never gets properly resolved before it’s canceled. (“FlashForward,” anyone?)

Pilot Highlight: There are several moments which will have you raising your eyebrows both at what you’re seeing and what it means, particularly the final scene, but the most effective sequence begins when Sean – who’s on a cruise with Leila – returns from a solo outing to find things aren’t quite the same as he left them.

Bottom Line: The rapid-fire back and forth between past and present combined with people getting the sensation that NBC’s trying for the next “Lost” is going to make it a tough sell for some, but, damn, the first episode sure intrigued the hell out of me.

Chase (Mon., Sept. 20 @ 10:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS), “Castle” (ABC)

Starring: Kelli Giddish, Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco, Rose Rollins, Jesse Metcalfe

Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer (“CSI”), Jonathan Littman and Jennifer Johnson (“Cold Case”), KristieAnne Reed (“The Forgotten,” “Miami Medical”)

Network’s Description: a fast-paced drama that drops viewers smack into the middle of a game of cat-and-mouse as a team of U.S. marshals hunts down America’s most dangerous fugitives. U.S. Marshal Annie Frost is a cowboy boot-wearing deputy whose sharp mind and unique Texas upbringing help her track down the violent criminals on the run. The members of Frost’s elite team are Jimmy Godfrey, an East Texas kid who never grew up and is a true American cowboy; Marco Martinez, a good intelligence guy who loves to talk; and Daisy Ogbaa, a weapons/tactical specialist and a woman of few words. Rounding out the cast is Luke Watson, the fresh-faced newcomer, whose Washington, D.C., upbringing did little to prepare him for the Lone Star State.

The Buzz: It ain’t great. For one thing, Bruckerheimer was nowhere to be seen at the panel for the series (he was apparently on the set of the new “Pirates of the Caribbean” movie, but he somehow managed to make it in for ABC’s panel for “The Whole Truth” a couple of days later), and then the panel itself was notably shorter than the ones for some of the other new entries on the NBC schedule. Maybe we shouldn’t make too much of either of these things, though. It’s more likely that it’s just a case where the show was too pedestrian to inspire much in the way of unique promotion.

Pilot Highlight: Nothing, really, and I can’t help but recall that I had this same problem with one of NBC’s pilots last year, too. (Would you please rise from the grave and take a final bow, “Mercy”?) Sometimes, a show arrives, follows its formula, and departs without leaving much of an impression. “Chase” is one of those shows.

Bottom Line: Don’t let the Bruckheimer name suck you in this time. “Chase” is the most by-the-book, formulaic cops-and-robbers drama I’ve seen in awhile, with no “hook” to make it stand out from the pack. If “Hawaii Five-0” doesn’t blow it out of the water, then I’ll have to echo Alex O’Loughlin’s sentiments and concede that I’m completely bewildered and have no idea how television works at all.

WEDNESDAY

Undercovers (Wed., Sept. 22 @ 8:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “The Middle” and “Better with You” (ABC), “Survivor” (CBS), “Hell’s Kitchen” / “Lie to Me” Nov. 10 (Fox), “America’s Next Top Model” (The CW)

Starring: Boris Kodjoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Gerald McRaney, Ben Schwartz, Mekia Cox, Carter MacIntyre

Producers: J.J. Abrams (“Alias,” “Lost,” “Fringe”), Josh Reims (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Dirty Sexy Money”)

Network’s Description: a sexy, fun, action-packed spy drama that proves once and for all that marriage is still the world’s most dangerous partnership. Outwardly, Steven Bloom and his wife, Samantha, are a typical married couple who own and operate a small catering company in Los Angeles — with help from Samantha’s easily frazzled, handful of a sister, Lizzy. Secretly, the duo were two of the best spies the CIA had ever known, until they fell in love on the job five years ago and retired. When fellow spy and good friend Leo Nash goes missing while on the trail of a Russian arms dealer, the Blooms are reinstated by boss and agency liaison, Carlton Shaw, to locate and rescue Nash. With assistance from resourceful CIA field agent Bill Hoyt, whose professional admiration for Steven isn’t hard to miss, the pair is thrust back into the world of espionage, disguises and hand-to-hand combat. Following leads that take them to cities spanning the globe, Steven and Samantha quickly realize that perhaps this supercharged, undercover lifestyle provides exactly the kind of excitement and romance that their marriage has been missing.

The Buzz: Relatively strong, although it’s rather odd how little we’ve heard from Abrams on the project, given that he’s usually out front and ready to pound the pavement to promote his series. Still, you’ve got “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” fans who can’t help but notice a similarity between that film and this series, and you’ve got those who are curious and/or excited about the idea of a spy drama with black leads, so there are definitely folks who are ready to check out the show.

Pilot Highlight: Maybe it’s just because I’m a sucker for the classics, but the bits with Bill treating Steven as a god among spies were extremely funny. It’s not something that I’d want them to try and sustain for the long haul – I expect that a constantly-fawning Bill would get pretty annoying pretty quickly – but it worked great for the introduction of the character, anyway.

