Joss Whedon to direct 'The Avengers'

[rittchard]

My Super Bowl group:

Them: "Oh look, I think it's another Thor movie"
Me: "It's the Avengers"
Them: "No, maybe it's that Captain America"
Me: ""It's the Avengers"
Them: "Wait, isn't that Iron Man too?"
Me: "It's the Avengers"
Them: "It must be like a Justice League movie or something"
Me: (le sigh) "It's the Avengers"
Them: "What's the Avengers?"
Me: ....

This is hilarious!

My Super Bowl group was more like this:

Me (screaming and quivering with excitement):  Oh my god it's the AVENGERS!!!!!!
Them: staring in fear, judgment and silence

[Turtle]

I'm still saddened that they haven't gotten back X-Men or Spiderman to include in the whole Marvel movieverse they're building.

But this definitely helps.

Who did X-Men first class?

[Blackjack]

Saw this banner mentioned at a Jeremy Renner fan site:


At smaller sizes, it looks like Hawkeye's wielding a toilet brush, but he is in fact pulling an arrow out of a quiver.  

Fox owns the X-Men film rights, and Sony the Spider-Man rights (technically Disney owns Marvel film rights for most other stuff now, but Paramount is distributing for at least a couple more films or so, as I understand it), so I wouldn't expect to see those characters cross-pollinating with the Avengers unless all the various film studios involves suddenly became altruistic.

This 2010 blog post tried to unravel that:
http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/07/26/sdcc-marvel-regains-film-rights-for-the-punisher/

20th-Century Fox owns the film rights for Daredevil, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. In addition, Sony Pictures has film rights to Spider-Man, leaving those characters unavailable for now. Crossovers aren't impossible, but they would require co-licensing agreements between Marvel and the other studios (unlikely for now, but not impossible).

Marvel did get the Punisher's rights back at the time of that post.

[Bullwinkle]

Hopefully this hulk doesn't physically grow taller as he gets angry.

I'm not sure what your issue is.  You've got no problem with the muscle mass or his fists getting larger, his face changing structure, but draw the line at getting taller?  How does that follow?

[farley2k]

I think you're overthinking it.  Cap's costume has the cowl built into it (you can see it hanging in the back in some footage) as part of the costume and Iron Man's mask is built in.  Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye simply never have a mask on as far as I've seen in all the footage.  Now maybe they didn't want Cap's face showing because there would be questions about him from the past.  Or maybe it's just part of the costume lol. 

Pouring over the trailer and nitpicking it a time honored tradition! 

[hepcat]

Hopefully this hulk doesn't physically grow taller as he gets angry.

I'm not sure what your issue is.  You've got no problem with the muscle mass or his fists getting larger, his face changing structure, but draw the line at getting taller?  How does that follow?

In Ang Lee's version he actually grew ridiculously tall at some points.  Hulk getting more muscular when angry?  No problem.  Hulk becoming a 3 story tall giant (or larger) at some points?  Not so much.  



At one point he was so tall that he basically had Jennifer Connelly in the palm of his hand as he put her in a tree.

[Harkonis]

I always thought Hulk was supposed to be about 10 ft tall when enraged.  That pic looks about right.

edit: looks like he's supposed to be 7ft or so when mad and 5'9" or so when Banner.  Not as big, but still a height change.

[Bullwinkle]

Yeah, I always thought he was supposed to get bigger, too.

There are way more problems with the Ang Lee version than adding a couple of feet.

[hepcat]

That photo was an "at rest" hulk.  As I noted below it, there's a point in the film where he carries a person around like King Kong.  I know there are a lot of other issues with the film (Hulk Dogs for example) but that height thing bugged me.  Yes, Hulk is large.  Yes, I know he gets more muscular when angry...but he's not supposed to be Giant Man big.  I'll try to find the clip where he gets ridiculously tall. 

[Hrothgar]

Fox owns the X-Men film rights, and Sony the Spider-Man rights (technically Disney owns Marvel film rights for most other stuff now, but Paramount is distributing for at least a couple more films or so, as I understand it), so I wouldn't expect to see those characters cross-pollinating with the Avengers unless all the various film studios involves suddenly became altruistic.

