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The Hulk Gets a Fresh Start in ‘The Avengers’

By Matt McDaniel

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By Matt McDaniel | Movie Talk – 17 hours ago

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Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner (Photo: Marvel Studios)

In the past decade, there have been two attempts to bring Marvel Comics' "Incredible Hulk" to the big screen.  And neither fully satisfied critics or comic-book fans with how they portrayed Bruce Banner, the mild-mannered scientist who grows into an uncontrollable green monstrosity when he gets angry. So when writer/director Joss Whedon (creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") was brought aboard "The Avengers" -- next year's movie that teams up the Hulk with fellow superheroes Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor -- he had both the opportunity and the challenge of giving the character a fresh start.  Luckily for Whedon, he had a great Oscar-nominated actor, Mark Ruffalo, to help him redefine both Banner and Hulk.
See an exclusive character banner for 'The Avengers' >>
In a phone interview with me this week, Whedon told me that he met with all the actors in "The Avengers," -- including returning stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and Samuel L. Jackson -- before he started working on the script to get their perspectives on their roles.  But Whedon said that he did the most character work of all with Ruffalo, "because we really were starting fresh, but we were starting with something that had been embodied several times."
Whedon told me that he and Ruffalo both agreed that they wanted their version of Dr. Banner to follow the model established by Bill Bixby in the '70s TV version of "The Incredible Hulk," rather than how he had been portrayed in the more recent films.  The character on the show, they felt, "was busy helping other people.... That was more interesting to us than the Banner in the first two movies who was always fixated on curing himself."
Once the actor and director found a common vision for how they would handle Bruce Banner's personality, they had to work out the other side of the role: the lumbering, destructive, out-of-control Hulk.  Whedon admitted that he and Ruffalo fought over this.  Physically.  He said, "I mean literally we actually got some pads out and did some tussling.  Just to talk about the physicality of somebody who has to control this thing, and the way he moves in space and the way he relates to the people and the objects around him.  It was extremely fun."
Together, Whedon and Ruffalo worked out not just the dual nature of Banner's personality, but also the two sides to the Hulk's physical presence.  Whedon said, "What we found was that he could be very bumbling and kind of awkward, but at the same time very graceful and in this almost transcendent control of himself."  Their efforts should show on screen as well.  While the Hulk will be a digital creation like in the last two films, this time it will actually be Ruffalo playing the big green guy.  Using motion capture technology like in "Avatar," all of the Hulk's movements and expressions will come from Ruffalo.
You can get a brief look at Ruffalo hulking out in the teaser trailer for "The Avengers" below.  Then click over to read the full text of my interview with Joss Whedon, where we covered working with Robert Downey Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, and why he spent as much time writing the big stunts in the movie as he did on the dialogue.  "The Avengers" opens May 4, 2012.
Read the full Joss Whedon interview >>

Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., and Chris Hemsworth in Marvel's 'The Avengers'

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/hulk-gets-fresh-start-avengers-003500379.html

This from  Entertainment Weekly, August 22, 2011:

Stan Lee Media, Inc. files suit against 'Conan'

by Annie Barrett

 

Stan Lee Media, Inc., a company founded by comic book legend Stan Lee, wants a judge to rule that it is still the rightful owner of the character Conan the Barbarian. In a lawsuit filed Aug. 19 in federal court in L.A. and obtained by EW, SLMI is demanding 100 percent of the film’s proceeds. The company claims its bankruptcy in 2001 would have prevented anyone from taking the rights to the Conan character away. In the suit, Stan Lee Media, Inc. claims the company was betrayed by a former lawyer who made an illegal deal to transfer the rights to another company that would later green-light this summer’s Conan movie. The poorly reviewed remake earned $10 million on its opening weekend, barely beating the debut of the original Conan the Barbarian in 1982.

COMMENT: Give the mostly negative reviews, you'd think Stan would disown this flick.
Rotten Tomatoes link: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/conan_the_barbarian_2011/


Lastly, Stan did NOT invent Conan, with was originally written by R.E. Howard!

 

 

Why Chris Evans Turned Down the Role of 'Captain America'

Why Chris Evans Turned Down the Role of 'Captain America'

by: Matt McDaniel (Yahoo, June 23, 2011)

'Captain America: The First Avenger' Paramount/Marvel

When Chris Evans was approached to star in a big-budget movie adaptation of one of the most iconic characters in comic book history, he said "No." Repeatedly.
In a profile of the 30-year-old actor in the current GQ Magazine, Evans revealed that when he was offered the title role in this summer's "Captain America: The First Avenger," he turned it down more than once. And what's even more surprising is that he didn't feel bad about it.