Bottom Line: I still don’t think it feels like a J.J. Abrams production, and the idea of the couple maintaining their catering company while working as spies seems like the kind of thing that’s primed to be dropped during a mid-season retooling, but Boris and Gugu do make the sparks fly when they’re together. Given that it’ll be the only drama in its timeslot when it first premieres (“Lie to Me” doesn’t come back ’til November), I’d say it has a good shot at taking off.

Law & Order: Los Angeles (Wed., Sept. 22 @ 9:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “The Whole Truth” (ABC), “Defenders” (CBS)

Starring: Skeet Ulrich, Corey Stoll, Wanda De Jesus, Alfred Molina, Terrence Howard, Regina Hall, Megan Boone, Teri Polo

Producers: Dick Wolf, Rene Balcer, and Peter Jankowski (“Law & Order”), Blake Masters (“Brotherhood,” “Rubicon”)

Network’s Description: the classic ripped-from-the-headlines storytelling with the distinctive backdrop of LA – delving into the unique attitudes, cultures and crimes of the West Coast. Detectives Rex Winters and Tomas “TJ” Jarusalski pursue cases through the diverse City of Angels as members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite Robbery Homicide Division. Winters is a straight-shooting ex-marine with a clear-cut world view as stubborn as he is, while “TJ,” who grew up the son of an Oscar-winning Polish cinematographer, knows too well the dark underside that is behind-the-scenes Hollywood. Protecting the detectives who serve under her is Lieutenant Arleen Gonzales, and is driven, focused, and meticulous. She is a twenty-year vet with a background in military intelligence who now oversees the Homicide 1 section of Robbery Homicide Division. Deputy District Attorney Morales is a sarcastic realist who believes moral righteousness is great in theory, but ineffective in a street fight. Though he knows how to manipulate both his public image and the behind-the-scenes politics, he is still a killer in the courtroom who lives to see justice served. At Morales’ side is Deputy District Attorney Evelyn Price, an idealist and a true believer. She has faith that the system she serves is capable of drawing clean lines between good and evil, a belief that her boss, the pragmatic DDA Morales, does not share.

The Buzz: Originally, the only buzz was surrounding the strange decision by NBC to cancel the original “Law & Order” series just as they’re greenlighting a new “Law & Order” series, but as the cast has begun to take shape, people are beginning to take note of the caliber of talent that Dick Wolf has pulled together for what originally seemed to be just another “L&O” spin-off. Skeet Ulrich and Teri Polo? Alfred Molina and Terrence Howard?!? Well, if nothing else, they’re getting people’s attention.

Pilot Highlight: As of this writing, we still haven’t received a copy of the pilot. Word on the street is that Ulrich’s character will be introduced in an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” first, but, uh, we haven’t gotten that yet, either. Basically, all we’re willing to commit to is that the highlight will either involve law or order. Probably not both…but you never know.

Bottom Line: It’s a proven franchise. If you love any other “Law & Order,” there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to love this one, too.

THURSDAY

Outsourced (Thurs., Sept. 23 @ 9:30 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC), “CSI: Crime Scene Investigations” (CBS), “Fringe” (Fox), “Nikita” (The CW)

Starring: Ben Rappaport, Rizwan Manji, Sacha Dhawan, Rebecca Hazlewood, Parvesh Cheena, Anisha Nagarajan, Diedrich Bader, Pippa Black

Producers: Ken Kwapis (“The Office”), Tom Gorai and David Skinner (“Outsourced,” the film that inspired the series), Alexandra Beattie

Network’s Description: After recently completing Mid America Novelties’ manager training program, Todd Dempsy learns that the call center is being outsourced to India, and he is asked to move there to be the manager. Having never ventured out of the country, he is unprepared for the culture shock. Overwhelmed, Todd discovers that his new staff needs a crash course in all things American if they are to understand the U.S. product line and ramp up sales from halfway around the world. The sales team Todd inherits includes Gupta, a socially awkward employee, Manmeet, a young romantic who is enamored with America, Asha, a smart, striking woman who finds herself intrigued by Todd, Rajiv, the assistant manager who wants Todd’s job and Madhuri, a wallflower who suffers from extreme shyness. Todd also discovers other transplants working in his office building, including an American expatriate, Charlie Davies, who runs the All American Hunter call center, and Tonya, a beautiful Australian who runs the call center for Koala Air.

The Buzz: It seems pretty much split down the middle: either people think it’s really, really funny, or they think it’s really, really racist. Personally, I’ve got it sitting in the former category, but, I mean, I’m not Indian, so that might have something to do with it…although the members of the cast seem to think it’s funny, too, so I feel like they’ve kind of got my back.

Pilot Highlight: There’s certainly a lot of funny stuff happening as the staff hones their pitches in order to properly sell American novelty products, but if I had to pick a single moment, it’s when Gupta busts a move.

