“THOR: THE DARK WORLD”
GLOBAL PRESS CONFERENCE & INTERNATIONAL TV INTERVIEWS
PARTICIPANTS:
KEVIN FEIGE (PRODUCER)
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON (MALEKITH)
NATALIE PORTMAN (JANE FOSTER)
CHRIS HEMSWORTH (THOR)
TOM HIDDLESTON (LOKI)
KAT DENNINGS (DARCY LEWIS)
ALAN TAYLOR (DIRECTOR)
MODERATOR: Thank you. Uh, welcome to this press conference, this global press conference for, uh, Marvel’s, “Thor: The Dark World.” Please welcome the producer of “Thor: The Dark World,” Mr. Kevin Feige. The stars of "Thor: The Dark World," Mr. Christopher Eccleston, Miss Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Kat Dennings, and director, Alan Taylor. Okay, so we can begin. I’m gonna start with a hard-hitting question for everybody, starting with you, Kevin, and working the way down the line-
KEVIN FEIGE: [OVERLAPPING] Uh-oh. Okay.
MODERATOR: Put you on the spot. Are you Team Thor or Team Loki? What’s your preference?
KEVIN FEIGE: Oh, boy. Uh, who am I sitting closest to? I’m Team, I’m Team Malekith.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Good. Yay. Diplomatic answer.
MODERATOR: And, uh, Christopher.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Sorry?
MODERATOR: Team Thor or Team Loki?
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Oh, definitely Team Malekith.
MODERATOR: That’s two for Team Malekith. He’s not even in the running. That’s amazing.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: [OVERLAPPING] Yeah, that’s two.
MODERATOR: And, uh, Natalie?
NATALIE PORTMAN: Oh, what kind of woman would I be if I didn’t say Team Thor?
MODERATOR: Suck up. Uh, no. Uh, and Chris?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Uh, Team Loki.
MODERATOR: Uh, Tom?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Team Thor.
MODERATOR: Anyone keeping score here, by the way? Uh-
TOM HIDDLESTON: I’m losing. I’m, I’m, I’m destined to lose. That’s, that’s Loki’s, uh, L-Loki’s fate, I think. He’s always gonna lose.
MODERATOR: Okay.
KAT DENNINGS: Aw. I’ll go with Team Loki.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Yay.
MODERATOR: Yay. That’s two for Team Loki. And Alan, I think you’ve got to cast-
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: [OVERLAPING] The deciding vote.
ALAN TAYLOR: It’s like Sophie’s choice, right? Um, I, uh, I can’t pick one brother over the other, so I will say Team Kat.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Good.
KAT DENNINGS: Oh. That’s nice.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Pretty definitive.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Diplomatic.
MODERATOR: I think Team Malekith won that one, strange enough. Okay, now we’re gonna throw it out to you, guys, ‘cause we’ve only got half an hour. So, yes, this lady here, right here in the front row, and then another lady here in the front row as well.
JOURNALIST: Oh, well, good morning, all.
MODERATOR: Just, there will be microphones, if you just wait for two seconds.
JOURNALIST: Good morning, all. Um, a question for Chris and Tom, if I may. Um, the subject of trust is prevalent within the film, and I wondered, having worked together now on a number of films, whether you’re free to experiment because there is a trust between you as actors.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Sure. I mean, there’s, there’s certainly a-a shorthand we have from, uh, you know, having this being the third film we’ve shot together now, and you don’t spend, uh, a chunk of your shooting time getting to know one another, you know. We-we’re able to pick up where we left off, and have developed i-, a-a great friendship along the way, and, um, I don’t know. From the beginning, we-we were lucky. We just had a, a chemistry and the same kind of enthusiasm. And, um, uh, you know, I, just the relationship I look forward to, you know, ‘cause you’re really delving into, um, every time, is being able to ask the questions that Thor and Loki haven’t really had the acute focus to do so yet. And, uh, this instance was, uh, that, you know, that was the-the great opportunity we had.
TOM HIDDLESTON: I love you, man.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: I love you.
