Quotes from UK Mags SciFiNow #55 and Total Film #182 Gladden My Heart
In my last entry I made a breathless remark about how if you are interested in the upcoming Captain America movie you should get these recent magazines mentioned above for some promising articles. While today I managed to scan the material and converted them into images, unfortunately I hit several bumps along the way of uploading onto my LJ. Oh well, I shall quote the promising material instead if I still can't finish my original plan by the end of this week.
But before I say anything, I must randomly mention this. My god, the shitstorm that is going on in comic book fandom (especially tumblr) surrounding Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern movie is absolutely epic and kinda loltastic. It almost makes me rather wistful that the movie isn't going to be released over in Australia until the 4th of August even though I thought the preview wasn't promising at all. Well, if I have enough loose change by that time to see it, I promise to give a review from the perspective of a superhero comics fan with a relatively outsider view since I'm not super-emotionally invested in any particular Lantern (except for maybe Alan Scott from the little that I've come across because fashion-challenged men amuse me) or in the Green Lantern books.
Warning: Long post is loooooong.
SciFiNow #55
Wins for a Captain America article with some super promising hints from Chris Evans that reassures me about Steve's characterisation.
Wins for a Captain America article that displays comic book reader perspective or at the very least someone who actually used some research skills.
I really like the magazine's article on Cap because it's pretty well researched and feels like a comics insider view. It actually acknowledges how Cap has been misconstrued in outsider pop culture because of people knowing his costume but not him or his stories. I was very pleasantly surprised although maybe I shouldn't because I think this magazine is meant to cater to a geek readership who would be able to spot errors. The magazine also features a Cap timeline and talks about other characters who are linked to the Cap books and mantle.
Chris Evans on Cap:
Chris Evans reckons that's Cap's real power [determination]."He has this sense of indestructible morals and values. He's an incredibly good man, he doesn't have too much baggage, which obviously runs the risk of being bland. What I found interesting about him is that it's not easy to be a good person all the time, it's not easy to have a sense of morals, to have a selflessness in the face of what he's been presented with. This is a guy who is five feet nothing, he's sick, he's small, he's slight, he's an orphan at this point; life did not deal him a good hand. It's easy to become bitter or jaded, and have a chip on your shoulder, an attitude, or take it out in the world around you, but this guy just doesn't. In the face of all of it, he manages to be a good man, and that alone is such an interesting person. I'd love to meet that guy - I'd love to spent time with that guy in the hopes that it would rub off - and then he's presented with this amazing thing, he's given everything he wants, and then has to - on top of it - maintain this integrity. That's why he was given this gift. Now that he has everything he wants, he could very easily turn into an ass, you could very easily become the jerk you never were, and it just was, the more I thought about it, I thought this is one of the most interesting characters I've every played. And I can't say no to this".
...
"I can't give too much away," Evans hints, "but when you get a taste of hate - it's like if someone wronged you so horribly, so tragically - are you able to maintain a level head and say, 'OK, this person needs to be brought to justice, but I can't go out for revenge. I can't go out for blood'. To be able to still hang on to your integrity, and still do what's right when faced with a passion or a true hate, it's what makes this guy such a strong-willed character. That's the best part about the film in my opinion."
My view:
Thank goodness Chris seems to get what makes Cap so cool and special. I was afraid that in the fears of Cap being seen as too goody-goody the big guns would do something stupid like turn him into a complete shit so that we could applaud and throw a ticker tape parade when he achieves the tiniest shred of decency at the end. (Sorry guys, but that is a clear sign of unchecked white male privilege). To make Cap interesting is to realise that being good in a world where you have a million reasons to feel, act and be crap is the ultimate character challenge. That and after so many movies featuring idiot white guys it would be nice to have a movie where if we must have a white guy lead at least make him someone who deserves to be liked for his character, not just because he happens to be the white male protagonist. This is especially important when you are wearing a Cap costume. There is responsibility tied to the role! And it's not being an Ugly American!
