When: Wednesday night
Where: El Capitan Theater, Hollywood
Guest list: Robert Downey Jr.,
Chris Evans,
Mark Ruffalo,
Chris Hemsworth,
Scarlett Johansson,
Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston,
Clark Gregg, Stellan Skarsgård, Cobie Smulders; director
Joss Whedon, producer
Kevin Feige,
Jon Favreau, Stan Lee
Superhero mashup: The biggest comic-book movie to date (out May 4) is stuffed with fan-favorite superheroes, and the gigantic red carpet was chock-full of photo-friendly props. Staffers armed with boxes of goodies handed out
Iron Man masks,
Captain America shields, huge green Hulk fists and Thor's hammers. Inside, moviegoers were treated to superhero-themed 3-D glasses. On the red carpet, Whedon seemed born to bring his all-star team together. "I've been readingAvengers since I was 11," he said.
Source Big man on campus: With two Iron Man movies out and another due next year, audiences have seen more of Downey's character than any other Avenger. How did that translate on set? "I felt a little bit like the ambassador of goodwill," said Downey, dressed in a purple suit on the red carpet. "And my wife, in her infinite wisdom, and her producerial prowess said that I had to, you know, not be (a jerk) and set a good example. Didn't you?" he said, turning to
Susan Downey, who walked the carpet with him. "Why did you say that? Were you worried?" he teased her. "No, no," she said. "That's just what you needed to do."
Hulking hero: The crowd inside the screening cheered early and often for the humongous, building-crushing, scene-stealing superhero, whose legendary temper takes on a new meaning for the Avengers team. Will Ruffalo get a turn to bring his Hulk to the big screen solo? "I don't know," he said. "Maybe we should start an online petition for Marvel." So, he'd be up for his own spin-off film (The last Hulk film to hit theaters was 2008's The
Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton)? "Totally. I'm down for that," Ruffalo said.
Nick Fury's turn: We were on a roll, and decided to check in with
Samuel L. Jackson too. Would he go for his own movie? "Yeah!" he said, laughing. "I've got no choice. I've got a deal with (Marvel)." What drew him to Nick Fury? "I like the character Nick Fury," he said. "I've been looking at Nick Fury for a very long time, since I was a kid. He wasn't black, but I was looking at him anyway. He appeals to me because he's a very strong character, he has sort of a mysterious background, he's insanely brave. And he has this sort of indescribable belief in America and the right way to get things done, even though he has this Avengers Initiative, which he curiously believes in because he knows there are things out there that are much stronger than anything we have here on Earth - and we need these guys to protect us."
Hawkeye speaks: Renner, who will soon take over the Bourne franchise, was happy his superhero is armed with only a bow and arrow. "I was never a comic-book guy," he said. "I don't know how (Chris) Hemsworth (as Thor) does it, but he pulls that part off brilliantly. I could never do it. Something like Hawkeye I could wrap my brain around, because it's just a guy with a high skill set."
Being
Black Widow: To reprise her role as Black Widow, Johansson slips back into her leather jumpsuit as the only female superhero in the bunch. But, she conceded, a few rules were necessary - especially late at night. "You have to remind the guys at times that you're not a man," she said. "They will go full speed ahead and sometimes you have to be like, 'Guys you cannot drag me to one more place, I'm a girl, I'm getting my beauty sleep.' They can rage, for sure."
Costume changes: As far as the Hulk's giant green costume is concerned, Ruffalo said appearances can be deceiving. "I was in a silly leotard" during the shoot, he said. "It's not the most comfortable thing in the world, and it's incredibly unflattering." Renner's Hawkeye ditches the mask his character wears in the comic books. "That was kind of important to me," said Renner. "I didn't want to wear purple tights and the big mask." His version of the character is "a little more modern and contemporary (but) still authentic to the Marvel universe."