TOM HIDDLESTON: It’s-it’s-it’s absolutely true. I, um, it’s, um, you know, from, from the beginning of-of Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor,” all the way through Joss Whedon’s “Avengers” and into-into Alan’s “Dark World,” um, it’s, it has been an amazing adventure for both of us. And, um, and the two characters define each other, and need each other, and-and, um, [CLEARS THROAT] all acting is-is-is about, um, th-th-, what happens in the space between people. And, um, and-and the more you trust each other, the deeper you can go. And, uh, when I’m on set with Chris, whatever he serves I’ll return, and he’ll return back, and-and, um, and that is the joy of it for me.
MODERATOR: Thank you. There’s a lady here in the front row.
JOURNALIST: Hi. Um, another theme in this is, uh, that of sib-, uh, sibling rivalry. And I know that you’ve got, uh, two brothers, and I just wondered whether you d-, uh, drew on your relationship with them for your, to inform your interactions with Loki? And also, as they’re both actors, do you, uh, find that there’s lots of competition between the Hemsworth brothers?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Uh, neither of them ever attempted to take over universe [SIC] just yet.
JOURNALIST: [OVERLAPPING; INAUDIBLE]
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Um, but I think I’d have the same reaction if they did. Um, i-i-, we-we’re competitive as siblings are in kind of everything from sport and backyard cricket and football, surfing, to who’s controlling the remote control watching TV. Uh, y-, this industry, not so much. You know, I think we, uh, or certainly all three of us understand the sort of frailty and inconsistency of, uh, you know, the work, and-and, uh, u-, you know, we’d help each other with auditions and always have in, in whatever scripts we’re working on, and, um, you know, you’re not in direct competition anyway. And-and-and, uh, it’s more of a kind of team effort with this, this than anything else.
JOURNALIST: And what about your, uh, using the relationship, uh, as part [INAUDIBLE]?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: S-sorry? Yeah, sure. Aw, look, the-, I mean, one of the scenes, uh, where they’re, you know, um in-in the spaceship sort of, uh, exiting Asgard that Tom and I were pretty insistent on saying, “No, this has gotta feel like, you know, when you’re in the back seat with your siblings,” and, you know, we couldn’t get 100 meters down the road before, you know, the three of us’d be, like, “Get off me. Don’t touch me. You know, don’t do this.” And, uh, a-and-and that kind of, uh, you know, i-, certainly played into that scene, and a lot of the stuff. You understand what it’s like to have that kind of love-hate sort of thing, and-and you’d do anything for them, but at the same time, the simplest things can annoy you. And, um, a-and, yeah, I j-, certainly, you know, try and draw from whatever experiences I’ve been through or can empathize with frustration towards one’s sibling.
MODERATOR: Fantastic. Was that question also for Tom, by the way?
TOM HIDDLESTON: It was?
MODERATOR: It was. Okay.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Um, uh, well I, I have two sisters, and, um, so it’s a slightly different, I suppose, different dynamic.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: They have long hair, though, like Thor.
TOM HIDDLESTON: That’s it. Long blonde hair, both of them. Um, uh, um, yeah. I mean, I suppose the thing about siblings is, is they, they know you. They know you, they know you better than anyone. And there’s that-that thing of always being bound together, um, by your histories is, is, um, it come-, something, there’s something very honest about the interaction that, that you can’t lie in front of your, your, your siblings. And I love in the, in this film, I love that, um, Thor is able to-to-to, um, demand from Loki that he play his hand. You know, Loki’s someone who’s constantly in control, but he’ll never show you how he really feels. And the only person who gets close to it is Thor, and that seems very true of sibling relationships. Um, and, um, I absolutely second the spaceship scene. I’ve actually been on a road trip with Chris and Liam at one, and, uh, so it’s, uh, it’s very similar to that.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: [OVERLAPPING] It’s rather similar.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Um-
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: You’re the worst driver. What are you [INAUDIBLE]?
TOM HIDDLESTON: It was very funny. Yeah.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: [OVERLAPPING] Go that way, it’s quicker. No it’s not.
TOM HIDDLESTON: And then if you spend time with Luke, he just is like, he just, you know, knocks both their heads together and says, “Shut up boys.” Um-
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yeah, he’s the older brother runs the show.
