Ant-man Archives - MomStart

What You Want To Know About Ant-Man #AntManEvent

July 17, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

Ant-Man is out in theaters today and I know why you should take your family to go see it. I will admit I was worried about this one being ok for kids, at least ok for my own kids. My kids for one are sensitive to suspense and when it comes to bugs OMG. My kids will run to the hills screaming like babies to get away from a but. In all honesty I’m just like them so I was worried about how the ants would come across. How did the ants come across? They were almost cute.

So Paul Rudd is in jail for committing a cyber crime. He stole money from rich people that were screwing around with little people and he gave it to the little people. This caught the attention of one rich person in particular, Dr. Hank Pym. Dr. Pym played by Michael Douglas is looking for a replacement. He needs someone to steal his technology back from his old business partners. Along with Dr. Pym’s daughter, Evangeline Lilly, they train Scott to become Ant-Man.

It’s a fantastic adventure story that focuses on family dynamics. We have Scott just trying to have permission to even be around his daughter because he loves her so much. Then we have the father daughter dynamic also between Dr. Pym and his daughter Hope. It’s going to do quite well in the theater as it hits the comic book fans where they want to be hit. It also gets all the men who like to see action movies and see things blow up. Then it also hits the female audience with Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Corey Stoll and Michael Pena as some really dreamy characters. Oh and you have your comedy, Marvel movies allow actors to play with their lines and Paul Rudd had everyone on set struggling to stay in character so you can only imagine how that plays out in the movie.

So go take your family to see Ant-Man, that’s where we’re headed.

Three Funny Guys: #Antourage #Antmanevent Interview

July 13, 2015 by Momstart Leave a Comment

At the core of every good Marvel movie is a good dose of humor. Of course Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd hold their own on camera and in person, but we recently found that the Antourage made up of three criminals that end up supporting Ant-Man are quite the jokesters themselves. These three guys came into the interview room during the Ant-Man press day and had everyone laughing from beginning to end.

About the Antourage:

“Luis is Scotty’s best friend from jail and they both got there in different ways,” says Michael Peña. “Luis is a street criminal while Scott is a white-collar criminal. They were cellmates and became buddies because Luis protected Scott in jail and in return he taught Luis about pulling off heists. So when he gets out of prison and realizes that it’s not easy for an ex-con to get any kind of job, Scott becomes part of a job that Luis has gotten an inside tip on. So they put a team together that includes Scott as well as two new guys, Dave and Kurt, who are both experts in their own fields.”

Describing Kurt, David Dastmalchian says, “Kurt is very talented with computer hacking and he has been in the United States for some time and spent some time in prison at which point he became friends with Luis. Now he’s out and he’s trying to do something positive with his skills, but he is not having a lot of luck with the job market. Kurt is a very fun character who is part of this really cool gang of knucklehead criminals that are trying to turn themselves around. I love Michael Peña, and getting to play with T.I. and obviously Paul is just an awesome opportunity.”

Rounding out the group of ex-cons is Dave, played by Tip “T.I.” Harris, and Kurt, played by David Dastmalchian. “We all met in prison and now that we’re out, we’re all trying to get our lives straightened out and on the right path,” says T.I. “My character Dave’s specialty is transportation, navigation and contingency plans. So when the first plan doesn’t work, Dave is always quick to think of something that can be done to ensure that all is not lost.”

When interviewing three people it ends up being much more like a conversation and a laugh-fest. Here are two questions about their humor in the movie and in their real lives.

Q: So, Michael, your method of story telling is hilarious in the film. Are you like that in real life?

Michael: “No. I’m like, I was always like a quiet kid, to be honest.”

T.I.: “What?!”

Michael: “Yeah. I remember, like I got messages on Facebook and I’m like, out of all people to be an actor you’re the guy? I was captain of the wrestling team and the track team and, you know, I loved sports and stuff. So that’s the only way that I really made friends, but I was like kind of a nerd to be honest – It’s hard to believe, I know.”

