The Avengers’ Set for Blockbuster Return
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lifestyle THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2015 Music & Movies US actor Robert Downey Jr poses on the red carpet for the US actress Scarlett Johansson. US actor Chris Evans. Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. European premiere of the film ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ in London. — AFP photos ‘The Avengers’ set for blockbuster return hree years after saving the Earth-and breaking a few box Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johnson). Jarvis/The Vision (played by Paul Bettany) makes his office records-”The Avengers” are back with a power- Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). entry as a counterweight to the power of Ultron, who emerges as Tpacked punch this week with their latest blockbuster There is also more humor to temper filmgoers’ pure adrenalin a kind of ghost in the Stark Industries machine. adventure. Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hulk rush. The main thing was “to make sure that everybody had their “They embody a little bit of him (Tony Stark),” said Whedon. and Hawkeye take on a new baddie who wants to wipe out moment, that it’s all connected to the movie, to the main thing,” “But I do see them as both sides of the same coin, sort of a core Humanity, in “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” out from Tuesday in much said the filmmaker, who spent hundreds of hours editing the between the two of them. There’s something beautiful about the of the world. Returning director Joss Whedon pits the superhero movie. The result is two hours of turbo-driven action, superhero fact that they see the same thing and react differently.” The climax gang against their own shortcomings as they take on their ulti- fist-fights and technology at the service of a story full of surprises, of the film closes certain storylines from the first film, and opens mate enemy-but also plays with the chemistry that developed which US critics have already hailed as a huge hit. Industry jour- new horizons for those to come: “The Avengers: Infinity War,” the between them in their first run-out. The original 2012 “The nal Variety called it a “super-sized spandex soap opera that’s third part of the saga that Marvel is dividing into two movies. The Avengers” became the third-highest grossing movie in cinema heavy on catastrophic action but surprisingly light on its feet, and first part is due out on May 4, 2018, followed by the second on history, taking over $1.5 billion at the box office, only beaten by rich in the human-scale emotion that can cut even a raging Hulk May 3, 2019. Both will be directed by filmmaking brothers “Avatar” (2009) and “Titanic” (1997). down to size.” Anthony and Joe Russo. The pressure on Whedon was therefore enormous-but the 50- But it is unknown what role new Marvel characters could play. year-old said he drew the most inspiration from amidst the first New horizons “There are so many different directions to go,” said Johansson. film’s very success, and from the interplay between the main James Spader, known for his roles in TV shows “Boston Legal” “We’ll see.” “Avengers: Age of Ultron” will be released in the United characters. He looked for “what little moments are there between and “The Blacklist,” plays ultimate baddie Ultron, a robotic assas- States on May 1, a week or two after it is out around much of the these characters that I haven’t gotten to do yet, what conversa- sin able to reproduce himself and who is determined to annihi- rest of the planet. — AFP tions they haven’t had yet, what haven’t I shown?” Whedon told late “The Avengers.” He wins the unexpected backing of twins reporters in Los Angeles. Relationships are indeed richer between Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, also known as Scarlett Witch and Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Quicksilver and played by Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor- US actor Jeremy Renner. Brian Wilson happy to have an old friend on new record, tour hile Brian Wilson doesn’t plan to officially reunite with the surviving members of the Beach Boys, Whaving an old friend sing on a new record certain- ly provided a comfort zone. Former bandmate Al Jardine, who sang lead vocals on Wilson’s 1965 chart-topping sin- gle “Help Me, Rhonda,” appears on a few tracks on his This image released by Warner Bros Pictures shows a scene from ‘Magic Mike XXL,’ in This photo provided by Disney/Marvel shows, from left, Cobie Smulders, seated, Chris recently released “No Pier Pressure,” and Wilson couldn’t be theaters on July 1. Evans, Don Cheadle, Claudia Kim, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, happier. “He