MODERATOR: Okay. We have a question here in the front row from, well, Thor, I think.
KAT DENNINGS: Aw.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Hey! Cool outfit, man.
CHILD: Thor, are you actually brothers with Loki? In real life?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: No, well, um, I wish we were.
TOM HIDDLESTON: [OVERLAPPING] Tough, tough question.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: We, i-in the film, we do actually have different, uh, different parents, and, uh, Loki was adopted into the Asgardian family. But, uh, we love al-, love one another like brothers, yeah.
MODERATOR: Okay. Thank you, Thor. Uh, we’re gonna break up the tyranny of the front row and go all the way to the back. There’s a gentleman here with a camera with his hand up. Thank you. If you could just... thanks.
ALAN TAYLOR: I think you have to be wearing a costume now to ask a question, the bar has been raised.
JOURNALIST: I can’t possibly top mini-Thor, I’m sorry. Um, guys, my question, first of all, to Natalie, obviously in the first film, um, Jane was very much a spectator, whereas this time she’s right in the middle of Thor’s world. I wonder if that was part of what excited you about the prospect of coming back. And I guess for Chris and Tom, how nice was it for you to this time have a very beautiful third wheel to your dynamic?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Absolutely.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Um, well, that’s, that’s very nice, thank you. Um, yeah, it was, it was exciting to get to come back and, and work with everyone, and-and meet people who-who were joining this time and-and also, because Jane gets to go to Asgard this time, I was lucky enough to get to work more with Tom, and to have scenes with Rene and Anthony, too, were amazing, and I just go to admire from afar, and then also just continue the-the fun rapport with-with Kat and Stella and Chris, and it was definitely a lot of laughing, maybe too much laughing on set.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: There’ll be interesting DVD extras on this one.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Yeah.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Um, but, yes, it was brilliant to have, uh, Natalie there and-and to break up some of the-the-the godly testosterone of Thor and Loki, uh, doin’ their thing with, uh, beautiful Jane. So, yeah.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Yeah. I, I loved working, um, with Natalie. I-in-in the first film w-, uh, Loki’s aware of Jane Foster’s, um, presence, and refers to her. But, uh, it was so fun to see what happens when the two share the same space. Violence, as you see. Just, you know, that’s the first move. Can I just say I love your t-shirt? Excellent.
MODERATOR: There’s a gentleman in the third row with a white t-shirt and glasses, if you’ll just keep your hand up so we can see you? Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Hi, I’ve got a question for, uh, both Natalie and Chris. Um, Chris, you recently called Britain the new Hollywood, uh, as a place to film. And I just wanted to ask you two, I mean, what’s it like compared to filming in Hollywood? How different is it filming in the UK?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Uh, the interesting thing about Hollywood is, uh, i-, I mean, I don’t know that a lot of stuff gets shot there anymore. I m-, obviously, once upon a time it did. Um, but it’s predominately kind of sets and studios. The nice thing about here is there’s incredible studios, but there’s brilliant locations to take advantage of, and-and I love the aesthetic this film has, because, uh, you know, not only Asgard, but we get to see London, and, uh, and, you know, most of these films are set with sort of New York or an American city is the backdrop. And if-, I-I love that difference, and yeah, I do love shooting here.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Yeah. I would echo Chris in that it’s, it’s hard to compare because we don’t really shoot in Hollywood at all. Um, so, uh, I love working here, though, and I’m envious of-of British actors and British crews, ‘cause American and, I don’t know, I guess Australian actors, too, we end up like gypsies, you know, from movie to movie-
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: [OVERLAPPING] Yeah.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Or moving, um, cities all the time. And you can really have such a fulfilling, wonderful rich career doing, between the theatre, the TV here, and, uh, and the film all in London it’s pretty, pretty cool to get to live and work in the same place.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yeah.
MODERATOR: I just want to bring Kevin in on that, actually, because, uh, Marvel have, uh, used London a lot, or gonna use London a lot in the future. Uh, what’s it about London that’s- that-that’s so great for your-your studio?