Bottom Line: I can see where people might perceive it as racist, but when I watched it, I just saw a culture-clash comedy…and a very funny one, at that. It feels like it’ll fit perfectly in NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up.

FRIDAY

School Pride (Fri., Sept. 24 @ 8:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Secret Millionaire” (ABC), “Medium” (CBS), “Human Target” (Fox), “Smallville” (The CW)

Starring: Susie Castillo, Jacob Soboroff, Tom Stroup, Kym Whitley

Producers: Denise Cramsey (“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”), Melissa Stokes (“True Beauty”), Adam M. Neal (“Stylista”), Cheryl Hines (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”)

Network’s Description: a proactive, alternative series that tells the stories of communities coming together to renovate their aging and broken public schools. While transforming the school, the community also restores its sense of value and school pride. The cameras follow students, teachers and parents as they roll up their sleeves and rebuild their own schools, concluding with the unveiling of a brand new, completely transformed school. They are motivated by a quartet of community organizers and personalities — a SWAT Commander, an interior designer Susie Castillo, a comedian and former substitute teacher, and a journalist. Together, the team of experts will lead the community through the makeover process.

The Buzz: None to speak of, aside from the fact that Cheryl Hines is one of the executive producers.

Pilot Highlight: We haven’t been provided with a pilot yet, so I couldn’t say.

Bottom Line: You’d think that the lack of buzz and a pilot would have me saying, “This thing’s D.O.A.,” but you never can tell with inspirational reality shows like this. Sometimes they take off (“Undercover Boss”), sometimes they don’t (“Breakthrough with Tony Robbins”), and I’m not going to pretend that I have any clue which way this one will go.

Outlaw (Fri., Sept. 24 @ 10:00 PM, NBC)

* The competition: “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “20/20” (ABC)

Starring: Jimmy Smits, David Ramsey, Ellen Woglom, Carly Pope, Jesse Bradford

Producers: John Eisendrath (“Alias,” “My Own Worst Enemy”), David Kissinger, Conan O’Brien and Jeff Ross (“Andy Barker, P.I.”)

Network’s Description: Few jobs are guaranteed for a lifetime, and a Supreme Court appointment is a position that no one ever quits — unless he is Cyrus Garza. A playboy and a gambler, Justice Garza always adhered to a strict interpretation of the law until he realized the system he believed in was flawed. Now, he’s quit the bench and returned to private practice. Using his inside knowledge of the justice system, Garza and his team will travel across the country taking on today’s biggest and most controversial legal cases. Garza’s team includes his best friend since childhood, Al Druzinsky, a brilliant defense attorney with liberal beliefs; Mereta Stockman, a hopeless romantic who is Garza’s loyal law clerk; Lucinda Pearl, a wildly unorthodox private investigator who uses her sex appeal and wit to gather information for Garza, and Eddie Franks, a tightly wound, rabidly ambitious Yale-educated attorney, recently hired as Garza’s law clerk.

The Buzz: At first, it was about the irony that NBC had picked up a show executive produced by Conan O’Brien, then it was about how the show was so completely preposterous that it could be a Conan sketch. (“He used to be on the Supreme Court, but now he’s ridin’ the rails delivering his own brand of justice!”) Right now, I think most people are just waiting to see if viewers really will watch Jimmy Smits no matter what role he plays.

Pilot Highlight: It’s a tough call between Justice Garza getting thrown out of a casino for counting cards and unabashedly committing sexual harassment in a discussion with an attorney. Basically, it’s the moments where he’s being way more raucous than any real Supreme Court Justice would ever be, not the legal drama, that really stand out.

Bottom Line: Absolutely preposterous, yes, but Smits’s character is so over the top that “Outlaw” is actually kind of entertaining. Still, I can’t see the show being able to top CBS’s built-in buzz for the return of Tom Selleck to series television.

* The critical wars are going full strength at Cannes with the biggest love-it/hate-it proposition appearing to be Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful.” I haven’t seen the film, of course, but Iñárritu is most definitely my least favorite of “the three amigos” of Mexican/Spanish/U.S. cinema. (The other two being Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro) and not only because his name is the most impossible to type. I mostly liked “Amores Perros” but his “21 Grams” and “Babel” struck me as exercises in touchy-feely realism that was a lot less real than it seemed to fancy itself.

Still, he’s working with different writers now and everyone seems to agree that the always great Javier Bardem is especially fine in it, so I suppose I should keep an open mind. Still, reading about the film, it’s hard not to side with the anti-faction when much of the commentary echoes my feelings about past films and when the pro-side is being taken by Jeffrey Welles, who really doesn’t seem to respond well when other people don’t love his favorite films. It’s a conspiracy, I tells ya!

In any case, David Hudson does his usual amazing job summarizing the critical reaction from a wide swath of the press; John Horn at the L.A. Times focuses on the reactions of big name critics.