On misconceptions:
In their [right wingers] stalwart defence of American values (as they see it), those kneejerk comments brought into being an enduring misconception about the character that has relentlessly informed his image in popular culture. No other comic book character provokes such rolling of the eyes, nor is used as shorthand for US imperialism or oil swilling, dictator-toppling foreign policy as Captain America. The character's strengths as an icon, in the wrong hands are also its flaws as a protagonist.
Brian Clevinger:
"You go around calling yourself 'Captain America'; well, it's very easy to get the wrong idea of that kind of character. It sounds jingoistic. Or, at best, like hollow patriotism. If you're not careful, your picture of who Captain America is can be coloured with the wrong brush."
Steve Engleheart:
"A trap that bad writers fall into would be taking him as a symbol instead of a man. It's the same trap a lot of people fell into with Batman. Each of these guys, and all characters, are three-dimensional, not one. You're not just writing the costume."
...
Engleheart's storylines have formed the cornerstone of Captain America mythos ever since, exploring the role of Captain America not as the representation of the government or authority, but as idealism and conscience.
Total Film #182
Wins for a Captain America article with some super promising hints from Chris Evans and about the movie plotline that reassures me about Steve's characterisation.
Wins for a Hayley Atwell interview with some super promising hints that reassures me about Peggy's characterisation, as well as how the relationship between Peggy and Steve will be treated.
Come to think of it, it wins for a Hayley Atwell interview, period.
Wow, I almost missed this magazine and was almost contemplating not buying it since I had already turned down one magazine a few months ago (Film Ink with Captain Jack Sparrow and Cap sharing the cover) because I didn't glean anything unique or new from the article and I wasn't planning on raising my hopes up. Also, I originally went into the newsagent just to get an old copy of BUST (The April/May Food Issue with Liv Tyler on the cover) because I wanted a soy milk recipe. I originally planned to be careful with what kind of frivolous purchases I would let myself buy but because I have the mentality of a four year old, as soon as I saw the free mousepad shaped like Cap's shield I bought the magazine. The mousepad is currently in its plastic packaging next to some other free geek merchandise like my green lantern rings and next to my not-free merchandise from musicals I have been to.
I loved this magazine. It caters to a film buff readership and features some vaguely spoilery quotes that made me super happy. (I actually squealed and sort of ran around in my room at some quotes. Especially at the comment about Steve's vintage (by today's standards, obviously) Harley Davidson. I love that bike to bits and whenever it gets mentioned in fanfic, especially the shippy ones. It's funny though because I used to tease one of my coworkers about his love of "hoon bikes" because he teased me once about sounding "like his Nanna").
Chris Evans on Cap:
"I loved the character," he quickly says of Steve Rogers, the kind of underdog that other underdogs kick sand at. Orphaned, sickly and rubbish with girls, he's deemed medically unfit to fight Hitler. But he doesn't take it personally. "He's such a good guy," says Evans. "Even if nobody's looking. He's got nothing, he can't do anything, but he's OK with it. He does the right thing, not for praise but because it's the right thing. What a great character to play!"
...
With great power comes great pecs - but Evans is hopeful that viewers won't lose their connection to the character. "The goal is that, even in the last frame of the film, you want the audience to still see him as skinny Steve," says the very un-skinny star. "He's not supposed to change - that's why he was chosen, because he wouldn't let this power go to his head. Even though he becomes this hero, this leader, he is the exact same guy he was when he was 100 pounds lighter."
Kevin Feige (Marvel Studio's president of production) on Cap and his storyline:
Echoing Evans' earlier statements, Feige says: "When you watch the first act of this film, it's our hope you connect with the scrawny Steve, so that by the time he puts on the costume you already love the character, the individual." In time-honoured superbloke style, Steve Rogers undergoes an identity crisis. "In a lot of ways the movie is about Steve struggling with, 'Am I just a propaganda figure?'" explains Feige, alluding to the post-transformation stretch where Cap is employed by the army to boost morale rather than bust heads. "But there's a very big turning point where he goes against a direct order to do something which he believes is right, which brings him into conflict with the government." To summarise: Captain America may wear the flag, but he won't be waving it.
