Lights, Camera, Action!

Robert Downey Jr. Points the Way on Iron Man 2
Jon Favreau is directing the Iron Man sequel (out May 7) and Downey's the star, but when the two are together on set, who exactly is in the driver's seat? That would be Favreau, who once again cameos as the chauffeur to Downey's playboy superhero. Their unique professional relationship, says Downey, is all about making improv work: ''Jon will be like, 'I know I can't tell you what to do, so what sort of crazy f---ing figure eights do you want to do through the room, and how can we make that make sense?'''

Russell Crowe Steals From the Rich
Shooting a huge siege sequence for his untitled Robin Hood film (out May 14) with 2,000 extras outside of London, director Ridley Scott realized he'd come full circle with Crowe. ''Coincidentally, we were shooting in the same valley where we did Gladiator in 2000,'' says Scott, who's worked with the actor five times now. Scott hopes the movie can do for longbows and chain mail what their Roman epic did for swords and sandals: ''I'm battling every goddamn Robin Hood ever made, all the way back to Errol Flynn in his green underpants.''

What's So Funny?
Two comics from the upcoming all-star comedy Grown Ups (out June 25) tell tales on what's making everyone crack up.

Kevin James
''It's hard to understand what we're all laughing at unless you have been a comedian for many, many years, slaving away in the clubs or working on sitcoms, or making movies, but I will do my best to explain — Rob farted.''

David Spade
''There are some movies where I laugh three times the whole shoot. On this movie, we were just thrown together for 12 hours a day, and everyone was on their game. I can't remember exactly what we're laughing at here, but it was kind of like this the whole time. Maybe Rob stepped on a nail.''

Zoe Saldana Totally Kills in an Action Movie
No, Saldana's umbrella isn't a prop. ''It was either raining or the sun was so hot it was killing everybody,'' the actress says of Puerto Rico, where she's been shooting The Losers (out April 9), an action-adventure based on the comic-book series about a vengeful unit of Special Forces soldiers. Saldana plays Aisha, a bloodthirsty killer who thrives on close combat. ''I'm in my action phase,'' says Saldana. ''I kind of like getting the crap beaten out of me.''