The Man, the Myth, the Legend EXCLUSIVE Interview with Director Joss Whedon! ‪#‎AvengersEvent‬ #AgeofUltron

Interviewing Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth undoubtedly was a thrill but when I heard that we were interviewing Director Joss Whedon, I was beyond thrilled. Joss Whedon is a Emmy and Oscar nominee which are achievements but Whedon is the man who created one of the most iconic characters in Buffy Summers, aka the chosen one first a movie “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and brought it television becoming a cult phenomenon.

And now after writing and directing the first The Avengers (2012) which is the third highest-grossing film of all time, he brings the sequel Avengers: Age of Ultron to the screen.

 

In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Avengers travel the globe from Johannesburg to Seoul, South Korea to the Aosta Valley in Italy.  The locations were chosen specifically for specific scenes. Johannesburg served as backdrop for the one the biggest action scenes involving the Hulk and Iron Man.  “Johannesburg has a very particular look and style to its architecture that I really liked.” says Joss Whedon. But there might be another reason  Whedon ends filming in certain cities. “I don’t get to take vacations. Location scouting is the next best thing.” Although I am not sure how much he gets to see of each city given the long filming schedule.

There are several new additions to the cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver) and Elizabeth Olson (the Scarlett Witch) actually did not have to audition for their pivotal roles.  Whedon commented on what made them perfect for the role, “I didn’t want anyone else. I just wanted them. Aaron is too pretty to live. I have had to deal with the Hemsworth problem so I can forgive him.”  He went on to complement Taylor-Johnson by saying, “he’s old school movie star. He’s that commanding and beautiful.”

As for casting Elizabeth Olson, he was  certainly impressed by her role in Martha, Marcy, May Marlene  (as an aside he wasn’t sure the order of the names) but he added that “you spend two minutes with Lizzie (yes, that is the name she goes by) and “you not only don’t want anybody else for the role, you think maybe she should play of all of them.”

For those not in the know and I count myself as one. My brother had to tell that the shot below is iconic in the comic book. I had to ask Whedon how the iconic shot came to be. Whedon said, “We just caught it by accident. I hadn’t even said action yet. There were just clowning around and somebody had a phone, so that was great. That was the lost shot we got finished. I wanted to create some frames that were unabashedly comic book frames.”  The flip side is that a scene that so impromptu took longer to create than anything else. I have to say I may not have known about it before I saw the movie but when it opens, this show will be famous for years to come.

 

Wondering how one keeps all the characters in balance and still make  a coherent movie. It’s not easy. “What’s important is making everybody integral to the story and not have a roll call. It’s not like Magnolia where you’re telling a all these separate stories that are just vaguely intertwined.”  And I love his joking around in mentioning Magnolia one of  my favorite funny yet tear jerker movies. “By the way, if it was Magnolia, it would be the best movie ever made but  I can’ reach for the stars. I am just a man.”

As you would imagine, Whedon is man of many talents and is without quite deep.  Given that the first Avengers movie made $1.5 Billion dollars and Avengers: Age of Ultron is estimated to top that and make $2 billion, you would think Whedon would be resting on his well-deserved laurels, but NO! He commented, “There are people make me sit down and go wait a minute, I can do better.” And who did he mention that make him want to do do better? Lin-Manual Miranda who is actor, composer and writer. His  Hamilton , a musical at the Public Theater was a breathtaking experience according to Whedon. “The amount of work he did for six years to put that together. I just thought gotta bring up my game.” 

One of the funniest scenes and will be a fan favorite I am sure is the party scene. It seems counter intuitive that a party scene has to be written and is not ad – libbed however the scene was scripted but Whedon did allow room for those guys. For Robert Downey, Jr. They gave him five or six options just see what “tickles his fancy.”

 Avengers: Age of Ultron Hammer Lift Competition (Party Scene)

 

Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in theaters on May 1! #AvengersAgeofUltron

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Disclosure: NYC Single Mom is being provided a trip to the Los Angeles for the Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disneynature Monkey Kingdom and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. press events. Opinions are 100% my own.