%Slideshow-373986% Much like many WB shows, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” was a starting point (or stepping stone) for some of today’s biggest stars. Back in the day, these budding actors were just blips on our radar. Now, they’re in some of the biggest TV shows and movies.
Here are 12 actors and actresses you (probably) forgot guest starred on Joss Whedon‘s hit show.
Superman and Batman have been the subject of various live-action films, enjoying portrayals from the likes of Christopher Reeve, Christian Bale, and Henry Cavill. But the third member of DC’s Holy Trinity has yet to leave Paradise Island — until now.
Wonder Woman will finally make her blockbuster debut in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” before headlining her solo film in 2017.
It’s been a long journey on the road of development hell for Warner Bros., which has spent years trying to make a Wonder Woman movie (or TV show) happen. Here are 11 notable times they tried, and failed.
1. “Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince?” (1967)
What Went Wrong: Actress Ellie Wood Walker played Wonder Woman for a presentation reel for a prospective TV series. Following the success of the Batman,” “Who’s Afraid of Diana Prince?” featured a similar style of camp. It’s unclear why the network execs passed on this project specifically, but perhaps you can draw your own conclusions from the footage. Click here to watch.
2. Cathy Lee Crosby’s “Wonder Woman” (1974)
What Went Wrong: Before Lynda Carter‘s iconic television series, tennis star Cathy Lee Crosby snagged her first major role in a Wonder Woman TV movie. The hope was for this to act as a pilot and segway into a series, but it didn’t perform well enough. This Wonder Woman shared few similarities to her comic book counterpart. As Crosby told ComicBookMovie.com in 2012, Warner Bros. wanted her to be more like, um, James Bond.
3. Ivan Reitman’s “Wonder Woman” (1996)
What Went Wrong: Ivan Reitman tried to produce a Wonder Woman movie for Warner Bros, developing several treatments over the years. According to HitFix, he had one more shot to get it right around 1998. He missed again, so the “Ghostbusters” helmer fell off the project.
4. Joss Whedon’s “Wonder Woman” (2005)
In 2001, Joel Silver inherited the responsibility of getting a Wonder Woman movie off the ground. A number of writers were hired to develop the story, including Todd Alcott, with the hope being that Sandra Bullock would take on the role. The Hollywood Reporter notes that Angelina Jolie, Lucy Lawless, and other actresses were courted. This project, too, never got off the ground. Eventually, Joss Whedon was brought on to write and direct in 2005. There was even a poster released that year at Comic-Con.
Whedon imagined his future Maria Hill, Cobie Smulders, in the role, playing a Wonder Woman who was envisioned to be “naive about people,” but she eventually warms to mankind through Steve Trevor. Whedon announced his departure from the project in 2007, the reason being, as reported by THR, that he “had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked.”
5. The “Wonder Woman” Spec Script (2007)
What Went Wrong: Before Whedon departed the project, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script in 2007 for “Wonder Woman” by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The script featured a World War II setting, which Silver had no interest in. But, he purchased it anyway. Why? According to THR, it was “a pre-emptive measure aimed at taking the spec off the market” to protect the studio from future legal action — just in case there were any similarities between the spec and the script Silver was developing.
6. George Miller’s “Justice League Mortal” (2007)
What Went Wrong: Following Christopher Nolan‘s “Batman Begins,” Warner Bros. decided to let George Miller (“Mad Max: Fury Road“) try his hand at directing a Justice League movie.
“Justice League Mortal” moved forward with a script and a cast that included Megan Gale as Wonder Woman (pictured). The film fell through, thanks in part to a looming writers strike and Australian rebate legislation. The failed attempt lives on, however, as the subject of an upcoming documentary.
7. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Project (2010)
What Went Wrong: While making the promotional rounds for “Drive,” director Nicolas Winding Refn expressed his interest in helming “Wonder Woman,” saying he hoped to make this his “$200 million extravaganza,” according to Movieline in 2010.
He mentioned a year later that he spoke to “a comic book writer” to learn more about the character, and his top choice for Diana would be Christina Hendricks (above). Ultimately, all this talk boiled down to chatter that never went anywhere.
8. NBC’s “Wonder Woman” (2011)
What Went Wrong: NBC produced a “Wonder Woman” pilot for the 2011-2012 season. It had a script (from David E. Kelley) and a star (Adrianne Palicki), but it didn’t get picked up to series for a number of reasons. Bad reviews at test screenings and harsh reactions to the costume (pictured) online didn’t help matters. Worse? The pilot script leaked onto the internet and was bashed by critics.
9. Paul Feig’s “Wonder Woman” (2013)
What Went Wrong: Feig, who would go on to helm the female-led “Ghostbusters” reboot, told IGN in 2013 he recently pitched a Wonder Woman concept to Warners, as someone akin to suffragist Cicely Hamilton. He described his iteration as someone who “keeps hitting the glass ceiling” of the superhero world and sparring with misogynist versions of Batman and Superman. IGN also implied in thw this concept was too outlandish for the studio.