* If there’s one project I personally would like to see made, it’s definitely a biopic about the founder of EC Comics and Mad, which started as an EC comic before becoming the magazine we still know today. Though there’s no mention of it in this short piece by Mike Fleming, Frank Jacobs’ biography of Gaines, The Mad World of William M. Gaines was something of a touchstone of my youth and contained fascinating information about the early and middle years of comics as well as the censorship madness of the fifties. It was a time when  reactionaries and left-liberals alike converged on the comic book field, deciding it was the font of all kinds of juvenile immorality.

John Landis — who might be just right the right guy for it — is shepherding the project as he readies the release of his new black comedy about notorious grave robber-murderers from history, “Burke and Hare” with Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis. I hope it’s more effective than the similarly themed but certainly more fanciful, “I Sell the Dead.”

* Seven figures for a live-action “Cinderella” pitch from Disney for writer Aline Brosh McKenna, and I can’t think of a decent Good Fairy joke.

* I missed the very important story last week covering the court order that documentarian Joe Berlinger received for six hundred hours of raw footage he made while shooting the oil industry expose, “Crude.” Anyhow, the Writer’s Guild is supporting his appeal of the decision.

* Terrence Howard seems primed to get back into the superhero movie business and I’m sure he’d be great as the bad guy in a Luke Cage movie. Still, for me, the man to play the Black Panther is clearly Chiwetel Ejiorfor, though I’m sure Howard could pull it off in a pinch. He’s also playing non-super hero, Nelson Mandela, in the upcoming biography of Winnie Mandella starring Jennifer Hudson. To my mind, the ex-wife of Mandela, who aligned herself with the most violent and radical factions of the ANC and was ultimately sent to jail on a case of kidnapping leading to murder and later on charges of fraud, is more villain than hero, but we’ll see, I guess.

* With “MacGruber” coming out this week, it’s not exactly a news flash that most SNL-derived movies aren’t the greatest, but they’ve often got their saving graces and they’re always fun to read about. Still, I don’t understand the acclaim “The Blues Brothers” gets in a lot of places. For me, it’s pretty much a mess with some cool musical moments thrown in.

* More on the revived “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” front. I’ve been failing to mention that, as noted by Empire Online today, Robert Duvall has been attached for a while as Quixote “and he can ride a horse” quips Gilliam. (The 1999 attempt at filming the screenplay fell apart when original star Jean Rochefort, a highly accomplished horseman, suffered from a herniated disk which precluded him from riding. The terrific documentary, “Lost in La Mancha” has the whole, miserable story.)

As Anne Thompson reports from Cannes, Gilliam is apparently in a jovial mood. I really, really hope it works this time.

* Octogenarian author Elmore Leonard, who has quite a history in the movies, discusses said history and the upcoming film version of his long delayed “Freaky Deaky.” He also discusses how, rather than updating the story, he decided it would be better — and more appealing to contemporary audiences — if he could actually set the story earlier and thereby make the characters somewhat younger. Charlie Matthau is directing.

* Director James Gray is not my idea of a modern day David Lean, but his newest project has Brad Pitt and is being compared to “Lawrence of Arabia” by the excitable folk at Cannes.

* Mike Leigh’s film “Another Year” has been generating a lot praise and just got picked up by Sony Classics. Kenneth Turan takes an intriguing look inside the director’s highly unusual method.

* Jean-Luc Godard’s “Film Socialisme” has been mostly baffling everyone and, somewhat understandably, angering many. Certainly, his decision to subtitle the film in “Navajo English” or, to use an SNL reference, Tarzan/Frankenstein/Tonto-speak, and making one of his most ultra-opaque films is kind of asking for that reaction. Todd McCarthy‘s take is definitely worth a read, and, again, David Hudson has excerpts and links to a lot more diverse reactions.

* So, we basically go fifty-six years between movies of of Jules Verne’s (public domain) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and now we have two dueling versions, potentially. Why do movie producers pull this crap? (Anyone remember the two Les Liasons Dangereuse adaptations of 1988?) Also, I don’t know about you but, unlike Matthew Belloni and Borys Kit, I’ve always considered it science fiction, since I’ve always been aware that high-powered submarines didn’t exist in 1870 and I’m still pretty sure even the largest squid couldn’t destroy one.

*“‘Douchebag’ finally found a home.” I just like the sound of that.

* All things must pass, theme park department: Farewell, Star Tours.

* Matt Zoller Seitz solicited suggestions on Facebook for this nice feature on films directly inspired by the recently restored and re-released “Metropolis.” Guess which one I (and probably someone else) mentioned.

Moreover, thanks to the volcano, the next morning, instead of my Crunchy Raisin Bran and 1% milk, I was instead being buttered up by with French toast and applewood-smoked bacon buffet at the Four Seasons, a free Iron Man action figure, and a theoretical chance to ask a question of the all-star cast of “Iron Man 2” — i.e., Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle,and soon to be super-villain of the year Mickey Rourke — not to mention director/co-star Jon Favreau, writer Justin Thoreaux, and producer Kevin Feige.