KEVIN FEIGE: Uh, well, I, thi-, it’s no secret that there’s a, that there’s a-a-a very good tax incentive which lures the studios here. Uh, I don’t want to pretend that’s not the case, but, but what keeps us here and what keeps us coming back are the amazing crews, which is unbelievable. We’re starting our fourth film, uh, next year at Shepperton. Um, and it’s been an amazing experience, uh, uh, all-all four of them.
MODERATOR: Fantastic. Uh, and the third row, let’s stay with the, the lady beside the gentleman with the glasses, thank you.
JOURNALIST: Ah, this message, um, sorry, uh, for Tom. If Comic-Con’s anything to go by, people really love Loki. What do you think it is about Loki that people seem to really love, kind of, more over Thor?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Wow.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Lovely. Where’s the, where’s the guy in the costume?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Yeah.
ALAN TAYLOR: Several more years of brotherly s-therapy to follow that.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Yeah. You know, listen.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Can I tell you what I love about Loki, just... we-we’ve been talking about this all morning, and it’s very hard to, uh, you-you have a go as well, but I-I-I don’t know that it was ever the plan to have Loki in this many films, but purely to do with w-, the-, everything that Tom brought to the table in the first one, and how incredible he was, and the, the mixture of, uh, of strength and villainous and-and-and mischief and-and-and vulnerability, uh, i-, which is such an access point. You-you can immediately kind of empathize with this misunderstood guy, is why he was kept, you know, if, am I correct, Kevin, why you kept bringing him back into every film? Like, I don’t know that was ever the plan, but, I mean, my hat goes off to Tom and-and I think he’s done such an incredible job in every film, and hopefully we can keep sneaking him in more some way.
TOM HIDDLESTON: I love you, man. Um, I, you know, the, I
s-, wanted to say in response to the second part, I-I think Loki is defined by Thor. He’s defined in opposition to him. That they are yin and yang. They are the, sort of the sun and the moon, that-that-that the whole point of them is that they are, um, in opposition. And, uh, i-, the whole sort of, um, I don’t know, the-the popularity of the character has been such an amazing surprise. I had never expected it in my wildest dreams. Um, and, um, I don’t know. I-I found him a fascinating prospect, because he’s a mixture of-of, um, of playfulness and charm and mischief. Um, that’s his moniker. He’s the god of mischief, so there’s a, a-a playfulness to him. But he’s such a broken, a broken character. He’s grief stricken and bitter and jealous and angry and lonely and proud. And so the cocktail of all of his, kind of, uh, psychological damage and, and his, uh, playfulness i-, as an actor, is just a-a-a really interesting thing to inhabit. And by the way, you are the only Thor.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Not that guy.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Oh, that guy, that guy over there.
[INTERRUPTION; OVERLAPPING JOKING]
MODERATOR: Uh, there’s a gent here in the front row with a white shirt. Can you just bring the mike to him?
JOURNALIST: Hi, guys. I’m Alexander. And being from Sweden, I love the, all the scenes Stellan Skårsgard.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Mm.
NATALIE PORTMAN: Mm.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yes. Yeah.
JOURNALIST: Um, I also feel this movie has much more humor than any other Marvel film I’ve ever seen, so, uh, can you comment on that? Maybe Alan, Alan, Kevin?
ALAN TAYLOR: Um, yeah, I’m, I’m so grateful to hear that that’s what’s coming back from the audience as they start to see the film for the first time. I-I think I went into it, and I thought my first task was to darken the world and deepen it and dirty it up a little bit. Um, I sort of felt like that was my mandate going in. And then as we started the process, I realized, “Oops. Um, if we’re gonna darken it, if we’re gonna deepen it, if we’re going to possibly kill off some characters that we love, we’d better make darn sure that it’s balanced on the other side,” because the, you know, the key to the Marvel universe and the Marvel language that I was being assaulted by while I was making this movie, ‘cause “Avengers” came out while we were starting it, and “Iron Man 3” came out while we were finishing it, was you are screwed if you don’t also, um, keep it funny and light on its feet at the same time. So it’s, it’s called “The Dark World,” and there’s certainly dark currents in it, um, but, yeah, the-the humor was critical. And I can’t say enough great things about Stellan. He’s, uh, he was the first thing we shot. I think we started with him in, um, Stonehenge, running around with a thong on, uh, and, uh, he’s probably one of the few men I know who walks into it, didn’t even bat an eye, d-, he just, uh, [INAUDIBLE] tape for a second. He’s hilarious and-and always truthful in his performance. Just great.