10. The CW’s “Amazon” (2012)
What Went Wrong: As The CW was getting “Arrow” off the ground and developing a pilot for “The Flash,” the network announced a Wonder Woman origin series called “Amazon.”
After the script was redeveloped, CW decided not to move forward with it. Their reasoning, according to The Hollywood Reporter, was that “you only get one shot before you get bit.” Likely attributing to this decision was the announcement of Gadot‘s casting on the film side of DC for “Batman v Superman” a month prior.
11. Michelle MacLaren’s “Wonder Woman” (2015)
What Went Wrong: MacLaren, known for directing episodes of “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones,” was originally hired by Warner Bros. to helm Gadot’s solo “Wonder Woman” film. She eventually departed the project reportedly over creative differences. According to Variety, she wanted to make a “Braveheart“-esque epic, while the studio wanted something less action heavy and more character driven.
Patty Jenkins now helms the film, set for release on June 23, 2017. You can finally see Wonder Woman in action when “Batman v Superman” hits theaters March 24.
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This one is for the real cinephiles. Empire asked Bond director Sam Mendes to guest edit the “Spectre” issue and he launched a massive Q&A with fellow A-ist directors, talking to Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Ang Lee, Edgar Wright, Alfonso Cuaron, Joe Wright, Paul Greengrass, Joss Whedon, Rob Marshall, Sofia Coppola, Susanne Bier, George Clooney, Alexander Payne, Roger Michell, and Christopher Nolan. He got those famous names to candidly (and often hilariously) answer questions including…
Here are the “most takes” responses:
Spielberg: I did 50 takes on Robert Shaw assembling the Greener Gun on Jaws. The shark wasn’t working, so I just kept shooting to make the production report look like we were accomplishing something and to keep cast and crew from going crazy from boredom. It was a strategic indulgence.
Soderbergh: 48.
Fincher: 107.
Clooney: 18.
Nolan: I never pay attention to the number of takes.
Edgar Wright: I don’t think I have ever gone Kubrick crazy. So maybe 20 or so… But it’s usually six or seven takes.
Payne: Probably around 26. I’m normally a four-to- seven kind of guy, but every so often, when the actors, the operator, the dolly grip and the assistant cameramen must all work in sync, it might take a while to get right.
Marshall: I try not to do more than seven or eight. It can become counterproductive.
Cuarón: The long takes process doesn’t allow for that many takes. In the past I have shot over 50 takes of different shots. Sometimes you end up using take 64, sometimes take four.
Michell: Like current Australian batsmen… Very rarely double figures.
Lee: For acting, 13. For action, 36.
Bier: Twenty-five, I think. Which, if you’re trying to get the best performance, is way, way too much.
Joe Wright: Thirty-seven maybe, can’t really remember. I’m usually in the range of 12 to 16 unless it’s a very technically challenging shot.
Coppola: I can’t remember, nothing too crazy, because we never have that much time in the schedule.
Whedon: On an elaborate shot, 30. On a bit of dialogue, I’ve seldom gone into double digits.
Greengrass: I don’t count over ten.
The hard copy issue had more questions, and Collider shared the responses for “What’s your worst-ever day on set?”
Joe Wright: The day an actor tried to punch me. I’ll say no more.
Whedon: Buffy presentation. My first gig. Whole thing was a nightmare. At one point there was pure chaos and a total lack of confidence from all involved. I stood outside the set, wanting to slink off home and realising that if I did, if I didn’t walk in there and somehow take control, I was going to be an increasingly miserable script doctor forever. So I walked in. Worst day ended up not so bad.
Edgar Wright: Too many. I can remember a low point on every shoot. Shaun, it was in the pub finale; we were up against it and had to cut action. Hot Fuzz, we were rained off, lost the light or night shoots went abysmally slow. Scott Pilgrim, I think there was a complicated, disastrous day of effect cues that sent me into a deep funk, and then on World’s End I remember a day where nothing went right where we ditched an entire sequence. Cue my transformation into The Sulk.
Payne: I abhor when the actors don’t know their dialogue cold. When I have to spoon-feed dialogue to a lazy actor, I think of all the great Russian novels I could be reading instead of wasting my time. It makes me want to turn exclusively to documentaries — no hair and make-up, no second takes, and everyone knows his or her dialogue.
Read more at Empire. Who tried to punch Joe Wright, director of the new “Pan,” “Atonement,” “Pride & Prejudice,” and “Hanna”? And do you think Fincher was just joking with the 107 or was that the exact highest number? The “Fight Club,” “Gone Girl,” “Seven,” “Benjamin Button,” “Social Network” and “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” director is known for being a perfectionist, so it wouldn’t be a shock if the real number were even higher.