My view:
While I still worry about the first part of the movie being potentially stupid or just too long with the whole USO plot, I think I understand why they're doing it. It at least brings into being the fact that Steve does have his conflicts with government, which is always an interesting storyline that deserves to be shown early so people who don't read the comics will understand that Cap isn't simply just a government shill. I also like the fact that the movie folks working on Cap get that despite Steve becoming this iconic superhero, he does have a vulnerable past which gives him an ability to empathise and actually does have a bearing on his character. He was raised as a good person, but not as an iconic superhero. This actually works in making him likeable and interesting as a character, not to mention taking him on a slightly different character journey from other characters.
On the making of the movie:
Hopefully it can avoid the negative aspects of Iron Man 2.
...
"All these pictures exist as part of the Marvel universe," says [director Joe] Johnston, "but the interesting thing about Captain America is that it's their only period film so far - it exists on its own, in its own world. There are connections you will recognise to the rest of the Marvel films, but this is the origin of all those elements. That's what appealed to me. He's the first Avenger. He sets the standard."
..."So long as they're good and they're not all carbon copies." [Feige on franchise fatigue or quality fears. Luckily, Thor and Captain America are different from each other and also from other superhero movies that have existed before them].
My view:
I'm not going to be seeing this movie in 3D because I already wear glasses when I'm at the cinema and I don't think it's always worth the extra expense. I also think that many good movies can hold its own ground without 3D.
Hayley Atwell interview:
"She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels!"
...
"I think Joe cast me, because he wanted someone to bring a truth to her," she reveals. "I wouldn't be sending her up all the time. I'd try to explore her as a woman struggling to make her mark." It's Peggy's underdog status that sparks empathy between her and Steve Rogers - the weedy wretch who will be transformed by experimental wonder-drugs into Captain America. The opposite sex are something of a mystery to Steve - which works in his favour. "She finds it endearing, how bad he is with women as opposed to other people who are trying to charm her in other ways," says Atwell. "She's so sick of that kind of attention that he's like a breath of fresh air." It doesn't hurt that he suddenly becomes an Adonis either. "Joe pulled me aside and said, 'So the thing is, she likes skinny Steve,'" an amused Atwell relates. "I'm like, 'OK, but look at that body! Can she like that guy too?' At first she relates to him and feels connected to him, but then starts to fancy him when he gets fit. It starts off honourable, but then it just gets debauched!"
...
It all [training] fed back into the character though. "Peggy's succeeding in a male-dominated world," Atwell explains. "She's slightly resentful, but feels she has a lot to prove. The training was all about trying to push myself to be in the best physical condition ever."
...
Her handiness with a shooter was such that Johnston upgraded her from her pistol to a machine gun...
My view:
SQUEEEEEE! All signs point to Peggy being awesome, and I now really appreciate that Atwell was chosen over Alice Eve, who in appearance alone and from her interview is capable of portraying beauty AND strength. I really hope that the movie respects Peggy's story, because it's such a cool one.
I'm also excited about her comments because it kind of proved a shipping meta essay I wrote about Cap on how his love interests often have stories that parallel his journey. It seems that they've really put some thought into how Steve and Peggy might connect in this specific context and signs show that they aren't going down the stupid path of some modern stories in making Steve being ubermacho chauvinistic, thus cancelling out a huge backlog of stories (even from the Golden Age!) that involve him working and/or relating with awesome and strong women. Also, the more I think of it, the more I love that before Steve becomes Cap, Peggy was already in the army and has seen him before he becomes serum-ised. It gives her a tiny advantage in seniority.
While I was originally worried about Peggy's romance with Cap was going to be given too much investment (since we know that he actually ends up with her niece Sharon), the fact that she has slight seniority could possibly work in Sharon's favour, if we are going to have Sharon in a sequel. Also, how could I not be amused by Atwell's comments on debauchery? Debauch Steve all you want, Peggy! I'm now all for it!
