We just saw an early screening of Iron Man 2, and it turns out Tony Stark is not the only brilliant, larger-than-life, megalomaniacal technology executive to grace the screen. So do the equally all-of-the-above Tesla chairman Elon Musk and Oracle chief Larry Ellison.
Without triggering too many spoiler alerts, we'll just say that Ellison is referred to in passing as the "Oracle of Oracle," and Musk pitches Stark briefly on an idea for an electric jet plane.
The cameos may both be references to the two execs' real-life Iron Man-esque habits. Musk has outsized ambitions to create private sector space travel and electric sports cars. Ellison's sailing team, to which he seems to devote as much time as he does to Oracle, just won the America's Cup, and he shares a Tony Stark-like tendency to let loose with over-the-top comments to a large audience. Both were widely compared to Iron Man when the first film revitalized the character in 2008.
One fact that may irk Oracle's alpha geek: Musk seems to have played a somewhat larger role than Ellison in the film's production. As tech publisher Tim O'Reilly twittered last July, part of the film was shot in the headquarters of Musk's company SpaceX. Musk received a special thanks in the films credits. As far as we could see, Ellison didn't.
Steve Jobs, sadly, has no role in the film. But then again, he's always been less Iron Man, more Willy Wonka.
