Joss Whedon On The Original The Incredible Hulk
"Take, for example, Bruce Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk. The movies have already taken two shots at him, in Hulk [2003] and The Incredible Hulk [2008], and neither one was a hit. Whedon frames the problem succinctly: 'The Hulk is a very hard character to make a movie about because he's not a superhero. He's a werewolf.' In a way, the Hulk is a microcosm of the Avengers - a man divided against himself.
So Whedon and Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk, went back to the last time the character really worked onscreen, which was in the 1970s TV series also called The Incredible Hulk. 'We wanted to go with a Bruce Banner who isn't self-obsessed,' Whedon says. 'When Bruce Banner spends all his time trying to cure himself, he becomes that whiny guy that's getting in the way of your Hulk movie.' So instead Ruffalo plays him like a recovering addict who's trying to get on with his life; meanwhile, his teammates need the Hulk's strength and Banner's scientific expertise, but they're terrified of his anger. 'Is he a superhero or a monster?' Whedon says. 'He's both.'" -Lev Grossman, The Hero Whisperer, Time Magazine, May 7, 2012 on Joss Whedon, The Avengers and Whedon's take on The Hulk-
"Take, for example, Bruce Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk. The movies have already taken two shots at him, in Hulk [2003] and The Incredible Hulk [2008], and neither one was a hit. Whedon frames the problem succinctly: 'The Hulk is a very hard character to make a movie about because he's not a superhero. He's a werewolf.' In a way, the Hulk is a microcosm of the Avengers - a man divided against himself.
So Whedon and Ruffalo, who plays the Hulk, went back to the last time the character really worked onscreen, which was in the 1970s TV series also called The Incredible Hulk. 'We wanted to go with a Bruce Banner who isn't self-obsessed,' Whedon says. 'When Bruce Banner spends all his time trying to cure himself, he becomes that whiny guy that's getting in the way of your Hulk movie.' So instead Ruffalo plays him like a recovering addict who's trying to get on with his life; meanwhile, his teammates need the Hulk's strength and Banner's scientific expertise, but they're terrified of his anger. 'Is he a superhero or a monster?' Whedon says. 'He's both.'" -Lev Grossman, The Hero Whisperer, Time Magazine, May 7, 2012 on Joss Whedon, The Avengers and Whedon's take on The Hulk-
I think Joss Whedon's and Ruffalo's take nailed it in 'The Avengers'. Great highlight, SFF.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find fascinating is that with each passing year, no matter how far into the future we go, people reach back to the 1970s classic for inspiration.
ReplyDeleteThat's an important note. Bill Bixby and Kenneth Johnson have defined the character and the story or at least refined Stan Lee's character for live action to the point that no one has got it right.
Even Joss is inspired by that series as was Louis Leterrier but no one has got it completely right.
Still, I admire their efforts and they seem to be getting closer.
Cheers L13
SFF