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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 doesn’t plan to officially reunite with the surviving members of , Whaving an old friend sing on a new record certain- ly provided a comfort zone. Former bandmate , 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 ,” the 72-year-old singer-songwriter said in a recent interview. “He still sounds as good as he ever did.” Brothers Dennis, Brian and , along with their cousin 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 “” and “ 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 , 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 . 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. Jordan, is an fered a series of nervous breakdowns in the ‘60s and attempt to reboot the Marvel foursome after the little loved stopped touring with the group. “Fantastic Four” gave it a go just 10 years ago, and was followed by After a long recovery, he began recording again. For his a 2007 “Silver Surfer” sequel. eleventh solo album, he was able to attract young record- ing artists like Kasey Musgraves, of fun. and A massive franchise Zoey Deschanel and M. Ward, known as She & Him. Wilson The futuristic “Tomorrowland” (May 22), directed by Brad Bird will tour this summer with Jardine and , (“Ratatouille,” “The Incredibles”) and co-starring George Clooney, who had a brief stint with the Beach Boys in the early comes from the producers behind “Pirates of the Caribbean” and 1970s. The surviving original members - including Jardine hopes to turn another Disney theme park attraction into a mas- and Love - reunited in 2012 for the band’s 50th anniversary. sive franchise. “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation” (July 31), the When asked if he will ever tour again as a Beach Boy, fifth entry to the Tom Cruise action series, isn’t the only film trad- Wilson replied: “No. Probably not.” Still, Wilson loves per- ing off an old television show. “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (Aug. 14) forming, along with the adrenaline rush he gets when he’s is Guy Ritchie’s take on the ‘60s spy series. HBO’s “Entourage” (June onstage. “When the audience claps very loud that makes 5) will also get a big-screen swan song about four years after the me very happy.” — AP show’s finale. This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows a scene from ‘Mad Max: Fury Road,’ out in theaters on May 15. With so many name-brand films clustered together in the To fuel the proliferation, Hollywood is dipping ever deeper into assured, the financial imperative is, of course, enormous. “Age of summer, box-office analysts like Paul Dergarabedian, senior its vaults: 10 of this summer’s most anticipated blockbusters have Ultron” writer-director Joss Whedon says “making more money media analyst for Rentrak, predicts this season will lead origins dating back more than three decades, including “Fantastic would be swell,” but a creative purpose is still necessary. Hollywood to a record year. That would be welcome news for the Four,” “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “I wanted to do better,” says Whedon. “I wanted to spend more industry, following a limp 2014 summer. If summer 2015 is to “Terminator: Genisys,” the fifth film in the series created by James time with these guys. I just introduced them, and the movie end- reverse last summer’s downturn, it will need a few of the original Cameron in 1984. Schwarzenegger is back to say that he’s back. ed. I wanted to spend time with them as a team, as comrades, films to pop, too. One thing 2015 has over 2014 is a Pixar movie. Nostalgia and familiarity mingle with updated special effects and with them in conflict and the fun and the humor and the pain that After a year off, Pixar will release “Inside Out,” about the voices new cast members in these films to render something that hope- comes with that. I wanted to go deeper.” While Marvel’s “Avengers” inside the mind of a young girl, on June 19. The comedy options, fully feels fresh to moviegoers. As the “Fast and Furious” series marches forward (a two-part sequel is planned), other franchises too, may be better. “Spy” (June 5) stars Melissa McCarthy in a spoof (more profitable in its seventh installment than ever before) has have progressed less predictably. thriller, and “Trainwreck” (July 17), from director Judd Apatow, proven this spring, the lifespan of the sequels no longer adheres stars Amy Schumer as a monogamy-averse career woman. — AP to the old rules of inevitable decay - at least for now. Classic kind of sequel In this March 30, 2015 file photo, Brian Wilson per- “Magic Mike,” made for just $7 million, opened in June 2012 forms on stage during Brian Fest: A Night To Top six summer films with a remarkable $39.1 million and went on to gross $167 million Celebrate The Music Of Brian Wilson at the Fonda The ever-lengthening life of franchises can make for some worldwide. A male stripper romp that winks to the real past of Theatre in Los Angeles. — AP strange off-screen realities, and not just for 67-year-old producer-star Channing Tatum, it returns July 1 with “Magic Mike