Of course, considering the 150 or so people in the room, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t get to ask any questions, but it was a pretty entertaining event. Robert Downey may have famously given up a number of vices, but being a perpetual class clown does not seem to be one of them, and it wasn’t like he was the only interesting person in the room.

The first question, about whether Favreau or he felt any pressure in terms of living up to the success of the first “Iron Man,” set the tone. Favreau admitted he had never been involved with a sequel before, unless you count his “under five” bit part as “Assistant” in Joel Schumacher’s notorious “Batman Forever.” It certainly is a change from small independent films like Favreau’s career-making acting and writing debut, “Swingers,” which he compared to throwing a party and hoping people would come.

“…[On ‘Iron Man 2’] we knew that people were going to show up,” Favreau said. “We just wanted to make sure that everyone who showed up had a good time and that this was going to be as fun or more fun than the last party. So it’s a different kind of pressure.”

Downey then felt the need to start listing sequels others on the panel had been involved in, real and fictional. “Scarlet Johansson was in ‘Home Alone 3.’ Don Cheadle, 11, 12 and 13.”

That led to a question that was geeky in a way that anyone whose ever been a superhero comics fan will recognize, and which wound up being answered by producer Kevin Feige. It was about the “time-line” of the film. It turns out that, if viewers pay close attention, they can figure out that “Iron Man 2” actually takes place before 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk.” (Having seen both movies, I have no freakin’ clue how you’d deduce that.)

The next question was about something pretty much all of us online geeks have already noticed about the movie. It’s the absence in the release version of “Iron Man 2” of a brief moment in the trailer involving Pepper Potts/Gwyneth Paltrow assisting Iron Man/Tony Stark (Downey) as he gets ready to fly down into an adoring stadium crowd as part of the massively glitzy intro for his Stark Expo.

“We had two different versions of it, ‘ said Jon Favreau. “But, because of the pacing and the way we [wanted] to reveal Tony Stark, it felt really good to flow into the drop down and reveal him for the first time on the stage. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie, this doesn’t make any sense, but oftentimes in the editing room we figure out what combinations of…”

“Gwen is just finding out this scene was cut, Jon. You might be a little more tactful,” interrupted Downey, generating a laugh.

Speaking of Gwyneth Paltrow, the next question was for the two women on the panel, Paltrow and Scarlett Johansson. How would the movie’s two decidedly powerful women handle having to “save the world” in contrast to the male characters? Who would be better at it?

“If Scarlet and I were doing it, the body count would be different,” said Paltrow. “Less bloody.”

“More organized,” added Johansson.

Then a journo dared to go a bit off-topic and asked Downey about whether he would be taking a rumored gig as the title role in the long, long delayed film of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat.

“Yeah. In anything that’s going on, just imagine it’s been offered to me,” said Downey.

“Precious 2,” offered Don Cheadle, the new James “Rhodey” Rhodes and eventual War Machine of this sequel.

Another writer asked Mickey Rourke how much fun he had in his “electrifying performance” as the vengeance driven, Russian-accented super-villain, Whiplash, aka Ivan Vanko.

“I had a lot of fun,” Rourke answered, keeping it simple. Asked to elaborate, he continued. “It was great. I worked with some great people. This one here [Jon Favreau] is really easy to work with. He makes it fun. It was nice. I just came off working on a film where there was no budget; I didn’t have a chair. The first day, I asked for cappuccino and they said ‘what kind would you like.'”

Then a reporter asked Downey if, growing up, he ever dressed up as a superhero for Halloween.

“Growing up, no, but in my mid-thirties in Palm Springs right before an arrest, yes.”

Then there was a question asking if the rather large amount of improvisation employed on the original “Iron Man” continued on “Iron Man 2.” How much of what was seen in the film was part of the original screenplay?

Justin Thoreaux answered. “It’s a heavily improvisational set. Everyone gets to sort of chime in. My job as the writer is really just to stay on the dance shoes of Robert and Jon and Gwyneth and everybody and just sort of try and rewrite things on the fly.”

“The story is very well fleshed out,” added Jon Favreau.”What has to happen in each scene, we understand. We leave a lot of room within those scenes. We try and do multiple cameras, sometimes, or stay up and rewrite. Justin was doing multiple passes, sometimes double-digit passes, on scenes because we learn things from each scene that we shoot. We try and shoot pretty much in order.”

” What’s nice about having the actors you see up here is they’re all very sure of their characters emotionally,” Favreau continued. “They’re used to being in films where you don’t have the safety net of all the high-technology and the explosions. So, if they have an issue with something we’re asking the character to do for the story, we discuss it and we figure out a way it can work for them as a performer.”

The next question that came up was for Don Cheadle, who is stepping in for Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, who becomes War Machine, a sort of co-Iron Man. What was it like replacing the respected actor, who left the franchise for reasons that remain vague and somewhat contentious. What was it like wearing the suit?

“I don’t know why the War Machine suit is actually made of metal and his [Downey’s] is made of light, fiberglass material. It’s an initiation. But I felt very fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a film like this.”

