Have you ever wondered who is behind the great movies you’ve seen on the big screen or maybe in the comfort of your home with your family? Well during my trip to LA we were able to interview Director Joss Whedon and now Kevin Feige who is the producer of the new movie Avengers Age Of Ultron in Theaters May 1rst!

Photo Credit Jana Seitzer / MerlotMommy.com

Interview With Producer Kevin Feige

Just an FYI I might or might not be an unofficial new Avengers Hero. No, not really but it would have been cool BUT in all seriousness, this was an awesome photo I was able to take during my trip to LA.

Which I’m pretty sure my kids will never let me live down. At least I was fighting on the good heroes side and trying to save humanity. Jumping right into our interview with Kevin Feige we will start off with a great question of why this is no end credit scene to the movie.

Read our full Age of Ultron Movie Review

If you are a huge Disney fan like I am, catch the latest news about all things, Disney, right here on my blog. Discover the latest news about Disney’s upcoming shows, movies, film releases, and more!

Avengers: Age of Ultron Interviews

Would you like to read our other interviews with the other stars? Click on the links below and read up on some exclusive interview questions and answers you won’t find anywhere else.

Interview with Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth
Interview with Elizabeth Olsen & Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Interview with Jeremy Renner and Cobie Smulders
Interview with James Spader and Paul Bettany
Interview with Director Joss Whedon

Question: Why is there no end-credit scene? What’s the story behind that?

Kevin Feige:  Well, why is there no end-credit scene?  Well, there’s a mid-credit scene, as we call it, and we’ve always really said if it’s not a fast and hard rule that there must be something after the credits, and Joss was a firm believer that we shouldn’t do something that seemed like we were aping the scene at the end of it.

This version of the story really culminates where it does at the end of the film and with the mid-credits. And everything we just felt like an add-on that wasn’t worth doing.  But that’s one of the reasons why he wanted to get it out there so people didn’t sit there for seven minutes and go, what?

Question: Without the movies and Shield and everything, how many people are on the team that keeps everything straight?

Kevin Feige:  Well there’s a television division; there’s a studio, division and there’s a solid brain trust of seven or eight of us at the studio that oversees each of the films. And then beyond that, of course, dozens and then hundreds, and then thousands, eventually, on each production.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: In the movie, the team is very cohesive. How much time lapses in between the movies where these actors work together?

Kevin Feige:  I’m not sure we ever directly say it, but we always sorta thought it.  It’s, it’s between six months to a year after- probably a good year after the events of The Winter Soldier. The Shield has been brought down at the end of The Winter Soldier, after revealing that Hydra had been growing within it and that there’s a lot of fallout. 

Some of that is on the television series and some of that we see at the very beginning of this movie, that that scepter- Loki’s which if you look at the end of the first Avengers movie, the last time you see it, Black Widow is holding it in the shadow of all the Avengers as they’re finally taking down Loki.

Our backstories clearly that went into, that went to a Shield- secure Shield vault somewhere, but of course, Shield was not secure, and it ended up in the hands of Strucker at the beginning of this film.

Photo Credit Jana Seitzer / MerlotMommy.com – Edits made By Me

Question:  Are we going to see Spiderman make an appearance in the Civil War?

Kevin Feige: Well you know, you’ve heard the announcements we’ve teamed up with Sony to bring Spidey into our universe and, and doing a new Spidey film in 2017, but I think we’re being less than specific about, about where we’ll, where we’ll see him first.

Question: In general, sometimes people dread spinoffs and sequels, but how does it feel to actually have a fan base that can’t wait for the next release from the studio?

Kevin Feige  :  It feels great, obviously, and I do think spin offs and things like that when you’re dealing with certain properties, I think I need one thing and can somehow get a bad connotation of meaning.  Oh, there’s something that had a little story potential that was interesting, so now they’re gonna try to build the whole big story about it. 

Well, at Marvel, their big story is about everyone that goes back, you know, fifty years and through hundreds of comic issues.  So for us, it’s all just exciting.

And what’s really exciting is that the comic fan base was one thing- it’s the solid foundation of everything we do, but now it’s increased dramatically with the film base and with the film fans it gives us a certain amount of pressure and sleepless nights to deliver on expectations each time.

