Among media outlets attending a video-conference with the president of Marvel Studios, Kevin Feige, SFX has posted their coverage revealing quite a lengthy chat with The Avengers producer. Weighing in on 'Iron Man' getting too much attention, the 3D conversion, vaguely offering production updates for Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, while also praising the ensemble cast's performances, check out what Kevin Feige had to say below.
Was there any danger of The Avengers becoming “The Tony Stark Show”, as he is so popular?
“I think that easily could have happened, perhaps somewhere else, right? If you’re dealing with a traditional studio that’s just looking at, ‘Wait a minute, that’s the biggest movie and the biggest character, let’s do that.’ But that’s not what The Avengers is, right? The Avengers is not Iron Man 3. That starts shooting in nine weeks. The Avengers is about those group of characters, so there is no real leader to The Avengers in the comic books. They each serve their own purpose and it was important enough to us to do that. So while Tony Stark is an amazing character and has a gigantic role in the movie, we did not want to make it just The Iron Man Show because that’s not what the comics are.
“We were betting that our plan was going to fall into place because we’d cast Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in both movies before the first Thor came out! So we were betting on our own ability to make these movies and for the audience to respond to these characters in a way that would make them relevant when it came a year later to The Avengers film. Same with Chris Evans and Captain America. So we were very pleased and frankly breathed a sigh of relief when Thor worked, and when Captain America worked, and when people had embraced those characters and those actors because we were in too deep by that point. We weren’t turning back! So that was a sigh of relief. We’d even starting filming Avengers before those two films came out. It was nice that they came out during production and you could see Hemsworth and Hiddleston get very excited after their opening weekend, and Chris Evans was nervous for a while and then he breathed a sigh of relief and was very pleased! And Downey, of course, was pleased that his movie still did a little better than those other two.”
Does any [strong ’60s connections] creep into the film?
“Talking about Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, she had her roots in the Cold War and in the ’60s spy era. Scarlett’s a young woman – you do the math – she was not fighting anybody in the Cold War! But there are references to her past, her spy past, and her Russian heritage in this movie. Joss Whedon has made his name making some of the best female characters in genre TV shows and films. It was very important to him that the one female Avenger in the movie has a really big role to play. People who’ve seen the movie early on [say] she’s one of the standouts. She just had a small role in Iron Man 2 and you saw her costume for the first time and her abilities briefly for the first time. In this film you see much more of her character and she’s done a terrific job, not just with her stunts but with her performance. She’s got two of the best scenes in the movie – one’s an action scene and one’s a dialogue scene with her and another character, and it’s amazing! Scarlett of course gets the credit for that, but Joss gave her a great script and directed her to a great performance.”
Will we be seeing the Avengers struggling through personal issues?
“They all do! All of them have problems, that’s what’s fun about them. Tony Stark is a great example – a man who’s selling weapons to the highest bidder and not thinking about the moral complications that came along with that, until one of his own weapons blew up in his face and started that redemption story. He’s always struggling between his own ego and his own personality and doing the right thing. Bruce Banner, of course, is always struggling with the creature inside him and losing his temper, and even Thor – who on the surface is literally a god from another planet, and would seemingly be the most unrelatable character – is full of flaws, and is a big pompous ass in the first half of his own movie! His father’s yelling at him and kicking him out of the house and dealing with his issues with his brother. And in this movie he’s got big family issues going on. The main bad guy in the movie is his brother! That’s what tears them apart. So all of them need to have those kind of flaws, these kind of relatable problems. That’s what makes them Marvel characters.”
How is the 3D being converted and how much was Joss Whedon involved in it?
“He was involved, and Seamus McGarvey, our DP, in every step of the process. Every shot was framed and designed to be able to accentuate the 3D process. Joss and Seamus did a test early on with 2D cameras and 3D cameras – we said, ‘Whatever you want to do, you can shoot it in 3D or you can shoot it in 2D and we can convert it.’ And they chose to shoot it in 2D, believing it gave them more freedom of camera; it gave them a better, more creative time on set.
“And all of the tests that we’ve done, going back to Captain America, where we gave the same choice to Joe Johnston and Shelly Johnson, his DP, also chose 2D to convert. If you have the time and the right technicians, there’s very little noticeable difference between them. If you just shoot your whole movie, cut it together, finish it and then go, ‘Hey, you know what? Let’s make it 3D!’ it’s not going to work. Just like if you shoot your movie, cut it together and go, ‘You know what? Let’s add another giant action scene with a lot of CG in seven days!’ That’s not gonna work. But if you plan it, and you have the time and the right technicians, we believe there’s no difference. And Avengers has had the most time, and the best technicians, and in Joss a director who is embracing 3D in a giant way, and who wants these characters to come out into the audience. And we’re almost finished with that now and it looks amazing and Joss and Seamus are there every day.”
Regarding a potential teaser concluding The Avengers, that's expected to lead into Iron Man 3, Kevin Feige says, “The minute we become predictable is when we become boring, right? So we’re avoiding becoming boring for as long as possible!” Believe it or not, there's much more in the interview, which you can indulge in after the jump!
Marvel Studios presents in association with Paramount Pictures “Marvel’s The Avengers”--the super hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel super heroes Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins.
Starring Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson, & directed by Joss Whedon from a screenplay by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. Prepare yourself for an exciting event movie, packed with action and spectacular special effects, when “Marvel’s The Avengers” assemble on May 4, 2012. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. In addition to "Marvel's The Avengers," Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including "Iron Man 3" on May 3, 2013!; and “Thor 2” on November 15, 2013.