I still hope that Peggy isn't the only woman in the movie (from promo pictures I've seen a nurse and a blonde woman in military uniform but that's it) though. I don't mind if the other roles are smaller but I do want to see some other women! (And if there's Jacqui then I'll totally squee in the cinema, mark my words).
But before I say anything, I must randomly mention this. My god, the shitstorm that is going on in comic book fandom (especially tumblr) surrounding Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern movie is absolutely epic and kinda loltastic. It almost makes me rather wistful that the movie isn't going to be released over in Australia until the 4th of August even though I thought the preview wasn't promising at all. Well, if I have enough loose change by that time to see it, I promise to give a review from the perspective of a superhero comics fan with a relatively outsider view since I'm not super-emotionally invested in any particular Lantern (except for maybe Alan Scott from the little that I've come across because fashion-challenged men amuse me) or in the Green Lantern books.
Warning: Long post is loooooong.
SciFiNow #55
Wins for a Captain America article with some super promising hints from Chris Evans that reassures me about Steve's characterisation.
Wins for a Captain America article that displays comic book reader perspective or at the very least someone who actually used some research skills.
I really like the magazine's article on Cap because it's pretty well researched and feels like a comics insider view. It actually acknowledges how Cap has been misconstrued in outsider pop culture because of people knowing his costume but not him or his stories. I was very pleasantly surprised although maybe I shouldn't because I think this magazine is meant to cater to a geek readership who would be able to spot errors. The magazine also features a Cap timeline and talks about other characters who are linked to the Cap books and mantle.
Chris Evans on Cap:
Chris Evans reckons that's Cap's real power [determination]."He has this sense of indestructible morals and values. He's an incredibly good man, he doesn't have too much baggage, which obviously runs the risk of being bland. What I found interesting about him is that it's not easy to be a good person all the time, it's not easy to have a sense of morals, to have a selflessness in the face of what he's been presented with. This is a guy who is five feet nothing, he's sick, he's small, he's slight, he's an orphan at this point; life did not deal him a good hand. It's easy to become bitter or jaded, and have a chip on your shoulder, an attitude, or take it out in the world around you, but this guy just doesn't. In the face of all of it, he manages to be a good man, and that alone is such an interesting person. I'd love to meet that guy - I'd love to spent time with that guy in the hopes that it would rub off - and then he's presented with this amazing thing, he's given everything he wants, and then has to - on top of it - maintain this integrity. That's why he was given this gift. Now that he has everything he wants, he could very easily turn into an ass, you could very easily become the jerk you never were, and it just was, the more I thought about it, I thought this is one of the most interesting characters I've every played. And I can't say no to this".
...
"I can't give too much away," Evans hints, "but when you get a taste of hate - it's like if someone wronged you so horribly, so tragically - are you able to maintain a level head and say, 'OK, this person needs to be brought to justice, but I can't go out for revenge. I can't go out for blood'. To be able to still hang on to your integrity, and still do what's right when faced with a passion or a true hate, it's what makes this guy such a strong-willed character. That's the best part about the film in my opinion."
My view:
Thank goodness Chris seems to get what makes Cap so cool and special. I was afraid that in the fears of Cap being seen as too goody-goody the big guns would do something stupid like turn him into a complete shit so that we could applaud and throw a ticker tape parade when he achieves the tiniest shred of decency at the end. (Sorry guys, but that is a clear sign of unchecked white male privilege). To make Cap interesting is to realise that being good in a world where you have a million reasons to feel, act and be crap is the ultimate character challenge. That and after so many movies featuring idiot white guys it would be nice to have a movie where if we must have a white guy lead at least make him someone who deserves to be liked for his character, not just because he happens to be the white male protagonist. This is especially important when you are wearing a Cap costume. There is responsibility tied to the role! And it's not being an Ugly American!
On misconceptions:
In their [right wingers] stalwart defence of American values (as they see it), those kneejerk comments brought into being an enduring misconception about the character that has relentlessly informed his image in popular culture. No other comic book character provokes such rolling of the eyes, nor is used as shorthand for US imperialism or oil swilling, dictator-toppling foreign policy as Captain America. The character's strengths as an icon, in the wrong hands are also its flaws as a protagonist.
