THE MAN BEHIND THOR
Thor: Ragnarok had its Australian premiere on the Gold Coast. Student reporter Makenzie Newton caught up with the film’s executive producer
Q Tell me about your role working on the production and development in the Marvel Comic Universe?
A. I’m executive producer on the movie and my role is the create space. I hire the writers and the director, help the director work on the film and bring his vision for the movie to life.
Q Tell me about your background. A. I grew up in New York and moved to Los Angeles to make movies. I was fortunate to start working for Marvel Studios back when they were making the first Iron Man. This was the first movie which took place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which means all the movies were tied together in this big story. It was just a fun experience to be able to work at Marvel and to be able to make movies there.
Q Thor has come a long way since the first instalment. Can you tell me about the series evolution?
A. I think a lot of the Thor movies were about what it means to be a leader, a king and what the responsibilities are. It is something Thor has struggled with over the course of all the movies. In the first film, he really wanted to be king and when it didn’t happen, he freaked out and made a bad decision resulting in being banished to Earth until he had proven himself worthy of the hammer containing all his powers. In the new Thor, we find him in a much different place. He doesn’t want to be king, he wants to help people as a superhero and travel round having adventures. Over the course of the movie, he comes to realise he has a responsibility to his home and to the people of Asgard and he needs to be what a real leader is which is someone who protects people.
Q People are saying this is one of the funniest Marvel movies ever. Is it a change of pace from the previous Thor instalments?
A. I think if you look at the other Thor movies, Chris Hemsworth is often funny and has some of the best jokes. In this movie, it was something we wanted to see more of and show Chris as more of a comedic actor. He is obviously really handsome, lovely and really funny and we found a filmmaker, Taika Waititi, who was able to draw those aspects of Chris and put them on display.
Q Director Taika Waititi has described it as “very Taika-esque”. What should fans expect from Taika’s take on the Thor Universe?
A. Taika is a very fun, larger than life filmmaker who wants to create an adventure story in Thor: Ragnarok. He wanted to recreate stories we watched as kids like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Karate Kid, Little China and Back to the Future. They had really funny characters that liked to be sarcastic but were in really dangerous situations where you wondered how they were going to survive. Taika made a movie in Thor: Ragnarok that captured that same kind of excitement that we had watching those kinds of movies when we were kids.
Q What makes the Gold Coast such a great place to film?
A. The Gold Coast is an amazing place to make a movie. It had incredible crew members and facilities at the Village Roadshow, which were world class sound studio stages for us to make the film. It has great natural beauty which we haven’t screened before, like Mt Tamborine, and some of the other places that were able to show parts of Asgard and parts of the new planet, Sakaar, which was a new environment that we hadn’t put on screen before. It was also a great place to live. I lived in Broadbeach for six months with my family. My seven-year old son and fiveyear old daughter even went to school there.
Q What were your thoughts about the Gold Coast?
A. I love the Gold Coast! Just waking up every morning to the sunrise was incredible. Going for a swim on the amazing beaches, hikes and adventures around the Gold Coast are just a few of the many reasons I love it. Also, the people there were so much fun to be around and great to work with. Everyone was so nice and welcoming to us, it was a fantastic experience of a lifetime.
Q What advice do you have for Gold Coast filmmakers who want to get into the production and development area of the industry?
A. Figure out the kind of movie you want to make and what kind of film you would want to be a part of and see on the big screen. Once you’ve worked that out, then find a place where they’re making that kind of movie and do anything you need to do to be a part of it.
Q When will you be coming back to the Gold Coast to film another Marvel movie?
A. Hopefully soon. There is nothing being planned at this particular moment but it is most certainly something I’d love to do again and something I’d definitely advocate for on the inside.
Q Would you consider producing another Thor film?
A. Absolutely! If I could create another movie with Chris Hemsworth and Taika Waititi starting tomorrow, I would do it in a heartbeat.