Re: The Avengers News Thread

[Apologist Puncher]

Tough to know just from a trailer but it looks like they're following the Marvel formula of putting the characters somewhat at odds with each other. They're not necessarily in lock step with one another just because they're on the same team. Hell, that's probably a primary subplot of the movie. The members uniting and working as a unit to take down Loki.

Even so...

"I don't play well with others." If that line were to be permanently stricken from the lexicon forevermore... I'd cry tears of joy. Yeesh, that's almost as overused as "you don't know what I'm capable of".

My ONLY concern is that it will be too cliche. Team members fight, don't like each other, realize the "threat" is too big for them, unite to save the day.

Been there, done that.

[thecolorsblend]

Well, I get that... but on the other hand, action cinema (which, in spite of what any Apologist may tell you, is ultimately what most comic book movies are and should strive to be) is one big cliche. I can accept a cliche plot because it's pretty hard to do something completely and totally original, esp within the action movie rubric.

But there's really no excuse for sounding like every hackjob (or even well-written) TV show in the past twenty years, esp for Whedon, who made his bones as much on dialog as anything

[Apologist Puncher]

I think the acting will overcome my fears of cliche's though. Downey's smartass'd response to Evans "diss" makes me confident this will be the case.

[webhead2006]

For the folks who are wondering why paramount has the credit in avengers trailer instead of disney:
http://m.superherohype.com/news/articles/168608-why-paramount-and-not-disney-is-credited-in-avengers-promos

Why Paramount and Not Disney is Credited in Avengers Promos
by SuperHeroHype
October 12, 2011

Didn't Disney make a deal to market and distribute the film?

Some people have wondered why it is Paramount Pictures and not Walt Disney Pictures that is credited in the The Avengers promos. After all, last October they announced that they had "reached an agreement under which Paramount will transfer its worldwide marketing and distribution rights to Disney for Marvel Studios' The Avengers and Iron Man 3... Under terms of the new deal, Disney will pay Paramount $115 million for the transfer of the distribution rights to Iron Man 3 and The Avengers to be paid on the theatrical release dates. These monies will serve as a minimum guarantee against the distribution fees. In completing this agreement, Disney will now assume worldwide marketing and distribution of 'The Avengers' and 'Iron Man 3'."

Yet, when you look at both the teaser poster and the new trailer, there is no mention of Disney at all. Variety has a report on this and mentions that some things were left out of the original announcement:

Knowing Disney wanted to turn "The Avengers" into a franchise and bank on the success of "Iron Man" after buying Marvel for $4 billion, Par's brass negotiated a deal in which it continues to collect 8% of the B.O. as part of fees it would have earned for distribbing the pic, as it did with the two "Iron Man" pics, "Thor" and "Captain America." It gets 9% for "Iron Man 3."

At the minimum, it earns $115 million, should they not perform.

At the same time, the deal granted Par placement on the marketing materials for both titles, even though Marvel's films are fully owned by Disney and will be solely distributed and marketed by the Mouse House, Variety learned.

While moviegoers will continue to think Paramount is releasing The Avengers and Iron Man 3 in theaters, it is Disney doing all the work and who we talk to behind the scenes. A strange situation for sure, but we'll get our superhero movies no matter what.

Read more about:Iron ManThe Avengers

[Apologist Puncher]

http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MarvelFreshman/news/?a=48187

UPDATE: Tom Hiddleston On Loki's Mischief In The Avengers And Much More!
Ultimately rehashing on elements of The Avengers, barely dodging a Skrulls question, among other things, make the jump for a recent video interview with Tom Hiddleston!

Scheduled to appear at this year's New York Comic Con tomorrow, ABC News got an early chat with 'Loki' actor Tom Hiddleston. Ultimately rehashing on the character's mischief in the Joss Whedon-directed flick, as well barely dodging a question about the speculated secondary villains, the Skrulls, among other things, watch the interview below.

*VIDEO AT LINK POSTED*


UPDATE: In a separate interview with HitFix during a NYCC roundtable chat, Hiddleston discussed more about The Avengers, including words of enthusiasm from Joss Whedon, the dynamic with Chris Hemsworth's 'Thor,' and more. Thanks to Graphic City for the heads up.

On advise Joss Whedon offered...
"More feral and enjoy yourself," he said. "Loki's definitively more menacing [in 'The Avengers']. In 'Thor,' he was a lost prince and there was a degree of vulnerability and confusion about his identity. In 'The Avengers,' he knows exactly who he is and is fully self-possessed."