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Joss Whedon‘s first cut of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” was way longer than what aired at 2 hours, 22 minutes. But even though the eventual Blu-ray/DVD will include special features, there will be no official director’s cut — or anything like Bryan Singer’s new “Rogue Cut” for “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Why not? While at Comic-Con this past weekend, Joss was on a NerdHQ panel moderated by Zachary Levi, and a fan asked about the possibility of an “Age of Ultron” director’s cut.
Here’s Joss’s reply:
It has always been my ambition never to do a director’s cut of anything and always to make the movie with the studio that we both want to make. ‘Ultron’ was very complex and there was a lot of back-and-forth. My instinct is no. Just as an artist, I’m super f-cking lazy and that sounds like I’d have to go back, it would be hard. I don’t think there’s interest in it, right now. You’ll see a bunch of stuff on the DVD in extras that were meant to be there, but, you know, the narrative came together very close to the way that I hoped that it would and I don’t think it needs me to constantly tweak it. I feel you put something out and there it is.”
Watch his whole panel here (the director’s cut answer is around the 2:30 mark):
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked to Cinema Blend about Joss’s original cut of “Age of Ultron” and seemed to agree with Joss about people not really wanting to see the footage they cut:
Most films you can put an assembly together and it can be two hours and 45 minutes to three hours. I think the longest version of this was two hours and 45 minutes, thereabout. The longest version of ‘Ant-Man’ was three hours, but nobody wants to see those versions of the movie.”
Not quite true. There are definitely fans who would love to see full director’s cut versions, and not just deleted scenes or alternate endings. But we have to trust that the directors and studios know what they’re doing in just sticking to theatrical versions with a crapload of other extras to sell those DVDs.
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Sorry to disappoint anyone determined to blame “militant feminists” for scaring Joss Whedon off Twitter, but the “Avengers: Age of Ultron” director just stepped in to say they didn’t prompt him to quit. No one did. There’s no surprise twist. He broke up with Twitter for arguably the most typical and logical reason – Twitter is a time-suck, especially if you get a lot of positive/negative tweets sent your way, and if you want to get anything done and retain your sanity, you have to walk away. For some people, you can literally just walk away and return later if you feel like it, but if you have less willpower, you have to obsessively return to check in. So that means cutting the cord.
Whedon explained his reasoning in a lengthy talk with BuzzFeed. “I just thought, Wait a minute, if I’m going to start writing again, I have to go to the quiet place,” he said. “And this is the least quiet place I’ve ever been in my life. … It’s like taking the bar exam at Coachella. It’s like, Um, I really need to concentrate on this! Guys! Can you all just… I have to… It’s super important for my law!”
There’s a lot of negativity on Twitter, but also a lot of positivity, and both sides can mess with your head. As Whedon put it:
So many people have said mean things, but so many people have said wonderful things. But how much approbation do I need before I become creepy? I so appreciate when people took the time to say something nice. But for my own self, it’s like, at some point, you’re just like a little compliment leech. That’s not going to help your writing any more than people slamming on you.”
“Compliment leech.” That’s a good one. It’s very true of a lot of stars, and their enabling fans, who insist on pure worship with any critic immediately deemed a “hater.” So Whedon broke up with Twitter and even gave the classic It’s Not You, It’s Me spiel:
The real issue is me. Twitter is an addictive little thing, and if it’s there, I gotta check it. When you keep doing something after it stops giving you pleasure, that’s kind of rock bottom for an addict. … I just had a little moment of clarity where I’m like, You know what? If I want to get stuff done, I need to not constantly hit this thing for a news item or a joke or some praise, and then be suddenly sad when there’s hate and then hate and then hate.”
He said he’d consider rejoining Twitter at some point, but he’ll probably stay gone until the next big promotional blitz. Because then it would be headline news. (Not that he put it that way, but it would actually be a smart PR move.)
And while Whedon did call BS (“horsesh-t”) on the rumor that militant feminists pushed him off Twitter, he does have some deep, conflicted thoughts on the whole political spectrum and backlash. It’s frustrating that “Every breed of feminism is attacking every other breed, and every subsection of liberalism is always busy attacking another subsection of liberalism,” however, this is not a win for anti-feminists. “I saw a lot of people say, ‘Well, the social justice warriors destroyed one of their own!’ It’s like, Nope. That didn’t happen. I saw someone tweet it’s because Feminist Frequency pissed on Avengers 2, which for all I know they may have. But literally the second person to write me to ask if I was OK when I dropped out was [Feminist Frequency founder] Anita [Sarkeesian].” He praised Sarkeesian for staying on Twitter to fight back the trolls, calling it a “statement of strength and empowerment and perseverance, and it’s to be lauded.”
So he’s not off licking his wounds. But it sounds like he’s also too busy talking about why he quit Twitter to do the work he quit it for. So now that we have our explanation, let’s leave him to write the next thing we can all fight about.