T.I.: “You know what, man, me too.”

Michael: “Were you really?”

T.I.: “Hell no.”

Michael: “You know, but he’s a smart dude, though. So I’m like, you never know, you know what I mean? So I’m like… He knows. T.I. being a nerd. I’m like, “I would believe it.” He’s a smart dude. I mean he’s not– he doesn’t rap about like, you know, just dumb shit, you know?”

David: “I know [Michael] has done some comedy work before, but he’s so famous for these killer dramatic roles and stuff. And the first time we’re on set and he started making T.I. and I just bust out I was like that’s not the dude that I was expecting.”

T.I.: “Right.”

David: “He’s so brilliant in this film and I, I love it, yeah.”

T.I.: “Yeah.”

Michael: “I’m imitating this guy – I won’t say his name, but he’s, you know, in my neighborhood. And I had the blessing of going to prep school and living in the ghetto, you know what I mean? It’s what happens or whatever. And so like, I’d travel like an hour in the morning just to get to that school, come back and then all of a sudden the dude’s like, “And how, how did it go man? You want a nickel bag?” And I’m like, “No man, I’m good man. I gotta study and stuff.” He said, “But if you don’t want a nickel bag it’s cool.”

And then you know he’s the kind of dude that, you know, he got a girl pregnant when he was 13. Yeah, which is amazing, but he’s a really great dad…when he’s not in jail. So, it was like I was waiting for a movie to put that character in there because he’s like, the most optimistic criminal that I’ve ever met in my life. But he like, you know, everybody loves him, but at the same time like you gotta’ be kidding me. So that’s Luis.”

Q: You guys are pretty hilarious in the movie. Can you share a moment or a funny scene that you all really enjoyed filming together?

T.I.: “I’ll do that…”

Michael: “Sorry, I’m still on Instagram mode, dude. Look how awesome it is man. Are you kidding me?! Get out of town.”

T.I.: “All of the scenes, you know, that we did together, to me, were funny. A lot of the van stuff. You know, remember the first night we were in that van, the van in San Francisco?”

Michael: “Instagram bro, [I’m on] Instagram.”

Antman press with moms!!!!!

A photo posted by Michael Pena (@mvegapena) on Jun 27, 2015 at 12:06pm PDT

T.I.: “In San Francisco, I think it was the scene when Scott was breaking into Hank Pym’s house for the first time. I mean, the stuff that didn’t make it on screen now that’s…that’s the goal. That’s the action.”

Michael: “I mean, that would be another kind of movie.”

David: “It was intimidating too. It’s scary. Because I… we were big fans of these guys and everybody in the film and so the first time we’re sitting there it was in– yeah, it was in San Francisco right?”

T.I.: “Yeah.”

David: “…in the van. And they started to just go and rif, too. And they made me feel really welcome immediately, which was a great feeling. You feel more creatively free to do that, but like there were some jokes, obviously not all of ‘em can make it in the film, but these guys…”

Michael: “ …of very poor taste.”

T.I.: “Yeah, of very poor taste. Oh, man.”

David: “And dancing; we had some fun dancing.”

T.I.: “Yeah. And the, you know, the jokes every time he would make a joke because him and Luis and Scott were cellmates, you know, supposedly.”

Michael: “No, we were cell mates, bro.”

T.I.: “Yeah. So every time they’d make mention of ‘Yo, it’s just like when we were in the cell’ and we were like, “Oh really? Really.” You know, things like that.”

Michael: “You get close, bro.”

David: “And then you don’t talk about cells.”

T.I.: “Yeah, exactly.”

Michael: “Yo, the first rule about prison is, you don’t talk about prison. Unless you wanna’ talk about prison.”

