Studios Arena Presentation at the D23 Expo 2011
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Shifting gears, Ross himself introduced the next feature from DisneyNature. Shot in Uganda and the Ivory Coast, Chimpanzee is scheduled for release on Earth Day in 2012. The film follows the odyssey of an orphaned chimpanzee and the older chimp that raises him. Following a well-received clip, Ross said, "We have our own rise of the apes here," adding, "but ours are adorable."
Noting the old show business axiom
that says to never follow an animal act, Ross instead promised, "We have some
superheroes." Cheers erupted as the Marvel logo filled the screen. Kevin Feige,
President of Production at Marvel Studios took the stage. A montage of recent
Marvel hits was shown to the wildly enthusiastic crowd. The Avengers logo that
ended the clip elicited sustained applause.
Feige, wearing a Star Tours cap, acknowledged the welcome, and noted that at D23
in 2009 he had been sitting out in the crowd, right next to Tony Baxter. He
added that he was so proud of the day that he hired Richard Sherman to provide a
song for Iron Man 2.
He got to the subject at hand, describing the Avengers feature film as "dreams
coming true." Rather than describe the film, he instead asked if the crowd was
tired of viewing exclusive footage. Shouts of "NO!" filled the air. Feige smiled
as he introduced footage that no one had seen before-the scene in which the
Avengers are first assembled.
The extended scene opened in a secured bunker. As guards made preparations, Loki
from the Thor feature was marched into a glass enclosed chamber. Cutaway shots
established that the entire Avengers team, each of whom had been introduced in
recent films, was monitoring him. There were brief establishing shots of each
major character, until Loki made his move. The clip ended with a series of
vignettes from the upcoming film, ending with an exchange between Loki and Tony
Stark (Iron Man): "I have an army." "We have a Hulk."
Following the extended scene and montage there were taped greetings from cast
and crew. Feige didn't end with that. He next introduced the actor who played
Loki, Tom Hiddleston, who took the stage in person. As the crowd applauded, he
then went on to bring out Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Scarlett Johansson (Black
Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man). As he surveyed
the crowd, Downey cracked, "We're very happy to be here visiting our parents in
Anaheim."
Ross thanked the stars for attending, and then asked if anyone wanted to see the
Avengers clip for a second time. Based on the positive response, Ross stated a
new show business rule: never follow an animal act OR The Avengers.
Discuss It
-- Posted September 1, 2011
-- Text by Doug Marsh
-- All Images Copyright Disney