Kevin Feige recognized by Variety Magazine 2 2

[Bosco685]

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“I was never cynical about sequels,” says Feige. “I was always excited to see how characters I loved would grow and change. I’d be disappointed sometimes. Every time a movie disappointed me I’d sit and think about what I’d have done differently. I wouldn’t write a screenplay, but I’d tease it out in my head. In many ways it’s not that dissimilar from what I do now.”

 

Indeed, the sequel game has been very lucrative for Marvel and its corporate parent, the Walt Disney Co., which this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of its $4.24 billion acquisition of the comic-book company.

 

Just prior to sitting down for a rare, lengthy interview with Variety, Feige spent most of the morning going over final visual-effects work on “Avengers: Endgame,” due in theaters April 26. The expected blockbuster represents the culmination of the 23-film Infinity Saga that began with 2008’s “Iron Man.” These pictures introduced moviegoers to a sprawling collection of costumed heroes ranging from Ant-Man to Black Panther while popularizing the concept of a cinematic universe — and along with it the idea that a set of characters from one movie franchise could face off or team up with the protagonists of another.

 

“Kevin is a maverick,” says Joe Russo, who, along with his brother Anthony, has directed four films in the saga, including “Avengers: Endgame.” “This whole notion of building these stories and having them intertwine was so disruptive. It’s a grand experiment that could have failed at nearly every step. If one or two of these movies don’t work, the whole thing is over.”

 

Instead the films have collectively raked in more than $18.5 billion at the worldwide box office. Each entry in the series debuted in first place in North America, and not one has lost money.

 

“We had huge expectations for Marvel when we acquired it, but the MCU Kevin and his team have built goes beyond anything we could have imagined,” says Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Co. “They have redefined superheroes for a new era, greatly expanding their relevance across gender, generation and geography — setting new standards for compelling storytelling. This kind of creative success is never an accident; it’s the result of talent, vision, passion and courage — and at Marvel Studios, that all begins with Kevin.”

Great article about the MCU adventure over the years, and what drove Kevin Feige towards the direction he took with this massive franchise. The MCU offices is like a fanboy's dream.

[theCapraAegagrus]

The expected blockbuster represents the culmination of the 23-film Infinity Saga that began with 2008’s “Iron Man.”

[Bosco685]

1 minute ago, TwoPiece said:

The expected blockbuster represents the culmination of the 23-film Infinity Saga that began with 2008’s “Iron Man.”

Someone had an extra finger when they counted all their piggies.

[Bosco685]

Another interesting article about the MCU gamble, and how little Marvel was making on its movies before taking these over for itself. And who really to thank at the critical early stage leading to what we now recognize as the MCU success story.

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The year was 2003. In a compact office on Santa Monica Boulevard, a small group of staffers were writing -script notes to studios who were making films about some pretty popular comic book characters—characters which were technically owned by their employer. This was Marvel Studios then, a tiny operation whose biggest products were the agreements that said other studios now had the rights to bring their characters to life on the big screen.

 

A majority of these films went on to become box office hits. Marvel, however, only earned a pittance from them. In 1998, Blade became a sleeper hit, grossing over $131 million worldwide. Marvel’s yield? A mere $25,000. The first two Spider-Man movies made a staggering $1.6 billion globally, and yet Marvel only took home $62 million. And the studio barely profited off of the X-Men movies because it negotiated a flat fee from 21st Century Fox. 

 

This peeved Ike Perlmutter, who had gained control over Marvel Entertainment in 1997. Why wasn’t his company making money off of their own properties? Why did they have to be subjected to the whimsy of temperamental studio heads? Perlmutter, who is notorious for being a cheapskate, was becoming more and more impatient with this arrangement. So when Creative Artists Agency alum David Maisel pitched Perlmutter a plan for Marvel to own 100 percent of the movies made about its characters, the stingy businessman let Maisel roll with it.

 

Maisel’s main thesis was simple: Marvel had to start making its own movies. And in order for them to do that, Maisel had to figure out how to finance this new direction. Film-making isn’t cheap, and he had to be creative—he had to figure out how to get Marvel the money without putting the financial health of the company on the line. An impossible feat, some would say, but not for Maisel.