MODERATOR: And, uh, and speaking of comedy, I mean, if we’re bringing in Kat in on this one, I’m delighted to see that you get, that Darcy still can’t pronounce [SOUNDS LIKE: Meulnier,} which is-which is great. Um, is there a lot of improvisation, though, on the set of the, a movie like this?
KAT DENNINGS: Me?
MODERATOR: Yeah.
KAT DENNINGS: Oh, God. Okay. Um, um, there was a little bit of improv, uh, in my first day back, and I’m, I’m on this show in the States which allows no improv whatsoever. And so when you guys told me I could do that, I w-, I-I didn’t know what to do. I was very jetlagged, so I think “banana balls” came out of my exhaustion. But, yeah, I was very happy to be back, that you guys gave Darcy same awesome things to say and do.
MODERATOR: Excellent. And there’s a chap in the front row with a hat? Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Hi, guys. Uh, first off, congratulations on the film. I really enjoyed it. I got a couple of questions. Firstly for Chris, um, we’ve seen a lot of great development from Thor from the first film, uh, due to the “Avengers,” now this. How do you feel you’ve developed as an actor from the first film till now this, and also for Alan, um, I was surprised to find that this was actually one of the more shorter films, shorter Marvel films, um, of the Marvel films. So what was the editing process like, and how much footage can we expect to see, uh, [INAUDIBLE] points?
ALAN TAYLOR: Uh, who goes first? Chris goes first.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Uh, yeah. Can’t remember the question. Um, the, the, yeah, um, I mean, every film, I look back and go, “Oh, okay, now-now-now I get it.” And then I start the next one and go, “Oh, I don’t have a clue what I’m doing.” And, um, you know, it’s nice to be able to approach a character again, and for the third time, attack it in a different way with a different director, and have a whole yew-new, um, i-, you know, bag of ideas and-and-and influences and-and ways to approach it. Um, yeah, and-and I, you know, I think I grew up as a person as well, as you do through time, uh, strangely enough, and, um, as did, you know, and so Thor, that echoes into whatever you’re doing in your work. And, um, uh, you know, it was nice to have a more mature Thor who was sort of, um, less petulant and arrogant and teenager, you know, as the first one was at times. But, uh, that transition into him understanding the, uh, the darker side of, of, uh, the throne and that responsibility and the sacrifices, you know, it was fun to play with.
ALAN TAYLOR: Um, so e-editing process. Um, yeah, it was, uh, there’s a, there’s a, there’s so many obligations to a movie like this, as I said before. You know, it has to be dark and-and emotionally engaging. It also has to be funny and constantly earn its-it’s sort of entertainment, uh, value. And part of that process is condensing and tightening and making it r-, you know, roll along as quickly as it can, so that it is-is fun [SOUNDS LIKE: to mish- and, you know, a rise that can be-,] so naturally some things fall out that, uh, you wish didn’t fall out. Some things dear to my heart that I love, um, I mean, Chris Eccleston and I were talking about some things that we really savored that, uh, that had to fall away. Uh, I’d be really grateful if some of those appear on a DVD or a Blu-ray at some point.
KEVIN FEIGE: I-I-I think they will. I think there’s about
te-, maybe t-ten, 12 minutes of footage on the, on the Blu-ray.
ALAN TAYLOR: [OVERLAPPING] Yeah, I mean, that’s great, that’s, that’s fantastic. There was, there was, like, some rumor going around, um, I, this is my first encounter with doing work w-while the Internet watches. I had a little bit of that on “Game of Thrones,” but, uh, nothing prepared for this. And, uh, there was a rumor about a running time argument at one point. And it was funny, ‘cause I don’t think anybody that I knew, my editors, you, me, we, I don’t even know how long the movie was. There was never a running time issue. It was always, you know, how can we make it better, funnier, um, more effective? How can it land harder? So in that process, some of my children had to get murdered and put on the floor. But, uh, uh, um, I’m sure they’ll have an afterlife.