See the exclusive 'Captain America' trailer >>

Evans told GQ, "I said no a bunch, and every time I said no, I woke up the next morning so happy and content." But the creative team at Marvel Studios kept hounding the actor. Eventually, he did relent to meet with the studio and the director Joe Johnston ("The Rocketeer"), and after they impressed him with their plans for the movie, he realized the source of his hesitation.
"I was scared," Evans said in Entertainment Weekly. He says he felt like the role could be a no-win situation: if the movie failed, he'd be blamed, and if it succeeded, he could be pigeonholed as the star-spangled superhero. Plus, taking the role meant he would be under contract for both the highly-anticipated Marvel team movie "The Avengers" and several potential "Captain America" sequels.
His fears weren't exactly unfounded, either. He had already played another Marvel character, Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) in two "Fantastic Four" movies. And while the films were the biggest financial hits in his career so far, they weren't embraced by either the critics or the hardcore fans of the comics. Last year, Evans also appeared in two movies based on lower-profile graphic novels -- "The Losers" and "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" -- but neither hit it big at the box office.
Eventually, Evans made a choice to confront his apprehension head on. "I realized my whole decision making process was fear based," he told EW, "and you never want to make a decision out of fear." He signed on to play Steve Rogers, the scrawny but scrappy Army enlistee in World War II who volunteers to be injected with the "Super Soldier Serum" that turns him into the tall, strapping Captain America.

See new 'Captain America' photos >>

Even though "Captain America: The First Avenger" won't hit theaters for another month, Evans is already back at work for "The Avengers" alongside Robert Downey Jr. ("Iron Man"), Chris Hemsworth ("Thor") and Samuel L. Jackson. He told MTV, "When we did 'Captain America,' you're the only superhero on set," but when he saw the other stars in their costumes it was "the first time I really kind of geeked out."

Marvel helps market Cowboys... Jones's Super-Team?

Marvel Comics takes its game to Dallas

July 6, Yahoo Sports

DALLAS (AP)—The Dallas Cowboys are getting some super-powered support.
Marvel Comics’ heroes are throwing in with the Cowboys as the publisher’s parent, Marvel Entertainment LLC, expands its efforts to bring the characters into the world of professional sports.

Debuting Wednesday, the five-time Super Bowl champion Cowboys will offer apparel from T-shirts to caps that feature Spider-Man and Captain America, among others.
Jerry Jones Jr., the Cowboys’ chief sales and marketing officer, said the pairing of characters from Marvel with the team was a way to blend a well-known team with members of a famed super team, the Avengers, whose own members include Iron Man and Thor.
“We are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to energize our fans, and what better way than to combine our brand with some of the all-time great Super Heroes that everyone has grown up with,” he said in a statement.
The move is part of Marvel’s growing effort to expand its characters’ appeal in new markets and to fans outside comics, too. Earlier this year, it started offering NBA-themed apparel in conjunction the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
“We continue to expand our consumer products into new distribution channels through this exciting partnership with the NFL’s most popular franchise,” said Paul Gitter, president of Consumer Products for North America at Marvel Entertainment.

Captain America's name dropped out of concern over anti-American sentiment.

July 6, 2011

'Captain America' keeps full name in most of world

AP – 2 hrs 30 mins ago

• 

• In this film publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Chris Evans is shown …

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Captain America will keep its patriotic full title in most of the world when the superhero adventure hits the big-screen.
Paramount Pictures and Marvel Studios gave distributors around the world the option of shortening the title of "Captain America: The First Avenger" to simply "The First Avenger," out of concern about anti-American sentiment.
But the only countries that took them up on it were Russia, Ukraine and South Korea.
In other territories, the movie will go out with the full title, a sign that the brand value of the Marvel Comics hero trumps any potential anti-U.S. feelings in some parts of the world.
Movie titles often are changed in foreign countries for cultural reasons or because the original names don't translate well. In French-speaking countries, "The Hangover" and its sequel were titled "Very Bad Trip."
Starring Chris Evans as the patriotic super-soldier, "Captain America" opens in U.S. theaters July 22.

Too Many Men in Tights? 5 Reasons the Superhero Summer Has Been a Bust

from Yahoo News June 30:

Too Many Men in Tights? 5 Reasons the Superhero Summer Has Been a Bust

by: Daniel Frankel

'Thor,' 'Green Lantern,' and 'X-Men' Paramount/Warner Bros. Pictures/20th Century

Why aren’t the superheroes delivering audiences this summer?

