A few weeks ago I wrote about the importance of Robert Downey Jr. to the future phases of Marvel's superhero film rollout. With Tuesday's release of the limited edition Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One – Avengers Assembled Blu-ray box set comes some corroboration, plus a cool scene of Iron Man doing some acrobatic hot-dogging just to put on his mask. more »
The most revealing tidbit to come from talking with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is the idea that he equates box office success with the quality of a film – not the kind of mega-million dollar marketing campaigns that put characters’ faces on soda cans, or comic book fandoms that date back half a century, or any other factors that will surely help Marvel’s The Avengers seize the box office crown this Friday. Instead, with twelve years at Marvel and billions in box office under his belt, the exec who’s been integral to the new golden age of the superhero movie is still, refreshingly, idealistic when it comes to making movies: “Every time we actually do it, I get very excited and can’t believe that we pulled it off.”
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The Tribeca Film Festival has announced The Avengers as the closing-night selection of its 11th annual event, where Joss Whedon's summer superhero blockbuster will have its New York premiere on April 28 — and for a good cause, according to Marvel and fest organizers.
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In February, a federal court threw out a suit filed by Stan Lee Media Inc. against Paradox Entertainment — a failed attempt for the plaintiff to regain the intellectual-property rights of the Conan comic character. It might seem odd enough that a company sues for a claim to the proceeds of a film that lost tens of millions of dollars last summer, but odder still is that Stan Lee himself — the comic-book mastermind responsible for The Avengers, X-Men, Spider-Man, and hundreds of other iconic characters — was neither the plaintiff nor the defendant in that suit.
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This pat in the back just in from Marvel Studios: The first trailer for The Avengers was "downloaded over 10 million times in its first 24 hours" from iTunes alone upon its debut this week. 10 million downloads. In a day. That's got to also be the record for the most people listening to Nine Inch Nails (whose musical stylings played under shots of ScarJo pondering the tightness of her Black Widow costume, etc.) at the same time. Congrats! Now, to convert those 10 million trailer-watchers into opening day ticket-buyers... [Press release]
Congrats are in order to Patty Jenkins, who was confirmed today as Marvel's pick to helm their 2013 sequel, Thor 2. Jenkins, who directed Charlize Theron to an Oscar in 2003's Monster, her feature directorial debut, inherits the helm of the Thor comic book movie franchise from Kenneth Branagh. Full press release after the jump.
Marvel Studios founder (and former toy inventor) Avi Arad has built an empire out of the superhero business, having produced everything from the Blade films to the X-Men, Fantastic Four, Ghost Rider, Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man films and the upcoming Andrew Garfield-starring reboot, not to mention the 2012 superhero superfilm The Avengers. Needless to say, there was a ton to discuss and not nearly enough time when Movieline caught up with Arad at Comic-Con right before Sony's Hall H panel for The Amazing Spider-Man.
Fun factoid, children of the '90s: Did you know that film franchises like X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Spider-Man movies sprang from the same creative force as some of your favorite childhood toys? Movieline caught up with Marvel Studios founder (and producer of the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man, Ghost Rider 2, and The Avengers) in San Diego where the veteran film exec revisited his past as a toy inventor extraordinaire.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige admitted over the weekend to having a little Transformers envy; when you're in the business of making blockbusters, you tend to check out the competition. But a day after being impressed by the epicness on display in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon trailer, his anxiety dissipated the moment he beheld Sam Jackson as Nick Fury in dailies from The Avengers. Said Feige: "I'm not worried anymore." Gauntlet thrown, Michael Bay!
What better way to kick off the summer than with the hero whose mighty hammer is set to swing down and launch the biggest movie season of the year? Movieline spoke with Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth -- Australian actor, costume-ripper, and onetime Verge designee -- about his career-changing turn as Marvel Studios' God of Thunder, how he's currently preparing to resume the role in Joss Whedon's upcoming Avengers film -- or films -- and more. By Odin's beard, dive in!
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