Brian Clevinger:
"You go around calling yourself 'Captain America'; well, it's very easy to get the wrong idea of that kind of character. It sounds jingoistic. Or, at best, like hollow patriotism. If you're not careful, your picture of who Captain America is can be coloured with the wrong brush."
Steve Engleheart:
"A trap that bad writers fall into would be taking him as a symbol instead of a man. It's the same trap a lot of people fell into with Batman. Each of these guys, and all characters, are three-dimensional, not one. You're not just writing the costume."
...
Engleheart's storylines have formed the cornerstone of Captain America mythos ever since, exploring the role of Captain America not as the representation of the government or authority, but as idealism and conscience.
Total Film #182
Wins for a Captain America article with some super promising hints from Chris Evans and about the movie plotline that reassures me about Steve's characterisation.
Wins for a Hayley Atwell interview with some super promising hints that reassures me about Peggy's characterisation, as well as how the relationship between Peggy and Steve will be treated.
Come to think of it, it wins for a Hayley Atwell interview, period.
Wow, I almost missed this magazine and was almost contemplating not buying it since I had already turned down one magazine a few months ago (Film Ink with Captain Jack Sparrow and Cap sharing the cover) because I didn't glean anything unique or new from the article and I wasn't planning on raising my hopes up. Also, I originally went into the newsagent just to get an old copy of BUST (The April/May Food Issue with Liv Tyler on the cover) because I wanted a soy milk recipe. I originally planned to be careful with what kind of frivolous purchases I would let myself buy but because I have the mentality of a four year old, as soon as I saw the free mousepad shaped like Cap's shield I bought the magazine. The mousepad is currently in its plastic packaging next to some other free geek merchandise like my green lantern rings and next to my not-free merchandise from musicals I have been to.
I loved this magazine. It caters to a film buff readership and features some vaguely spoilery quotes that made me super happy. (I actually squealed and sort of ran around in my room at some quotes. Especially at the comment about Steve's vintage (by today's standards, obviously) Harley Davidson. I love that bike to bits and whenever it gets mentioned in fanfic, especially the shippy ones. It's funny though because I used to tease one of my coworkers about his love of "hoon bikes" because he teased me once about sounding "like his Nanna").
Chris Evans on Cap:
"I loved the character," he quickly says of Steve Rogers, the kind of underdog that other underdogs kick sand at. Orphaned, sickly and rubbish with girls, he's deemed medically unfit to fight Hitler. But he doesn't take it personally. "He's such a good guy," says Evans. "Even if nobody's looking. He's got nothing, he can't do anything, but he's OK with it. He does the right thing, not for praise but because it's the right thing. What a great character to play!"
...
With great power comes great pecs - but Evans is hopeful that viewers won't lose their connection to the character. "The goal is that, even in the last frame of the film, you want the audience to still see him as skinny Steve," says the very un-skinny star. "He's not supposed to change - that's why he was chosen, because he wouldn't let this power go to his head. Even though he becomes this hero, this leader, he is the exact same guy he was when he was 100 pounds lighter."
Kevin Feige (Marvel Studio's president of production) on Cap and his storyline:
Echoing Evans' earlier statements, Feige says: "When you watch the first act of this film, it's our hope you connect with the scrawny Steve, so that by the time he puts on the costume you already love the character, the individual." In time-honoured superbloke style, Steve Rogers undergoes an identity crisis. "In a lot of ways the movie is about Steve struggling with, 'Am I just a propaganda figure?'" explains Feige, alluding to the post-transformation stretch where Cap is employed by the army to boost morale rather than bust heads. "But there's a very big turning point where he goes against a direct order to do something which he believes is right, which brings him into conflict with the government." To summarise: Captain America may wear the flag, but he won't be waving it.
