Screenwriter Don Payne Speaks In Great Depth On Various Aspects Of Thor!

Elisabeth Rappe of Chud has managed to get a great lengthy interview with one of the screenwriters for Marvel's highly-anticipated Kenneth Branagh-directed THOR film, Don Payne (Fantastic Four 2). Discussing every aspect of the Mighty Avenger, including the star Chris Hemsworth, producers, co-stars and the recent trailer, the interview was too massive. So, if you're worthy of the entire ample interview, follow the link after the cherry-picked portions below.

Is it ultimately the same as trying to make any superhero realistic and relatable?

Well, I think the challenges are pretty apparent. As you say, Thor’s a unique character, and it’s an unusual story we’re telling. When you’ve got something like Captain America, the premise is easier to get right away — he’s a superhero fighting Nazis in World War II. Whereas we’ve got an extra-dimensional being once worshipped as a god by the ancient Norse who’s banished to earth and stripped of his powers to learn humility, all set amidst the Shakespearean intrigue of a dysfunctional royal family. It’s not as simple to grasp.

You just have to find the things that make Thor timeless and relatable as a character. It certainly helps that he’s charismatic and likeable, albeit flawed. He’s banished for good reason, but I think people will want to go on the journey with him and root for him to find redemption — particularly with Chris Hemsworth’s performance.

I think what really makes Thor relatable are the family relationships. There’s a lot of dysfunction in the House of Odin. Thor’s got a hard-ass father and a jealous brother. But for all of Thor’s hardheaded rebelliousness, he, like Loki, is really just trying to live up to his father’s expectations and make him proud. I think people can relate to that father and son dynamic.

Can you talk about the difference in working with Marvel Studios and characters they’ve kept in-house, versus working with other franchises and their home studios?

It’s definitely a great thing to work with the guys at Marvel, like Kevin Feige and Craig Kyle. You never have to worry about fighting to protect the integrity of the characters or being true to the source material, because you’re all on the same page. They’re fans, you’re a fan, and you really feel like you’re all working towards the same goal.

What’s also been great about Thor is that it’s not a sequel. It’s the first one out of the gate. When you come on board a sequel, most of the elements have been set up in the first film, so you’re already dealing with constraints in storytelling. The interpretations of the characters have been established, the tone of the franchise has been set up, etc. With Thor, it’s all new, and it’s exciting to be a part of that.

I know Marvel’s Asgard is a distinctly alien place, but did you look to any Nordic mythology for inspiration?

The sets and costumes look amazing on the big screen. That’s thanks to the brilliant work of the crew, particularly our production designer Bo Welch and our costume designer Alexandra Byrne. I know they pulled from both the comics and from ancient Norse mythology for inspiration. As far as little touches for fans — yes, I’m hoping they’ll notice them throughout the film!

What can you tell me about the parts popular Asgardians such as Heimdall, the Warriors Three, and Sif play in the overall plot?

The Warriors Three and Sif are very much like they are in the comics. They’re fierce warriors who are fiercely dedicated to their friend Thor. They’ll follow him anywhere — which might not always be the wisest thing. Also, as in the comics, Heimdall is bound by duty and honor to guard his post on the Rainbow Bridge, and he’s got serious issues with anyone who tries to cross it who would endanger Asgard.

As far as seeing these characters in other movies or their own spin-off films, I think Marvel already has a full slate of projects in development, so I imagine we’ll only see them as part of the Thor franchise. But you never know. I’d ask Kevin Feige if I were you!

How would you answer - complaints I’m hearing from fans is that the Thor movie looks “small” in comparison to Iron Man-?

I’d tell them that they’re going to be pleasantly surprised. And they should take another look at the second half of the most recent trailer. Those scenes in Asgard, Jotunheim, and on the Rainbow Bridge can only be described as epic. I don’t think any of the action scenes in the Iron Man movies, as much as I love them, have that kind of scope and spectacle.

It’s true that the earth scenes are set in a small town and not in a big city, like most superhero films. But I actually think that’s an asset. It makes the film feel different. And there’s a lot of big destruction coming to that small town.

How did you strike the balance between the comedy and drama of the piece?

Well, my hope is we’ve included just enough humor in the script, but no more than that. This isn’t a comedy, and that’s not what I was hired to do. It’s an action film, and, as in all action films, you need those fun moments. But you have to do it sparingly. You don’t want things to get silly.

One thing we all agreed about early on was to make sure we were careful about how we approached the fish-out-of-water moments. We didn’t want Thor to come to earth and suddenly become an idiot for comic relief. Even without his powers, he’s the same person on earth as he was in Asgard — a smart, headstrong warrior. He’s a being from an advanced race who’s used to travelling to other worlds and thinking on his feet. We didn’t want him looking at a television set and going, “What is yon magic box, with phantoms that move and speak inside it?”

Still, he’s on unfamiliar turf, and there’s some fun in that. You just have to find the right balance. You also want to have fun moments and dialogue during the action sequences, so you put those into the script. Of course, those bits are the easiest to cut in editing if you find the jokes are too much or too distracting. You can pick and choose.

Did Natalie Portman and Kat Dennings have any input into their characters?

After the second trailer came out, I read some people mistakenly speculate that her character was created as a marketing decision to appeal to the youth audience or some such thing — as if the producers sat down and said, “Hmm… this script is good, but we need a character to appeal to the tweens! With current pop cultural references!” I promise you, that wasn’t the case at all. I came up with Darcy because we needed someone to work with Jane Foster, and the character had to have a vastly different background, personality, and world-view from Jane in order to make that relationship interesting. I decided to make her a woman, frankly, because other than Sif and Frigga, we had a very male-heavy cast of characters. I thought it might also be interesting to have someone working for Jane who both frustrated her and who Jane saw as protégé whose potential she could help fully realize.

But I also wanted Darcy to be the voice of the common man. We’ve got Asgardians and astrophysicists, so I wanted someone to say what the average moviegoer might be thinking. If someone in the audience is thinking, “What the hell is that weird, glowing thing?!” Darcy should be asking “What the hell is that weird, glowing thing?!” (That line isn’t actually in the movie, but you get the idea…)

Natalie actually helped out tremendously with the character of Jane Foster. Let’s be honest, Jane Foster in the comics has traditionally been one of the most boring characters in the Marvel Universe. In the film, she’s an astrophysicist, so that makes her more interesting right off the bat. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s played by Natalie, who brings loads of personality and charm to any character she portrays.

Originally in the script, however, Jane was more of a traditional scientist — a hardcore skeptic. But Natalie came to the first rehearsal with the idea of turning that on its end. She suggested making Jane the believer. She thought Jane could be more of a kind of “scientist as poet” — someone who thinks outside of the box, someone whose theories are considered outlandish and are frowned upon by the scientific community. But it’s the kind of thinking that leads to great discoveries. When Thor arrives, she’s willing to take a leap of faith — and she has to pay the consequences for it. Natalie’s input made the character more interesting, improved her relationship with Thor, and, in general, made the story better. And she helped make sure Jane Foster isn’t boring. So I’m grateful to her for that.

During my story meetings with Ken and Marvel, we put a lot of work into the Thor/Jane relationship, and there was much discussion about exactly how and how quickly things should progress between them. I think we succeeded in developing their romance realistically, so it doesn’t feel forced.

If you think that's all you're wrong. Head over to Chud, to find out what Payne had to say regarding assembling various writers, interweaving universes, set rumors, and much more. And starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Idris Elba, Kenneth Branagh directs THOR into theaters May 6, in 3D! What do you think?

Special thanks to 'fphilbie' for the heads up!