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Surprise: There’s no surprise coming! Instead, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” writer/director Joss Whedon just issued a public service announcement, warning fans not to sit through 10 minutes of credits expecting another surprise end scene, ala “Iron Man,” the first “Avengers” film, etc. No more restaurant trips for our heroes.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly, “There will be a tag” scene after the credits start, but not a “post-post-credit scene.” There’s nothing coming at the very end, and it’s “not a fake-out,” Whedon told EW.
Why didn’t they include a final scene this time? Whedon said they tried to come up with something to top or at least match the “Avengers” shawarma, but nothing felt right for what they were doing in “Age of Ultron” (which opens May 1). “We all came at it separately – we don’t want to chase that,” Whedon says. “That was a jewel and a weird little quirk.”
It’s disappointing, but also in a way encouraging, since it shows a commitment to quality. They’re not just going to do something because it’s expected. Then again, an EW commenter named Art offered this possible coda: “The post credits scene should be a shot of Stan Lee, as a janitor, cleaning up the aftermath of the party scene and he nonchalantly picks up Thor’s hammer to wipe off the table and simply lays it back down and keeps cleaning!” Maybe good for next time?
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Joining a team as closely knit and unforgettable as “The Avengers” has got to be something of a challenge, even for an actor like Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who has gamely appeared in “Kick-Ass” (and its follow-up) and last year’s mega-successful “Godzilla” reboot. “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” after all, is the sequel to the most successful superhero movie of all time, and one that stars a chummy group that includes Robert Downey, Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner.
Add to that the additional pressure of playing Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, a super speedy Marvel character that audiences had just been introduced to the previous summer in Bryan Singer’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” and it sounds like a pretty daunting proposition. (He’ll appear alongside his “Godzilla” co-star Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Quicksilver’s twin sister, Scarlet Witch, as the two new kids on the block.) Not that Taylor-Johnson seems all that daunted.
We visited the set of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in London last summer and got to chat with the actor about the ins and outs of Quicksilver, even if he was very reluctant to give us much in the way of details.
When his Eastern European accent came up, Taylor-Johnson said, “We’re doing one. Whether they decide to re-ADR that in the end, I don’t know.” What’s so funny about this comment is that, based on television spots that have been released for the sequel, it’s apparent that they have decided to keep his accent and it’s also endearing (and true for much of the cast) that they feel so lucky and overwhelmed to be a part of a Marvel project that are almost afraid that somewhere along the way someone is going to change their mind and pull them out of it.
In fact, Taylor-Johnson seemed nervous to give us all a taste of his accent. “I can’t,” he said flatly, before elaborating. “Me and Lizzie have been doing dialect coaching together and trying to get that sound similar to playing twins. But it’s fun, when I spoke to Joss about it a long time ago and he approached me for the role, it was one of the things I wanted to keep.”
And Taylor-Johnson’s accent isn’t the only thing he wanted to preserve from the original character. “I wanted to have white, silver kind of hair to look like the character and I could kind of embrace the roots, where he’s from, being Eastern European. It would be great to do some kind of accent to impart that kind of feeling so — so I’m glad that we’re doing it. Again, his nervousness kicks in: “But like I said, you know, they might screen it and go what are they saying? I’d like to think that they’ll keep it there and you know, the Marvel guys, they totally understand; they’re a studio that really cares about their characters and have real creative input.” Then, optimistically: “Hopefully it will continue on that route.
Unlike some of the other actors, Taylor-Johnson has also read up on the character’s comic-book roots. When asked if he’s been reading the comics, Taylor-Johnson said, “Yeah, sort of a mixture of things. Obviously the character jumps in and out of different universes being in their mutant world and all that, which obviously we don’t embrace cause of being with Fox and that extent as you’re all aware. That’s no secret, you know. So I take bits that have been done in history and all sorts of comic nooks to get an essence and the sense of Pietro as a character rather than Quicksilver just in the sense of Oh yeah, superhero powers that he runs faster than the speed of sound. I wanted to know what’s he really like and get to the depths of him.”
The relationship between Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch is also a huge part of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which Taylor-Johnson elaborated on. “He’s very protective of her in a physical way and her more in a psychological way so we try and embrace that and there’s a lot of stuff that we could pick up from.”
Not only was the relationship something new, but Quicksilver’s powers are also something that is new to the franchise. As Taylor-Johnson said, “I run a lot.” Not that Taylor-Johnson was all that sure about how that running would be brought to the screen. “Right now, I think they’re gonna play around with maybe getting into Quicksilver time, which would be my point of view and playing around with that. That’s another thing that’s experimental really. With new powers and things like that, you can really play with that sort of stuff. The first time we did a running test, I was on what’s essentially a running machine but it was a huge lorry-sized rig that was something that they sped up and it was a great big running machine, and they had me on a harness on a green screen.” (Taylor-Johnson also said that they filmed some scenes in 120 frames-per-second, which gives that dreamy slow-motion quality.)
