Thor takes a hit for womankind

LONDON — Natalie Portman says hitting Chris Hemsworth was “one small slap for womankind.”

The actress, who reprises her role as Jane Foster in “Thor: The Dark World,” gives the superhero a smack in the Marvel sequel.

“Thor: The Dark World” has its world premiere in London Tuesday and is out in U.S. cinemas November 8.



At a promotional event on Saturday, Portman said that she channeled all her single girlfriends:

“You hear all these stories about guys and it’s just good to get a nice on-screen slap like ‘you didn’t call me back.’”

The intention may have been payback but, according to Hemsworth, the result was less so.

“It just got really funny and ridiculous you know. It’s like in high school when you’re not meant to laugh,” he said.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Tony Stark Strikes Back in Marvel’s “Iron Man 3″

From Marvel Studios comes “Iron Man 3,” which continues the epic, big-screen adventures of the world’s favorite billionaire-inventor-Super Hero, Tony Stark aka Iron Man.

Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968, “Iron Man 3” returns Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the iconic Super Hero, along with Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian, Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan and Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin.

Shane Black directs Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” and the screenplay is by Drew Pearce & Shane Black.

After the “Iron Man” and “Iron Man 2” box-office successes, the Iron Man character, once again reprised by Robert Downey Jr., was last seen in Marvel Studios critically acclaimed “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which set the all-time, domestic 3-day weekend box office record at $207.4 million. The film went on to gross over $1.6 billion worldwide, becoming Disney’s highest-grossing global and domestic release of all time and marks the studio’s fifth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.



“The exciting thing about ‘Iron Man 3,’ is that it’s not only the culmination of the first two films, but it’s also a follow up to ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’” says producer Kevin Feige. “It’s one of the first situations where you have a movie that is the sequel to two different films and in a way that liberates it to be more unique than anything that has come before it, which is what we’re most excited about.”

In the Marvel cinematic universe, all events that happen within each film have a direct influence and consequence in future films and franchises. For Tony Stark the events and encounters he faced in “Marvel’s The Avengers” may be behind him, but he is still working hard to balance the demands of his own personal life.

For the storyline of Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” the filmmakers decided on a “back-to-basics” tone where they could explore what Tony Stark would do if all of his money and toys were stripped away from him and he was forced to find a way back to being a Super Hero.

“Early on in the development, we talked about this notion of taking Tony Stark back to basics because we wanted to see him just use his brain,” explains executive producer Louis D’ Esposito.  “You want to see what he can do when the odds are against him and it makes you wonder, ‘How is he going to get out of this one?’”


Executive producer Stephen Broussard explains the filmmakers’ decision to blend two different storylines together for the film. “There are two classic stories that have appeared in the ‘Iron Man’ comics—one is older and the other is more modern,” explains Broussard.  “The older is the character called The Mandarin, and he is one of the most famous villains in the franchise. The character dates back to the 1960s and we wanted Shane [Black] and Drew [Pearce] to take that idea and contemporize it for present-day audiences.”

Broussard adds, “We also wanted to combine that with another storyline in the comic called Extremis, which came out not too long before the first ‘Iron Man’ film in 2008.  It deals with the biological enhancement of humans and Tony must face super-powered humans in that. So we just thought, wouldn’t that be interesting if we tried to combine these two stories into one for ‘Iron Man 3’?”

An early believer in the Extremis story line, Downey Jr. says, “I remember when we were getting ready to shoot ‘Iron Man,’ I started reading ‘Iron Man’ comics and there was this one called ‘Extremis,’ and I thought it was really interesting and cool.”

“The thing about the Extremis storyline that always interested me in the comic books was that you had a sense that Tony Stark puts on an iron suit and hides inside it in a way,” says director Shane Black. “The character wouldn’t call it that, but that’s kind of the case. With the Extremis people, you always got a sense that they’re burning up from the inside. So one of them could actually say to Tony for instance, ‘you drive a car, I am the car.’”

