Alexei Belyakov
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- Jan 26, 2011
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*All* MS movies have $150 million dollar budgets. Or thereabouts. By design. Avi designated that number back in '06 or '07 when he first outlined the MCU. He said that they planned on producing 2 tentpole films a year with $150 million budget caps, and that eventually he planned to add on smaller films with $30 million budgets for off-season. (IM2 is the only one that was generously allowed to go over budget; and no one still has any solid numbers on The Avengers budget, but it would be safe to assume that Feige would give Joss carte blanche on that one).
And yes, Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman are big stars. So are Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson. What do they all have in common....? They're playing *supporting* roles. Marvel doesn't cast marquee for the leads, and that's intentional. (No, RDJ doesn't count....he's a superstar in 2011 as a *result* of IM, but in 2008, he was anything but.) TIH was the closest they came with Norton, and we saw the clash between studio and star almost immediately.
And I highly disagree that there's no big star out there who could play Thor. I could run down the short list of anybody's fancast and agree with at least a dozen choices, who could do the "300" regimen and bulk up to the necessary physicality in just a few weeks --- Hollywood does it all the time.
Marvel gambles on lesser-knowns and unknowns for the leads. It worked with RDJ and Hemsworth, both of whom have gone on to stardom. Evans....not so much. It's still early in his career, but so far, Cap hasn't served him any better than Torch did.
Some of you are misusing the term "popcorn movie." Just because a film is an actioner does not make it a lightweight throwaway. Spielberg and Lucas are just two examples of guys who can turn a genre movie into not just box office gold, but critical gold as well. All of the movies you listed were big budget box office bonanzas, but they also had deeper themes and stories that gave them resonance and longevity.
All so very true.
*Love your signature btw