But it’s also knowing that people are so excited about, what’s next.  And we often have to go, never mind what’s next. Take a look at this because we do want each of the films and Age of Ultron’s our eleventh, Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

We want each of them to stand alone whether you’ve seen the other ten films or not.  We believe each film works as a beginning, middle, end into and unto itself.  And we worked very hard to do that.  All we’re interested in is making one singular great movie at a time.

Photo Credit Jana Seitzer / MerlotMommy.com

Question: Do you have somebody in the Marvel Universe that you really wanna bring in the stories or anything that you haven’t yet?

Kevin Feige:  Of characters?  Well, I used to say Guardians of the Galaxy to that question.  I used to say vision to that question, I used to say Falcon; I used to say Doctor Strange a lot, and obviously, we’re deep into that with Benedict Cumberbatch now.  

We start filming in November.  So it’s really been amazing.  Now, it does come down to individual and specific characters, but if I say too many of them, it’ll give away exactly what we’re doing with Guardians 2 or with the future ones.

But it’s not a testament to the Marvel comics and how deep its bench is that there’s still hundreds of great characters that we haven’t even touched yet.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: What was it like to bring in Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch into this movie?

Kevin Feige: It was great.  I mean they’re key Avengers characters in the books.  They have a great back story that we really wanted to explore and they have a great relationship, the two of them, that we really wanted to explore together, and it was one of Joss’s very first notions.

Probably second notion after Ultron, to bring them in, who have a very different viewpoint of the Avengers who come into the team from a very different angle than any of the other characters.

The other characters were sort of assembled together by Nick Fury in the first movie and, and Thor obviously came into the mix because of the presence of Loki and now having characters come in from a totally different side- which is also a very Marvel thing to do. 

There are a lot of Marvel characters who start on the other side of a disagreement, or the other side an argument or the other side of the law that you know through a great Marvel redemptive arc become heroes.  We wanted to do that in an Avengers movie.

Question: Were you big in the Marvel comics as a kid, and did you have, a favorite character when you were little?

Kevin Feige: I was more into movies as a kid and I had a lot of favorite movies.  I remember a story in particular when I was in the backyard with a bunch of friends of mine when we were, I don’t know, say eight years old- ten years old. 

And we were playing superheroes, and somebody had chosen Batman, somebody had chosen Superman, and somebody had chosen Spiderman and I remember going, well, I’ll be Iron Man.  I’ll play Iron Man because I’d seen him in the reruns of the old ’60s cartoon.

And some kids didn’t even know who he was.  I was like, he’s cool.  He’s Iron Man.  Trust me.  So that was fun bringing him to life after some kids didn’t hear of him when I chose him in the backyard thirty two years ago.

The Avengers Age Of Ultron isn’t Joss Whedon’s first film he has actually worked on many films but is recently being recognized for his impact of the pop culture community. In this funny interview, Joss Whedon reveals some insightful information about his filming of the Avengers Age Of Ultron movie. 

Exclusive Interview With ‘Avengers Age Of Ultron’ Director Joss Whedon

Have you looked in our past interviews with Elizabeth Olsen & Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth? In each interview, the stars are very down-to-earth and funny. Check out below what Joss Whedon has to say about his newest film and his Actors.

Also, don’t forget to check out this awesome photograph we got to take with Joss Whedon! My trip to Los Angeles was definitely one to remember for a lifetime. Oh Yeah! At the end of the interview, there is another group photo of us that I think you will like so don’t forget to check that out!

If you are a huge Disney fan like I am, catch the latest news about all things, Disney, right here on my blog. Discover the latest news about Disney’s upcoming shows, movies, film releases, and more!

Read my full Age of Ultron Movie Review

Would you like to read our other interviews with the other stars? Click on the links below and read up on some exclusive interview questions and answers you won’t find anywhere else.

Question: Yesterday, we had to interview your brother for Agents of Shield and I was just wondering do you guys stay up late and have phone calls and have strategizing sessions and say this is what we’re going to do next?

Joss Whedon: Well, I just made a movie and he just had a baby, so not lately. We did when we were first starting out, but at some point, this movie consumed me not unlike a whale.

Photo Credit: Marvel – Edits Made By Me

Question: That iconic shot of the Avengers jumping in slow motion. How that came to be and whose idea was it?