 

After some clever maneuvering, that’s exactly what he did. Maisel managed to negotiate a $525 million financing deal with investment firm Merrill Lynch for Marvel to make movies over the course of seven years, granted that the movies were PG-13 and did not cost more than $165 million each. But what was impressive about this deal was what Maisel managed to put down as collateral: the rights to make the movies of whatever characters Marvel had not licensed out to other studios yet. 

 

The logic to this arrangement was incredibly simple. If Marvel produced consecutive flops, this would severely affect the viability of the superhero genre. Therefore, if the company would not be able to repay its debt, what it would have to give up would essentially be worthless: an unprofitable set of film rights to the rest of their character portfolio. Marvel did not have to put up any valuable assets on the line, and this pleased Perlmutter immensely. 

 

With the financing secure, Marvel’s top brass now had to choose which among its second-tier characters would be the first to be shown on the big screen. A series of lucky breaks softened the ground for what was now a funded movie studio—first, New Line Cinema’s option with Iron Man ran out, and Marvel opted not to renew the contract; and second, Universal agreed to return the Hulk to Marvel after the disappointing critical and box office performance of Ang Lee’s Hulk in 2003. Compelled by the potential profitability of Iron Man toys, Perlmutter agreed to make Tony Stark the world’s introduction to the next generation of superhero movies. 

 

Production on Iron Man wasn’t smooth sailing, but it still went better than expected. Kevin Feige, who had risen quickly to become the president of Marvel Studios in 2007, managed to balance the film’s creative demands and budgetary constraints. With director Jon Favreau, he prevailed upon the Marvel executives to set aside their reservations and offer Robert Downey Jr. the role of the titular character (which would later on prove to be crucial for the studio’s future). He also helped the production navigate through Perlmutter’s financial chokehold and still deliver artistically. 

 

Off the set, Feige worked to broaden the studio’s horizons. Perlmutter and other Marvel heads were excited about the business potential of interconnecting the movies by having different characters—not necessarily the main superheroes themselves—pop up in other films produced by the studio. To Feige, this was just par for the course, as far as the source material was concerned. Creatively, it had never been done before, and that was an exciting prospect.

 

So when Samuel L. Jackson’s agent called Feige to see if there was a way Jackson could be part of the movie, Feige pounced on the opportunity. Seeing as Jackson was the inspiration for the super-spy Nick Fury in the Ultimates run of the Marvel comics, Feige did not hesitate to cast the actor as Fury for a cameo in Iron Man. But rather than risk the entire film being overshadowed with his appearance, Jackson’s scene was put after the credits, foreshadowing the future of Marvel Studios.

 

Iron Man opened to $99 million domestically, and would go on to earn a whopping $585 million worldwide. This was a clear victory for the studio, and a signal from audiences that maybe, just maybe, Marvel was on to something. But Iron Man wasn’t just the start of a new era for Marvel Studios—it would also change the trajectory of the motion picture business for decades to come.

 

[Bosco685]

[Xenosmilus]

On 4/22/2019 at 12:33 PM, Bosco685 said:

So when Samuel L. Jackson’s agent called Feige to see if there was a way Jackson could be part of the movie,

I was a little surprise to read this. I didn't think SLJ pursued for a role in the MCU, I just assumed they came to him.

[Bosco685]

On 7/27/2019 at 7:07 PM, Xenosmilus said:

I was a little surprise to read this. I didn't think SLJ pursued for a role in the MCU, I just assumed they came to him.

It is always easy to assume things when it comes to the MCU history and the 'facts' that become fan reality over time. Even the fact Iron Man was this massive risk with no previous success stories to bank on.

And you never hear of David Maisel, the person that pulled this entire proposal together leading to Ike Perlmutter backing the go-forward plan that we now know as the MCU.

[Bosco685]

On 4/22/2019 at 12:33 PM, Bosco685 said:

Another interesting article about the MCU gamble, and how little Marvel was making on its movies before taking these over for itself. And who really to thank at the critical early stage leading to what we now recognize as the MCU success story.

 

For those that want to read up on the real history of Marvel Studios versus fan fiction or altered history. What it accomplished was massive enough without adding onto the story.

[Bosco685]

  

11 minutes ago, @therealsilvermane said:

Here's a nice interview article where Kevin Feige reflects on the building of the MCU.

https://mashable.com/2017/07/05/kevin-feige-marvel-cinematic-universe-interview/

Interesting. Not one mention of the founder of the Marvel Studios model, David Maisel. The person that built the proposal and business model that became Marvel Studios.

