The Avengers has done a pretty good job of keeping itself under wraps (well, not lately but you get the idea), so words from Joss “the mystery-maker” Whedon about the film are worth their weight in nerd gold.
We saw your eyes perk up when you read Joss Whedon’s name. Don’t deny it.
Anyway, Joss did way more than just talk vaguely about the film. In these interviews from various sources (Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation, PhilSTAR and SFX Magazine all via CBM), Whedon discusses in depth what he saw in the film, as well as what he’s expecting from the finished product.
“As much as anything, my visual style as a director comes from comic books,” he says. “My understanding of visual storytelling comes from panel art, which I was reading more voraciously than I was watching movies for most of my childhood. In that sense, I had sort of a head start when I started visualizing this film. I hired Seamus McGarvey to be my Director of Photography because of ‘Atonement.’ It’s a gorgeous film. Seamus’ understanding of light as romantic and naturalistic is dazzling.
“Visually, the movie is similar to a lot of things that I do because it’s supposed to be casually iconic. In other words, I want to hit iconic moments without hitting people over the head with them. I want it to feel like a comic book without trying to look like one. I’m trying to ride that line between bigger-than-life characters and their bigger-than-life moments and the very human aspects of them.”
“I feel respect for the fans, but you can’t let yourself feel the weight of how much they want or need from the project,” Whedon explains. “I really believe that you can die from fan expectations. There are two things that I can’t stand when I go to see a movie based on a comic book: being ignored and being pandered to. Fans are well aware when movies are doing either one. Ultimately, they’re going to see everything they ever hoped to see in ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ from every single one of these characters. There won’t be a hint of, ‘Well, we thought we ought to put this in to make the fans happy.’
“Honestly, if I felt the weight of how famous the actors in this movie are, or how big the budget is, or how high the fans’ expectations are, I’d be in my bed right now with the covers pulled up over my head. I did have one little minor freak out and my wife just said, ‘Honey, it’s just the next story.’ That helped.”
Whedon concludes, “I want to make a great Super Hero movie. I want to make a movie that has to have Super Heroes in it and makes it very clear that the world needs Super Heroes—especially this ridiculously motley, mismatched crew of Super Heroes. I want to make the kind of movie that inspires people to say, ‘There should be more movies with Super Heroes in them.’”
Whedon didn’t stop there. Marvel has a full ensemble cast of superheros and he was insistant to talk about each and every one that made it into his movie.
About the cast in general:“One of the big things that made me jump on board was the casting. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson were already on board. These are all actors who audiences got to see in movies of their own. In ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ they get to see them interact with each other. Everyone is so good that this film is going to be unbearable to edit.
“All of the actors came to me with an extraordinarily positive attitude. Not just about the project, but about each other. All of the conflict that we create amongst The Avengers is acting, because these guys are really rooting for each other and helping each other.
“It’s been interesting. Everybody’s very different.”
About Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man:”Robert has that anarchic, uncontrollable energy that is very magnetic and very Tony Stark.”
About Mark Ruffalo as The Incredible Hulk:”I wanted Mark Ruffalo to play Bruce Banner because he’s just an open book. He lets you into his heart and you understand everything he’s feeling. Mark is such a delightful mensch it’s stupid. His Banner is a bunch of contradictions: graceful and awkward, meek and confident, erudite and working class, funny and sad. And contradictions are what the Banner/Hulk dynamic are all about.
[He’s] a Bruce Banner who’s not obsessed with his own problems. A Hulk who not only feels flesh and blood, but is clearly an extension of Banner himself and not just a CGI thing that roars. A Hulk who feels dangerous, who might actually hurt someone we care about, who belongs in a classic horror film. And much more. He’s the hardest character by far, and ended up being the most fun. Also, Mark kinda looks like the Hulk. So we got to build our Hulk from him.”
About Chris Hemsworth as Thor: “Chris Hemsworth is a god. This is a man who just makes other men stop going to the gym. It’s not fair. He’s very centered in the way he approaches a scene and the way he is in life.”
About Chris Evans as Captain America:“Chris Evans really locked in to the old-fashioned sort of aesthetic of a guy who’s from the ’40s. He has rectitude without being stiff.”
about Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye:”Jeremy Renner has been a wildcard and keeps to himself, but that makes sense because he’s playing a sniper. He shoots a bow and arrow and keeps his distance. He’s fully engaged, but he’s in his own place.”
About Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow:”Scarlett isn’t like her character at all, because she’s so funny and delightful. She’s always in a good mood and is just a riot. Black Widow has a darker incarnation in this film than she did in ‘Iron Man 2’ and Scarlett is very precise when she acts. We hint a little bit at her back-story and it isn’t pretty.”
About Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury:“Sam Jackson is Sam Jackson. He does that look and he only needs one eye to pin you to the wall. At the same time, he’s extremely sensitive and textured and that’s what I wanted to get from Nick Fury. I didn’t want him to be all bluster. We’ve seen that and I think there’s more there.”
On working with the other Marvel directors:”Jon walked me through his experience on ‘Iron Man’ and shared with me how he worked with Scarlett [Johansson] and Robert [Downey Jr.]. Ken called me to talk about Chris Hemsworth before he cast him in ‘Thor.’ Then I called him when he was shooting the film to ask him about Chris and Tom [Hiddleston] and how they were working out. His insights were wonderful. Both of them have been very helpful and generous.”
On working with the actors themselves:“I got almost every actor a day or two before we started shooting, but I’ve been able to spend time with them while I’m writing and I think they knew I was building from the ground up. I went to every single one of them and said, ‘Here are my ideas and this is how I think you’ll be playing it. Is there something in particular you want to avoid? Something you feel the character needs or wants?’
“They all had input to the degree that they wanted it and it’s been a collaboration from the beginning. I think that helped set the tone right away. I knew exactly what I wanted when I started, but the actors knew that if they told me what they wanted, we could usually do both.”
What do you think? Now that Joss has shared more than a thousand words about The Avengers, do you feel more secure knowing that Marvel and Disney got the perfect guy for the job?