Joss Whedon:  We just caught it by accident. I hadn’t even said action yet. They were just clowning around and somebody had a phone, so that was great. That shot was the last shot we got finished ‘cause it’s over a minute long and I wanted to create some frames that were just unabashedly comic book frames that would speak to our love of the film and that one took longer to create than anything else.

— Referring to how the movie starts with it going directly into Action Packed Scenes —

It was important to me to have that right away, like first up in the movie. Not to say now we’ve got to get everybody back together and let’s go find them, now we find Captain America and he’s digging in a trench and now we find whoever instead just go boom, we’re back.  This is what you love.  Are you having fun?  Good.  Now we’re going to tear it apart.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: Was it really hard to make sure everyone got enough screen time? How did you balance that?

Joss Whedon: Yes, It’s hard. What’s important is making everybody integral to this story and not just have it sort of being a roll call where it’s like I’m also in the film. Making sure that the twins’ story was part of Ultron’s story and obviously making sure that their perspective on the Avengers had something to do with Ultron’s and so that there was always a reason for everyone to be together.

The good thing is they worked so well against each other so when you’re giving somebody their moment, it’s usually with somebody else.  It’s usually playing against somebody else, either arguing with or having fun with or teaming up with and so they do create their own little webs, so it’s difficult.

It’s not Magnolia where you’re telling all these separate stories that are just vaguely intertwined. It’s they’re doing some of that job for me. By the way, if it was Magnolia, it would be the best movie ever made, but I can’t reach for the stars, people.  I’m just a man.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: You’ve done so much to influence pop culture. Who inspires you to reach further and higher to make this entire universe?

Joss Whedon:  I kind of I have a weird relationship with pop culture.  I’ve never really been a part of it until I suddenly was, most of my influences are a little left of center and, or very old.  You know, the directors that I look at, when I’m thinking about a movie, usually are people like Vincent Minnelli or Sam Fuller, or Frank Barseghian, but it’s the people who, not just artists. It’s just the people in my, in my own life that I see working four times as hard as I ever can.

Trying to do things they can’t. Those, those are the people that make me sit down and go, oh wait a minute, I can do better because ultimately, the only person who’s ever really going to inspire me to go further and do better is me. 

I have to sort of gear up and I should actually have two chairs because, at some point, I always do go, okay you need to work harder, you need to do more, you need to be better.  I’ll tell you who’s inspired me, is Lin-Manuel Miranda because seeing Hamilton at the Public Theatre was just such a breathtaking experience.

And the amount of work that he did for six years to put that together, I just thought, oh, gotta bring up my game.  There it is.  The bar is higher again ******.

Photo Credit: Marvel

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Question: In the movie, we saw the introduction of the Hulkbuster, were there any difficulties filming that?

Joss Whedon:  Well there is some slight enormous difficulties in the fact that neither of those people exists, so there’s a lot of issues [LAUGHTER], with the camera, there’s a lot of guys saying we’re here.  Now he’s over there. We had the thing mapped out very carefully, so it was in a way simpler because they weren’t like I need another. 

I need to go again but you shoot all of this stuff sort of with the faith that this will work physically and then the hard work comes, you know, up at ILM where they’re dialing in this action you’ve described.

In a way that looks human and believable, yet completely over the top, and the work they did with those guys and with the Hulk, in particular, who’s not just the Hulk there, but he’s angry even for the Hulk.  He’s unhinged and it’s a different performance than he’s given before and the way they captured that, to me, was breathtaking, but it took a little time.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: You filmed in numerous countries, South Africa being one of them what was that like?

Joss Whedon :  Fun.  I mean, I got to a lot of countries I’ve never been to and to see these beautiful cities and these places and, and eat really good food and generally, yeah, I don’t get to take vacations.  Location scouting is definitely the next best thing.

Question: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson didn’t have to audition for their roles, what was it about them made them perfect for the roles?

Joss Whedon:  I didn’t want anybody else.  I just wanted them. Aaron is too pretty to live, but I’ve had dealt with the Hemsworth problem, so I can forgive.  He’s somebody that I just saw even in Kick-Ass where he’s playing kind of a weak character, that he just commands the screen and it was.

I think Nowhere Boy, where I just said, oh, this is my guy because he’s an old school movie star.  He’s that commanding and beautiful. But he also looks like he could be kind of an arrogant dick.  He’s not.  He’s the sweetest puppy I know, but he’s great at playing that sort of like, oh, I got this. 

