Whedon told Marvel that without Black Widow, the Helicarrier was going to feel like a gay cruise.
One thing I missed about having brand new Joss dialog lines in my life again was how I have always appreciated it that he usually does NOT assume the audience is stupid.
This is something that always bugs me in Hollywood blockbusters -- the over-explaining of everything. It's the scene in The Dark Knight that KILLS the movie for me, when Bats takes off, and Commissioner Gordon explains to his [imaginary] son WHY the Bats took off. And seriously, movie. I did not get up and go to he bathroom and missed what happened, I understood THE FIRST TIME why the Bats took off, you seriously didn't have to explain it to me again. And when you did, it offended me because you just called me stupid. [Disclaimer: I think Nolan is a pretty solid director, but he could do with some serious script doctoring done by someone who is not his brother.]
And there are two bits on The Avengers that had my filmschool graduate heart clapping like a baby penguin for tuna, because THIS is how you write OUTSIDE AND BEYOND the assumption that all audiences are dumb, and this is how you make subtext an indispensable tool in storytelling:
- First is when Nick Fury says Loki turned two of his men into flying monkeys, and Thor doesn't get it, but Cap is all excited he does and his "I understood that reference" is GLEEFUL because he's been the fish out of the water for so long now. But the brilliant thing is, if you in the audience didn't get that reference, then it's YOUR problem, not the movie's.
- Second bit is when Coulson is dying and he says the "It's all right boss, they needed someone to--" line and dies before the word "avenge". And for a split second I prepared to groan as some other character inevitably said the word, except NO ONE IN THE MOVIE DID, and we-the-audience complete the sentence ourselves, and that tiny bit of scriptwriting sleight-of-hand is how we-the-audience bridge the gap between ourselves and the story being told in front of us, and we are made part of the text for one single word, but that enriches our experience tenfold. And I'm not even denying it is a cheap trick, but it works BECAUSE it's the writer having a little bit of faith that the audience will be able to fill in the blank.
Anyway. TL;DR, this is me wishing superhero blockbusters would just get smarter already.
...
In related Avengers news, here are 3 links that are totally worth the read:
1. From ThinkProgress: With ‘The Avengers,’ Movies are Finally Really Acting Like Comics, and that Means It’s Time to Demand More of Them
And Wired posted two pieces on Joss last week, if you haven't read them, they're both extremely insightful and fun:
2. With The Avengers, Joss Whedon Masters the Marvel Universe
3. Interview: Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre
...
ICYMI, Avengers Squee Post. People are being awesome in the comments, come join the youth and beauty brigade and all.
This is something that always bugs me in Hollywood blockbusters -- the over-explaining of everything. It's the scene in The Dark Knight that KILLS the movie for me, when Bats takes off, and Commissioner Gordon explains to his [imaginary] son WHY the Bats took off. And seriously, movie. I did not get up and go to he bathroom and missed what happened, I understood THE FIRST TIME why the Bats took off, you seriously didn't have to explain it to me again. And when you did, it offended me because you just called me stupid. [Disclaimer: I think Nolan is a pretty solid director, but he could do with some serious script doctoring done by someone who is not his brother.]
And there are two bits on The Avengers that had my filmschool graduate heart clapping like a baby penguin for tuna, because THIS is how you write OUTSIDE AND BEYOND the assumption that all audiences are dumb, and this is how you make subtext an indispensable tool in storytelling:
- First is when Nick Fury says Loki turned two of his men into flying monkeys, and Thor doesn't get it, but Cap is all excited he does and his "I understood that reference" is GLEEFUL because he's been the fish out of the water for so long now. But the brilliant thing is, if you in the audience didn't get that reference, then it's YOUR problem, not the movie's.
- Second bit is when Coulson is dying and he says the "It's all right boss, they needed someone to--" line and dies before the word "avenge". And for a split second I prepared to groan as some other character inevitably said the word, except NO ONE IN THE MOVIE DID, and we-the-audience complete the sentence ourselves, and that tiny bit of scriptwriting sleight-of-hand is how we-the-audience bridge the gap between ourselves and the story being told in front of us, and we are made part of the text for one single word, but that enriches our experience tenfold. And I'm not even denying it is a cheap trick, but it works BECAUSE it's the writer having a little bit of faith that the audience will be able to fill in the blank.
Anyway. TL;DR, this is me wishing superhero blockbusters would just get smarter already.
...
In related Avengers news, here are 3 links that are totally worth the read:
1. From ThinkProgress: With ‘The Avengers,’ Movies are Finally Really Acting Like Comics, and that Means It’s Time to Demand More of Them
And Wired posted two pieces on Joss last week, if you haven't read them, they're both extremely insightful and fun:
2. With The Avengers, Joss Whedon Masters the Marvel Universe
3. Interview: Joss Whedon on Comic Books, Abusing Language and the Joys of Genre
...
ICYMI, Avengers Squee Post. People are being awesome in the comments, come join the youth and beauty brigade and all.