ANTMAN COMES TO THEATERS JULY 17

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Ant-Man Costumes The Helmet and Inside Pym Tech Lab #AntManEvent

June 26, 2015 by Momstart 2 Comments

I’ve shared with you guys four Marvel’s Ant-Man interviews this week and today I want to share more about our on set experience and the fact that I got to wear THE ANT-MAN helmet which was AWESOME and yes this sentence will never end. (insert smiles because that’s how excited I am to share this)

See! This is us inside Pym Tech Lab in between takes. They has just filmed a major action scene the day before and were getting ready to film something else later that afternoon. It was really cool to be on the set because we could see what was on the computer screens and how detailed all the lab stations were. It’s so amazing how big these sets can feel while still being inside a building itself.

This also looks like part of the lab

We also saw a few other areas that they filmed in. We weren’t allowed to take photos but I did manage to get my hands on a few Ant-Man Movie Stills of the room we were in.

And this Ant-Man photo is really cool because I stood in that exact spot minus the body count.

After checking out the amazing sets we were allowed to go over to the costume department and chat with that amazing team. Learning about costumes is always one of my favorite things to listen to. And I was surprised to learn how a costume like Ant-Man’s evolves as the need arises.

The costume would start one way and then they would find that he couldn’t even lift his arms more than waist high like in the photo below; so of course they had to make it lighter and more flexible.

It took them over 7 months of prep to create the first costume. Everything was custom made and they used a 3-D printer for prototypes. As the costume evolved they were able to get a light in a set of the gloves and in one of the helmets.

And the helmet had to be screwed on. While filming only four different people had ever tried on the helmet, until the bloggers showed up that is. This is how the Ant-Man helmet was screwed onto my head.

In the end there were 13 suits 7 helmets, and 15-17 belts. The stunt belts are 1 piece, but the “hero” belt was over 50 pieces! It was such a fun an amazing day and I can’t wait to see the movie as it’s in theaters on July 17th.

Movie Set Visit With Ant-Man Actress Abby Ryder Fortson #AntManEvent

June 25, 2015 by Momstart 1 Comment

Many of you know that my children want to be actors and that we spent some time in LA so they could have a go at it. So whenever I get the chance to chat with a child actor I just love it. Abby Ryder Fortson was six years old when we interviewed her. She plays Cassie Lang, the daughter of Ant-Man/Scott Lang. She’s the same age as my son and her acting ability is amazing. She was so cute on set and very charming off set when we chatted with her.

I’ve been asked many questions about what child actors go through on set. Of course it depends on their age and then if they are in school or not. They have to spend a certain amount of time doing school work and a certain amount of time playing. Then they have to have a set amount of time that they are allowed to work, and interviews are considered part of the time working. They were very strict about this and before we were allowed to interview her they checked to see if she had the time left in her day. Luckily she did have some time to talk with us.

Who is your favorite Disney Princess?

Elsa

Well what’s your favorite part about making a movie?

Acting.

While we were watching her on set with Paul Rudd we saw him give her a gift, it’s this crazy doll thing that talks. So someone wanted to know what she honestly thought of the doll.

What do you think of that doll that you’ve been acting with all day today?

I don’t like it.

Was it kinda creepy?

Yeah. It’s so weird! And he bit my finger! (She laughed) ‘Cause I was here last.

So what’s your favorite part about acting? Why do you love acting so much?

Because I get to be all different kinds of people.

Do you like Paul Rudd?

Yeah.

Is he fun to work with?

Mm hmm. And he’s actually [SING-SONGY] koo-koo!! (everyone laughed)

Is it really hard for you to remember your lines?

Neh.

No? You remember them pretty well?

Mm hmm.

How long have you been acting?

Since I was four years old.

And how old are you now?

Six.

So are you in Kindergarten or 1st grade?

First.

Do you have any Disney shows that you like?

Mm, yeah.

Which ones, what are your favorites?

Like Mary Poppins, I have Frozen, um, what else do I have? We don’t actually have a lot of kid movies.

What’s your favorite song?

Mm, I don’t really have a favorite song. ‘Cause I like every song. Basically.

When you’re not acting what’s your favorite thing to do?