Of course, an inherent part of these movies is obviously the humor, largely supplied by the quip-happy writer/director Joss Whedon. “Yeah, with the Marvel Universe in general is everything’s not taken seriously in a sense of even when there’s points of real drama, but I love that there’s a lot of sarcasm and humor to it, and people have their moment of humor and I guess, you know, it’s fun. What we didn’t want from me and Lizzie’s standpoint is that our accents to be the humorous thing. Like I said, it’s all fed through Joss and bouncing off some of the other actors and stuff.” When someone asked if his repartee is mostly with Scarlet Witch or the rest of the team, Taylor-Johnson shot back: “With the rest of the team.” Taylor-Johnson just elaborated: “You know, it’s always that great thing where they have characters going head to head and bicker with one another and I don’t want to say who….”
The inevitable comparison came up between Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and Quicksilver in “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (which, at the time of our set visit, had just come out). When asked if they would shift their dramatization of the character in the wake of “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” Taylor-Johnson didn’t think so. “I haven’t seen it yet so I don’t really know. I don’t feel. When the job came around, it was already out there. I think it was already shooting, you know, so it wasn’t like we were like all, Oh, should I really be taking on a character that’s already…? I don’t feel threatened nor do we go like we’re saying that’s the wrong thing. It’s just that’s one thing and we’re doing something different.”
The inevitable question of a spin-off or solo movie came up. “I wasn’t thinking on that line. They’d probably sort of tag us into someone else’s, you know. They’ve got their own comic book, so there’s got to be something. It’s up to the Marvel guys, if they kind of wanted to go that route.” But as to whether or not he’d be game to return, he didn’t have to even think. “Absolutely, with these guys, it’s a lot of fun. It’s a great studio to be a part of and I’m not just saying that, ’cause it’s like that. That’s the kind of easiest thing to say. It’s like, you know, you work with other big sort of studio movies and you’re just one of the films in the mix of many others and you’re just a character and many other in their films. Marvel guys only care about the Marvel Universe and the characters they came from so therefore that’s all they think about creatively and care about. And they care about the storyline. So it becomes a really creative kind of family and a place that, yeah, I enjoy working. So the experience for me is always overall whatever the outcome is or whatever so cause this is how I work, and it’s part of my life and important to have fun and work with good people, you know.”
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” opens everywhere May 1.
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If there’s one member of the team who drew the short straw during the first “Avengers” outing, it was definitely Jeremy Renner‘s Hawkeye, the killer sharpshooter who, at the very beginning of the movie, was hypnotized by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and basically spent the rest of the movie as a zombified henchman, going up against the rest of the heroes until the climactic final battle (which, admittedly, was pretty darn cool). If there was one vibe we got from Renner, on the set of the sequel “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” it was relief: relief that he was back, that he gets to do more, and that he’s no longer a marginalized member of the team.
And that kind of brittle edge, that eagerness to prove himself, fits perfectly with the Hawkeye character, who one can only assume has a larger chip on his shoulder from being left out of much of the world-saving the last time around. We got to chat with Renner in between superhero theatrics on the London set of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” and got a much better sense of how Hawkeye fits in with the team, now that he’s no longer hypnotized or possessed or whatever happened to him in the first “Avengers.”
We first asked how he would be different, and Renner was quick to point out that it was stuff that had been discussed but never implemented from the first film. “It’s a lot of the stuff that Joss and I talked about to doing the first one but it just didn’t work out that way,” Renner explained, straining to be diplomatic. “So, it was really exciting for me and Joss to dive into the character a little bit more. There’s some wonderful secrets and relationships deepen. And there’s a lot more of him to deal with versus the hypnotized version of him, you know.” Oh we know.
When asked about his relationship to the two new members of the team — Elizabeth Olsen’s telekinetic Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s speedster Quicksilver — Renner said that he would be keeping on eye on them (even if one of them runs so fast they’re a smudgy blur). “I think I’m the one policing them to see if they’re worthy or not. I question them a lot. I mean, he’s always very skeptical of new people, ’cause it’s, it’s sort of — it’s military kind of thinking in the sense of like, I have to trust that you have my six or you have my back while I’m trying to manifest something up here.” (Don’t worry his connection with Black Widow is still explored. “They have a, a long, long history together and there’s more of that revealed in this as well,” Renner promised.)
And one nagging question Renner addressed was where, exactly, Hawkeye has been, since he’s a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. but was absent for the fairly catastrophic events of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (and all of the “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” TV series). “You’ll know in this movie, where he’s been,” Renner said, before chuckling. He then elaborated (slightly): “It’s actually a really wonderful secret reveal. Pretty awesome.” (Later he elaborated: “He’s not really a company man.”)