KEVIN FEIGE: Meta-metaphorically.
ALAN TAYLOR: Yes, that’s-, thanks. Kevin let them go home, eventually, my, my real children.
MODERATOR: Okay, there’s a gentleman in the second row just behind you, if you could just pass the mike back? Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Um, sorry, Kevin, for the t-shirt, I do come in peace.
KEVIN FEIGE: He’s got a Superman t-shirt on.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, maybe DC and Marvel will make friends. Um, fantastic film, guys, genuine fan of a-, of all your works, not to-to be a bit sucky. Um, the film is fantastic. My question is, in terms of the tone, the Marvel cinematic universe is, how it’s matching the comics, it’s getting more fantastic, more out there. I wonder if the humor was a part, a way of trying to ground some of that to make it palatable. And in the other sense, as the actors in the cast, as the world is getting more fantastical, and things are becoming more strange, how, what did you find to hook yourself as actors into grounding your performances and trying to stay true to your characters?
KEVIN FEIGE: Uh, humor is definitely the key. Uh, yeah, we’ve got spaceships in this movie and other planets in this movie. And we have found that humor is an amazing way to get the audience to sort of just embrace and accept, uh, uh, all of those worlds and all that craziness and all these costumes. Um, it’s worked well for us, going back to the first, uh, “Iron Man” film.
MODERATOR: And, uh, in terms of grounding your performances? Let’s start with, uh, Christopher, and work our way down, please.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Grounded, how I grounded, how I ground my per-
MODERATOR: [INAUDIBLE] dark elf, Chris did before time again
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: [OVERLAPPING] How I, how I ground my performance out. They’ll tell you. They had to suffer. Well, I, it’s interesting talkin’ about the humor of the film. I saw it last week and was really surprised at the amount of humor, because I’m such a miserable bastard. I was completely excluded from any of the joy. Uh, I-I was, my character was completely grounded in vengeance. He was like a maniac for revenge. The idea, I think, with Alan and Kevin, was to, to suggest that the, um, the, uh, the dark elves were as ancient a race as the Asgardians, and had a history which is why we gave them a language, and had a culture, but most of all, they had a grudge, which they had slept on for millions of years. What’s interesting about the film is it does have a variety of tones, and, and myself, and Adewale, who, unfortunately, is not here, who played, um, Algrim and Kurse, our job was to bring the threat and the menace and the jeo-jeopardy. So we, we ground it in bitterness.
KEVIN FEIGE: Well, you said earlier that you had to get up at s-, uh, three a.m. to put your costume on-
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: [OVERLAPPING] Yeah.
KEVIN FEIGE: And that you were so bitter and angry by the time that was over, that you just trade that on-
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My makeup call was about three o’clock. I was in the chair about four o’clock, ten o’clock, I hit the set. So I was not a happy elf.
MODERATOR: And, uh, and Natalie?
NATALIE PORTMAN: Um, yeah. The, the humor, I think also the-the fact that the characters are going through, even though they’re traveling between realms, are going through things that we can all relate to. You know, for myself, playing a woman who, the guy didn’t call back and disappeared, and there’s a long distance thing going on, and then when it works out, she meets the parents, you know, those are all things that, obviously, most women can relate to. Most, and-, of course, I’m, I’m the mortal among the-the gods and villains near me, um, so, so I guess that’s naturally more grounded. But a lot of the issues they had us was dealing with were, were human. I mean, even the brothers, I feel like that’s so relatable as-as human, as humans.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yeah. I-I remember, uh, Hopkins, uh, said something to me, we-we, the first day on set, on “Thor 1,” and we walked in in our outfits, and he has the eye patch and the whole thing, and, and the sets, and he looked at me, and said, “Uh, s-no acting required here.” And, uh, and I-I always remember that, and think, like, “Yeah, don’t compete with it.” You know, like, keep it simple, and-and it already sells a lot of the work for you. So.