“Terrence is a friend; I’ve known him for a long time,” Cheadle continued, referring to their work together in the Oscar-winning “Crash,” which Cheadle produced. “It was good to also kind of see him and put anything to bed that people might think there was a problem. There wasn’t. We’re cool,” he said, moving on to mention the childlike fun of playing with “the best toys” and pretending to be a superhero.

“The reason Don’s suit was heavier is that it’s almost impossible to get that mirror-like look of polished metal look with CGI,” said Downey. “I would not wish that on an enemy.”

Then there was some discussion of the casting of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, a more flamboyant character in the original comics which, according to Favreau, the “Iron Man 2” team decided to turn into something a bit grittier for the Russian baddie, somewhat inspired by the tattooed gangster character portrayed by Viggo Mortenson in “Eastern Promises.” Moreover, with Rourke’s success in”The Wrestler” and, before that, as Marv in “Sin City,” there was a growing acknowledgment that, for the second time in his life, Rourke was a major star. “Between the fanboys and the independent film community, he was back with a vengeance, and it was, like, ‘My God, there’s a lot of people, we’re not going to have a tremendous amount of screen time, who’s going to be able to be there and be able to make an impression where you feel like this guy is in trouble?’ So Mickey brought a lot of intensity to both of those roles.”

Also, apparently Downey was involved in recruiting Rourke while they were both touring the award-show circuit — Rourke for “The Wrestler” and Downey for his ethnicity-bending turn in “Tropic Thunder.” “I really worked you like a rib, didn’t I?” Downey admitted to Rourke. “It was embarrassing. I was literally begging you in public.”

Another question about how Downey felt working with new cast members segued into a discussion of writer Justin Thoreaux’s contribution and how he worked through a “horrible” neck problem. “These guys had a really good rapport from ‘Tropic Thunder’ and he understood his voice and how to weave in and out of Robert’s creative process very effectively. And to jump on board a franchise, it was probably the sharpest learning curve for Justin than all of us and he really did a fantastic job,” said Jon Favreau.

Then came a question about the film’s numerous characters and plot threads, including Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury starting to pull together a superhero “boy band” called the Avengers, not to mention the introduction of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, aka Natalie Rushman/Natasha Romanoff, as well as multiple villains — or as Favreau terms it, “villianitis.”

“We really tried to keep the narrative flows going so as to not make it too convoluted,” Favreau said. “I lose track of that stuff. Especially in sequels as the franchises get more complex, I can’t always remember what happened in the last movie. Not for nothing, I like to watch the stuff blow up, but I’m not going to do homework before I go see a sequel….”

That segued into praise for Sam Rockwell, who steals several scenes as Tony Stark’s unctuous business adversary, Justin Hammer, and a discussion about the parrots used in the film as pets for Mickey Rourke’s character. A suggestion made by Rourke to help humanize his bad-guy to some degree. One of the birds apparently belongs to the pet-loving actor.

“Marvel likes to cut costs,” Favreau said.

“You guys cut costs so much, you guys ate the second bird,” added Don Cheadle.

After some frivolity involving Gwyneth Paltrow’s definition of heroism somehow being related to the Goop newsletter, the conversation turned to the “Moonlighting”-esque romance between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts and the “highly anticipated” kiss that finally occurs between Downey and Paltrow’s character in the new film. How did the actors feel about it?

“I couldn’t get her off me. It was embarrassing,” Downey offered.

“It was great because both my husband and his wife were right there,” Paltrow offered, more believably.

Downey could not let the matter slide. “Yeah. She said to me that I didn’t know what I was doing, like it didn’t feel good and I was like, ‘You know what, first of all, we’re all friends so what would be creepy was if I was coming off all sexy to you.’ And, by the way, I’ve done that in movies and it creeps them out. So what am I going to creep you out for?…Despite what she said on set, she still thinks about it.”

The next writer lucky enough to be acknowleded got two questions off. He asked Downey about working with his wife, Susan Downey, as one of the films executive producers. Jon Favreau was, in turn, asked about the fact that his portrayal of Happy Hogan was far more prominent in the sequel and even involved some rather humorous and deftly handled action moments. Downey, apparently afraid of too much tidiness, suggested he and Favreau swap questions.

Favreau praised Susan Downey’s organizational skills and experience. “It’s just like one of those shows where they’re going to organize all of their closets for you and make you throw out the clothes that you don’t need anymore. But it takes somebody to go, ‘You’re never going to wear that again! You’re never going to fit in that…'”

“On a certain level they might’ve thought she was going to come in and tame me or put me in check — but I was completely out of my mind, power hungry,” Downey interupted. Then, turning his sites on Favreau, the teasing began.”He was boxing everyday in pre-production. and made it into the ring for the scene where he gets his ass handed to him by Scarlett. That was originally a longer scene and maybe he was just too emasculated to actually let it be in the movie but, I think, [Scarlett] laid the boots to him quite severely. ”

And so it went, as Downey could not be stopped. “Then about midway he’s struggling with the Medifast, but occasionally binging on pizza and then saying, ‘This is crazy. I have to get back in the gym.'”