Dropping more than 65 percent in its second weekend from an inauspicious $52.3 million premiere, Warner’s DC Comics-based “Green Lantern” proved that moviegoers’ appetites for superhero fare has mortal limits. (Though Warner is already developing a sequel.)
“Thor” fared much better, but it's not the hit other Marvel properties have been. Same for the reboot of “X-Men.”
In fact, none of the superhero franchises this tentpole season have fared anything like the model that inspired them: the gargantuan hit that was “Iron Man,” whose sequel did even better. ($585.2 Million in Global BO)
Also read: 'Men in Black 3': Delays, Script Problems and Will Smith's Really Big Trailer
So what’s the story? TheWrap investigated and found five reasons why superheroes are struggling this summer. 

TOO MANY MEN IN TIGHTS
Moviegoers have seen too many movies featuring heroes in tights saving the country, planet or alien worlds.
In fact, each of the three comic-based films released this spring/summer has debuted to more domestic box-office revenue than the next.
Also read: 'Green Lantern' in 3D: Accounted for Only 36% of Attendance, 45% of Box Office Revenue
The Onion summed up this narrative repetitiveness the best. Several days before “Green Lantern’s” premiere, the comedy group released a satirical entertainment news segment that was comically full of vague generalities that could pretty much fit any superhero film.
“Warner Bros. executives say the movie will remain faithful to the comic books, adapting a classic plot line in which the Green Lantern encounters a conflict and overcomes it using his Lantern powers!” read the cheery faux ET newswoman.
So yes -- “Green Lantern” looked like every other superhero you’ve never heard of that’s been released so far.
“I think the public is tired of [bad] mega-budget movies, and social media has given them the tools to warn their friends to ignore $100-plus million domestic marketing campaigns,” said a marketing executive at a rival studio who was clearly put in an ill humor by all of this.

NOT ENOUGH YOUNG DUDES GOING TO MOVIES
Perhaps no other genre has been as affected by the sharp decline in consumption by what has been traditionally the most active moviegoing demographic -- men under 25.
Also read: Review: 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' Can't Get It Up 
For “Green Lantern,” for example, men accounted for 64 percent of the opening-weekend audience, but only 37 percent of the audience was under the age of 25.
For “X-Men: First Class,” only 46 percent of the audience was under 25; for “Thor,” it was only 28 percent.
“It’s a huge problem,” said one studio distribution executive, referring to the flight of younger males from the multiplex.
“I keep banging the drum about it to anyone on the lot who will listen to me.”
Now, so are we.

3D IS DRAGGING THE GENRE DOWN
While converting “Green Lantern” to 3D only added to production costs in excess of $200 million, it’s questionable how much benefit was gained at the box office.
Only 36 percent of ticket buyers chose to see the movie in 3D on opening weekend, despite the fact that more than half of the movie’s initial screen count -- around 3,200 screens -- were showing the film in 3D.
For “Thor,” 43 percent of moviegoers chose the non-IMAX 3D option.

RYAN REYNOLDS & CHRIS HEMSWORTH ARE NOT ROBERT DOWNEY JR.
Robert Downey Jr., an Oscar-nominated actor with something to prove after well-chronicled drug problems, brought his innate charm and comic timing to "Iron Man," setting the bar high for future actors in comic book roles.
It helped that he was working with a good director with a light comic touch (Jon Favreau) and a good script.
Neither "Green Lantern" star Ryan Reynolds or "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth could measure up to that standard. Nor, for that matter, are Martin Campbell and Kenneth Branagh known for their comedic touch.
These projects are comic book adaptations, remember.
THEY’RE CALLED SECOND-TIER SUPERHEROES FOR A REASON
Few properties beyond “Batman,” “Spider-Man” and “Superman” have established the kind of broad popularity needed to create a worldwide hit at the box office. “Iron Man” is proving to be the rare exception,
Fox had some success adapting “Fantastic Four.” But the studio’s attempt to extend the franchise beyond the second installment, “Rise of the Silver Surfer,” effectively ended when the sequel dropped more than 65 percent on its second weekend.
And in 2008, Universal tried re-adapting Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk” with Edward Norton in the starring role. The movie got off to a $55.4 million start. But it too dropped more than 60 percent in its second weekend and never spawned a sequel.
The good news for the box office: ew installments of Batman and Spider-Man are due out next summer, with fresh incarnations of Superman and Iron Man following soon after.

