How One Guy’s Flickr Photo Ended up in "Iron Man"

Sometimes you come across the quirkiest movie stories, and this is definitely one of them.

Jeremy Keith is a web developer living and working in England, and one day he was contacted about using one of his Flickr photos in an “upcoming feature film.” The photo was of the Vehicle Assembly Building in Cape Canaveral.

More after the jump…

“I thought it was an odd picture to be asking about,” he wrote on his web site, adactio.com. “Let’s face it; it’s not a very good photo. It’s blurry and washed out. I guess it’s somewhat unusual in that it was shot inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Cape Canaveral. Usually members of the public aren’t allowed inside.”

After some back and forth, and Keith wondering what the deal was, the woman who contacted him revealed that “it’s for a movie that’s currently in production called ‘Iron Man,’ starring Robert Downey, Jr.‘” 

Keith had the same reaction most of would have had: “Holy crap! One of my photos was going to be in ‘Iron Man’? That certainly put a new spin on things.” 

He never saw the movie in theaters, so checked it out on DVD. “Three minutes into the movie, there was my photo,” he writes. “It fills the screen. The camera lingers over it while performing its best Ken Burns effect. Not only was Robert Downey Jr. photoshopped onto the picture, Jeff Bridges was on there too! The Dude!! …On my picture!!!

Fun, huh?! Check out Keith’s website for the whole story.

Image: Iron Man, Paramount Pictures, 2008