There is plenty of angst from “Marvel’s The Avengers” to fuel Tony Stark’s arc too. Before “Marvel’s The Avengers,” Tony Stark thought he was the only Super Hero in the world, and in “Iron Man 3” he must deal with the revelation that he is not the only one out there. As Kevin Feige explains, “In ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’ he faces a world-changing event that not only includes seeing the powers of other Super Heroes, but also having a portal to another world opened above his head.”

For Robert Downey Jr. the journey of Tony Stark in the “Iron Man” franchise is one that is very relatable to audiences. “The great thing about ‘Iron Man 3’ is that we really are going back to kind of an extension and continuation of some of the things that made the franchise fly to begin with,” says Downey. “With the execution and incredible success of ‘Marvel’s The Avengers,’ we’re afforded the opportunity to not have to set up another film and can really explore the character of Tony Stark in ways that are very organic and connectable and play to the strength of the franchise.”

(Opening across the Philippines on April 24 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theatres, “Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.)

source: movies.inquirer.net

Downey Jr. Inspires Ruffalo, Evans To Take Hulk, Captain America Roles

When you have Tony Stark convincing you to be Hulk or Captain America, it does not take much to effort to seal the deal. This was how it went for actors Mark Ruffalo and Chris Evans, who play “Marvel’s the Aveng¬ers’” Bruce Banner/Incredible Hulk and Steve Rogers/Captain America in the upcoming blockbuster where Downey’s Tony Stark/Iron Man is also a main player.

“‘The Avengers’ isn’t the type film that I’ve done in the past or that I am usually invited to do,” confessed Ruffalo in an e-mailed statement from the Marvel flick’s local distributor. “I was a little nervous about it because when Joss Whedon and I first met about the role there wasn’t a script. I thought a lot about Iron Man. I thought about what Robert Downey Jr. did with that part – he is one of my hero actors.”

Buddies in real life, Ruffalo raved over how Downey fleshed out the man in the iron suit: “I really loved what Robert did; he reinvented the genre. It made me feel like I could fit into that world with whatever it is I do. I had one meeting with Joss, who I liked instantly, so between him and Robert I was in.”

“What appealed to both Joss and I about the character is that he would have a common man sort of feel to him and possess this world-weary charm,” said Ruffalo who inherited Hulk after Edward Norton walked away from the part.

“We also agreed he should have a sense of humor about his situation. Based on the last incarnation of The Incredible Hulk, there was the promise that Banner may actually have a little control over the Behemoth. We wanted him to be fun and interesting as Banner and awesome as Hulk.”

Downey seemed to be playing Nick Fury in real life by also getting Evans’ nod to do Captain America. According to Details magazine, Evans “almost walked away from the title role [and it] was Iron Man himself who talked him into accepting the part because, as he told Evans, it would make it easier for Evans to do projects he wanted in the future by making lots of money for the movie studio now.”

It turned out, Iron Man knew better as “Captain America: The First Avenger” went on to be a commercial and critical success.

According to Hong Kong’s Prestige magazine, Evans – who was once a part of the “Fantastic 4” superhero team – was cautious because of other previous project missteps he took prior to “Captain America.”

“I’m surprised by any movie that is successful. At this point I’ve made a lot of films. I’ve made about 20 movies and I’m probably proud of three. I had already made quite a few stinkers. I couldn’t afford to make another one, let alone another one on that scale. If you make one that big and it fails, your days are numbered.”

Evans was, of course, glad to be wrong. “Not only was I extremely happy with how the film (‘Captain America’) turned out, but it was such a fantastic working experience. Everything about it has been a positive. There has not been one negative, and thank God for my team and my family and friends for pushing me [into taking the role]. When I first saw the film, I loved it. I really, really did. I saw it and texted [director Joe Johnston] and said, ‘Thank you so much for giving me something to be proud of.’ When you’re proud of it, you want to talk about it. It made doing the press a lot easier.”
Downey, who has completely taken the hero portrayal out of the box as the wealthy, flamboyant Tony Stark, was described “a tour de force” by producer Kevin Feige.

He added, “He injects that confidence and sense of humor that brought to life and defined the character in the best way possible in both ‘Iron Man’ films. We wanted to give Robert scenes with all the characters as we knew it would be a lot of fun to watch Tony’s interaction with Captain America, Thor and The Hulk. When Robert walks on the screen, the audiences embrace him in a very big and palpable way; he really is a powerhouse for us and the film.”

