Civil War Audio Commentary By directors and screenwriters
It is for the record and all about RDJ thing or related. (
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MARKUS: Its also Roberts last shot, right? Cause he had to shave the beard in order to shoot it.
JOE: I think we have to really, um, give a shout-out to Alfre Woodard here for doing a, you know, very small part in this movie, but a very integral part. It was so important that the audience feel the emotional impact of this and to have an actress of her calibre performing this for us was an incredible gift and a real favour.
ANTHONY: It was Roberts idea, actually, to cast her. He brought her up for that role cause I think he knew how important this scene would be for the character.
McFEELY: And even on set it was pretty clear. Oh, wow! Wow!
JOE: Exactly.
JOE: Robert is an incredibly big personality on-screen and you have to have an incredible actor or actress opposite him to hold the screen.
McFEELY: Thats right. He does not talk much in that scene.
JOE: We did a lot of work early on with Robert about the character and our big pitch to him, because he was not contracted to do this movie
We had to go to him and pitch him the film and get him creatively vested in the film, was that we were gonna take a very different approach with Tony Stark. That we were gonna make the character off-balance and emotionally vulnerable and, uh, insensitive and that, you know, hes going to be in a real place of confusion. Hes dealing with emotions that he hasnt had to deal with before. And that his moral centre and his narcissism are coming into conflict with each other. And he has to make a choice to submit his ego to the government.
McFEELY: And I think thats being responsible to the movies that have come before. I mean, you know, you cant blow off things like Ultron. If you do, then you are just spinning your wheels.
JOE: Right. Youre just making movies
McFEELY: If he doesnt learn from his mistakes, we will eventually get sick of him.
McFEELY: Uh, l kind of copped to the idea that Robert brought the pens in.
JOE: Yes. That was actually
So, our process with Robert
We could talk about the process with Robert a little bit. Robert is a very, um
I know the term is thrown around too much, but hes an organic actor. He likes the mercurial part of the process, inspirational part of the process. And he really has to get under the skin of a scene in order to understand it on an emotional level for his interpretation of the character. So, what all of us would do, is every week before Robert would shoot. And I think he was on the movie for about eight weeks
We would all go over to his house on a Sunday, have a very lovely lunch, and then we would sit for a few hours and talk through the scene with him and Robert would do some improvisation in character. And, you know, the guys would write some of the lines down and then wed talk through the structure of the scene and then, you know, without compromising the story in any way. Which, really
You know, Robert is incredibly additive, um, certainly in terms of character cause he knows Tony Stark better than anybody on the planet. Um, and extremely inventive in his choices. And the pens were an idea that he brought to the scene as a way to represent what was going on between Cap and Tony in the scene. And it adds for a very lovely
McFEELY: Oh, its great. They basically
It gives you a beginning and an end to that scene.
MARKUS: So, the nerves of Tom Holland being in a room with Robert Downey Jr. are 50% of the scene, and the rest of it is acting like youre nervous Peter Parker being with, uh, Tony Stark. So, its just jazzed up by the fact that
McFEELY: The dynamic is the same in life.
MARKUS: This kid is in the room with this huge actor.
ANTHONY: Also, this scene is so interesting, too, because it is
We used a version
You guys wrote a version of this scene to audition the actor. And we did screen tests with several actors with Robert Downey Jr. of this scene. A different version of it. But the thing is, we got to really work the hell out of this scene, both with the actors and you guys in terms of what the structure of the scene would be. And I think, this scene is one of my favorite in the film. But its interesting that it was a product of a lot of
We had several runs at the scene, so to speak, before we actually had to commit to it.
ANTHONY: Well, also, for a young actor, its like
One of the things I was always struck by in this scene is, to be able to act with Robert Downey Jr. when hes giving
Like, Downey gave this scene his all. He knew how important this scene was. He knew how important Toms performance in this scene would be, as well as his own. And he gave this scene so much and he helped
You know, its like, you're never gonna be a better actor than when youre acting across from Robert Downey Jr. Its an amazing thing.
ANTHONY: He does something here, this line right here about the leg. So, Tom, you know, forgot the blocking of the scene. And of course, thats Robert staying in character, telling him youre supposed to move now, so I can sit on the bed.
McFEELY: Fabulous.
ANTHONY: But hes Not only does he use it, but he uses it in a way thats really entertaining and fun.
JOE: And becomes one of the better moments in this.
McFEELY: He really is great.
ANTHONY: With him totally in character. I mean, thats such a dexterous and inventive move on an actors part.
JOE: I will say that
ANTHONY: You dont see that very often.
JOE: To pick up what you were talking about, Anth, this
Theres been many, many, many a moment where I went, Thats why Robert Downey is Robert Downey. But no moment more so than when we blocked this scene with him and with Tom Holland. You know, we knew how important the scene was. And we showed up to start blocking the scene. And, you know, we knew we had about an hour and a half, two hours to do it because we were gonna take the time to get it right. It was a very small space, so theres not a lot you can do in this scene.
But if you notice, they move quite a bit in the scene. And after about 15 minutes of blocking, I saw Downey and I
And this was where I went, This guy is an absolute genius. He really understands movement and spatial relationship to camera. He started moving around the space and Anth and I just kinda stepped back, and we watched as he encouraged Toms blocking throughout the whole sequence and
And, you know, making suggestions. What would
If you went over to the bed at this point. Or, What if you
And the whole scene developed between he and Tom. Uh, and it is
Weve seen the movie with a lot of audiences now, at the premieres. Its always regarded as one of the favorite scenes in the film.
McFEELY: It is charming.
JOE: Uh, and its really
A lot of credit goes to Robert for helping Tom craft a star-making performance in the scene.
ANTHONY: This is the kind of scene where, as directors, you have to be very sensitive with actors, cause what Downey was doing in this performance while he was watching the tape is so complicated. Its sensitive and raw. You have to be very, uh, specific about your shots. You know, you cant ask an actor to shred themselves emotionally like that.
McFEELY: So, literally, you planned on only doing this a few times?
ANTHONY: Exactly. Cause you know, you cant dial something up like that over and over.
JOE: And he wasnt watching anything. We hadnt shot this yet. I was literally standing off camera with the script just reading what he was saying.
McFEELY: Well, yes, and I remember you gilding the lily at times. You know
JOE: Yes. I was trying to
McFEELY: And now theyre pleading!
JOE: Yes.
McFEELY: Theyre screaming!
JOE: Shes begging for her life!
JOE: I did try to goose him emotionally, yes.
McFEELY: No. It worked great.
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