The event Marvel Studios has been working towards for many years is here: the studio has released The Avengers, in which the various stars of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and The Incredible Hulk unite in the sort of super-team movie that once would have existed only as a fan pipe dream. Well, most of the various stars of those films, as Mark Ruffalo steps in as Bruce Banner and the Hulk, but otherwise we’ve got the roster that Marvel has been building over the past few summers: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, and relative newcomers Jeremy Renner and Cobie Smulders.
Joss Whedon got the job rewriting and directing the film and, I think, managed a neat balance of character and action. Every member of the team gets their due, and the conflict that brews between the rougly-formed team of Avengers and Asgardian trickster Loki culminates in a giant battle sequence that occupies most of the film’s final act. But Whedon & Co. keep the action lively and the staging uncluttered enough that we can see what these heroes are doing as they repel an alien force.
So now that you’ve had a chance to see The Avengers, what did you think? Chime in through the comment section below where, as always for these pieces, spoilers are totally acceptable. Read More »
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At this point, there’s no doubt that Joss Whedon has done really, really, really well for himself with The Avengers. As of today, opening day, the film has a domestic opening weekend estimate of $172.5 million and an impressive 93% Rotten Tomatoes score, making it a smash hit both critically and commercially. But before he was Team Marvel, Whedon was very nearly a DC man. I’m not just talking about that failed Wonder Woman film — once upon a time, before Christopher Nolan ever got his hands on the franchise, Whedon also pitched a Batman movie that never got off the ground.
Like Nolan’s Batman Begins, Whedon’s version would have focused heavily on the origins of the Caped Crusader. However, Whedon was more interested in following Bruce Wayne’s time as “a morbid, death-obsessed kid.” After the jump, read Whedon’s description of one key scene from his would-be Batman movie, as well as an accounting of just how badly that pitch meeting went.
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Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures have teamed with Los Angeles’ pop culture art gallery Gallery 1988 to produce an Avengers themed art show (sponsored by Visa).
After the jump you’ll find many photos taken by /Film photographer Alyssa Saucedo at an exclusive preview reception. I have included photos of my ten favorite pieces — I didn’t want to post too much because you’ll want to see a lot of these pieces for yourself when the show officially opens. We also have some shots of the “street” art painted on the gallery walls, a few crowd shots, including some photos of Avengers director Joss Whedon and star Clark Gregg admiring the artwork (see above).
And we also have some photos of the awesome Avengers-themed cupcakes created by The Cake Mamas (the 2012 winners of Cupcake Wars). I took a brief lapse from my diet to have half of the Thor cupcake and it was pure heaven.
There is so much great and unexpected art at this show, a lot of affordable prints and some really really cool originals priced in the hundreds. I almost bought Joebot‘s awesome Avengers record adaptation but one of the Marvel producers got to it first (and by almost bought it, I really mean that I debated about buying the piece before deciding it was more money than I could afford, and after I saw it sell, quickly changed my story to “someone bought it before I could”). One piece which I love is Fernando Reza of Fro Design Co‘s “Avengers Assemble” poster, which almost feels like something Olly Moss would have created — some really clever work connecting the characters through minimalism. Give it a long look or else you might miss many of the details.
I was invited to an early preview, but the show will be open to the public beginning on Thursday, May 3rd from 7-10pm for a grand opening reception, and will run through May 6th, 2012. This is the first show at Gallery 1988′s newest location at 7021 Melrose Ave, just across the street from their original space next to Golden Apple Comics. If you’re in Southern California, I strongly urge you to check it out.
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You might know the story: the day after the world premiere of The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. let the cat out of the bag that everyone would be filming one additional scene. Director Joss Whedon and producer Kevin Feige initially denied it and later retracted that statement. Since the film was already complete, including a post-credits scene, speculation ran rampant as to what could possibly be added to the film. Feige created more speculation with the statements that “It was not a scene” and “It’s not a big thing.”
It seems the new addition has been made, it is at the very end of the credits, and we’ve got the description below. Read More »
Want to learn all about the inner workings of the webshooters in The Amazing Spider-Man? When does Kevin Feige think Black Widow will return to the Marvel universe? Have people broken down the latest Dark Knight Rises trailer? How does Thor return to Earth in The Avengers? Which stars are providing their voices to the DC themed Robot Chicken episode? Has someone created a Marvel Universe drinking game? And will Mark Ruffalo reveal the details of a deleted scene from The Avengers? Read about all of this and more in today’s Superhero Bits. Read More »
With Joss Whedon‘s Marvel movie mashup, The Avengers, the superhero movie finally lives up to its paper and ink counter part. In comic books, crossover events are common. Superheroes appear alongside other superheros all the time but, with a minor exception here and there, that tried and true comic book staple never made it to the big screen. In a fantasy-based world, the superhero team up film has long been the pinnacle of “what if?”
The Avengers not only makes that fanboy fantasy a reality, the high-octane superhero extravaganza delivers on almost every level with well-rounded characters, plenty of humor and jaw-dropping action. A few things do get left out in the wake of all that excitement but odds are you won’t really care. The Avengers is as fun as movies come and fans who’ve been waiting for a superhero team up on the big screen will leave the theater satisfied.
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Joss Whedon isn’t a guy who needs to define his career at this point; thanks to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and other shows he is very well-established as a creator with a specific voice. That said, Whedon really seems to be coming into his own in 2012. The biggest project on his resume so far, The Avengers (a film that would be the biggest on the resume of anyone shy of James Cameron or Peter Jackson) is garnering rave reviews left and right.
Even as that movie was being finished, Whedon was also occupying the other end of the spectrum, with a micro-budget black and white film based on William Shakespeare‘s Much Ado About Nothing. Shot in a couple weeks at Whedon’s home, the Shakespeare film was announced last fall and features Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Amy Acker, Riki Lindhome, and Clark Gregg, plus Spencer Treat Clark, Jillian Morgese, and more.
We’ve seen a couple photos from the small production, but now a news report on the current state of Whedon’s career delivers the first footage from the film. Check that out below. Read More »
Chris Hemsworth is having a staggering 2012. A film he shot before he was cast as Thor, The Cabin in the Woods, was just released. He’s back as the God of Thunder with a pivotal role in Joss Whedon‘s The Avengers and he’ll then be seen as the Huntsman in Snow White and the Huntsman. He just finished shooting the real-life racing drama Rush with director Ron Howard and he’ll wind up the summer shooting Thor 2 with director Alan Taylor. Then his Red Dawn remake should finally get a release. Not a bad year at all.
I sat down with Hemsworth, along with two other journalists, to discuss his busy schedule, the craziness of comic book fandom, how Joss Whedon helped cast him as Thor, some of his huge action scenes in The Avengers, Thor 2 preparation, how Robert Downey Jr. ushered him into the group and much more. He’s a great guy and an even better interview. Read it after the jump. Read More »
