Tony Stark’s mansion is under attack in ‘Iron Man 3’
Part of taking Iron Man out of the comic books and onto the big screen involved moving his home base from New York to the West Coast. Original “Iron Man” director Jon Favreau decided to put Tony Stark’s house atop a Malibu seaside cliff — where it becomes a target of devastation in “Iron Man 3.”
As we ascertained when the first teaser trailer came out in October, Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) gets attacked on his home turf. And in the new 30-second teaser trailer airing during this Sunday’s Super Bowl game, we see more footage of the annihilation. (See a preview in the “Big Game Spot Teaser” below. The first full trailer will appear here on Yahoo! Movies shortly after the teaser spot airs on Sunday.)
Watch ‘Iron Man 3’ Big Game Spot Teaser:
We also see terrorist leader The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and his 10 powerful rings — leaving us wondering if the rings will somehow transform into the alien artifacts depicted in the original comic. And how on earth is he behind the air attack on Stark’s house?
What has us even more curious about the new television spot and subsequent trailer is the ultra-modern home itself and how it would fit into the real world. Stark’s multistory house has a vast subterranean workshop where he creates and repairs his suits. The home is jam-packed with cool mechanized features — including roll-away windows that enable Stark’s speedy, suited up takeoffs.
The Razor served as ‘Iron Man’ inspiration
Stark’s estate was inspired by a real-life house that goes by “The Razor,” designed by renowned architect Wallace E. Cunningham. The 11,000-square-foot house in La Jolla, California, took six years to build and was completed in 2008. The futuristic, open estate is made with white polished concrete and nearly defies physics with floor-to-ceiling glass that allows for uninterrupted ocean views. It has been featured in commercials for Calvin Klein and Visa.
The Razor last sold for $14 million. Chump change for Stark – the business head of Stark Industries.
But in the film, Stark lives in Malibu — where properties are valued even higher than the already pricey properties of La Jolla. If Stark’s home was real, and in Malibu, it would go for $40 million, says Shen Schulz of Sotheby’s International realty. And Stark’s celebrity neighbors, according to Schulz, would be Pink, Kenny G, Barbra Streisand (whose home is said to be worth $12 million), and Owen Wilson.
One irony: The environment depicted that surrounds the house is actually nearby Point Dume — a state park where no residents are allowed to live. “In the 1950s it was a government site for armory,” Schulz says, pointing out that the ground is level there because the government flattened it.
Interior of Tony Stark’s house in ‘Iron Man 3’
Beyond the much more valuable human casualties at stake when Stark’s home is attacked, his estimated $40 million home — not to mention that it’s presumably filled with all of his precious, cutting-edge tech toys — and you have a very hefty price tag on its destruction.