I don't think it would be altruistic at all for Sony.  They're doing a major reboot two months after the Avengers.  Getting Spidey in the Avengers would only increase interest in both films.  Fans of any of the Avengers would be looking for cameos in The Amazing Spider-Man.   It might even add some legitimacy to the reboot.

In other news, am I the only one who didn't know Lou Ferrigno is voicing the Hulk?

[rickfc]

In other news, am I the only one who didn't know Lou Ferrigno is voicing the Hulk?

Since he voiced him in the Edward Norton movie, this doesn't surprise me.

[hepcat]

That's pretty cool.  I had no idea Lou was doing that (or did that in the Ed Norton version).

Lou was on the Adam Carolla podcast a while back and he's really just a genuinely nice guy.  It was great hearing his stories about working on the tv series and his dealings with hollywood. 

[Bullwinkle]

I knew he made an appearance (with Stan the Man) in the last Hulk, but I didn't know he did the voice.  Cool.

[CeeKay]

MTV got a look at the Avengers boardgame, and in the process got a close look at the enemies for the movie.

[Blackjack]

[interview w/ visual effects artist Chris Wells] Movie News: THE AVENGERS Have Been Roughly Assembled
http://www.starburstmagazine.com/news/1954-movie-news-the-avengers-have-been-roughly-assembled

Working at Hydraulx, the SFX company behind SKYLINE and BATTLE: LOS ANGELES, Wells and his crew are overseeing the much-anticipated film's opening sequence.

'We're doing what essentially boils down to the prelude of the movie,' he said. 'There's a whole intro that happens before you start even getting the titles and it's pretty big. There's nothing small in this movie. I went to a screening with all the temporary visual effects and it was pretty fleshed out. It's a long movie but it doesn't feel like it. Out of all the comic book movies and franchises I've worked on, this is the best one I've seen so far.'

Having worked on the X-MEN films, CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, FANTASTIC FOUR, GREEN LANTERN and more, Wells knows his superhero stuff, although he claims to not be a big fan of the genre. Asked whether the film would be driven by action or the more character-orientated work that director Joss Whedon is known for, Wells gave an answer that will set a lot of fanboy minds at rest.

'I think they nailed both,' he said. 'Joss and I have worked on some projects before and he does a very good job with characters. Since this is the first time that we see these guys together as a unit, he had to address all their personal dealings with one another. I think he did a very good job of setting up the characters based on what we know from the Marvel franchise, integrating them together with all their differences and similarities and then getting on with business. And just when you think the movie is a character piece it just goes nuts.'

While Wells avoided giving away any details about the mysterious baddies of the piece and refused to be drawn on whether the much-rumoured Skrulls would be on villain duty, he did confirm that The Red Skull was not in the movie, cryptically adding, 'but that's ok because there's enough bad guys to go around'. Despite being somewhat weary of superhero films, Wells went on to state that THE AVENGERS has far exceeded his expectations and is destined to be a massive hit when released this summer.

'I promise you it's not going to be boring,' he said. 'This thing has gone so big that Marvel are dwarfing their other franchises. For people who enjoy the comics and haven't really liked the way some of the characters were treated in other movies, I think they're going to be a little more appeased by this one. Especially the Hulk. They let the Hulk be Hulk and that's great. He acts more like the comic book Hulk. It's fun. My biggest problem with every single superhero movie is I don't think the payoff ever matches the build up. This one definitely does.'

[Blackjack]

Some big-arse production stills, via scans from the UK Empire Magazine:
http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=55019

Marvel released an Official version:

*I was going to add a caption that said "Which one of these actors has not previously been nominated for an Academy Award?"  

Personally, I still prefer the WWII version of Cap's suit (the modern suit makes Cap look a bit scrawny imho), but since I'm the idiot who saw Captain America 4 times in 6 days, you have to consider the source.  

[Harkonis]

the non-captains in the picture look like they are trying to hard to 'walk tough'

[CeeKay]

Renner looks like he smelled a bad fart.

[Harkonis]

Renner looks like he smelled a bad fart.

maybe they both did, superserum fart'll knock you out

[CeeKay]

HULK CONSTIPATED!

[leo8877]

What, the Hulk looks good!

[Harkonis]

I think he actually retained some of the base actors facial structure... wtf?     Who let realism into my comic book movie!?