David Maisel

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Marvel Studios
In 2003, Maisel pitched Marvel Studios’ CEO and Chairman, Avi Arad and then pitched CEO, Isaac Perlmutter, on his idea of Marvel financing and producing its own movies in a connected cinematic universe. Perlmutter hired Maisel as Marvel Studios’ President. To execute his plan, Maisel engineered a slate-structure financing to total $525 million.

 

In 2005, Maisel was promoted to Vice Chairman of Marvel Studios and, in 2006, Maisel was also elevated to the Office of the CEO of Marvel Entertainment. Maisel was promoted to Marvel Studios’ Chairman in 2007 and oversaw the launch of the first Iron Man franchise film in 2008. In 2009, Maisel arranged the sale of Marvel to Disney for $4 billion. In 2015, Marvel and Disney recognized and thanked Maisel as the Founding Chairman of Marvel Studios in the credits of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Feige did an amazing thing creating a linked universe. The plan started before his arrival how to bring this all in house to Marvel (prior to Disney).

Edited December 31, 2020 by Bosco685

[@therealsilvermane]

5 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

  

Interesting. Not one mention of the founder of the Marvel Studios model, David Maisel. The person that built the proposal and business model that became Marvel Studios.

David Maisel

Feige did an amazing thing creating a linked universe. The plan started before his arrival how to bring this all in house to Marvel (prior to Disney).

I found this article about David Maisel and Marvel Studios. Interesting. I had never heard of him before.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/marvel-studios-origin-secrets-revealed-889795

[Bosco685]

2 minutes ago, @therealsilvermane said:

I found this article about David Maisel and Marvel Studios. Interesting. I had never heard of him before.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/marvel-studios-origin-secrets-revealed-889795

You should read up on him more. Before Feige became the end all-be all it was Maisel that laid the groundwork to his hiring and ability to take off with this linked cinematic universe.

[Bosco685]

The Secret Origin of Marvel Studios

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Everyone knows that Kevin Feige is the go-to guy behind Marvel Studios. He is the keeper of the master plan that will see Marvel through its Phase 3 films and beyond - he's also likely the one who has Marvel's infamous NDA snipers on speed dial.

 

Looking back at the history of Marvel Studios, however, we can see that Feige wasn't alone in crafting the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. It turns out that a man named David Maisel not only played a big part but may have actually been the one responsible for Marvel's winning formula.

 

According to THR, Maisel was an essential part of the plan to change Marvel Studios from a licensing shop for Marvel Comics characters to a full-blown production powerhouse. He joined Marvel in 2003, and it was during his tenure that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was conceived and launched. According to some sources, the idea to make films like Iron Man and connect them together in the MCU came entirely from Maisel. This claim is disputed by Avi Arad (Iron Man, The Amazing Spider-Man) and some others, but there is little actual evidence that Maisel wasn't a key part of the MCU's creation if not the initial creator. According to one executive who was around for Maisel's tenure:

 

"The concept of Marvel making its own movies and the financial model that allowed it, came entirely out of David’s head. It was the most impressive piece of pure intellectual structuring I’d ever seen."

 

Supposedly, Maisel approached Arad in 2003 and claimed that he could improve Marvel's returns on its properties (since licensing characters doesn't necessarily bring in a whole lot of money). Arad arranged a meeting with Ike Perlmutter where Maisel claimed he would at the very least be able to increase Marvel's share of box office returns (which at the time was less than 5 percent) for future films. Perlmutter apparently liked Maisel's ideas, because he hired him to serve as President and COO of Marvel Studios soon after.

 

Inspired by how George Lucas made the Star Wars films, Maisel sought to bring Marvel's remaining characters to the big screen in a way that would tell a larger story though a series of largely self-contained films. He successfully blocked the licensing of Captain America and Thor to other studios, helped bring Iron Man back from New Line, and negotiated a deal with Merrill Lynch to fund film productions without Marvel having to pay out a dime. The movie rights to 10 characters and concepts were put up for collateral, so if the films had bombed then Merrill Lynch would have gotten the rights to Captain America, The Avengers, and several other characters (including Shang Chi and Power Pack).

There's a reason why he is called out at the end of Age of Ultron by Disney/Marvel Studios.

[Larryw7]

There has been at least one shared universe in cinema before.

[Bosco685]

1 hour ago, Larryw7 said:

There has been at least one shared universe in cinema before.

