Filming on Iron Man officially kicked off.
The first big shooting location was the Playa Vista lot out on the west side of Los Angeles. Jon Favreau had spotted the place on Google Maps, and the second Joey heard about it, she was totally on board. "It's huge," she said. "Plenty of room for the massive sets we need to build."
So that's where they ended up setting everything up.
Tom was already in the zone. Honestly, from the moment he stepped onto the set, Joey could feel the shift. He'd fully transformed into that cocky, sarcastic playboy with a scarred heart and a hidden soft side.
Joey? She was still a bundle of nerves, even after those quick acting crash courses.
Their first scene together: Tom's sitting at his desk playing with one of those Newton's cradle things, clicking the metal balls back and forth. Joey walks in to give him an update.
She's wearing a crisp white dress shirt tucked into tight black slacks (professional but still showing off her slim figure), with that simple, gentle expression on her face and this easy, graceful posture. She's never gonna be the classic stunning blonde Pepper that Marvel fans pictured, but there's something about her... this quiet, different kind of charm that's hard to put your finger on.
She walks in hugging a stack of folders, looks at Tom totally zoned out with the desk toy, and deadpans, "The new Vanity Fair just dropped. They're calling you the modern-day Da Vinci. Any comment?"
Tom flashes that mischievous grin. "One hundred percent ridiculous. I'm not dignifying that with a response."
Joey sets the files down. "Okay, then how about your other nickname: Merchant of Death?"
Tom smirks, savoring it. "Now that one's got a nice ring to it."
"Cut! Good take." Jon wrapped the scene.
He figured Joey had done exactly what a "vase" role needed: look pretty, feel warm and caring, sprinkle in a little sass and sex appeal. Mission accomplished.
After that, Joey was off-camera for a while. She tucked herself in a corner, nervously chewing on her fingernail and flipping through the script, trying to dig up anything new.
She watched Tom and Samir go at it in the hangar.
Jim Rhodes: "You're not a soldier."
Tom grits his teeth and fires back, "Damn right I'm not. I'm an army."
Joey had to fight back a smile. Tom was killing it, nailing that clenched-jaw intensity while still keeping Tony lazy and funny.
Next up was another scene with her.
She's standing in the workshop, staring at the Mark I suit, jotting down numbers. "Looks to me like you're done building weapons."
Tom gives her that cocky, smooth look and a playboy smile. "It's a flight stabilizer. Totally harmless."
Of course, right on cue, something glitches hard. Alarms start going off.
Joey whips around and glares at him. "What the hell just happened?"
Tom's got a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, but he still flashes that devil-may-care grin, grabs her, and hustles them both toward the door. "Face it, babe. Hiring me to build this stuff? Not the worst thing in the world."
"Cut! That's a wrap on this one. Take ten."
Joey and Tom collapsed into their chairs on the sidelines. Tom thought Joey crushed it for day one. For someone with zero acting experience, just not screwing up was already a win.
He gave her a little nudge. "You did great."
She smiled back. "You too. Honestly, I didn't expect you to fit this vibe so perfectly."
Tom leaned back in the chair that had his name stitched on it. "The reason I took the part is because Iron Man's always been a second-tier hero in the comics. Not a massive built-in fanbase. If it was one of those super-iconic A-listers, I probably would've passed."
Joey flipped through her script. "Makes sense. With the big icons, no matter how great you are, people aren't gonna buy it. Nobody wants to see a real person try to become Batman or Superman or Spider-Man. Too sacred."
Then she sneaked a glance at him, kicked his shoe lightly, and lowered her voice. "So… how much are they paying you for this, anyway?"
She was curious if Marvel was gonna end up giving Tom the insane backend deals they gave RDJ in the original timeline. First movie, Downey only got half a million upfront, but once it blew up? Sky's the limit.
In Hollywood, the only way you hit those absurd paydays is by becoming the irreplaceable face of a massive franchise. Even the biggest stars get totally different money when they're locked into one of those tent-pole series.
Look at Johnny Depp: career was basically circling the drain, but the second he put the pirate hat back on? Disney wrote him a blank check. Same with Harrison Ford and Indy, Schwarzenegger and Terminator, Bruce Willis and John McClane, Matt Damon and Bourne, Tom himself and Ethan Hunt. Studios don't dare recast when the audience will riot.
Joey had a feeling Iron Man could be Tom's second "I'm getting stupid-rich off sequels" role.
Tom just held up two fingers and smirked. "Twenty."
She figured that meant a couple million upfront plus 20% of backend or something. Plus he was one of the investors, so his real take was gonna be way higher.
That same day, one of the crew members uploaded some behind-the-scenes shots to the official site.
And boom, Joey's Pepper Potts look was out there for the first time.
A woman in a white dress shirt and high-waisted black slacks, gentle expression with just a hint of stubbornness, and (gasp) black hair.
Fans lost their minds. Black hair?! That's not comic-accurate Pepper!
But then they kept looking. And looking. And after the black hair stopped being shocking… they started coming around.
"Okay… she actually kinda works. Besides the race and hair, the vibe is spot-on."
"No way. That's the same ice-queen from the H&M ads? She looks soft as a daisy now!"
"Joey Grant, miracle director, apparently can play arm-candy too."
"She should just star in all her own movies from now on~"
"I love this woman. Talented, gorgeous, low-key, actually has morals… where do you even find another one like her?"
"Joey, please don't get addicted to acting and forget directing! (Though I'd be okay if you directed AND starred.)"
"Can't wait to see you light up the big screen. MWAH. Your movie fan."
Of course, Tom's stills got way more comments. He's Tom freakin' Cruise. His fans were eating up the goatee, the suit, everything. Just nonstop "he looks perfect," "best casting ever," "so excited."
But the one thing both fanbases agreed on? They needed sparks between Tony and Pepper. Superhero movies don't get a ton of romance, but when they do, it's gold. With Tom and Joey both nailing their roles, people were begging for some serious chemistry.
Joey had gone into this just trying to be a competent vase: stand there, look nice, don't mess up the lines.
And honestly, she didn't mess up. Zero actual acting required, so mission accomplished… right?
Except Jon Favreau apparently wasn't totally satisfied.
He pulled Joey and Tom aside after a take. "Okay, look, the main issue is Joey. But Tom, I think you can help guide her."
Tom took a sip of water. "Guide her how?"
Jon scratched his head. "You two have zero spark right now. Joey, your eyes and expressions; I'm not feeling any underlying thing for Tony."
Joey blinked, then immediately apologized. "I'm really sorry, I know I'm falling short…"
She'd been laser-focused on just being a functional vase. Now the director wanted subtle, buried feelings in her eyes and face? For Tony Stark?
That… was a tall order. She wasn't a trained actress. Playing quiet, complicated, "I secretly like you but won't say it" emotions? Yeah, not exactly in her wheelhouse.
Jon kept going. "That's why I need you in on this, Tom. Sometimes acting is a two-way street. A good scene partner can pull the performance out of you."
Tom pointed at himself, then at Joey. "So you want me to coach her?"
Jon grinned. "Exactly. You're the veteran here. Teach her how to get into it."
Tom gave a little salute. "Got it."