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- Crowded Table. [Avengers: Age of Ultron Press Conference]
Crowded Table. [Avengers: Age of Ultron Press Conference]
“There’s like 47 people up here,” Joss Whedon said commenting on many people who were joining him at a very long table. “I have all these people. I love all these people. They’re extraordinary,” he continued.
Although he was exaggerating, Whedon was talking about those extraordinary people that we all like to call the Avengers. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes were all at the film’s first global press conference that happened at the Walt Disney Studios a few weeks ago and Whedon’s comment came in response to the biggest challenge he had as director.
“[I had to] make sure that they’re not just all being served, but all within the same narrative structure, that they’re in the same movie, that it’s all connected to the main theme.”
Like the previous film, the Avengers have assembled an all-star ensemble cast that each have their own backstory and personality that people were already tied to thanks to their origin films like Iron Man, and Captain America: The First Avenger. With Age of Ultron, Whedon, who also served as writer, made things more difficult with the addition of three new Avengers.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who plays one of those new Avengers named Quicksilver, said that he was quite intimidated by joining such an already well-known and popular ensemble. “It was comforting to know, like stepping on set, when it was all happening, that I had someone I knew.” Taylor-Johnson was referring to his sister in the film and new Avenger Scarlet Witch played by Elizabeth Olson. They both worked on reboot of Godzilla together allowing them to show that on-screen chemistry.
These two weren’t the only ones who put their past experiences and chemistry in action. Actor Paul Bettany, who voiced Jarvis, Tony Stark’s computer buddy, took on a leading role as Vision, the last of the newest Avengers introduced in the film.
“The main difference is I have to show up,” he said alluding to one of the differences of being just a voice actor in the previous films. “The great thing is being able to work with all these incredibly creative and talented people.”
Bettany only echoed what was said by all the other cast members at the press conference. It was really interesting to hear how great it was to be able to work with each other and at first, I thought that was just the traditional press conference jargon that they all “have to” say.
It wasn’t until Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige saved the rather stoic press conference by reminding us of what Whedon said at the very beginning.
“It started with the notion of making these movies ourselves, and becoming Marvel Studios and Iron Man, and the notion of having Sam Jackson come in at the end and say: “You’re part of a bigger universe, you just don’t know it yet.”
He continued, “It’s incredible to look down the line and the table keeps getting bigger and bigger. It’s the greatest ensemble ever assembled in cinematic history.”
He certainly had a point as the world really does love the Avengers and the cinematic universe that was created around it, but only the storytellers at Marvel can make sure that love of everyone at that table (and those who’ll join it in the last two Avengers films) continues even now as we’re about ready to meet these new Avengers and revisit the existing ones.
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