We had heard a lot about how different the shooting experience was from the actual screenplay the actors had been first handed, so the question was asked of Renner — just how different is what they’re shooting to what he read? “The bones of it were always there and the script that we got was, was really solid and great. Then, as we go along, there’s more things we find as in any movie. There’s so much to cover. I don’t know how Joss does it. All I have to focus on is my small, little parts. Like I ask, What the heck’s being built over me?” Renner elaborated (while laughing): “I have no idea [laughs] what’s going on. I mean this world and all the things going on in this movie is just so vast. For the most part the script is what it was when we started and you make minor adjustments here and there for clarity. Like I said: it’s a big, big, big movie.”
Of course, the question arose that always arises (especially after Matt Fraction’s recent, all-star run on the comic books): will Hawkeye get his own spin-off movie? First Renner shot back with: “I don’t know.” Then: “I mean no.” Then: “Well, I mean there’s always opportunity in the Marvel universe to jump into a lot of different scenarios, but it only makes sense, I think that as an outsider that Captain America, those sort of things, he fits into that world pretty well, since they’re so similar in their sort of military kind of ideals.” Renner went on: “Like Hawkeye’s not in Thor.” [Nerdy editor’s note: Hawkeye actually debuted, as a character, in the first “Thor.”] “It’s really hard to imagine that but they leave it pretty wide open for a lot of different venues, a lot of different scenarios to have.” Finally, Renner sounded someone exasperated and just said: “I do not know the future. I’m just happy to be doing it now.”
As to whether or not he’d go into the TV series, it seems like something that has also been discussed. “There was talk of having some of the guys go up and jump onto TV show. I remember mentioning something about that. Again, there has to be a good rhyme or reason for it and I like the character enough and anything to explore him more, I’m always open to it. He’s obviously not had a franchise of his own to really deeply explore really who Hawkeye is.” Then Renner added: “I’ve always liked to explore the guy more.”
It also sounded like, in addition to Hawkeye being more of a member of the Avengers, that the actors were more cohesive this time around. “I saw Downey, like, twice in the last Avengers. And this one we’re all together a lot more. So that makes it really, really great.” But not without it’s headaches: “It’s also tedious when we shoot it, because there’s so many people to cover. And there’s so many storylines to tell, but it makes the off-camera stuff just so much more fun.”
Renner then went on to describe his preferred mode of work. “I personally like to go to work and just work and knock out some action sequences and get it done and we do that, when we’re all together, it’s really great fun. It is a really wonderful family unit,” Renner explained. “It’s the best part of doing a big, crazy action movie like this, which usually can be quite unfulfilling as an artist, but because all the people involved in this are so great, it just makes coming to work every day really, really joyous.” Not exactly as brooding as Hawkeye, huh?
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” hits theaters May 1.
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When Chris Evans stopped to talk to a small cluster of journalists on the set of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the actor was on the way to fight training. This is fairly typical of a huge, $200 million blockbuster, especially when it’s the sequel to the highest-grossing superhero film of all time (after all, it has to be bigger, badder, and with lots more fighting). But what was slightly out of the ordinary was that Evans was outfitted in all of his Captain America regalia. So instead of Chris Evans sitting down to talk to us about how the events of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” effect the hero in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and what the sequel has in store for the red-white-and-blue patriot, we were chatting with Captain America. It was awesome.
It should also be noted that Evans has been seen, at least publicly, as the least approving member of Team Marvel, an actor anxious to finish out his contract and move on to different opportunities. But while talking to him on the set he seemed genuinely engaged and excited about returning for the sequel and positively reinvigorated by the response, both critically and commercially, that his last outing as Captain America garnered. (This was, keep in mind, months before Marvel‘s ambitious, multiyear plan was unveiled and even before the release date showdown that the film had with “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” for that primo summer 2016 spot.) When Chris Evans is wearing the Captain America costume, those colors don’t run.
The first question issued to Evans was how the character was dealing with the events of “Captain America: Winter Soldier,” wherein S.H.I.E.L.D. was discovered to be untrustworthy (thanks to some highly placed Hydra moles) and Captain America was left to his own devices, a soldier without a squad. “You know, he’s adjusting,” Evans explained. “The team doesn’t have anyone to report to now. There’s no more S.H.I.E.L.D. so we’re all depending upon one another. But that gives him an opportunity to take more of a leadership role. Since there’s no one else giving him orders he doesn’t have to question the chain of command or anyone’s motives but it does mean he needs to rely on his team a lot more so it’s added a little bit more tension to the actual dynamic of the Avengers.” Still, somewhat disappointingly, Evans added: “But with these movies it’s hard to dive too deeply into any one character’s plotline, you know, what I mean?” Oh we do. Evans was more diplomatic, though. “That’s just the nature of how these moves are going to have to work – do your movie and then you come to Avengers and then we all have to address a group conflict and then go back to your conflict. It’s just there’s too many, too many plots, too many characters to try and spend too much time with your own individual conflict.”