Fair fight: Should this batch of Avengers turn on each other, we asked the stars, who would come out on top? Jackson's money was on Johansson. "She's mean," he said jokingly. Johansson had a different take. "I feel like if you're talking superheroes, Hulk would probably win, right?" she said. "Because he just smashes everything. But I think if you're just talking us actors on set, I think it would have to be Renner. It would have to be. For some reason I feel like he could win in a street fight."
Group dynamic: The Avengers are a famously quarrelsome bunch, but the stars said egos were checked at the door shooting the film. "We all had egos but they fit well together," said Ruffalo. "No one was (a jerk). They're all great people, really charitable and a lot of fun." Skarsgård, who plays Professor Erik Selvig, agreed. "They're all really good actors which means they don't do much of the ego thing," said the Swedish actor, who brought his son, True Blood's Alexander Skarsgård, to the premiere. "I couldn't find a date, nobody wanted to come with me," joked the actor. "I ordered my son to come."
Superhuman physiques: Getting into thunder god shape is no easy task, said Hemsworth. "I remember looking at the comics and noticing that (Thor) was about four or five hundred pounds and I thought, 'Well, I can't get that big,' " he said. "But it certainly became just about lifting as much weight and eating as much protein as I could." The Australian actor will begin preparing for Thor 2 "soon. I've just spent six months taking (the weight) off, and I've got to say: it's harder taking it off (than putting it on)." His go-to comfort food? "I'm a big sucker for chocolates and sweets and ice cream." And spoilers for Thor 2 were scarce. "I haven't got a script yet," said Hemsworth. "We start later in the year."
Fashion notes: Johansson wore a sculptural Versace dress with
Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry and
Giuseppe Zanotti stilettos. "I had to give a little wink to the fanboys," said Johansson, showing off the tough metal detailing at her hips. How did she get in shape to play Black Widow? "It's a lot of strength training, resistance training, agility, all that stuff," she said. "You just spend a lot of time in the gym."
Hidden talents: Superpowers may be restricted to the Marvel lot, but the stars dished on their own secret talents. "I can bake!" said Johansson. "I make a really good chocolate cake." "I'm a good liar," grinned Jackson. And it turns out Downey is super fast at changing diapers for his newborn son, Exton. "I was all right in the nineties," with his first child, Indio, "and (Susan Downey) was telling me I still had it. But she is literally the greatest mother I have ever seen on planet Earth," he said, kissing his wife on the cheek sweetly. "We call this interview date night."
Whedon anoints a new Avenger: Sort of. When asked which of the characters he created - Buffy, Angel, or Firefly's Malcolm Reynolds - would make the best Avenger, the director didn't have to blink. "Buffy for sure," Whedon said. "She's got superpowers and she's kind of not a team player, which is sort of the hallmark of an Avenger."
Choosing Loki: Whedon said he inherited his Avengers bad guy. "He had been picked before I arrived," said Whedon. But, "I'd seem Tom Hiddleston playing Cassio in Othelloin London before he was in Thor, so I was already a fan. So I was like great, I'll take Loki. The master of mischief, of evil? I can do that!"
Director's cut: Whedon said one of the toughest aspects of assembling the Avengerswas marrying the superheroes' various storylines with the upcoming Captain America 2, Thor 2 and Iron Man 3. How did he manage it? "It was a path through the woods and you really had to find it," he said. "It took me a long time to figure out how to come off from the other movies and tee up the next movies. But once we did it seemed as though it had always been there."
News you can use: Whedon's about to leave the comic universe, temporarily, at least. He dished on his next project, Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. "I filmed it right after Avengers," he said. "Clark (Gregg, who plays Agent Coulson) is actually in it. I'm about a month away from finishing it. As soon as I'm done with this tiny little art movie that we're showing tonight I'll have time to finish it up," he joked. Is it at all like its predecessor, the 1993 film with
Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson? "You know, we actually tried to go in a different direction, partially because I have a very different idea of how that story works," he said. Whedon also confirmed his version is set in modern day. "It is. I couldn't afford costumes," he laughed.