sang my song ‘Sail on, Sailor’ in 1972, then he Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson in the film, ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron.’ sang ‘Sail Away’ for me on this album,” the 72-year-old singer-songwriter said in a recent interview. “He still sounds as good as he ever did.” Brothers Dennis, Brian and Carl Wilson, along with their cousin Mike Love and friend Al They Will Be Back: Sequels multiply Jardine, got together in 1961 to create songs about surfing, fast cars and girls and became a top musical group. Their hits include “Good Vibrations” and “California Girls.” The Beach Boys combined the harmonies of a jazz-vocal in summer movie season group with the energy of a rock ‘n’ roll band. Wilson took it further with unusual musical arrangements, creative studio ’ll be back,” the line Arnold Schwarzenegger first uttered Terminators. “Mad Max: Fury Road” (May 15), is returning decades XXL.” It’s the classic kind of sequel - a road trip - albeit one with an production and a tapestry of sounds that enhanced each more than 30 years ago in that indelible manly monotone, later with its original creator, the Australian director George Miller. especially untraditional destination: a Florida stripper convention song. “We did it mostly with our voices, with harmonies. We “Ibelongs to the Terminator, of course. But it also might as “One of the most jolting experiences of my life was to go to SXSW Tatum attended before his acting career took off. The premise still did the harmonies together; we had five voices recorded well be the official slogan of the summer movie season. It’s the and watch ‘Road Warrior: Mad Max 2’ in a newly minted print for makes director Gregory Jacobs chuckle. four times to make 20 voices,” Wilson said, describing the time of year when Hollywood’s older, reliable brands, with the the first time in 32 years and then showing scenes from ‘Fury Road’ “We started thinking about a sequel, honestly, really early on,” rich vocal arrangements he was able to produce in the stu- tenacity of Schwarzenegger’s lethal cyborg, claw their way back all these years later,” says Miller. “It was a kind of a time travel. It was says Jacobs, a producer and assistant director on the first “Magic dio. Regarded by his peers as a musical genius, the multi- onto the big screen in a popcorn parade of big-budget sequels, a strange but powerful experience.” Mike,” now taking over for director Steven Soderbergh. “We all tasking Wilson’s vision was an important part of the reboots and re-dos. That’s nothing new, but the extent of the There is blunt mathematics behind the proliferating franchises. loved this idea of a road trip with these guys; we just couldn’t fit it California Sound. Initially, his songs were catchy optimistic sequel spinning is. The sequel expansion - as headlong as Tom The top six summer films at the box office in 2013 were sequels. into the first movie.” “Magic Mike XXL” is joined by a handful of tunes, but they became more sophisticated and experi- Cruise in the “Mission: Impossible” movies - runs in all directions, Last summer, all of the top 10 movies were sequels, reboots or sequels that come from fairly recent films: the teen musical “Pitch mental. He wrote the music, performed it and worked his stretching into prequels, second-try reboots, spinoffs and fran- hailed from well-known properties. This summer, the box-office Perfect 2” on May 15; the “Despicable Me” spinoff “Minions” on July magic at the recording console. chises that are less linear, roman-numeral progressions than (as in seems nearly certain to be led by “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (May 10; Seth MacFarlane’s comedy “Ted 2” on June 26. But the bulk of “I love to make people happy, that’s one of my main the brimming Marvel world) whole universes of overlapping char- 1), the sequel to the 2012 superhero team-up original, the highest the summer season will depend on older franchises, some of things,” Wilson said of his distinctly gentle sound. But he acters: fantasy realms to visit, not just stories to follow. grossing-summer movie ever. With $1 billion-plus in box office which are counting on moviegoer amnesia. wouldn’t describe himself as a “musical genius.” “Not a “Jurassic World” (June 12), stuck in development for a decade, is the fourth installment in the franchise that has been dormant genius, but a good producer, not a genius. I’ve been called (but not extinct) since 2001’s “Jurassic Park III.” Its star, Chris Pratt, a genius, but I’m not really a genius.” Then he added: “Well, led last summer’s runaway hit, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” “Fantastic it makes me feel like I have a lot of versatility.” Wilson suf- Four” (Aug 7), starring Miles Teller and Michael B.