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Joss Whedon and a trio of the movie's stars hit Twitter to reveal some of Earth's Mightiest secrets; Marvel Mania has the highlights!
By Josh Wigler
The Hulk in "Marvel's The Avengers"
Photo: Marvel Studios
Earth's mightiest heroes unleashed Earth's mightiest tweets as part of a special live "Avengers" Q&A session held on the micro-blogging site on Tuesday. Director Joss Whedon and stars Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson) rallied together to answer "Avengers" fan questions, covering topics like Easter eggs and cameos, characters who didn't make the final cut, and the differences between this movie and the previous Marvel flicks we've already seen.
Read on, Marvel Mania has five highlights from yesterday's chat!
Spider-Can't
One of the biggest "Avengers" rumors spinning across the Web in recent weeks involved a surprise Spider-Man cameo. In the alleged scene, Spidey would be seen swinging past Captain America, Iron Man and the others in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance. No one expected Whedon and company to flat-out deny the rumor, but if there's one thing fans should know by now, it's never to assume anything about the "Buffy" and "Angel" creator.
"There is no Spider-Man cameo," Whedon said matter-of-factly when asked about the rumor. "But the Avengers do turn off the dark."
Stings Like a Bee
Of course, even without a Spider-Man cameo, fans can't help but wonder about other Marvel characters who might sneak into "The Avengers." Whedon and his trio of stars wouldn't tip their hands regarding any secrets, though he did joke that any and all Easter eggs would be "actual dyed eggs. Try to find them all!" In all seriousness, Whedon did identify one "Avengers" character he wishes he could've included in the film: "I'm a fan of the Wasp. She's goofy and sting-y."
The Loki Dilemma
Being bad isn't always easy. Fun, sure, but not always easy. Hiddleston was asked numerous times how he's able to tap into a character as nasty as his displaced Asgardian villain, which he acknowledged as an occasionally serious obstacle.
"The biggest challenge was magnifying his menace without losing touch of his emotional truth. Keeping his chaos honest," Hiddleston said of playing Loki. "Sometimes you wake up feeling warm and sunny, but the scene requires hatefulness and spite. You have to reach deeper. And stay aware of the fact that the emotions are true, but they're not mine."
Coulson Unbound
One fan-favorite character expected to get a major makeover in "The Avengers" is Agent Coulson, the stoic S.H.I.E.L.D. operative first introduced in "Iron Man." Clark Gregg has long teased his upcoming turn as an action star in Whedon's superhero-studded flick, and he reiterated during the Twitter chat that "more layers to Coulson's world/powers [will be] revealed." Coulson is so beloved, in fact, that one fan dubbed the character the "Chuck Norris of 'The Avengers.' " The title prompted an amazing response from Gregg: "[All] due respect, but Coulson [would] crush walker tex ranger ... w/ a bag of flour." Co-signed, Clark!
Going in Blind
It's doubtful that many of the people walking into "The Avengers" this summer will walk in blindly. For the most part, the movie-going masses will be at least fleetingly familiar with the exploits of Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner and Thor. But if by some chance you haven't seen previous Marvel movies but still want to get in on "The Avengers," Whedon promised that you do not need to know a single thing about Earth's Mightiest Heroes or the House of Ideas at large going into the battle.
"You don't need to see any Marvel movies to enjoy Avengers," the director said. "But you need to see 'Steel Magnolias,' like, six times."
Did you enjoy the "Avengers" Twitter chat? Hit me up with your take @roundhoward!
Check out everything we've got on "The Avengers."
For breaking news and previews of the latest comic book movies — updated around the clock — visit SplashPage.MTV.com.
Natasha Bedingfield Natassia Malthe Nelly Furtado Nichole Robinson
Gisele Bündchen Giuliana DePandi Giulianna Ramirez Grace Park
Jessica Chastain, Elizabeth Olsen, Shailene Woodley and more also grace the '20s-inspired cover.
By Jocelyn Vena
The February 2012 cover of <i>Vanity Fair</i>
Photo: Vanity Fair
This year's Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue features some of the most dazzling starlets in Hollywood. The '20s-inspired cover includes Rooney Mara, Mia Wasikowska, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Elizabeth Olsen, Adepero Oduye, Shailene Woodley, Paula Patton, Felicity Jones, Lily Collins and Brit Marling all dolled up in vintage, satiny, pastel-hued gowns.
Standing center-stage on the cover is Lawrence in a silver gown alongside Mara, Chastain and Wasikowska. Shot by famed fashion photographer Mario Testino, the shoot was meant to pay homage to Art Deco and Jazz Age designs.
