The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
The post-‘Game’
Northeast Ohio native Anthony Russo, who with his brother directed the biggest box-office hit of all time, looks back at four Marvel films and forward to the future
“Avengers: Endgame” co-director Anthony Russo looks back at his four Marvel films and forward to the future.
It’s safe to say times are good for Anthony Russo.
He and his brother Joe Russo helmed their fourth Marvel Studios film as codirectors of “Avengers: Endgame” to gaudy heights.
The blockbuster film closed out Marvel’s Infinity Saga story to record-setting numbers at the box office. In July, it was announced “Endgame” surpassed James Cameron’s “Avatar” to become the No. 1 film of all time by taking in a reported $2.795 million. That after opening to a domestic record take of $357 million, a figure once thought unreachable.
Anthony Russo spent time in Northeast Ohio the last few days as part of a nationwide “We Love You 3,000” tour to promote the release of the “Avengers: Endgame” Blu Ray. He made an appearance Aug. 15 at the Best Buy in Parma, where hundreds of fans lined up — some the night before — for a meet-andgreet with the co-director.
Russo and his brother grew up on the east side of Cleveland in Mayfield Village, then prepped at Benedictine High School. They each earned their graduate degrees from Case Western Reserve University, so Northeast Ohio will always be near and dear to their hearts.
On Aug. 16, Anthony Russo sat down at the Market Garden Brewery in Ohio City to discuss a myriad of topics that included his and his brother’s time as co-directors of “Endgame,” plus their work on “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018) “Captain America: Civil War (2016) and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014), the “We Love You 3,000” tour and what’s next for them.
Q“Endgame” has some emotional moments — whether it the return of heroes such as Spider-Man
and Black Panther or the death of Tony Stark/IronMan. Are you satisfied the emotional chords that were hit in the film?
AThe movie is really emotional for me on a storytelling level. I get really emotional about it. We love these characters. Joe and I as storytellers, we like running at the hearts. We like movies that give as much joy as you could possibly get but also break your heart. In the theater, it’s a safer zone to go through the range of human emotions. It’s healthy to do that. I think that’s why we go to the movies. We’re driven for that experience. As filmmakers, that’s what we strive for.
QWhat were the talks like while determining whether or not to kill off Tony Stark?
AWe spent months and month and months in the room with the (“Endgame”) writers (Christopher) Markus and (Stephen) McFeely,
and sometimes (Marvel Studios president) Kevin Feige, and for Tony it just seemed like the right time. We know one reason why people love these movies is because we feel like the characters have real emotional stakes and they have real physical stakes. If a character can die, those are stakes all of the sudden. It’s the risk of loss that I think is one reason why I think you feel empathy for these characters. It was important to us to commit to those kind of stakes, and Tony’s arc seemed complete as the center of what the Avengers were — having originated it all. We felt there’s no way to come back from what happened at the end of “Infinity War” (in which the villain Thanos eliminates half of humanity) without the ultimate sacrifice.
Q“Infinity War” and “Endgame” feel like two completely different movies. Did that worry or excite throughout the process in terms of fan reaction?
AWe always wanted them to be totally different movies. We always want to give audiences and fans what we want to see. We want a new experience every time we go to the theater. We want to see the story go in a direction we didn’t anticipate. We want to see the tone change. I think it’s the only way to explore wellknow material in a way that’s exciting.
QWhat are some of your best memories of the “We Love You 3,000” Tour?
ATo see how passionate the fans are and how much these stories have meant to them, and how much this story has meant to them is a really powerful thing. We were doing a fan event here in Cleveland, and somebody said to me, ‘Someday I’m gonna show my kid this movie like my dad showed me (the original) “Star Wars.” And I almost lost it.
QBest describe on a personal level the experience of making the four Marvel Studios films with your brother?
AIt’s been the most fulfilling and thrilling professional moments in our lives for Joe and I. We’ve been reading this material since childhood. We never thought we would get to work with these characters as filmmakers and story tellers, so it’s been an incredible opportunity. The fact we were able to pour our personal selfs into these stories, into these movies we’re very grateful for.
QYour next project with your brother is a film called “Cherry” starring Tom Holland (who plays Spider-Man) about a veteran who struggles with PTSD and addiction. What excites you about this project? (The film was slated to be filmed this fall in Cleveland, but Anthony Russo announced Aug. 15 because of the fate of Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit filming will be elsewhere).
AIt’s a very different role for Tom, and that’s the thing — shifting gears as an artist is really important because it allows you to access different muscles, access different places, and ideas in your creativity. So I think this gear shift is going to
be healthy for Joe, I and Tom … We were glad to use the capital we’ve been able to build with the success of the Marvel movies to get a difficult movie like this made.
QWill you and your brother ever direct another Marvel film?
AWe would never say never with that because we had such a spectacular experience with Marvel … We would love to do something else with Marvel. We don’t have plans to, but I wouldn’t be surprised in the future. Part of the reason why we have no plans is the only way for us to bring the first run of the MCU to a conclusion in “Endgame” was to not think about the future. That was the first movie we made for Marvel where we weren’t thinking about where the story goes.
QWhat can you say about the recent announcement you and Joe are directing a “Poltergeist” remake sometime in the future?
AWe founded a studio about year ago. It’s called AGBO. That studio can develop projects but it can also finance its own projects. It’s a well-funded studio. (“Poltergeist”) is involved in that house.