Downey himself revealed, “Tony initially thinks forming the team is ridiculous, but being Tony Stark, he is more open to the realm of possibilities that exist in the world of ‘The Avengers.’ Tony already had hints of it from Nick Fury who has been stringing him along for a while about becoming part of a larger universe.”

One Avenger who naturally has issues against Stark’s hero-savvy style is Captain America. Evans said, “It’s not just that Captain America wakes up in a whole new world; it’s the fact that he has to deal with the emotions of finding out that everybody he knows is dead. Every single person he called brother on a battlefield is gone and the world around him is a different place. It’s more fast-paced and impersonal because new technologies have put barriers between people.

“In the ’40s there was much more of a direct and honest sincerity in the way people behaved and I think human interaction helps breed manners. Waking up in modern day is just an extremely different way of life that Steve Rogers now has to get used to. Starring as Captain America was scary and exhilarating at the same time. ‘Thor’ had already opened and done very well and so I kept thinking Captain America better open and do well because I don’t want to be the weak link of the ‘The Avengers.’ Luckily the film did well and it was an amazing feeling to see kids’ faces light up when they saw me in the costume. It really was a completely new experience for me, for which I am very grateful.”

But “Avengers” does not end with Downey, Evans and Ruffalo. As most movie fans are aware of, there’s also Samuel L. Jackson who gathers the team as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson who reprises the Black Widow from “Iron Man 2,” Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and Chris Hemsworth as Thor.

(“Marvel’s The Avengers” will assemble in the Philippines on April 25, 2012. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.)

source: mb.com.ph

Soundgarden releases new song for 'Marvel's The Avengers'

BURBANK-CA — Marvel Music/Hollywood Records announce the return of Soundgarden with the release of the band’s first all new song in 15 years, “Live to Rise.” The song will be featured in the end credits to this year’s highly anticipated movie, “Marvel’s The Avengers.”

“Live to Rise” is included on "Avengers Assemble," a 14-track compilation of music from and inspired by the film. Avengers Assemble will be released on May 1, 2012.

Soundgarden stated, "We've been hard at work on our new album, which will come out this Fall. When the opportunity arose to write an original song for ‘Marvel's The Avengers’ film, we thought it could be a cool match. We are excited to release our new song 'Live To Rise,' which is also the only new song in the film. Here's a taste. Loudest of Love."

Also, "The Avengers" original motion picture soundtrack, with score by Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning composer Alan Silvestri (“Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Forrest Gump,” the “Back to the Future” trilogy) will be available at online retailers on May 1, 2012.

With over 21 million records sold worldwide, Soundgarden redefined rock music for a whole generation and had a revolutionary impact on the course of musical history. At the dawn of 2010, the band, Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil and Ben Shepherd, announced a new beginning. In the last two years since Soundgarden has reunited, they have headlined festivals, toured the world and released their first retrospective titled "Telephantasm" which included the previously unreleased song, “Black Rain” and their first live album, "Live on I-5."

The press has exalted their return to the stage and the music scene. Rolling Stone called their headline performance at Lollapalooza “an epic set...a blueprint of the Seattle sound,” where the Chicago Tribune hailed them as “one of the last great hard-rock bands to emerge in the last 25 years.” The band are currently in the studio in Seattle writing and recording their first LP in over 15 years, which is set for release in 2012.

In addition to Soundgarden’s “Live to Rise,” the Avengers Assemble collection features original songs inspired by the exciting and action-packed film event. The diverse range of artists includes Rise Against, Shinedown, Bush and Redlight King.

Marvel Studios presents “Marvel’s The Avengers”—the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., 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.

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Tom Hiddleston, with Stellan Skarsgård and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, and directed by Joss Whedon, “Marvel’s The Avengers” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963 and a comics institution ever since. “Marvel’s The Avengers” is from Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures, produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Joss Whedon from a story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon with screenplay by Joss Whedon.

(“Marvel’s The Avengers” will assemble in the Philippines on April 25 2012. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.)

source: mb.com.ph