TOM HIDDLESTON: Um, yeah, I-I-I c-, I can’t add much to what everyone else has already said. I-I suppose, um, the thing that, that, uh, I always think is-is grounding about these films is the, is-is the family relationships for me. Um, we’re traveling through space and time, we’re dealing with gods and monsters. Um, and, uh, but the heart of the film, from my perspective is-is a family, a father, two sons, two brothers, a mother, and the fractious intimate, uh, interaction that they have.
KAT DENNINGS: Oh, my God.
KEVIN FEIGE: Top that.
KAT DENNINGS: Um, well, I think Darcy is maybe the most grounded person in the story [INAUDIBLE], uh, even if she’s kind of spacy in her brain, she’s not in space. So, okay. Um, and I mean, I think Darcy’s love for Jane and my love for Nat is a pretty, you know, easy way for me to stay grounded in the whole thing. Um-
NATALIE PORTMAN: Me, too.
KAT DENNINGS: I love you. Yeah, and I get to be the-the outsider to all the craziness and comment on it, I think, like the audience would.
MODERATOR: Okay, there’s a gentleman here in the front row. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Thank you. Thank you very much. A question for Kevin. Uh, both Marvel and DC, obviously, have had successes at the cinema, but Marvel seems to have a very, very good strategy, uh, for a universe, not just on the big screen, but obviously TV as well. How coordinated is that, and how far ahead are you looking? I know there’s talk about more TV series after “Shield,” more phases in the cinema. How, is it one, practically, sort of one package you’re looking at? Clockwork, as it were?
KEVIN FEIGE: [OVERLAPPING] Well-, uh, for the most part it is. We’re a very tightknit group at the studio, so all of the movies are-are very, very coordinated. And we have them announced through the end of 2015, but are planning, um, as far out as-as, uh, 2017. Uh, and-and sometime next year, we’ll announce what those, what those films are for ’16 and ’17. The TV division is up and running now, and “Agents of Shield,” obviously, was their first series. I-I know they’d love to bring more, uh, things to the, uh, to the TV screen. I’m not sure exactly what or when that will be. Um, and in terms of, uh, of “Shield,” yes, they sort of cue off of what’s happening in the movies and occasionally check in with us and go, “Would it be okay if we play with this the last [SOUNDS LIKE: bet?]” Um, uh, so it is quite coordinated, but it’s, again, such a small group, it doesn’t feel, um, over-, like an overwhelming task. It’s just a-a heck of a lot of fun.
MODERATOR: There’s a gentleman in the third row with a gray sweatshirt. If you could just pass the microphone back? Or just yell really loudly.
JOURNALIST: Uh, a question for Natalie. Um, I believe your Mum keeps a scrapbook of photos that she allows out on set for such eventualities, and all these shots in the flat scene are you through the ages. Um, do you wish that scrapbook would go away? Or as someone who can look at themselves on DVD age ten, um, are you sort of not worried about your old image?
NATALIE PORTMAN: Um, yeah, I guess, I guess the funny thing is that it is, I think, the same set of photos that she always lends out for every movie I’ve done for the past 20 years, so there’s a lot of characters that shouldn’t have the same experiences and family photos but do. Um, hopefully, they’re, you know, more background, and people aren’t really focusing on them. But, yeah, all sorts of different people have been, like, Photoshopped into them, you know. There’s some interesting ones of, like, me and Tobey Maguire from when I’m young, and me, but not real, of course, Photoshopped, um, you know, various different people I’ve worked with.
JOURNALIST: Thank you.
MODERATOR: Uh, the fifth row, please, with, uh, the gentleman with the glasses.
JOURNALIST: Thank you. Chris did actually touch on this a little bit earlier, but I’m, I’m interested ‘cause, well, you know, we people say conflict is-is drama. Malekith is the antagonist here. But we keep talking still about the brothers, and the romantic dynamic. What’s really the dymantic-, ma-, the dynamic with Malekith, and what, what’s it mean? What-w-what’s-what’s the point of that storyline here do you all think?
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: This Chris or that Chris?
JOURNALIST: You, Chris.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Oh, okay. What is the, my point of my storyline?
