Tag: TV

Moon Knight is a rather different kind of hero, as he not only is facing off against world-ending threats but also himself. The first episode has teased a man’s mind shattered, as the personalities of Steven Grant and Marc Spector fighting for control. It looks like they might fully dive into it throughout the series, but director Aaron Moorhead has teased that episode 4 might go even one step further, as he promises there will be a “mind-bending swing” that recontextualizes the rest of the series.

As you say, there’s a big, mind-bending swing in episode four that makes you reconsider some of the stuff that you’ve seen. Being able to do stuff like that — which pops up all over the comics, and also do great service to the tone and feel of the comics, the excitement of opening something up and seeing something you haven’t seen before — was one of the reasons that we wanted to do this

Aaron Moorhead

Fellow director Justin Benson adds that they really went back to explore the character’s 50 years to play around with the project, as they embraced the many “big swings” that it took in the many different runs.

When you look at the 50 years of incredible content that’s been generated for Moon Knight and Marvel, the best of it is defined by taking big swings, by being bold. So in that way, we were empowered to continue that, to be bold, especially with [episode four]. Visually, something that we were really drawn to, especially for that episode, was the [Jeff] Lemire and [Greg] Smallwood run [of Moon Knight].”

Justin Benson

It sounds exciting to see what the series has in store once we hit that episode, especially how it builds up beyond that. If there is a mind-bending twist, it makes you wonder how it might change the way we view the series and how it comes together at the end. The directors enthusiasm for playing around with the story, as well as embracing the comics. No wonder they were chosen to tackle Loki‘s next season as well.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Ethan Hawke has talked about how Marvel Studios has offered a more cooperative environment unlike other studios. In the same interview with Variety, the actor has also talked about how the opening of Moon Knight came together, highlighting that creative input offered. The memorable opening sequence introduces us swiftly to his character of Dr. Arthur Harrow, as he crashes up glass with his cane and putting them into his shoes before walking off. He reveals that it was actually his idea, wanting to give the villain his own scene reminiscent of comic book one pagers.

That [scene] really sprang out of my imagination and our conversations. When you read a comic book, some of the pages have eight drawings, some of them have 16, some have four, and then every now and then, they’ll give like the villain one full-page drawing.

Ethan Hawke

That comic inspiration seemingly got his gears turning on what they might do, and the creative team gave him the opportunity to explore that aspect, which led to him reflecting on his character.

I kept asking the writers and directors, if it was a comic book, what would his full-page drawing be? And they were like, “What do you think it was?” I started really meditating on that, and I started thinking about spiritual people who go crazy, who get mad on their own spiritual pride, and how often that turns inward and you see that they’re secretly self-lacerating in some way and hating themselves

Ethan Hawke

The connection to the sequence came in the inclusion of his cane, and how it could tie into his character. It probably became the moment that cemented the collaborative nature of this project.

I knew he had a cane and I kept saying, “Wait, I have a cane. Do I have a limp?” They’re like, “No, you don’t have limp.” And I thought, “Ahh, I know why he has a cane.” So I told them this idea. And this is what I mean about what was so surprising about Marvel: They’re like, “Let’s shoot that. That’s a great idea. Let’s open the show with that.” I’m like, “Okay, well, I guess these guys do want to play.”

Ethan Hawke

It’s great to see that the actors are able to also add something to the projects they are working on, especially in how they can highlight their characters effectively. The opening may have caught many off-guard, as the show focused on Moon Knight set the stage in a very different way by focusing on its main antagonist. We’ve only just started and it’ll be interesting to see what the future has in store for Harrow.

Source: Variety

There’s been much debate on Marvel Studios’ relationship with its actors and directors given they run a tight ship. many believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is purely studio-driven, but there have been hints that the company has a very different dynamic with its talent than the industry standards might make you think. In an interview with Variety, Ethan Hawke shed further light on what it’s like working with the industry and how Marvel Studios sticks out.

Every other experience I’ve ever had in film is generally that the more money they have, the more fearful the producing staff is. They really want you to do this cookie-cutter thing, do what we paid you to do, don’t have any ideas.

Ethan Hawke

He went on to compare the Disney-owned subsidiary like a kitchen and how it works with the many cooks in its kitchen.

Marvel clearly has a good relationship with actors. The metaphor I like to use is, you have to cook in their kitchen and use their ingredients, but once you’re in the kitchen, and with their groceries, you can do whatever you want. So that was kind of fun.

Ethan Hawke

He also goes on to highlight that the studio isn’t “brittle and arrogant” as some others are. The company seemingly has supported the team behind Moon Knight to bring their vision to life.

I was impressed. They have a tremendous confidence. A lot of people who are really successful, get brittle and arrogant. And wonderful people get confident, and they believe in others and instead of having power over people, they empower people. They really empowered Oscar, Mohamed, myself, May, other people working on the show to try to have a good time and try to make something that we cared about. Because they basically bet that if we liked it then other people would like it.

Ethan Hawke

It certainly sounds like the company is more focused on establishing a collaborative effort and hopes to empower creatives to bring their visions to life. The Disney+ series have highlighted that they are offering their teams more freedom as they’ve added more projects. Of course, the studio still has an active hand in the work such as the CEO Kevin Feige pitching some ideas while bringing projects to life. Movies and TV series are a collaborative effort. It looks like Marvel Studios tries to keep that alive somewhat.

Source: Variety