By Shawn Adler,MTV
October 20,2008
He's one of the biggest comic book icons in the world, but in the few-month span that also brought us "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man," "Hancock" and "Hellboy," does the Hulk even crack the top-three superheroes of the summer?
Given expectations for the reboot — which was Marvel Studios' second self-financed release after "Iron Man" — that it would reinvent and reinvigorate the character after a 2003 Ang Lee film that left many disappointed, can you even call "The Incredible Hulk" a success?
A rousing one, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige told MTV News, citing increased box-office receipts and positive critical reaction as proof that the gamble worked.
"When we set out to do this, it was a very big deal for us. It was a big deal getting the character back, it was a big deal having it be the second of the films we were going to do ourselves, and we really had two goals in mind," he explained. "One was to make even a dollar more than the first one did, so we could justify that we had done it from a financial aspect, and the other one was to bring a Hulk to the screen that a broader fanbase could enjoy. The good news is, we accomplished both."
Lee's "Hulk," starring Eric Bana as the titular green monster, made $132 million in 2003 (not adjusted for inflation) and scored 61 percent "fresh" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Director Louis Leterrier's version, meanwhile, made $134 million and scored 67 percent.
By contrast, "The Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" scored 94 and 93 percent "fresh," respectively, and both made north of $300 million ("Dark Knight" made well north of that, of course, settling in at approximately $530 million domestic).
"We made more [than the first 'Hulk']," Feige repeated, insisting that was all that mattered in his calculations. "We made 3 or maybe 4 million more domestically, and I think 10 or 12 million more internationally. That was one feather and a big deal! Now we have a Hulk that we can be proud of and that is a better match and fits more with the tone of what had been in our comics and what we want him to be in our films going forward."
But if Feige's assertions can be taken at face value, and the film is viewed internally as a huge success, why is it that the studio's plans moving forward don't seem to include "The Hulk"? While "Iron Man 2" and "Iron Man 3" have already been scheduled, and "The Avengers" is readying for a 2011 release, not so much as a whisper has been heard about a possible "Hulk 2." Star Edward Norton himself recently told MTV News that he had no idea about a follow-up, calling "the minds of Marvel ... sometimes opaque."
"The truth is that Hulk has had two films in the past five years, and it's time to give some of the other guys a turn," Feige said of why there was no scheduled "Hulk 2." "But certainly what we are doing is suggesting and cross-pollinating the characters between films, and like reading a comic, I'd like to set that expectation that anything can happen — and anyone can pop up — in anybody else's story.
"I would expect that people may see the Hulk again soon before he is again carrying his own film," he concluded, shouting out "The Avengers" as a possibility.
"The Incredible Hulk" smashes its way to DVD on October 21.
Read more!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Marvel Studios President:Hulk will return
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Incredible Hulk Clips Part 1
"Confrontation": Blonsky and his men try going after the Hulk
"Hulk Transformation":Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk after being trapped and gassed
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Captain America Is A War Hero:Marvel Origin Story To Be Set In WWII
If you’re a Captain America fan, today is a good day. Ever since Marvel revealed its plans to make a Cap movie a few weeks back, the rumour mill has been rapidly a-turning as to how it’s all going to pan out… Will it be set in the modern day? Will the flag-waving hero be contemporised? Will Matthew McConaughey be donning the Lycra?
Well, in a state of the comic universe address to CHUD.com, Marvel Studios President of Production Kevin Feige has spoken out to set a few facts straight. Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, he revealed that The First Avenger: Captain America (not Captain America: The First Avenger as originally reported) will be a period flick set during World War II. That’s great news for true believers as it follows the comic icon’s official origin story – skinny test subject Steve Rogers volunteers to be injected with a Super-Soldier serum that will turn him into the patriotic perfect human being – and will give us the opportunity to see Mr USA kicking all kinds of Nazi butt and most likely facing off against his uber-bastard arch-nemesis, the Red Skull.
As with Marvel’s cross-pollination (which started with the Nick Fury appearance in Iron Man and will continue with the Tony Stark cameo in The Incredible Hulk), the comic book giant is looking to emulate its character-packed universe in its movie adaptations. But, while looking to appease long-time fans by immersing, Feige promises that you won’t need to see all of Marvel’s upcoming films to understand The Avengers.
“Each of them have to stand on their own,” Feige said. “You won’t have to have seen any of the films to understand The Avengers… but it will help.”
In a second bit of news, Feige also confirmed that Matthew McConaughey is not in consideration to play Captain America, which might be a relief to fans.Empire,22/5/2008,written by Glen Ferris
Monday, May 5, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Summer's superheroes have some ... issues
LOS ANGELES, Calilfornia (AP) -- The classic superhero is polished, brave and morally righteous. Strong and unerring, he is perfection personified -- a superhuman ideal.