You know, that sort of, and that’s Quicksilver to a tee.  Quicksilver is that sort of, he’s always hotheaded, he’s always you know being a pain for everyone, but is essential and very cool.  I sat down with Lizzie ‘cause, I’d just seen Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene and, I hope I got those in the right order. You spend two minutes with Lizzie and you not only don’t want anybody else for the role, you think maybe she should play all of them.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: What was the hardest scene to shoot? Do you have one that sticks out?

Joss Whedon:   I would say probably after the first attack by Ultron.  Everybody’s in the lab kind of trying to figure out what’s going on. We referred to that as the WTF scene and it was just very difficult for me to put, to put together.  It’s hard to explain why.  

There’s something about the way the light in the room, I just could not find the focus of where everybody should be and how they should move and Robert had to do something really difficult which was started laughing in the middle of this scene, as sincerely like, become a little unhinged.

And getting there and sort of making that work, that was one that I struggled with.  I struggled a lot with the party scene.  The after-party scene which I actually shut down during shooting early one day because I was just, I started shooting it and I hated everything I was doing, and then I was like what should I do? 

What’s wrong?  And then I realized, wait a minute.  Didn’t I just make an entire movie where people sit around and drink?  Wasn’t that Much Ado About Nothing?  Oh, and then I called.  I was like give me some, I need cards, I need beers. Anyway, I get all these things and we’ll do it all handheld and we’ll just let them go and as soon as I remembered how to shoot a party it became a party.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: Was the party scene all scripted or were the actor’s ad-libbing?

Joss Whedon: There’s a little throwing stuff out.  With Robert in a situation like that, I’ll usually give him five or six options just to see what tickles his fancy and he’ll sort of run through them.  Most of it is scripted but I like to leave a little room for those guys. 

First of all, they’re all funny, articulate people who really know their characters, and second of all it sort of helps the flow particularly in something like that.  You don’t want to feel camera moves, and dialogue.  You just want to feel like you stayed at the party. I’m glad.

Photo Credit: Marvel

Question: We hear Ultron say, “upon this rock, I shall build my church, and we also hear the vision say I am.” Was there any type of significance to having these forms of artificial intelligence kind of speak those Biblical terms?

Joss Whedon:  Yes.  I mean it’s not necessarily specific in the sense of we are saying this about this person, this about Ultron, to say he has a bit of a God complex is, is, is not, and that was all James, by the way. 

We are talking about new life and we are talking about the vision, in particular, is something, sort of more than that iconography is deliberate, but it’s open to interpretation.  I’m not saying, you know, uh, that they are one thing or another.  Our response to them contains some element of that understanding of ourselves and our history.

I mean, it’s a Frankenstein story as much as it’s anything else and the Frankenstein story is, who made me?  Why am I here?  And I guess I’m kind of pissed about it. That iconography rolls into that very naturally.

Photo Credit: Marvel – Edits Made By Me

Question: Did you plan something at the beginning of production that you didn’t get to do in the movie?

Joss Whedon: Is there something we didn’t do in the movie?   [LAUGHTER]  So much movie.  There’s always stuff you sort of either give up on or just realize is ridiculous, but I can’t really think of something we didn’t do.  There’s stuff we cut out you know, the first cut of the movie was an hour longer than the one that’s in theaters. I think it’s the length it should be.

I’m very happy.  It’s, in fact, a minute shorter than the first one which is a point of personal pride because [LAUGHTER] as much as I wanted this to be bigger, I didn’t want it to be bloat.  I didn’t want us to seem like we were full of ourselves, like, oh, you love us.  Here are three hours.  You’d like to pee?  Tough.  [LAUGHTER]

Photo Credit: Jana Seitzer / MerlotMommy.com – Edits Made By Me

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Website and Mobile site: marvel.com/avengers

Tickets on Sale: Fandango.com/Avengers

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Genre:                                      Action-Adventure

Rating:                                      TBD

U.S. Release date:                    May 1, 2015

Running Time:                           TBD

Cast:                                        Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgård with James Spader and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Writer/Director:                         Joss Whedon

Producer:                                  Kevin Feige, p.g.a.

Executive Producers:                 Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee, Jon Favreau