On how Kenneth Branagh differs from Joss Whedon...
"['Thor' director] Ken [Branagh] and Marvel already had a clear take on the world they wanted to make, but I borrowed from both [Marvel and Norse]. In the Marvel mythology, initial incarnations of Loki just have him cackling on the rooftops. He's very much a two-dimensional villain. It was only in the Norse myth that you see how psychologically complex Loki seemed to be."

"Joss is a huge Shakespeare buff and Ken's actually a closet comic book fanboy," Hiddelston says. "They both have a pan-literacy about storytelling, mythology and literature and comics and they understand the classic tropes and narrative arcs of storytelling. But Ken has a classical warmth about him and Thor is both warm and classical in turn. Joss is more interested in comedy in a sci-fi context."

On the dynamic with Chris Hemsworth's Thor...
"During our first scene together in "The Avengers," Joss was like, 'You really make each other better. That's a really amazing thing to watch,' Hiddleston says. "It's not an intellectual thing. It's like when you play tennis. You're just so evenly matched. I think Joss has a soft spot for Loki. He likes him as a character and felt he could take both Thor and Loki further down that path and make the sibling rivalry a really interesting element of the clash of egos in 'The Avengers'."

On retaining his inner child being on-set...
"There was one day where I managed to slightly mischievously steal Captain America's shield and Thor's hammer and I was parading around the subterranean tunnel," Hiddelston said. "One of the producers saw me and said, 'What are you doing with those?' But I've got quite a good weapon in this one."

On whether he can reveal any spoilerific plot details...
"I can sense the red dot forming on my forehead by a Marvel sniper," he replied to one specific plot question – but shared that, despite the action taking place around the world, Manhattan will become the film's focus point "partly because that's where Tony Stark lives." "It's not an easily functioning team," Hiddelston said of the superhero group. "A lot of the strength and uniqueness of the film comes in the fact that there's a lot of square peg/round hole fitting going on."

For more from Hiddleston on bonding with the cast in Albuquerque, Cleveland and New York, head over to HitFix for the full chat.

[webhead2006]

Some very good comments from tom on the film.

[thecolorsblend]

Good answers... although a cynic might find fault with what Hiddleston said is Whedon's approach to this stuff (ie, the humor aspect).

[Apologist Puncher]

Good answers... although a cynic might find fault with what Hiddleston said is Whedon's approach to this stuff (ie, the humor aspect).

Want to hear something worse?

I caught one of the actresses from 'The Walking Dead' on "Attack Of The Show" the other day, Sarah Wayne Callies, and this is what she had to say:

"If we just copied what was in the comic books verbatim, we would bore people to tears!"

Really? That is the respect you show to the thing that made your current occupation possible?

[thecolorsblend]

Good answers... although a cynic might find fault with what Hiddleston said is Whedon's approach to this stuff (ie, the humor aspect).

Want to hear something worse?

I caught one of the actresses from 'The Walking Dead' on "Attack Of The Show" the other day, Sarah Wayne Callies, and this is what she had to say:

"If we just copied what was in the comic books verbatim, we would bore people to tears!"

Really? That is the respect you show to the thing that made your current occupation possible?

Um, has she even READ the comics? Because I could easily see someone getting moved to tears at times... but not from boredom. And this is arguably doubly true OF HER OWN FUCKING CHARACTER. And that's about as spoilery as I care to get about it.

Mind you, I don't know the context of how that was said. She might've meant that if they stuck 100% to the plot of the comics, the core fans would be bored because they'd know all of the plot points in advance. And where's the fun in that? But even IF that's what she meant (A) I don't completely buy that argument and (B) she really could've chosen her words better.

It's funny, of all comic book adaptations, a Walking Dead TV show SHOULD be a slam dunk. The fact that it's hard the problems that it has really makes me wonder.

[Apologist Puncher]

Scene description:

http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/MarvelFreshman/news/?a=48279

Spoiler:

[webhead2006]

Parody of the avengers trailer:

[webhead2006]

Here is an article I saw from avengers director of photography:
http://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4284370&tpl=archnews&force=1

[Apologist Puncher]

http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/Wolvie09/news/?a=48935

Spoiler:

[webhead2006]

If it is what they thinnk. Could turn into a cool squence.