Robert Downey Jr. plays "Iron Man," whose alter ego, Tony Stark, isn't initially a pleasant guy.
Not this summer.
Everyday human flaws are the Kryptonite of this year's movie good guys, who deign to suffer the same foibles as those who pay to see them. They may be reclusive, egotistical or intellectually challenged. They may have anger issues or alcohol issues. Some are alienated and lonely.
While the archetypal superhero always has a "weakness," this summer's super problems are more fit for the psychologist's couch than the villain's lair. Such shortcomings make heroes more relatable, says Marvel Comics master Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four, among sundry others.
"If you can have a good guy who's got hang-ups and flaws and failings, he's more interesting because he not only has to defeat the villain, but he has to defeat and conquer his own flaws and inabilities," Lee says. "It rounds him out and makes the character empathetic."
Flawed heroes are also a sign of the times, says "Iron Man" director Jon Favreau.
"Complicated times demand for escapist entertainment," he says. "These characters are facing the same types of problems we are. They're a proxy for us."
"Iron Man," which opens Friday, stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a pompous, womanizing, hard-drinking genius whose superpowers come solely from a supercharged, weapons-filled suit he created from scratch. Without it, Stark is just another guy with issues -- not much of a stretch for the actor who's a veteran of both big screen and blotter.
After many nods to that effect throughout the film, Downey (as Stark) acknowledges at its conclusion that he's "not the hero type, with these character defects and all."
Indiana Jones is another "real guy," says creator George Lucas. The archaeologist-adventurer played by Harrison Ford returns to theaters May 22 with "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
"He makes lots of mistakes. He kind of goofs up. He has the same kind of thinking that we have," Lucas says. "It's like he's not a superhero. He's just an average Joe that's always in over his head that somehow seems to get through it."
June will bring three more unlikely superheroes: Bruce Banner, Maxwell Smart and Zohan.
After a gamma-radiation accident, Banner (Edward Norton) discovers he involuntarily transforms into a monstrous mass in "The Incredible Hulk." Fearful and emotionally withdrawn, Banner is "blind to his heroic potential," says Kevin Feige, president of production for Marvel Studios.
"The creature in him, if used properly, could be a hero," Feige says. "Bruce Banner takes a while to see that. That's a flaw when you undermine your potential."
Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is a top government secret agent, minus the intelligence and James Bond cool. Though Smart is the most bumbling and inept member of his team, he's the hero in "Get Smart," the movie version of the 1960s TV series.
Adam Sandler is a reluctant hero in "You Don't Mess With the Zohan," playing an Israeli counter-terrorist expert who hangs up his heroics to become a high-priced hairdresser in New York City.
"He was a huge hero," says director Dennis Dugan. "And he basically goes on a journey to leave all the past behind and find something beautiful in himself."
Will Smith's "Hancock," due July 2, presents a "very authentic version of an alcoholic superhero," the actor says. The character is disheveled, disenfranchised and confused about life.
"He's feeling very purposeless and looking for answers," says producer Akiva Goldsman.
Also due in July is "The Dark Knight," with Christian Bale reprising his role as rich playboy Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego Batman -- a character who remains traumatized by the murder of his parents and the vigilantism that turned him to crime-fighting.
"He's a messed-up individual, as well. He's got all sorts of issues," Bale says. "He's just as twisted and messed-up as the villains he's fighting, and that's part of the beauty of the whole story."
Often the problem with superheroes isn't that they're too human, but that they're not human enough, says Feige of Marvel Studios.
"The risk is presenting your character as being two-dimensional," he says. "There's a risk in presenting them simply as an action figure. Presenting their flaws, presenting their humanity, that's how audiences identify with them and make their own emotional connection with them."
Goldsman calls the drunken Hancock "an answer to Superman ... an extraordinary person suffering ordinary human emotions."
"Superman is conventionally and traditionally a Boy Scout, and that's often what makes him very difficult to relate with," he says. "We identify more with people who are broken, people who are damaged. Those are the heroes who stick with us, the ones who are imperfect despite all their gifts, because everyone feels imperfect."
And when real life is so chaotic -- with war, a faltering economy, fears of terrorism and a threatened environment -- relatable superheroes are even more valuable, Favreau says.
"It's an abstract version of what our fears are, presented in a safe way, and we can be saved by a superhuman character," he says. "People want to see that type of thing when times are hard."
Echoes Goldsman: "The world is often troubling and we often look for heroes to save the day. If only."CNN.COM,30/4/2008
