To read about what I saw on Day One of Iron Man 3‘s Cary, NC shoot, click here. To read about Day Two, click here. Click on any of the images to enlarge them.
Photo courtesy of NBC-17
Unfortunately, today was pretty uneventful. The morning rain prevented the driving scene from being filmed on Weston Parkway between the scheduled hours of 10am to 3pm. I drove up and down Weston twice and didn’t see any indication of roads being blocked off or any production vehicles. It was confirmed that Iron Man 3 was being filmed in Building C on the SAS campus, but there was no way we could get anywhere near it. A couple people tried to sneak on set and take videos, but the only footage they got was of them being escorted off by security. But just because I didn’t see anything doesn’t mean there weren’t rumors floating around.
Rumor has it…
A few bystanders I talked to said that they had heard that the building they were filming in looked like it had been decorated for a Christmas party. This keeps with the Christmas theme that the tree at Epic Games (AIM headquarters) suggested.
Others say they heard that Miami emergency vehicles were seen being unloaded onto the set. Are these the vehicles that were supposed to be used for the scene on Weston Parkway?
Another rumor I was hearing is that production will continue through Friday so they can film the scenes that got rained out. And a possibility of Iron Man 3 returning to Raleigh at a later date for more filming. But keep in mind that all of these are rumors. We won’t know for sure what is going on until we see the completed film.
Interesting bits and pieces
Tumblr user St. Jimmy has posted a picture of Tony Stark’s car that was spotted on set today and a possible photo of Robert Downey Jr. and John Favreau (reprising his role as Happy Hogan). The red wreath in the picture seems to confirm the Christmas party rumor.
An anonymous source at On Location Vacations tells them, “I work in the building they are filming at on the SAS campus in Cary. Cameras started rolling early this morning in the lobby of the building and as I left work this afternoon they were filming a scene at the entrance of the building. Even a lot of extras were SAS employees. It didn’t seem like there was any action scenes being filmed. Just a lot of people in very nice business suits.
As we all probably know by now, Epic Games will be the “face” of A.I.M. On the other hand, the SAS campus is portraying Stark Industries. The cast (mostly extras) were seen sporting “Stark Industries” name badges on set and between scenes. It’s [basically] a Christmas party scene at Stark Industries. There was suppose to be a car/race scene filmed along the Cary parkway but I heard that it was cancelled/rescheduled because of rain.”
We got a first look at Pepper Potts on set today when Gwyneth Paltrow tweeted a picture of herself from the makeup trailer showing us what could possibly be a look she wears in the film – spoiler alert! – a ponytail.
“Day 1 on IM3. Pepper Potts! So happy to be here.”
According to WECT, Iron Man 3 will resume production in Wilmington next week at the National Gypsum at 838 Sunnyvale Drive. A vague description of the scenes being filmed describe them as “exterior building scenes involving special effects and stunts.” The scenes can be expected to involve 150 members of the crew, 91 extras and 3 cast members. With the Asian-themed architecture, could one of the cast involved in the shoot be Sir Ben Kingsley (the Mandarin)?
Tony Stark will be getting a sexy new car. Latino Review reports that Stark will be driving a 2014 Bugatti Veryron Hyper Sport, a beauty with a price tag of $2 million bucks. Here’s what the prototype looks like, and a bit of info on the car: 
The new model will also feature an all-new body said to be inspired by the original Bugatti Veyron concept of 1999. This concept was designed by the current head of Bugatti design, Walter de Silva – former SEAT head of design. The new car will have a top speed of 434km/h… in case the first edition wasn’t fast enough with its 408km/h top speed. The engine will be based on the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16 motor, showcasing around 895kW of power and 1500Nm of torque.
My final thoughts
Although it was a little disappointing to not see anything in person today, I still had fun. Over the past couple days I got to meet and hang out with some pretty cool people, and saw things I wouldn’t normally get to see. It’s not every day you get to hang out and watch a movie being filmed in your backyard. When the I see the film in theaters I can say, “I was there that day!” or “I know where that is!” I was also interviewed by the local newspaper (you can read the article here), so I have something to remember my experience by. And if the rumors are true and there will be a few more days of filming in Cary, you know I’ll definitely be there! If you were at any of the filming locations this week or have seen anything in Wilmington, please email me at stephenbranson@reelmovienation.com. I would love to see any pictures you took or hear any details you have about filming.
Iron Man 3 hits theaters May 3, 2013.
What do you think?
How do you like Tony Stark’s bad-ass new ride? What do you think will be filmed at the National Gypsum next week? Who do you think will be there? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