“Can I have my question back?” asked Favreau.

And so it went, until a high-flying journalist seemed to think he’d get the scoop of the century. He started out by praising the film, the better to soften the blow he apparently hoped to land. There had already been some brief joking around about Sam Rockwell’s character not being on the movie’s poster. The “Iron Man” team had therefore “sidestepped” the question of Rockwell earlier, which Favreau joked made him feel like Alan Greenspan. Going for the kill, the reporter asked: was Rockwell’s lack of a major presence on promotional materials and being “noticeably absent” this morning evidence of some kind of falling out on set? (Note the noticeably present picture of Rockwell above from Marvel’s publicity materials.)

Downey sarcastically obliged the aggressive journo. “Yes. You hit the mother load.”

Favreau responded predictably that, in fact, there had not been a falling out and Rockwell was busy on the opposite coast doing a play. He further praised his acting and called Rockwell, a “fun, funny guy” and “inspiring and inspired.” He particularly cited Rockwell’s work as a “gender unspecific concierge” in Favreau’s 2001 feature directing debut, “Made.” Prompted by the passive-aggressive questioner, he also admitted that Rockwell had actually been considered for the role of Tony Stark, even before Downey.

“That’s enough. You’re embarrassing yourself,” Downey said, presumably joking with Favreau.

But Favreau would not stop praising Rockwell’s ability or gameness “Justin Hammer wishes that he was Tony Stark and he really embraced that aspect of the character. I think it’s really fun for that and he has a ball with it.”

The would be Helen Thomas of entertainment  journalism tried for one last, more positive, scoop. He commented that Scarlet Johansson was “fantastic” as the Black Widow. Was there likely to be a Black Widow spin-off movie?

Again, what was Favreau supposed to say?

“I would love to see that. Hell, yes,” said Favreau.

When prompted by Scarlett Johansson, who obviously has an interest in the matter, producer Kevin Feige said, “Definitely possible.” At last, the movie scoop of the century.

That was followed by a much less aggressive question about DVD extras. The short version is that there’ll be many and they’ll be largely for the very geeky. “We did overkill on this one,” Favreau admitted.

Then came a question for Johansson and Paltrow on the fact that the Black Widow and Pepper Potts are not quite your usual stock comic book movie females. “I think it’s a very smart decision actually to have women who are capable and intelligent because it appeals to women,” said Paltrow. “So it’s not only a film for fifteen year old boys. It’s a film that can relate to a lot of people on a lot of levels and a lot of my girlfriends like it because of the romance. Scarlett in the trailer — it’s appealing, like, ‘Who is she?’ It doesn’t look gratuitous.”

“It’s oddly kind of old fashioned actually in the best sense of the word,” said Johansson, who got her start in some very high quality indie hits. “These characters are like those fabulous femme fatales of the golden age of Hollywood, Bette Davis more than Jane Mansfield, which I think is so much more dynamic to watch.”

Then came a relatively serious question about the physical and mental challenges of the role for Downey and Paltrow. After both of them briefly hesitated about who would answer first, Downey stepped in after Paltrow said he should go first. “Yeah, they probably want to hear me first,” he agreed.

Continuing. “Physically, I feel like Don and Scarlett and Mickey actually had a heavier load this time as far as just armature…”

“He made them do it all in CGI, like, ‘Get it in CGI. I’m walking off,'” said Paltrow.

That was followed by a rather serious discussion from Downey in which he contemplated the emotional journey of Tony Stark’s character vis-à-vis Whiplash, Rhodey/War Machine, Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, and Pepper. Just as he reached a sort of intellectual crescendo, the giant poster for “Iron Man 2” behind him fell down, leaving an empty frame behind the speakers’ table.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Sam Rockwell!” said Downey, leaving his chair for a vain attempt to rehang the poster. After that, things just got kind of silly.

Moreover, Nikki Finke is reporting that the film has already earned $132 million from 53 assorted countries where it has already opened. The summer solstice is more than six weeks away, but summer-time film madness is, we are informed, very much upon us. (Just btw, Anthony D’Alessandro offers a brief historical look at the outward creep of the summer movie season over the last couple of decades.)

So, the question remains, just how many millions will the second film about billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) fetch. Will it beat the record $158.4 million opening of “The Dark Knight” and crack $160 mill? Or, will it get a mere $140 million or so and send everyone to the immensely well appointed and hugely relative poor house? That seems to be the floor being offered up by the various gurus, including Ben Fritz of the L.A. Times‘ Company Town blog and THR’s jolly Carl DiOrio, who characteristically seems to be leaning slightly towards the possibility of a huge opening for Marvel and Paramount.