Um, I don’t really know. (everyone laughed)

What did you think of the suit?

It was actually really cool….. I actually got to put on one of his gloves when I was at the Wardrobe.

Is Ant-Man your favorite superhero now?

Yeah. And Black Widow.

Any advice to other kids that want to act?

Uh, practice like-– like three weeks ahead so you get them down.

You can see this amazing girl in theaters as Ant-Man arrives July 17th.

Ant-Man Set Visit With Marvel Director Peyton Reed #AntManEvent

June 23, 2015 by Momstart Leave a Comment

I know I’ve already mentioned that later this week I’m going to be in LA watching the Marvel movie Ant-Man and attending the press junket. Which makes me feel like I’ll be brining you a full circle picture of making the movie to the final results. One of the things we did on the day of our Ant-Man set visit was take a tour of the house they were filming in that day. The house was very well decorated and there were kids everywhere. I loved seeing it. I mean it was a real house not a built set. I was one of the last groups to go into the house. When we went in we had to stand at the back door and wait while they filmed and talked to the actors about what to do next. Then they were trying to decide how to move the camera to get the angle they wanted. Before we were able to go any further we had to walk back out because they decided to reset the camera and since it was a house there wasn’t exactly a lot of room. We were able to sit down with the director though and chat with him about working on this movie.

What’s your experience of Ant-Man before starting production on the movie?

Well I am a classic uh Marvel Comics nerd who was reading comic books from a really, really young age and uh there was kind of a choice as a kid. You either read Marvel Comics or DC Comics. Some kids read both, but I was strictly a Marvel guy and uh Ant Man was one of my favorites. I always loved Ant Man.

He’s kind of an outsider character, even in the comics world. He really kinda’ never had his own comic book. He was an Avenger and there was Tales To Astonish with the Ant Man and but he, he kind of was a little schizophrenic the character of Hank Pym, but he was in the comics he was Ant Man and Giant Man and all these different things. But I always loved that character and I was actually um in a punk band in the 80’s and I would draw all the fliers to the, to the shows.

And there was one where I totally ripped off the cover of Avengers #1 and had the band members as characters of the Avengers and I was Ant Man in the, in the thing and this was probably ’86. Uh and we actually showed it at Comicon and uh, yeah. It was just a weird thing to sort of be directing Ant Man now when I had been that character back in, back in the day– back in my punk rock days. Um but yeah it’s, it’s um– for me it’s fun just– it’s the kind of movie I’ve wanted to direct for a long time and to be able ta’ have the opportunity has, has been great.

Q : Ant-Man he’s a father in the comics. A lot of why he becomes Ant Man is because of his daughter. How much of that played a part in this film?

Well there is….it’s one of the things that I really was attracted to about the movie because I think he’s the only super hero in the Marvel Universe that’s a parent. And we’ve changed some of the specifics from the comic, but he still definitely has the relationship with his daughter Cassie.

And it is a driving force as to why he sort of embraces his heroic side. Um and that was really appealing to me to sort of do a movie that has all these weird elements to it. The shrinking, the controlling ants, and all the sort of super heroics, but also has this really grounded domestic side you know. This– it’s, it’s this guy who is making really poor decisions in his life and is now trying ta’– trying some kind of redemption. And a big part of that is to really be a part of his daughter’s life. And also to kind of make the world a better place for his daughter to grow up in. And there’s a great thematic between Paul and his daughter, and also Michael Douglas and his daughter, in the movie, Evangeline Lily.

And I think that, that in terms of the script and the story is one of the great things. Is they both, Paul and Michael, are very flawed characters who have things to learn about parenting and about being there for your kids. And that I think is a different thing from, from a lot of the other Marvel movies.

How Do You Take The Ant-Man Comics and Translate them to A Movie?

Well I think the comics…..I mean I think all the comic to movie translations change because you wanna’….do the same thing that Marvel Comics did from the 60’s to present day, is you know each version of say the Avengers or, or you know Iron Man, each decade there’s sort of a different take on those characters. To keep them fresh and relevant to the world around them.

