Wanna know what's up with 'Iron Man 2'?

Thanks to director Jon Favreau, Twitter.com users have been able to follow an amazingly detailed timeline — sometimes minute-by-minute.

Favreau (whom yours truly interviewed via MySpace.com about mid-May 2006 when "Iron Man" was in preproduction) has always been accessible to the fans. In fact, he created an "Iron Man Movie Group" MySpace page in early May 2006 for the purpose of seeking feedback on the character and the movie.

If memory serves me correctly, he answered my set of questions — and I had bunch! — within about 20 minutes of my posting them. Favreau even took time to give me an attaboy when I posted a link to my column, since at that time the Reflector Web site was restricted to subscribers.

So it's no surprise at all the actor-turned-director opened a Twitter account earlier this month.

Here's what he's been saying about working on "Iron Man 2":

11:35 PM March 3 — "Logging in for the first time. Scouting locations tomorrow for Iron Man 2."

6:53 AM March 4 — "can't sleep because he's less than 5 weeks out from shooting."

7:18 AM March 4 — (In response to a fan) "Not nervous. Just can't turn off my brain. Plus I know I have to get up to box in two hours. I'm training for Happy."

[Cary here: "Happy" would be a reference to Harry "Happy" Hogan, Tony Stark's chauffeur, whom Favreau played in "Iron Man." During our 2006 interview, Favreau said he hadn't made up his mind about pulling an Alfred Hitchcock cameo. In the comics, former boxer Hogan once saved Stark's life after a brutal car crash and later married Pepper Potts, Stark's secretary/personal assistant. The couple later divorced. Stark recently pulled Hogan's life support at Pepper's request after Spymaster critically injured him.]

12:41 PM March 4 — "just finished boxing. Scouting LA locations in the rain."

4:54 PM March 4 — "Robert just left town for some pre-shoot r&r. Last push to refine script before rehearsals start in two weeks."

[Cary again: "Robert" is Robert Downey Jr., who plays Stark/Iron Man.]

6:42 PM March 4 — "Writing with Justin Theroux."

[Sorry to keep interrupting: That's the "Iron Man 2" screenplay writer.]

11:12 AM March 5 — "Preproduction is hitting critical mass. At this point it's almost as intense as shooting."

11:16 AM March 5, followed one minute later — "Will try to attend I Love You, Man at South By Southwest in Austin. It came out really well and look forward to seeing it with a crowd. … After that I'm deep into Iron Man 2 without a break until the end of the Summer."

4:27 PM March 5 — "Just spoke to lovely Ms. Paltrow. I contributed to her GOOP site. Encouraging her to set up a twitter account."

[Cary, last time, though: That would be Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts.]

2:46 AM March 17 — "Rehearsals began today on Iron Man 2. Three weeks from shooting and my life is no longer my own. I forgot how overwhelming this process is."