My view:
While I still worry about the first part of the movie being potentially stupid or just too long with the whole USO plot, I think I understand why they're doing it. It at least brings into being the fact that Steve does have his conflicts with government, which is always an interesting storyline that deserves to be shown early so people who don't read the comics will understand that Cap isn't simply just a government shill. I also like the fact that the movie folks working on Cap get that despite Steve becoming this iconic superhero, he does have a vulnerable past which gives him an ability to empathise and actually does have a bearing on his character. He was raised as a good person, but not as an iconic superhero. This actually works in making him likeable and interesting as a character, not to mention taking him on a slightly different character journey from other characters.
On the making of the movie:
Hopefully it can avoid the negative aspects of Iron Man 2.
...
"All these pictures exist as part of the Marvel universe," says [director Joe] Johnston, "but the interesting thing about Captain America is that it's their only period film so far - it exists on its own, in its own world. There are connections you will recognise to the rest of the Marvel films, but this is the origin of all those elements. That's what appealed to me. He's the first Avenger. He sets the standard."
..."So long as they're good and they're not all carbon copies." [Feige on franchise fatigue or quality fears. Luckily, Thor and Captain America are different from each other and also from other superhero movies that have existed before them].
My view:
I'm not going to be seeing this movie in 3D because I already wear glasses when I'm at the cinema and I don't think it's always worth the extra expense. I also think that many good movies can hold its own ground without 3D.
Hayley Atwell interview:
"She can do everything Captain America can do, but backwards and in high heels!"
...
"I think Joe cast me, because he wanted someone to bring a truth to her," she reveals. "I wouldn't be sending her up all the time. I'd try to explore her as a woman struggling to make her mark." It's Peggy's underdog status that sparks empathy between her and Steve Rogers - the weedy wretch who will be transformed by experimental wonder-drugs into Captain America. The opposite sex are something of a mystery to Steve - which works in his favour. "She finds it endearing, how bad he is with women as opposed to other people who are trying to charm her in other ways," says Atwell. "She's so sick of that kind of attention that he's like a breath of fresh air." It doesn't hurt that he suddenly becomes an Adonis either. "Joe pulled me aside and said, 'So the thing is, she likes skinny Steve,'" an amused Atwell relates. "I'm like, 'OK, but look at that body! Can she like that guy too?' At first she relates to him and feels connected to him, but then starts to fancy him when he gets fit. It starts off honourable, but then it just gets debauched!"
...
It all [training] fed back into the character though. "Peggy's succeeding in a male-dominated world," Atwell explains. "She's slightly resentful, but feels she has a lot to prove. The training was all about trying to push myself to be in the best physical condition ever."
...
Her handiness with a shooter was such that Johnston upgraded her from her pistol to a machine gun...
My view:
SQUEEEEEE! All signs point to Peggy being awesome, and I now really appreciate that Atwell was chosen over Alice Eve, who in appearance alone and from her interview is capable of portraying beauty AND strength. I really hope that the movie respects Peggy's story, because it's such a cool one.
I'm also excited about her comments because it kind of proved a shipping meta essay I wrote about Cap on how his love interests often have stories that parallel his journey. It seems that they've really put some thought into how Steve and Peggy might connect in this specific context and signs show that they aren't going down the stupid path of some modern stories in making Steve being ubermacho chauvinistic, thus cancelling out a huge backlog of stories (even from the Golden Age!) that involve him working and/or relating with awesome and strong women. Also, the more I think of it, the more I love that before Steve becomes Cap, Peggy was already in the army and has seen him before he becomes serum-ised. It gives her a tiny advantage in seniority.
While I was originally worried about Peggy's romance with Cap was going to be given too much investment (since we know that he actually ends up with her niece Sharon), the fact that she has slight seniority could possibly work in Sharon's favour, if we are going to have Sharon in a sequel. Also, how could I not be amused by Atwell's comments on debauchery? Debauch Steve all you want, Peggy! I'm now all for it!
I still hope that Peggy isn't the only woman in the movie (from promo pictures I've seen a nurse and a blonde woman in military uniform but that's it) though. I don't mind if the other roles are smaller but I do want to see some other women! (And if there's Jacqui then I'll totally squee in the cinema, mark my words).