Nevertheless, there is a small dark cloud here and that’s the general perception, at least among us press types — who are, I remind you again, people too — that “Iron Man 2” is, while not at all bad, also not as good as the first one. This is a rare case where I’ve actually seen the week’s big movie in advance myself and, quality wise, I’m seeing this one as a glass-half-empty. For me, the story simply fails to find a strong emotional connection between Tony Stark’s troubles and the various threats he’s facing. It all feels a bit vague and disconnected despite director Jon Favreau’s way with humor, mostly good acting, and some very decent action scenes.

Indeed, while the film’s current 68% “fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes is not at all bad, especially for an action flick, it’s a fairly precipitous drop from the outstanding 93% rating the first film garnered. It rating among “top critics” is an even more disappointing 61%. Taking a closer look, there’s a muted quality and less of a difference between the thumbs-up and thumbs-down reviews than you might think. Our own Jason Zingale (linked to above) might have liked the film better than me, but reading his review, it’s a matter of emphasis and personal quirk.

For example. I, and also CHUD-meister Devin Faraci, missed Terrence Howard, who was replaced on this film by the Don Cheadle, an actor who is at least as strong a performer as Howard is over all, but one with very different qualities. For some of us, he just doesn’t come across quite as strongly as James “Rhodey” Rhodes.  As Faraci puts it:

…he’s just slightly too straight and stolid and good to be fully believable as Tony’s best friend. Terence Howard has taken a ride on the Stark jet to Tijuana while Don Cheadle politely begs out of such an expedition.

Jason, on the other hand, didn’t miss Howard at all, but these are all fairly minor matters. This is a movie that no one really hates and no one I know of yet really adores and that’s why I think it makes some sense to look at reviews in a box office context for a movie that is most certainly as review proof as they get. I think most audience members will like it, but I doubt many will see it multiple times. My own prediction is that a huge opening weekend will mainly mean a big drop-off later on. A more muted opening weekend will likely be a bit more leggy as the film skates by on its fairly modest, but very real, assets. I’ll be surprised if generates the kind of love a critical and popular smash like “The Dark Knight” or “Avatar” gets. Either way, though, we’re looking at a very nice pay day, just maybe not the uber-mammoth one some excitable folks are talking about.

One factor that may mean a slightly smaller opening weekend is that this Sunday, lest any of you forget, is Mother’s Day. Sure, there are some geek-friendly moms out there, but I really wonder how many would actively choose “Iron Man 2” as the movie they’d choose to see on their special day. That, I’m sure, is the logic behind releasing “Babies” this weekend. I mean, what could possibly be more motherly? Not quite a wide release, it’s going into 534 theaters and apparently the cute factor here is, as the title might lead you to believe, simply off the charts. Still, all I need to do is go to YouTube and enter “cute babies and adorable little kitty cats” and I get that factor pretty much for free, but then, I’m not a mom. Similarly, the well-reviewed “Mother and Child” is another themed release. The latest from indie-mainstay director Rodrigo Garcia, this all-star drama features Anette Benning, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington and will be showing up in six theaters in NYC and L.A., according to the Numbers.

In another interesting bit of counterprogramming, Summit Entertainment, will be sneaking the romantic drama “Letters to Juliet,” starring up-and-coming it-girl Amanda Seyfried and acting great Vanessa Redgrave, in over 880 theaters on Sunday. It’s a clever way to get around the giant road-block that is “Iron Man 2” to try to milk some shekels out of the Mom’s Day tradition of trying to make up for whatever we did wrong the rest of the year by doing whatever mom wants.

There is actually too much action for me to detail among smaller releases this week. A certain horror film I still refuse to even name is expanding into 17 theaters, and I do want to mention yet another sequel — but not just any sequel. “OSS 117: Lost in Rio” is opening in three theaters, two here in Cali and one up in NYC, and those of us who saw the clever French spy spoof  “OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies” know what the scoop is there, especially the genius of star Jean Dujardin. It’s one part Inspector Clouseau by way of Maxwell Smart and Steven Martin, one part the French spy equivalent of “Black Dynamite.” (For more, my equally spy-loving friend, Randy Reynaldo, wrote about “Cairo, Nest of Spies” a couple of years back.)

Finally, opening in nine theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and, for obvious reasons, Washington D.C., is “Casino Jack and the United States of Money” from Oscar-winning super-documentarian Alex Gibney (“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” and “Taxi to the Dark Side“). I was slightly disappointed with this detailed look at lobbyists gone wild, given Gibney’s other political films, though there’s plenty to recommend it. However, critics in general seem quite taken and it’s an important and very timely topic. If mom is a political junkie and doesn’t mind being told her entire government is for sale to the highest bidder, you could do a lot worse.

In case, like me, you missed it on last night’s awards, here’s the new trailer for “Iron Man 2.” Along with more of Mickey Rourke’s outrageous supervillain, we also get nice glimpses of other new cast members starting with Scarlett Johansson as a very special notary public, Don Cheadle  as “Rhodey” Rhodes/War Machine (I’m still curious what really happened with Terrence Howard), Sam Rockwell as some untrustworthy guy (not a new role for him), and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D.

This one looks good. Rock on.