In behind-the-scenes footage, Mara confesses to having a teenage crush on Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and owns up to a "guilty pleasure" love for "Zoolander." "I would watch playback sometimes if it would be helpful," she later says about her Oscar-nominated work in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," noting that she has yet to see the film in its entirety. Lawrence also opened up on the set of the shoot talking about her own teen idols. "When I was little," she recalled, "I guess '90s era, I had such a big crush on Justin Timberlake from *NSYNC that I almost threw up." These days the "Hunger Games" actress' idols include the Coen Brothers, Renée Zellweger and Tommy Lee Jones.
In other VF news, Kristen Stewart was spotted wearing some really high-end couture in Paris for her own shoot for the magazine. The spread, also shot by Testino, will appear in an issue later this year. In photos on E! News, the "Snow White" actress looks like the fairest of them all in her blue-and-black tulle and feather-adorned ball gown. She tops off the look with a black geometric-style fascinator.
What do you think of Vanity Fair's string of starlet subjects? Tell us in the comments!
Katherine Heigl's 'One for the Money' and 'Man on a Ledge' also make the top five.
By Ryan J. Downey
Liam Neeson in "The Grey"
Photo: Open Road Films
It must be wintertime, because Liam Neeson is #1 at the box office again.
Following the January 2010 release of "Taken" and the February 2011 success of "Unknown," Liam Neeson returned to theaters in another action-heavy role with "The Grey" over the weekend and beat back all other contenders. "The Grey," about a group of oil workers stalked by wolves while stranded in the Alaskan wilderness, debuted with an estimated $20 million.
Katherine Heigl's "One for the Money" had a decent $11.8 million opening, which placed the PG-13 action comedy at #3 on the box-office scorecard. The Sam Worthington-led thriller "Man on a Ledge," on the other hand, opened at #5 with just $8.3 million.
Having proven his biopic mettle with heady fare like "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey," 59-year-old Neeson has entered a career groove playing rough-and-tumble anti-heroes in barn-burning action thrillers. While its opening numbers were slightly lower than "Unknown" ($21.9 million) and "Taken" ($24.7), "The Grey" enjoyed the best critical reviews of the action trio. "['The Grey'] takes death seriously, and partly as a consequence, every moment, every frame, feels alive," wrote New York Times film critic and former "At the Movies" co-host A.O. Scott.
The same cannot be said for "One for the Money," which at press time sat at just 3 percent on Rotten Tomatoes' "Tomatometer," which assigns ratings based on reviews from film critics.
"Heigl's comic timing is solid, and she knows her limitations well enough, but there's a hollowness at the movie's center, right where Heigl's heart should be," wrote Sam Adams of The Onion A.V. Club. The film's opening was lower than Heigl's 2010 rom-coms "Killers" ($15.8 million) and "Life as We Know It" ($13.2 million).
"Avatar" and "Clash of the Titans" star Sam Worthington received top billing in "Man on a Ledge," which sat at 25 percent on the Tomatometer at press time. Worthington plays a wrongly accused man who hatches an elaborate scheme to prove his innocence. The last movie co-starring Worthington was the war criminal/ spy drama "The Debt," which opened with $9.9 million.
The rest of the weekend's top five included "Underworld Awakening" at #2 with $12.5 million, which gave the fourth entry in the vampires-and-werewolves franchise a two-week total of $45.1 million, and "Red Tails" at #4 with $10.4 million. The George Lucas-produced World War II flick has made $33.8 million since it opened last weekend. Lucas financed the film's $58 million budget himself.
"The Descendants" and "The Artist" both received a boost from their respective awards season attention. George Clooney has racked up trophies for his starring role in the Alexander Payne-directed "Descendants," which expanded from 600 theaters to 2,000 and took in another $6.5 million for an 11-week total of $58.8 million. "The Artist," meanwhile, spiked 42 percent from last week. The Weinstein Co.-produced silent film has made $16.7 million after big wins at several award shows, including three prizes at the Golden Globes.
Check out everything we've got on "The Grey" and "Man on a Ledge."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Magdalena Wróbel Maggie Grace Maggie Gyllenhaal Majandra Delfino
I'm here! I'm here! And I saw my first gang-banger get arrested yesterday so I feel like a total Angeleno.
I'm getting ready to go to the gym (again, like a total Angeleno!) so I will update later about my run-ins with Alexander Skarsgard, Pauly Shore, and Jeremy or Jason London (I'm not sure which one it was and seeing if I could force him to do drugs to find out seemed unfair. Besides, as it turned out, he was telling the truth?)
Anyhoo, I've got a lot to tell you about gardening! (Did you know if you get dirt wet it turns into mud? Yuck.)
And bumpers! (They don't bump off anything... they go, "Scraaaaaaaatch!")
And there's probably more but, again, I have to go because I have to get to the gym!
