UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Director Kenneth Branagh takes a dramatic career turn with his new film "Thor"

Record ID: 783829

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM/FILE: Director Kenneth Branagh takes a dramatic career turn with his new film "Thor"
  • Date: 19th April 2011
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) KENNETH BRANAGH, DIRECTOR, SAYING: "It was realising, gosh, anything is possible but not only is it possible, we can actually make it happen. Then you have to get very canny about what you want, how long it will take to do etc and you realise a race through space and if we create the Milky Way and then if we go through hyper-space and come back and we use those Hubble images, that's probably a year to get that shot right. Better make sure we want it. So a great big steep enjoyable learning curve." (SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRIS HEMSWORTH, ACTOR WHO PLAYS THOR, SAYING: "I think what is so special about Ken taking on a film like this is you know the story and the character is taken care of. Marvel is such a machine and the budget, you know the special effects and everything, are going to be there. But he was also incredibly involved in that and his ideas of how to shoot through things and make the 3D work was hugely impressive. But, as I said, my attraction to it - and I heard Natalie (Portman) - say the same thing was that Kenneth Branagh was doing film like this and what an interesting combination." (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOM HIDDLESTON, ACTOR WHO PLAYS LOKI, SAYING: "He (Branagh) is pan literate and a complete cinefile and movie lover at the same time. I've never seen anyone that has such an encyclopaedic knowledge of all kinds of movies so I think it's probably less surprising to him than to anyone else that he's directing this film."
  • Embargoed: 4th May 2011 13:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA6H32DVSKB5K0BK25ZXP5APS0X
  • Story Text: Norse god, comic book hero, and now movie star, "Thor" has been brought to the big screen.
    Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays the iconic character, reinvented by legendary writer Stan Lee as a Marvel comics superhero in 1960s.
    It was far from a sure thing for the new Hollywood leading man who reportedly came back to win the role after failing his first audition.
    Hemsworth said it may have been a little sibling rivalry with his brother Liam - who was also auditioning for the part - that gave him some extra incentive.
    "I don't know, you know, I should ask Ken (Branagh, director) what happened in that first audition. It just didn't go any further. I probably came in with a different attitude the first time I came in very overwhelmed a bit, of Ken, the whole thing and the second time around maybe there was a motivation that my brother was testing for it, I was like: 'Right, that's it,' filled myself with some confidence or something," he said.
    But director Kenneth Branagh said, in hindsight, Hemsworth was the only choice.
    "In fact we met lots of interesting actors and there were three or four at the end who were very strong candidates for certain kinds of Thors but the one who came in and gave us the primitive Thor, the physically impressive Thor and also the humorous and sensitive Thor and, frankly, the movie star Thor was Chris Hemsworth. And sometimes you never know until you know and I think it's no accident that he came and we noted it and it didn't quite work and we got to the end and we came back to realising it's right in front of you," he said.
    Sibling rivalry is a theme that runs throughout the film as gods from another realm, Thor and his scheming brother Loki, compete for the throne of Asgard, handed down by their king and father, Odin, played by Academy Award winning actor Anthony Hopkins.
    After reigniting a war to impress his father, the impulsive Thor is stripped of his god-like powers and banished to earth where he is found by brilliant physicist looking to prove the existence of other worlds, played by a more recent Oscar winner, actress Natalie Portman.
    It is there he finds that his fight has only just begun.
    Kenneth Branagh isn't a name associated with mega budget, action/fantasy, 3D special effects extravaganzas, as much as Shakespeare and period dramas.
    He said having the huge range of special effects at his disposal for his first big action film provided an exciting new challenge as a director.
    "It was realising, gosh, anything is possible but not only is it possible, we can actually make it happen. Then you have to get very canny about what you want, how long it will take to do etc and you realise a race through space and if we create the Milky Way and then if we go through hyper-space and come back and we use those Hubble images, that's probably a year to get that shot right. Better make sure we want it. So a great big steep enjoyable learning curve," he said.
    For Hemsworth, having Branagh at the helm was one of the moat attractive things about the film.
    "I think what is so special about Ken taking on a film like this is you know the story and the character is taken care of. Marvel is such a machine and the budget, you know the special effects and everything are going to be there. But he was also incredibly involved in that and his ideas of how to shoot through things and make the 3D work was hugely impressive. But, as I said, my attraction to it - and I heard Natalie (Portman) - say the same thing was that Kenneth Branagh was doing film like this and what an interesting combination."
    Tom Hiddleston added that Branagh may not have been the most obvious choice to direct an action packed, special effects laden comic book fantasy - but he was the right one.
    "He (Branagh) is pan literate and a complete cinefile and movie lover at the same time. I've never seen anyone that has such an encyclopaedic knowledge of all kinds of movies so I think it's probably less surprising to him than to anyone else that he's directing this film," he said.
    You know you've made it as a Hollywood superhero - and villain - when you get your own action figures.
    Hemsworth and Hiddleston both found having their likeness captured on a range of merchandise a somewhat surreal experience.
    "It's hilarious yeah. It's something you don't ever think about, having your own action figure. Then that stuff came through and we were able to approve certain figures and this needs to be changed and this colour and that's smaller - and it's just so ridiculous. All of a sudden that was my job and I became an expert in figurine altering, Hemsworth said.
    "There's a slurpy cup, I believe, that you can buy in 7-Eleven in the States and you are basically drinking out of my head which I find sort of alarming and incredible at the same time," added Hiddleston.
    Also starring Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård, "Thor" opens in cinemas around the world throughout April.
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