Comic Book Publisher As Super Villain

from the NYT

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/opinion/sunday/26observer.html?_r=1

Marvel Superheroes and the Fathers of Invention

Rosalind Kirby Estate

Jack Kirby in 1965. His heirs are fighting for the rights to his work.

By BRENT STAPLES

Published: June 25, 2011

The comic book industry began life in the early 20th century as the province of con men who stripped artists of their creations, then moved on to the next mark. The artists who were paid virtually nothing for work on characters that are now worth billions at the movies are nearly all dead. But their heirs are beginning to speak for them through a federal copyright law that practically invites descendants to sue for ownership interests in characters whose current value could never have been imagined at the moment of creation.
Courts have already granted a share of the copyright for Superman to the heirs of a co-creator, and sided with Captain America’s creator in another copyright fight. These cases are small fry compared with the battle now being waged between Marvel and the heirs of the legendary comic artist Jack Kirby, who breathed life into such pop culture icons as the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor and the Silver Surfer.
Of course these court battles are about money. They also force the modern entertainment industry to reckon with the often amoral practices of the old comics workshops. And they raise deeper questions about how to credit creative works produced at a time when even the most talented artists were treated as serfs.
Marvel pioneered a new method of comic book production. It broke with the industry’s tradition of requiring artists to draw almost by rote from a pre-existing script. Instead, it gave its best creative minds wide artistic latitude.
The Marvel editor Stan Lee sometimes offered general ideas for characters, allowing the artists to run with them. Mr. Kirby plotted stories, fleshing out characters that he had dreamed up or that he had fashioned from Mr. Lee’s sometimes vague enunciations. Mr. Lee shaped the stories and supplied his wisecrack-laden dialogue. And in the end, both men could honestly think of themselves as “creators.”
But Mr. Kirby, who was known as the King of Comics, was the defining talent and the driving force at the Marvel shop. Mr. Lee’s biographers have noted that the company’s most important creations started out in Mr. Kirby’s hands before being passed on to others, who were then expected to emulate his artistic style.
Mr. Kirby’s life experiences informed the look and feel of the genre. The cinematic movement in his narratives came out of his experience as an animator. The crowded fight scenes in comics like the Fantastic Four and the X-Men are reminiscent of his boyhood days as a street fighter on the Lower East Side during the Depression.
In 2009, shortly after Disney agreed to buy Marvel for $4 billion, the Kirby heirs filed notices of copyright termination. They argue that most of Marvel’s film earnings involve Mr. Kirby’s creations — and that therefore they have a right to a share of the copyrights.
Marvel counters that Mr. Kirby’s work falls under the rubric of “work for hire” — meaning it was done under the direction, supervision and control of the company — which, if true, would invalidate the family’s claim. But that could be difficult to demonstrate at trial, given the poor record-keeping of the era and what is known about how Mr. Kirby worked.
According to court documents, Marvel’s predecessor company fired nearly all of the art staff in 1957 to save money, making Mr. Kirby an independent operator who sold his work to the publisher. If this case comes to trial, Marvel’s star witness would likely be Mr. Lee, former chairman of Marvel Comics. In his 2010 deposition, Mr. Lee seemed to suggest that Mr. Kirby was little more than a talented foot soldier who followed the whims of his boss.
Mr. Lee sang a different tune during the Marvel glory years of the 1960s, when he sometimes described Mr. Kirby as an equal in the creative process. In a 1968 interview later quoted in The Comics Journal, Mr. Lee talked about brainstorming with Mr. Kirby, who, he noted, needed “no plot at all” to produce stories: “He just about makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing. ... He’s so good at plots, I’m sure he’s a thousand times better than I.” Analyzing published articles from that period, the writer Earl Wells, in his famous 1995 essay “Once and for All, Who Was the Author of Marvel?,” said the record “yields as much evidence that Kirby was the author as it does that Lee was — much of it in Lee’s own words!”
In the years since Mr. Kirby’s death in 1994, the once lawless comics business has been transformed into an industry where creators are more fairly paid, credit is clearly apportioned and rights are meticulously spelled out in contracts. The kinds of legal confusions that have recently flared up in the comic book realm are unlikely to ever be seen, say, in the burgeoning world of online games, where corporate authorship is firmly locked down.
It is up to the courts to decide the legal questions at the heart of the Kirby copyright case. There is no doubt that the King of Comics contributed far more to Marvel — and pop culture — than he has received credit for.