The Russo Brothers reveal 'Avengers: Endgame’s' most expensive shot
WARNING: There are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Avengers: Endgame. So please don’t read on if you’ve somehow managed to avoid the most success film in box office history.
Avengers: Endgame’s directors have revealed that the most expensive shot of the entire blockbuster, and maybe even of film history, was when most of the superheroes gathered for Tony Stark’s funeral.
“We used to joke, and I don’t know if it’s joking, it’s probably the most expensive shot in movie history,” co-director Joe Russo told iMDB. “That’s a lot of salary on the screen there. At the very least it’s the most expensive day of extras in movie history, outside of Cleopatra.”
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This provoked co-writer Chris Markus to add, “For people to just stand there, they’re not even moving.”
But how did the Avengers: Endgame team bring together most of the cast of the film without raising any suspicion?
“They were all brought there under this pretense that they were coming for a wedding — it’s kind of heartbreaking to think about now — but they all have managers, and agents, and hair and make up, and we can’t tell anybody what we’re up to, because it can leak through one of a thousand sources,” recalled Joe Russo.
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“So they were all brought there under the pretense that they’re coming for a wedding, and the day they got there and we started to dress them in the black outfits, they said, ‘This is a very strange wedding.’ We said, ‘It’s because it’s actually a funeral.’”
Anthony Russo noted that the only actor who had prior warning was Gwyneth Paltrow, as “it was an enormous character moment” for the Oscar winning actress.
“Maybe one or two of the other actors we knew it was a big moment for. But no, most of them found out on that day, so it’s a testament to what good actors they are.”
Avengers: Endgame will be available digitally on 30 July 30, while it’ll be released on Blu-ray on 13 August.