And even like in the original Stan Lee, Jack Kirby Comics they were all about sort of– they were pop culture references. It was all about really being relevant to young readership and I think the same is with movie. So there’s a lot of discussion about what changes and what stays the same, but I think everybody’s united on the fact that you wanna’….keep it fresh ‘cause there’s so many super hero movies.

And there’s all this talk about super hero fatigue and I think no one is more aware of that than Kevin Feige and the people at Marvel. And it’s like you know you, you gotta’ stay 5 steps ahead of the audience ‘cause ultimately he just wants the audience to be surprised and entertained and, and not bored and not this, “Oh I’ve seen that before.”

And again, one of the things about Ant Man that I love is like the powers are, are really, really different and the, the style of story’s very different. And it’s, it’s– he’s a very– he’s, he’s very grounded. It’s a grounded story.

Then he goes onto telling us more about the movie and how it evolved.

This movie really kinda’ has the DNA of a heist movie. Um and it’s– you know in the way that it was written and the way that we’re shooting it you know it’s got a real sort of rhythm. There’s a lot of stuff that has to happen and, and there are a lotta’ heist movies that, that we watched as, as inspiration. Um so it is you know a super hero movie, but it really has the spine of a, of a heist movie.

There were a bunch of heist movies. I mean obviously like probably more recently Oceans 11, but going back to stuff like The Killing, Stanley Kubrick and um you know the original uh Thomas Crown Affair, stuff like that. And, and there are a lot of things that have to be set in motion and you have a group of characters who all have a defined function in this heist and how it plays out.

And the notion that as much as you plan anything there’s always that sort of “X” factor or that act of God or something that you didn’t count on to come up. So we uh we definitely took all that into account.

Tell us about casting?

I inherited Paul Rudd…… And we have an amazing cast. I mean you know I certainly cast a lot of the other roles around, but you know uh Michael and Paul and Evangeline were on the movie before. In terms of the performance and the performance is all around, they’re incredible. I mean Paul….uh I was saying before I think Paul was probably, I don’t know is there’s an official award, but he’s gotta’ be the most liked and most likeable guy in Hollywood. I knew Paul a little bit before the movie, but to find out that you when you’re watching a Paul Rudd movie it’s like, “Oh I can, I can hang out with that guy.” And you actually do feel that way when you work with Paul ‘cause he’s, he’s great. He’s kind of an Actor that when I decided I wanted to be a Director.

And wondered what it would be like I always, I always hoped that Actors would be that way and, and Paul is that way. And obviously he’s an incredibly gifted Comedic Actor, but if you look at his dramatic work he’s equally amazing in movies and on stage. And this movie definitely asks him to exercise all those muscles you know. It’s kind of a different– we, we– we introduce him in a different context and you first see him in the movie he’s in prison.

He’s getting out of prison and it’s like a rougher, more rugged version of Paul. Uh and that’s been really fun. To kind of see him– he’s worked out and he’s been doing all this fight training and um and he’s amazing. And you know my wife for example, who’s always loved Paul Rudd, you know she saw from the first day and she’s like, “Ohhhh impressive.” And I said, “Calm down” ….I’m never letting you come to set. ….. Um but he’s– yeah he’s amazing in the movie and he and, and Michael Douglas together are fantastic.

It was quite a bit of fun getting to do all these things. A full set is a very busy place and everyone has a job to do. You can see the final product July 17th.

First Look at Ant-Man

August 19, 2014 by Momstart 2 Comments

Marvel Studios began principal photography today in San Francisco, California, on its newest Super Hero franchise Marvel’s “Ant-Man.” The film brings one of Marvel comics’ original founding members of The Avengers into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The production also shoots on location in Atlanta, Georgia, which serves as the base for the film’s production.