[leo8877]

I think he actually retained some of the base actors facial structure... wtf?     Who let realism into my comic book movie!?

Definitely, I can see it too.  Oddly enough I just watched the Ang Lee Hulk last night and recalled that they did that for Eric Bana as well.

[Harkonis]

I think he actually retained some of the base actors facial structure... wtf?     Who let realism into my comic book movie!?

Definitely, I can see it too.  Oddly enough I just watched the Ang Lee Hulk last night and recalled that they did that for Eric Bana as well.

it still looked a bit odd in that one though imo

[CeeKay]

Sam is checking out Scarlett's ass in this new one:

[Gratch]

Looks like each of those characters were simply Photoshopped out of a frame of their original films and slapped on that poster.

[rickfc]

New trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tY9DnBNJFTI

HOLYSHITTHISLOOKSAMAZINGWILLWATCHDAY1IN3DANDPROBABLY3MORETIMES

[Roman]

also on apple trailers:
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/avengers/

[Lordnine]

Looks like each of those characters were simply Photoshopped out of a frame of their original films and slapped on that poster.

The more you look at that picture the worse it gets.  Johansson is about 3 feet tall and Captain America is at least 30 feet.  All of the heads look photoshoped onto the bodies except for Jackson but he is the only one without a light source on the left side of his face.  

[PR_GMR]

Don't wanna watch any more trailers for it. May 4th, get here already!! 

[Bullwinkle]

Goosebumpy.

Love that group shot in motion.

[Blackjack]

Looks like each of those characters were simply Photoshopped out of a frame of their original films and slapped on that poster.

The more you look at that picture the worse it gets.  Johansson is about 3 feet tall and Captain America is at least 30 feet.  All of the heads look photoshoped onto the bodies except for Jackson but he is the only one without a light source on the left side of his face.  

How do you know that isn't a KEY PLOT POINT in the movie?! It's The Avengers! Anything is possible.   Little Person Natasha, and a giant Cap whose crap dumps can knock out small buildings...  

[CeeKay]

New trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tY9DnBNJFTI

HOLYSHITTHISLOOKSAMAZINGWILLWATCHDAY1IN3DANDPROBABLY3MORETIMES

OH FUCK SHITZ HELLZ YEAH!  I think I'm going to have an erection until this thing is released.


TMI?

[Jimmy the Fish]

If this movie ends up sucking, I am going to curl up on the floor and quietly weep to myself.

[hepcat]

If Ceekay maintains an erection for the next 3 months I'll be curled up on the floor too...but only to make myself as small a target as possible.

[PR_GMR]

If this movie ends up sucking, I am going to curl up on the floor and quietly weep to myself.

If this movie ends up sucking, I think it's safe to say Joss Whedon's gonna get shot. 

[hepcat]

If this movie ends up sucking, I am going to curl up on the floor and quietly weep to myself.

If this movie ends up sucking, I think it's safe to say Joss Whedon's gonna get shot. 

By all accounts, we're gonna love him for his involvement with Cabin in the Woods.  I'm actually looking forward to that almost as much as I am The Avengers.

[CeeKay]

If Ceekay maintains an erection for the next 3 months I'll be curled up on the floor too...but only to make myself as small a target as possible.

it's going to be worldwide baby!

[Blackjack]

If Ceekay maintains an erection for the next 3 months I'll be curled up on the floor too...but only to make myself as small a target as possible.

This just in. I scratched my eyeballs out in order to avoid getting any Visuals On That.  

P.S. Jeremy Renner still looks like he just smelled a fart, in his one closeup in the trailer. 

[Blackjack]

I feel a screen capture itch coming on... gotta scratch it!  Quietly at first....


"So, what do you think of a 'How I Met Your Mother/New Adventures of Old Christine' crossover?"
"I TOLD YOU 3 times already! Christine was canceled!"


"I did Pulp Fiction! What happened to my career???"


"Loki! I know I was a lame villain in the Thor movie, but I'm gonna be ... SCARY this time! LOOK AT MY HAIR!"


"You don't UNDERSTAND! Hayley Atwell is HOT! I can't BELIEVE she's not in this movie!"
"And I don't get Natalie Portman. Cry me a river!"