The AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS: ENDGAME Crew Talk About the Insanity and Wonder It Was BTS
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame were the culmination of over a decade and three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They were two epic films that told a huge story about many heroes, a villain and his army, and the consequences of their battle on the whole universe. It was a major undertaking, and to think that those two films were released one year apart is crazy! It was a huge undertaking, and it all turned out beautifully, but it was definitely a huge and difficult project unlike any that had come before it.
In the recently released book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they talked about the biggest roadblock in the way of writing the two-part film finale. The six films that were slated to release before the two Avengers films were in various states of production, with many of them not fully written or staffed:
"'Doctor Strange' hadn't gone into production; 'Guardians Vol. 2' didn't have a shooting script; 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' didn't have a director, much less a lead actor to play Spider-Man; 'Thor: Ragnarok' had some treatments; creative conversations with Ryan Coogler about 'Black Panther' had barely begun. And then there was 'Captain Marvel.' It had some treatments and early drafts, but the film was already planned to release between the two connected Avengers films."
That would definitely be tricky, and you’d have to remain flexible, while also staying true to the vision and storyline you set out to create. To help with the planning of the shooting schedules, the book described the scene of executive producer Michael Grillo's office:
"Grillo's office featured dozens of ever-changing paper calendars featuring when major and minor set pieces were to shoot. Coupled with his digital calendars that helped him track the whereabouts of any given actor down to the hour, no one could elude him. At a glance, he could optimize any actor's window of time to when the Russos needed them. Starting on Infinity War, Grillo had to make sure Chris Pratt shot all of his material early so he could leave for another film. Benedict Cumberbatch was the next that needed to be out early, and so on. What that meant was that the producers then had to create another layer of scheduling just for the actors' doubles, who had to complete scenes when the actor's actual presence wasn't required."
Sounds like organized chaos. But to make something this huge and this special, there had to be extensive planning, and a whole lot of resources brought in. They talk about that part of it below:
"To gather that many A-list talent together at a secret location in the rural woods of Georgia would mean that, essentially, a mini-town would need to be created for the shoot. There would be forty trailers alone; one for each actor. Then, add support trailers for bathrooms, wardrobe, makeup, catering, and more. Security would need to shut down an entire lake, the buildings and homes that surrounded it, and all access points from any prying eyes. They would need drone detectors, drones for surveillance, police support, electrical generators for cameras, trucks upon trucks full of equipment and more."
Matt Slatoff, Vice President of Global Security & Content Protection, recalled:
"We've had other really big things to keep quiet- big days or characters. But that was as big as we've ever had. All the execs were there. It was what ten years had built up to, having all that talent together in one place."
It’s really awesome the way it all came together, and those movies will live on as masterpieces for fans to enjoy.
via: /Film