MTV talked to "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau recently, and landed some interesting quotes from him about the movie:

"It's the first movie Marvel is self-financing. We're set to come out in the summer of '08, and we'll start shooting in January. We're gonna have it take place in the present day, but there will be an origin story that has the old, gray Iron Man suit; eventually it will progress into more of the modern look. That's the fun of doing the first one" said Favreau.

What about the more hard hitting elements of the comic?

"The alcoholism doesn't come into play until later on in the story of Iron Man. [The comic] started off in the '60s, where it was about him as a successful manufacturer who developed this suit. Then, later, it spins off into that story about him fighting against himself. I think we're going to lay the groundwork for it, but the first one's going to explore him taking on this alter ego of Iron Man, and developing the suit, and what happens politically within the Stark Corporation".

He also confirmed he plans to go for an unknown for the role.