Set for release in the United States on July 17, 2015, the film is directed by Peyton Reed (“Bring it On,” “The Break-Up”) and stars Paul Rudd (“I Love You Man,” “Role Models”) as Scott Lang aka Ant-Man, and Michael Douglas (“Behind The Candelabra,” “Wall Street”) as his mentor Dr. Hank Pym and Evangeline Lilly (“The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Lost”) as Hope Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym.

The film also includes outstanding additional cast including Corey Stoll (“House of Cards,” “The Bourne Legacy”), Bobby Cannavale (“Danny Collins,” “Annie,” “HBO’s “The Long Play”), Michael Peña (“End of Watch,” “American Hustle”), Abby Ryder Fortson (“Togetherness”), Judy Greer (“13 Going on 30,” “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”), David Dastmalchian (“The Dark Knight,” “Prisoners”), Wood Harris (“Remember the Titans,” “The Wire”), John Slattery (“Mad Men,” Marvel’s “Iron Man 2”) and Gregg Turkington (“The Comedy,” “On Cinema”) and multi-hyphenate T.I. (“American Gangster,” “Takers”).

Based on the Marvel comic character first published in 1962, Marvel’s “Ant-Man” continues the lineage of epic big-screen adventures chronicled in Marvel’s “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the upcoming Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Marvel’s “Ant-Man” is produced by Marvel Studios’ president, Kevin Feige, with Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Michael Grillo and Stan Lee serving as executive producers.

Director Peyton Reed’s creative team also includes Oscar® winning cinematographer Russell Carpenter (“Titanic,” “21”), production designer Sheppard Frankel (“Identity Thief,” “Horrible Bosses”) costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ (“X-Men: First Class,” “Kick Ass”), visual effects supervisor Jake Morrison (Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World,” “The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers”), stunt coordinator Jeff Habberstad (Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” “X-Men: Days of Future Past”) and six-time Oscar® nominee, special effects supervisor Dan Sudik (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”). The editors include Dan Lebental, ACE (Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World,” Marvel’s “Iron Man”) and Colby Parker Jr. (“Lone Survivor,” “Hancock”).

Marvel Studios’ upcoming release schedule includes Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015, Marvel’s “Captain America 3” on May 6, 2016, and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy 2,” on July 28, 2017.

Marvel Studios continued its unprecedented success in 2014 with more record-breaking films including the #1 releases of Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” which recorded the largest April opening of all time at $95 million and Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” which recorded the largest August opening of all time with $94.1 million. Both films were the #1 film in the world when they were released on April 4, 2014 and August 1, 2014, respectively.

In 2013 Marvel Studios delivered #1 openings for Marvel’s “Thor: The Dark World,” which grossed over $640 million worldwide and Marvel’s “Iron Man 3,” which grossed over $1.2 billon worldwide and was the highest grossing film of the calendar year.

In 2012 the studio produced the critically acclaimed “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which set the all-time, domestic 3-day weekend box office record at $207.4 million. The film, which shattered both domestic and international box office records, is Disney’s highest-grossing global and domestic release of all time and marked the studio’s fifth film to gross more than $1 billion worldwide.

In the summer of 2011, Marvel successfully launched two new franchises with Marvel’s “Thor,” starring Chris Hemsworth, and Marvel’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” starring Chris Evans. Both films opened #1 at the box office and have grossed over $800 million worldwide combined. In 2010 Marvel’s “Iron Man 2,” starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury took the #1 spot in its first weekend with a domestic box office gross of $128.1 million.

In the summer of 2008, Marvel produced the summer blockbuster movies Marvel’s “Iron Man” and Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk.” Marvel’s “Iron Man,” in which Robert Downey Jr. originally donned the Super Hero’s powerful armor and starred alongside co-stars Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub and Gwyneth Paltrow, was released May 2, 2008, and was an immediate box office success.

Garnering the number one position for two weeks in a row, the film brought in over $100 million in its opening weekend. On June 13, 2008, Marvel released Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk,” marking its second number one opener of that summer.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit marvel.com. ©MARVEL