JOURNALIST: I mean that in the best possible way.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: That’s what I said to my agent. That’s what I said to Kevvy. The point of my storyline is for me to get paid. The point of, point of my storyline, um, I’m repeating myself slightly, it’s vengeance. He is a maniac for vengeance. There were some scenes which, for understandable reasons, uh, didn’t make the final cut, which explained a bit of a backstory between me, my ancestors, and Borr, who is Odin’s, uh, father. Um, but basically, the dark elves before the big banned, b-before the big ban, centuries and centuries or-ago, were humiliated in defeat, and ground into the dirt by Odin. And, uh, Malekith has slept on that. And, uh, the theme of that, the theme of that el-element is-is-is vengeance, really, and as we know, uh, as somebody once, somebody r-said, you know, “Let he who seeks vengeance be careful to dig two graves,” because it’s a pointless exercise. Um, uh, tha-that’s it. My job was to bring a dark element, th-The Dark World, the, the dark elves are seeking to turn u-, light into darkness. It’s, it’s really that simple, and that classic, if you like. Um-
KEVIN FEIGE: A-a-and we needed that in a movie where our-our villain from-from “Avengers,” we wanted to play in a slightly more a-ambiguous way. And in order to do that, we needed somebody who could drive the entire storyline, and give Thor a reason to, uh, uh, to have something to fight against.
ALAN TAYLOR: And, uh, we’re all jumping on this one. Um, I mean, Malekith is a purist. He’s a fundamentalist. He’s a zealot. Uh, one of the major themes in the movie for me is something that, you know, most of your characters have to confront in one way or another, uh, and it was a question, it was, it was a theme that was expressed very clearly by Malekith in the scene that you will find on your Blu-ray, um, uh, where he’s confronting Odin and he’s, he says, um, you have to ask yourself, as I once did, “What are you willing to sacrifice for what you believe?” And it’s every character goes through a turning point like that in the movie, and Malekith is the kind of guy who would sacrifice anything for principal.
CHRISTOPHER ECCLESTON: Yeah.
ALAN TAYLOR: And we’ve seen him do it. And Thor learns a difficult version of that and decides to go a different way.
MODERATOR: Okay. Time for a very last question from this lady in the front row. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Um, I was wondering for Tom and Chris, I mean, Malekith is the main enemy in this, so Loki, he’s, although he’s seen as the enemy, he’s not the main antagonist. So I was wondering, deep down, do you think Loki is really evil, or is it just a jealous façade on the outside?
TOM HIDDLESTON: Um, uh, i-it’s, uh, it’s a, it’s an, it’s a question that I’ve asked myself three times. Um, and, uh... um, it’s, um, you know, I’ve, I think, ye-, every villain is a hero in his own mind. Um, and people make choices. And, uh, and they always justify those choices, no matter how misguided their motivation. And, um, and the great privilege and thrill for me to play this character across three films is, is-is that he didn’t start out that way. And, um, and the, uh, storyline, the narrative that was afforded to me in the very first film, this idea of, of, o-of a young prince who was brought up believing in his, um, his right to a throne, his, his inheritance of, um, his An-, his Asgardian inheritance, that this whole story was a lie, that he was adopted and, and left to die on a frozen rock, and that that essentially is, is what breaks his heart. And-and all of his, his villainy, all of his, um, his bad guy credentials come from something deeply vulnerable. And, um, that’s a gift. ‘Cause it means across, across “Thor,” across “Avengers,” across “The Dark World,” that I can play a dynamic with Chris and with Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo, which is to what extent is he redeemable? Can he be pulled back towards the light? Um, and, um, it’s a very, very fun, um, fault line to dance on.
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: Yeah, what Tom said. Uh, yeah, that-that’s-that, that’s exactly it. Well done.
ALAN TAYLOR: How do you so much about Loki?
CHRIS HEMSWORTH: I don’t know, I don’t know.
MODERATOR: That seems like a good note on which to end. Uh, thanks so much for coming. Thanks for your questions, and thanks most of all to Kevin Feige, Christopher Eccleston, Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Kat Dennings, and Alan Taylor. And you can remain seated while th-, everyone leaves here, and then recheck in for [SOUNDS LIKE: saving the spikes.] Thank you very much.
[END OF GLOBAL PRESS CONFERENCE AND INTERNATIONAL TV INTERVIEWS]
[32:53]