More specifically, the question was lobbed at Evans about whether or not we’d see Cap on his “solo mission” that he was embarking on at the close of “Winter Soldier.” Evans curtly shot back: “I can’t tell you that.” When pressed for information about how the relationships have changed, Evans remained cagey. “I don’t think I can tell you that either,” Evans said. He said he could see himself “get a little talking to” for giving away too much. When we assured him that we were embargoed for a while, he again talked about the Scarlet Witch’s ability to get inside your head, with the heroes “confronted with their own personal issues and demons.” Evans then quipped, “It’s tense.”
When asked about how comfortable he is in the role, Evans perked up. “Very comfortable. The first movie, you’re terrified. The second one, you’re just intimidated because there’s so many great people, but by ‘Captain 2’ you really start hitting your stride and feeling like you’re making some core progress with the character and you get a little more comfortable speaking up when you have opinions. And the Russos [the directors of ‘Cap 2’] are so great and I love that movie and it all just worked out in terms of the evolution of my personal connection with character. So at this point I’m feeling really good and I’m very excited for ‘Cap 3.’”
Another element that we were curious would make the transition to “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is the relationship between Cap and Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow. Evans said “we’re not going to keep eating on that one. It’s built. The foundation is there,” adding, she has her own arc in this movie.” (This is yet another hint that she will have a romantic relationship with Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner, as we all suspect.)
Evans said that the new movie doesn’t waste any time with reintroducing the characters, “having reunion moments.” The movie “hits the ground running.” He then explained that, “Everything that Marvel does is a chess move. Nothing is by accident. Everything is calculated, so sometimes there are things that I found out and I’m like, What’s why you did that? You sons of bitches.”
Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed both “Avengers” movies and oversaw a lot of what was going on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, apparently didn’t have much to discuss with Evans. “You know, in terms of the character Joss got it right with the first ‘Captain America’ and not only that he’s fan boy. He’s loved comic books so it’s not like you’re talking to someone who might not have a handle on what audiences want, who this character is at his core. The only thing I talked to him about was his ability consistency. You know, with the second ‘Captain America’ we really pushed the envelope in terms of what this guy is capable of which I was excited to see because in the first ‘Captain America’ he’s just strong. In ‘Avengers’ it was still, in my opinion, a little bit punch-punch, kick-kick.”
Maybe most interestingly, Evans put Captain America in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in the context of the relationships he sees around him. He’s always been out of time, out of place, and that seemingly continues in the new film, although on a much more philosophical and emotional level. “There are more relationships in this movie, personal relationships Cap has to witness and I think that does make him question his own purpose in terms of this is a guy that wanted the family and, the wife and kids and stability and normalcy. He wants to serve his country but what he really wanted was a normal life and then he went into the ice and things changed. So it’s a matter of where is, where is home? He’s always been a little lost and even in ‘Cap 2’ it’s very much about, What do I want? What am I supposed to be doing? What completes me? And in this one he has to watch some of those relationships close and question, Is that the end game? Is that what he’s fighting for?” If anyone would know, it’s Chris Evans. Even when he’s not in the suit, he is Captain America.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” hits theaters May 1.
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The first thing that you need to know about actually meeting Chris Hemsworth is that he’s huge. Like the kind of huge that you imagine him having to turn sideways to fit through doorframes. He is every bit the god that he plays in the Marvel movies and on the day we were visiting the set, he stood side-by-side his stunt double and for size and height and muscle mass, easily dwarfed him. Chris Hemsworth does not mess around. And in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” he really means business.
For most of the day we got to watch a scene where Hemsworth, as mighty Norse warrior Thor, was battling The Vision, a new character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (portrayed by Paul Bettany, who up until this point had been heard but not seen in the MCU as the voice of Tony Stark’s electronic butler Jarvis). Bettany looked amazing, with purple skin and a really cool costume (augmented, by the looks of the visual effects technicians that scrambled around behind him, with a computer-generated cape). And since they were fighting it seemed that Vision, a creation of this movie’s titular villain, had yet to embrace his inner heroism and was, at present, still very bad. Still, if it’s anybody who can put a super-powered robot in his place, it’s probably Thor. Hemsworth described what they were filming as “a big fight scene” and you could tell just by looking at the set.
When he was asked about his first reaction to the script, Hemsworth was just excited. “It was awesome,” Hemsworth said. “I mean you know, coming off of ‘Thor 2’ and ‘Avengers,’ I couldn’t wait to read this. And I just loved how it upped it in a way that wasn’t just bigger and flashier.” Hemsworth then clarified: “I mean everything had been amplified but in an intelligent way. All the stories are relevant to what’s going on in the world as far as the exponential growth of technology and artificial intelligence and then the questions of you know good versus bad in the AI world.” Of course, as always, Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed both “Avengers” movies and has largely overseen the goings-on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is to thank. “He’s managed to bring all of the Avengers back in and give them a relevant reason to be there and justified sort of conflict. I mean it’s a tricky balance. I’m glad I’m not the one writing the thing and having to pull that off.”
