Today the sad, sad news broke that it’s confirmed: Jon Favreau will not be directing The Avengers movie. Why? I’m not sure. But there’s one thing I am sure of and that this: I’m sad.
Jon Favreau is, without question, one of my favorite directors. I’ll see something just because he directed it – which is how I saw Zathura. You remember Zathura, don’t you? It’s that Jumanji style movie about a couple of kids who play the game and end up in space. You didn’t see it, but I’m sure you heard enough about it to pass it by. You were wrong to pass it up but that’s okay, there’s still time.
You see, the thing I love about Favreau is his pacing, his style, his unwavering respect for a story and knowing that really, the story is why you bought the ticket, and all the explosions and flashy 3-second cut scenes won’t replace that. It’s why Iron Man succeeded. Favreau went back and took from hundreds of comics the most accessible story for the audience he knew he had today – not the audience from 20 years ago and not the audience in 20 years, but today. He didn’t go too heavy on the terror stuff, but made it relevant and appropriate to the audience watching his movie now. He handled many of Tony’s issues with a delicate hand and then made it entertaining.
This was what I hoped he would bring to The Avengers – a sense of story, propriety and style that you rarely find in someone who directs comic book stories. And what’s better? He seems to have the balls to stand up to the juggernaut that is Marvel studios (no pun intended) and say no to some of the crazy stuff that I’m sure they demand. The week after Iron Man opened to a roaring success, kicking off a truly blockbuster summer, Marvel Studios announced that the release date for Iron Man 2 would be May of 2009. Favreau said, ‘Woah. Wait a minute. It took two years to write the script for this one, you think you’re going to be able to put another one together in a year? No way.’
Now there’s a man with balls, Zack Snyder.
So I had hoped that we would have the same, respectful, fun, steady hand that gave us the original Iron Man movie (one of my favorites). But it is not to be. Here’s hoping they don’t ruin it by pawning it off on Michael Bay.
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Hey, great article and yes, sad news that Favreau isn’t going to helm The Avengers. I can’t agree with you more regarding his cinematic style and was really happy that the Iron Man franchise has lifted him to such lofty heights. I really enjoyed his show, Dinner with Five.
.-= Rory Dean´s last blog post ..I Am Love 2010 =-.