MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios

by JoAnna Robinson

The weekend of Iron Man’s premiere, David Maisel and Kevin Feige took Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. out to Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills, an upscale Chinese restaurant decorated with art by Andy Warhol. To celebrate the movie’s boffo box office, Maisel had something to offer his director and his star beyond the black pepper lobster: he had gotten permission from Ike Perlmutter to buy each of them their dream car. Even the obsessively frugal Perlmutter understood the importance of keeping Favreau and Downey happy. Maisel had conspired with each of their wives to learn what car to buy: for Downey, it was a Bentley in a custom color, so it wouldn’t arrive for a few weeks. But for Favreau, it was a top-of-the-line Mercedes, and it was waiting for him at the valet stand. “They both drove those cars for a long time,” Maisel said.