Since so much of the first “Avengers” dealt with Thor battling his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the question was raised as to how Thor fits into the larger Avengers universe in this film. “I mean we put up with Thor having stayed on Earth from ‘Thor 2.’ So he’s here. He’s part of the team. This is his home for the moment,” Hemsworth explained. “The initial attack from Ultron is personal because it’s at all the Avengers and Thor then begins to see a bigger picture here about what this threat could be potentially.” That’s right folks: Ultron could be endangering Asgard too (later Hemsworth said that the “third act” points him back towards Asgard and that – gasp! – Loki might be involved since it’s “all too convenient”).
One of the great joys about watching Thor on the big screen is seeing how out-of-place he is amongst the modern world, considering he comes from a far away, nearly fairly tale land. When someone asked him about what Thor will get to do in this film that he hasn’t gotten to do before, Hemsworth explained that he’s not quite as uptight as he used to be. “He’s loosened up a bit,” Hemsworth said… but then he doubled-down on what he liked about the character in the first place. “I think we lost some of the humor and the naïveté and the fish out of water quality of Thor from the first film into the second one. Joss I think felt the same way. So there’s more humor in Thor or he at least because he’s been on earth, he’s a little more humor, a little more accessible now. He’s off Asgard now so he doesn’t have to be as regal and kingly as he is in that world, which is nice.” Although not too accessible. When someone pitched a scene showing Thor and Natalie Portman’s character going to the movies, Hemsworth lit up. “Yes, I pitched that!” he exclaimed. Then, somewhat sullenly: “But no.” (Later Hemsworth said the character was “not dressed in his own guardian attire” and is “more human.”)
Considering this was at least a few months before anybody had seen anything from the movie (and the production was quite coy about actually showing us anything even while we were on the set), the question about Thor’s costume came up. To which Hemsworth explained that the costume had only been “tweaked” and that, unlike some of the other Avengers, Tony Stark hasn’t gifted Thor with any upgrades. Still he admitted that Iron Man is his favorite Avenger. “I love watching Robert work in this setting,” Hemsworth said.
Of course, some of the funniest and most memorable moments from the first film were the scenes in which Hemsworth’s Thor faced off against Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk. Sadly, Hemsworth informed us that they’re “not as conflicted as we were before.” Still, he pointed to the “lengthy” fight scene between Hulk and Iron Man that will satisfy fans of the Thor/Hulk dynamic from the first one.
One new addition to the team that Hemsworth really seemed to savor was James Spader as Ultron. “It’s awesome,” Hemsworth said. “It shakes things up because you get comfortable. You get into a rhythm or a routine and you think you know it.” Still, the introduction of someone like Spader shakes that all up. “Until that’s challenged you kind of go oh, yeah, that’s right there is another option here and you know we keep changing it. And this new cast breaks the familiar rhythm that we may have and makes it a bit more unpredictable.”
The question came up of how things are going to close out for Thor, since Hemsworth’s contract is nearing its conclusion (he’s got one more stand-alone “Thor” movie and one more “Avengers” outing). Turns out Hemsworth is just as curious as we were. “I have asked the question but the truth is no one has the answer yet. We don’t know how it’s going to end and the biggest concern is this one here, more so than two or three films in time. I know that I’m sure they are coming up with ideas and attempting to kind of have some kind of arrangement that five or six years down the track they go okay, this is where we’re heading but they don’t tell us until the day before usually.” Oh and if you think this is an exaggeration, it’s not. Even on a film as complicated and laborious as “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” things are just sprung on him. “Like this fight scene we learned this morning,” Hemsworth said. And we all laughed nervously.
Even before the infamous Comic Con footage that showed our heroes bruised up, bloodied, and beaten to a pulp, there was discussion about how the new character Scarlett Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen) would be able to tap into the deepest, darkest fears of each Avenger and bring those fears to terrifying life. Hemsworth confirmed that Thor would be a victim of her magical mind games as well. “It certainly creates a conflict,” Hemsworth said. “It’s more in their individual selves rather than the team so much. I think they’ll begin to have their fears held up in front of them and, and for Thor I think it’s a corruption of power.” The psychic stuff sounds like it’s the escalation of the physical combat, too. With all of them having so much power and having the understanding that we’re in this endless battle here. Even though the scene was being rewritten at the moment, so he didn’t know what exactly it would look like in the final film (and he even suggested we ask Joss about it instead of him), Hemsworth admitted its significance. “It kicks in motion his movement. That’s where he really starts to move through the story. Once that dream occurs he goes, I can see what’s coming and my fear could be true. So yea it’s a ticking clock.”
And right now the only ticking clock is the clock until “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is released on May 1st – on Earth and on Asgard.
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