July 26 2010
Joss explains why Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo are right for The Avengers.
In related Avengers coverage, Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth speak about Joss and the movie in separate interviews here and here.
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Buffyfantic | July 26, 14:03 CET
GreatMuppetyOdin | July 26, 14:07 CET
I love Joss, so I trust the Mark Ruffalo thing, but I feel like he's been told not to bring up Norton at all with the whole "first and last choice" thing. Everything with that is rubbing me the wrong way.
I love Norton, but maybe he is a total wanker. If so, it would seem that happened post-Fight Club, which for some reason makes sense.
I'm also not entirely clear on how much say Joss has had with regards to either of them being cast. The Ruffalo thing happened so fast after the Norton firing or whatever.
PuppetDoug | July 26, 14:07 CET
eddy | July 26, 14:20 CET
[ edited by Tonya J on 2010-07-26 23:39 ]
Tonya J | July 26, 14:25 CET
Ashanti. Sarah Thompson. Those are the only 2 glaring miscasts I can think of.
eddy | July 26, 14:34 CET
lisaspo | July 26, 14:36 CET
On the Sarah Thompson thing.....I really wish we coulda had Morena as Eve, as had been intended. That woulda been cool.
[ edited by Alex_Jamieson on 2010-07-26 23:40 ]
Alex_Jamieson | July 26, 14:39 CET
Joss, on the other hand, dislikes it when actors ad-lib and he wants his vision on the screen. We complain about networks and studios giving Joss notes and creative interference, but must he deal with that from his actors too? And Joss has gone on record saying that those notes are often helpful; the only time he ever badmouthed an actor was Donald Sutherland, and his cardinal sin:
Donald was just... He would rewrite all his dialogue, and the director would let him. He can't write - he's not a writer - so the dialogue would not make sense. And he had a very bad attitude. He was incredibly rude to the director, he was rude to everyone around him, he was just a real pain. And to see him destroying my stuff... Some people didn't notice. Some people liked him in the movie. Because he's Donald Sutherland. He's a great actor. He can read the phone book, and I'm interested. But the thing is, he acts well enough that you didn't notice, with his little rewrites, and his little ideas about what his character should do, that he was actually destroying the movie more than Rutger was.
I also love Ruffalo; his work tends to be more indie and low-key, as in Eternal Sunshine, You Can Count on Me, The Kids Are All Right, and I think he'd be perfect as Bruce Banner because I can easily see him as the nervous, vulnerable kind of guy whose life has been overturned by becoming the Hulk. Basically, the Hulk story is a Jeckyll/Hyde variation, which means that the Jeckyll side of the character (Banner) needs to be a weak, nervous wreck, still good but not strong. I can totally see Ruffalo embodying that.
dottikin | July 26, 14:45 CET
Pointy | July 26, 15:10 CET
Huh? I never saw Bixby as embodying a "weak, nervous wreck" on the show and since a Bixby-like Banner is Joss's stated vision I don't expect that out of Ruffalo's portrayal. Bixby's Banner might have been reserved, troubled, and lonely maybe, but I would never call him weak or nervous. That said, I agree that Ruffalo will be brilliant in the role.
BreathesStory | July 26, 15:15 CET
I also agree with dottikin, though I was disappointed at first when I found out Norton wouldn't be in the cast, I'm now very glad they landed on Ruffalo (though I also agree with BreathesStory, that we probably won't see a 'weak, nervous wreck').
Joss' take on the character resembles the way I feel The Hulk was presented in the comics more closely than either movie has so far; the one emphasizing the angst and turmoil Banner feels correctly, but doing that through a weak script and a flat performance, and the other - though having a much better performance and script - making Banner into too much of an action hero himself. And Ruffalo is, I feel, a good choice to play that Banner.
I also like what Evans is saying about Joss' rewrites on Captain America, which are making me look forward a lot more to that movie than previously. And all in all, every interview Joss does on The Avengers are making me more and more excited. It's rare that a director and writer's vision so closely resemble what I like about these characters. But then seeing as that writer/director is Joss, whose work I've loved for years, that's statistically not that surprising when all's said and done :).
GVH | July 26, 15:18 CET
From his words, it's entirely possible that when Marvel took Norton off the table, it was Joss who asked if they could get Ruffalo.
dottikin | July 26, 18:28 CET
I'm very excited about all of this, thrilled that Joss is thrilled with the casting, and confident that the movie will kick ass (just still a little afraid it will never be made...).
embers | July 26, 18:49 CET
I can dream...
buffywrestling | July 26, 18:54 CET
brinderwalt | July 26, 19:30 CET
Pointy | July 26, 21:06 CET
silent knight | July 26, 21:52 CET
Shapenew | July 26, 21:53 CET
I'm so excited about Avengers I just might explode a little.
Lucidmind | July 26, 22:59 CET
I'm still not 100% convinced about Ruffalo but Joss clearly is and i'm very happy to give the guy the benefit of the doubt (it's not because I don't think he can act the part BTW - from what i've seen he certainly has the chops - it's just that I don't immediately see him in the role as I did with for instance Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spidey or Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man, it's mainly his physicality that gives me pause). Norton was better than Bana but I agree he wasn't necessarily definitive in the role, just very good (it's not like someone trying to follow Sean Connery as Bond for instance) so there's plenty of room for someone else's take on it.
(no problems with Jeremy Renner, partly because he's been good to great in everything i've seen him in and partly because I don't have a particularly strong image of Hawkeye in my mind anyway)
ETR a misplaced 'e' cos 'Toney Stark' is an entirely different super-hero, possibly one that uses his perfect pitch to fight crime.
[ edited by Saje on 2010-07-27 10:35 ]
Saje | July 27, 01:34 CET
Oh Saje, you miss spelled a word! We all been known to do that time to time. Just try not to make it a habit, plus you owe everyone a beer or a wine cooler of their choice :)
Madhatter | July 27, 06:17 CET
Tonya J | July 27, 07:41 CET
Either Deadline or Heat Vision mentioned that Joss polished the script for "Captain America" when Chris Evans landed the role. Or before, I'm not sure which.
Mcjw_serenity | July 27, 16:20 CET