What is harder to get than good Lakers play-off tickets? An invite to the pre-release cast and crew screening of the new Iron Man movie!!

Last night I had the privilege of being one of the first to see Iron Man, the first film produced by Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL), not one of the major studios. Although it wears the Paramount Pictures label and Paramount will be distributing the film, this one is Marvel all the way.

My colleague Steven Mallas reported last month about Marvel's super earnings report and come this Monday when the weekend box office tallies are in, I expect Iron Man to be at the top of the charts. In other words, IRON MAN WILL BE HUGE!

Although the cost of production and promotion reportedly shot past $200 million, I can tell you that they got it all on the screen. So much so that I write with excitement for movie enthusiasts (me), baby-boomer fans of Marvel comics (me again) and my two sons who accompanied me last night (me, them), and I want to add an exclamation point to every sentence!