So true! Even to the point Abbott and Costello got in on the act. 

[Bosco685]

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Even though Ben Affleck is best known in recent years for his appearances as the Dark Knight in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the upcoming Zack Snyder's Justice League, he got his start in comic book movies way back in 2003 as the man without fear, Daredevil. Though Affleck's time as old hornhead came years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe would redefine Hollywood, he still found himself on the set of the adaptation working with none other than current Marvel president Kevin Feige. Though just a co-producer at the time, Affleck has clear fond memories of working with Feige and nothing but respect for what he's been able to do with the Marvel characters on the big screen.

 

"F***ing Kevin Feige is absolutely, you have to say, the greatest producer, most successful producer who ever lived," Affleck said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. "He's the only guy in the world who, if he told me, 'I know what the audience wants! This is what we're doing!' I would believe him 100%." That f***er knows his audience like no producer (ever), he’s a genius. Kevin is like a ringmaster at the circus, he knows exactly how much to wink at the audience, exactly when to pull at the heartstrings, exactly when to do the effects, how many jokes, what the sensibility, what the tone is. Because people didn’t know to run away from the pajamas or embrace it, or make it serious.”

 

Affleck's praise for Feige came while talking about working on the 2003 Daredevil movie, which he lamented "wasn't a very good movie."

 

As further proof that time is in fact a flat circle, Daredevil and Kevin Feige's paths may cross again soon. Rumors were previously reported about Charlie Cox, who took on the role for the Marvel Television/Netflix series, will reprise his part for the upcoming third Spider-Man. This hasn't been confirmed by Marvel Studios and when asked about it in a recent interview Feige didn't deny it.

 

[paperheart]

Kevin Feige Panicking After Mom Throws Out $3.6 Billion Worth Of Superhero

Today 1:00PM

BURBANK, CA—Upending boxes in a vain effort to find his prized possessions, Marvel CEO Kevin Feige was reportedly panicking Thursday after his mom tossed out $3.6 billion of his superhero . “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were still so into all this comic book junk,” said a defensive Leanne Feige, explaining to her son that it had never crossed her mind that the billions of dollars in IP and licensing rights, which looked like garbage to her, could be so valuable. “I understand you’re upset, but in my defense I have never seen you even touch any of that Moon Knight or Spider Girl stuff, and that Death Of Captain America arc had just been collecting dust since you got it. Besides, you have to admit it looks better in here without all that clutter.” At press time, Feige had reportedly burst out the front door after spotting some Sony executives rooting through a trash bag on the curb.

 

The Onion

 

 

[Bosco685]

Wow. I did not know this.

Behind Disney’s Activist Investor Battle: A Marvel Mogul’s Revenge Play

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But of course, his friend Perlmutter was very familiar with Disney — had in fact been one of its largest individual shareholders. Recall that the penny-pinching, gun-toting Perlmutter seized control of Marvel in 1997 and sold it to Disney in 2009. He remained as Marvel Entertainment’s CEO, but in 2015, Iger decreed that Kevin Feige, then running Marvel films, would no longer report to Perlmutter but to then-film studio chief Alan Horn. In his memoir, Iger wrote that Perlmutter had stood in the way of Marvel’s first films with Black and female leads. “I called Ike and told him to tell his team to stop putting up roadblocks and ordered that we put both Black Panther and Captain Marvel into production,” Iger wrote. Feige sealed his control over Marvel when he took on responsibility for television, animation and print editorial operations in October 2019.

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Bosco685

[@therealsilvermane]

On 2/11/2023 at 9:02 AM, Bosco685 said:

Wow. I did not know this.

Behind Disney’s Activist Investor Battle: A Marvel Mogul’s Revenge Play

 

Mark Ruffalo also leaked this story three years ago.

When we did the first Avengers, Kevin Feige told me, ‘Listen, I might not be here tomorrow.’ And he’s like, ‘Ike does not believe that anyone will go to a female-starring super movie.’ So if I am still here tomorrow you will know that I won that battle.’

https://www.comicsbeat.com/kevin-feige-mcu-diversity-ike-perlmutter/

Edited February 11, 2023 by @therealsilvermane

[Bosco685]

 

[Dr. Balls]

On 6/26/2023 at 4:54 PM, Bosco685 said:

 

They are really trying to make some money off the maintenance fees on those Stars.