Marvel mogul’s magic touch
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talks about his job like a fan who’s just lucky to be there. To hear his genuine enthusiasm about the movies, the actors, the audience and the stories almost belies the fact that he is essentially the architect behind Hollywood’s most valuable brand that has in just over 10 years netted over US$14.8 billion worldwide and become the envy of every studio executive in town.
He’s a mogul with a fanboy’s verve who has helped to change the very fabric of the entertainment industry.
The scope of the Marvel effect is somewhat difficult to pin down, especially with a force as formidable as The Walt Disney Co behind it. (Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion in 2009.) It’s revitalized careers (Robert Downey Jr), minted movie stars (Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Chris Pratt, to name a few) and become an outpost for Oscar-winners too (like Robert Redford, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas and Cate Blanchett).
And beyond that, every few months the studio seems to be breaking new ground, whether it’s as small as a change in tone, like “Thor: Ragnarok,” or as big as producing a downright cultural phenomenon, such as “Black Panther,” now the third highest-grossing domestic film of all time.
“We dream big at Marvel Studios. We have very lofty aspirations at Marvel Studios. For those dreams to be surpassed is saying something,” Feige, 44, said of “Black Panther’s” success.
And it shows no sign of running out of stories. They have 70 years of comic book material to draw on.
“There are still things that are key elements to a lot of our characters in their comic incarnations that we haven’t even done yet for characters who have had three or four movies,” Feige said. “It is an amazing wealth of creative material to pull from.”
“Infinity War” co-screenwriter Stephen McFeely, who also co-wrote the three Captain America films, said Feige should get the film academy’s Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his impact on the industry.
“He’s clearly changed the way Hollywood works, or at least the top box office end of it,” McFeely said. “It’s in part because Kevin has a really good mind for story, he’s ambitious, but he’s not so ambitious that he’s not going to do the right thing for the movie in front of his face.”
The 10-year anniversary of “Iron Man” has provided an excuse to reflect a bit.
“It was in the cutting rooms of ‘Iron Man 1’ that in a lot of ways the Marvel Studios process was born, of just keep trying things and keep turning things over and don’t rest on your laurels and just because something is working doesn’t mean it can’t work better,” Feige said.
Audiences won’t have to wait too long for another Avengers, either. The fourth Avengers film, is set for a May 2019 release. It’s a continuation of the story that begins in “Infinity War,” where a still-fractured Avengers face Thanos (Josh Brolin). Little is being revealed beyond that. The film recently premiered in Los Angeles and is said to be full of surprises.
“We make movies we believe in. We make movies that we think will be entertaining to ourselves and think about ourselves as the first audience members for any movie we make. Any idea that comes up in a room: Would we be entertained by this? Would we be moved by this? Would we be surprised by this?” Feige said.
“It goes back to the movies I loved growing up. I always loved sequels. I never found myself being cynical or dismissive of sequels. If they were bad, I was disappointed. But I always loved the promise of seeing the further storylines or further adventures of characters I’d grown to love. That’s all we’re doing.”