[non_amos]

I wonder if Hulk will smash stupid sea monster?!

[webhead2006]

New character banners:

[thecolorsblend]

VERY cool! Good find!

[Apologist Puncher]

http://www.latinoreview.com/news/joss-whedon-talks-about-character-development-on-the-avengers-15430

Joss Whedon Talks About Character Development on ‘The Avengers’
By Gig Patta on November 18, 2011


With the release of a teaser trailer and character banners, the public is starting to hyped up for the comic book movie “The Avengers.”

Yahoo Movie’s MOVIEtalk had a chance with “The Avengers” director Joss Whedon for an extensive interview to discuss about the characters and the actors who portray them.

Here is a brief synopsis into the comic book film:

Continuing the epic big-screen adventures started in "Iron Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "Iron Man 2," "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger," "Marvel's The Avengers" is the superhero team up of a lifetime. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as SHIELD, 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.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, and Samuel L. Jackson.

"Marvel's The Avengers" hits theaters on May 4, 2012.

Here are some of the highlighted details from the interview:

• The Hulk character will be more similar to Bill Bixby, the TV show character, who wants to help other people rather than the Hulk from the movies.

• Nick Fury does not like talking about his childhood and the movie will keep a certain mystery about his character.

• Tony Stark character is largely about “Where is Tony now? Who is now? Where is he [going] from ‘Iron Man 2’ towards ‘Iron Man 3?’”

• Captain America will be a straightforward character and a little square.

• And finally, Whedon mentioned he has a bunch of songs and few scenes in mind for the next Dr. Horrible.

Check out the full interview by clicking here.

[thecolorsblend]

Basically nothing about this movie has yet disappointed me. Even Whedon has overcome a lot of my initial prejudices (and I'm a Buffy fan, which hopefully inoculates me from accusations of bias here). The plot and character descriptions sit just fine with me. I've always thought Captain America should be a man of principle so being "straight forward and a little square" is more or less what I'd expect from someone with his background. So far, so good.

Bring it on!

EDIT- Related to absolutely nothing really but has anyone else noticed that the Iron Man suit seems to have brighter colors? I recall in the IM films, the red and gold tended to be just a touch desaturated. Here, the color scheme has been amped up a bit with slightly brighter color design. And not just for him either, but for the others too. To a degree, I've come to associate color saturation with how seriously the filmmaker is taking the material. If he thinks he needs to "fix" the source material, there's a tendency to dial the color tones down on superhero costumes (Singerman, I'm looking pretty much right at you). When the director is more confident and respectful, those colors shades tend to be brighter (Smallville, step forward). (A) No, this is no indication of quality of the final product and (B) No, this analogy doesn't apply to every single stinkin' superhero movie out there. It's an observation about a trend, nothing more.

[webhead2006]

Some nice comments

[non_amos]

I think Marvel Studios has a better handle on everthing as opposed to WB/DC. Sure, I'm looking forward to THE MAN OF STEEL. I'm curious about THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Other than that, what are they bringing to the table? Just even look at the 'infectious enthusiasm' that permeates a Marvel production for the most part. Whether it be the actors or directors or even Samuel L. Jackson (whom I sure doesn't need the money), it's like they're having 'party-time' as opposed to work. Can WB/DC say the same?

[webhead2006]

Another rumor reguarding the possible Alien villains in the film:
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/rorschachsrants/news/?a=50070

RUMOR: New Details On The Villains In The Avengers
We have heard the rumors, but no definite answers as to who our heroes will be facing when Marvel's The Avengers hits theaters. Now we have some new info from a reliable source. Nothing certain, but big SPOILER WARNING just in case..
The Skrulls? The Kree? Thanos? Lots of rumors and info from sites claiming to know without question who the mysterious threat facing The Avengers will be. Well we have another rumor to add now, but this comes from very reliable source that has been privy to some early story boards from the movie. Keep in mind that things might have changed since and not to take this as Gospel for now, but even so do not read on if you want to remain completely surprised just in case.



SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING

Spoiler:

Mark "RorMachine" Cassidy
11/19/2011

[Apologist Puncher]

When there is a "spoiler warning" in the post you are copying, it might be a good idea to place spoiler tags on it.

[thecolorsblend]

Spoiler:

[webhead2006]

I know man i really hope they are the mysterious villains they have kept hidden so far.

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