Joburg’s rhythm Captured in Avengers movie

22-04-2015

 

When the Avengers: Age of Ultron hits the big screen worldwide on Friday, there will be more than the unique global adventure’s incredible and gripping storyline that South Africans can look forward to.

They will all be too happy to know that they will see familiar Johannesburg scenery in the opening scenes of the movie featuring Iron Man and the Hulk.
 

There will be local faces, too.

The scenes were shot in downtown Johannesburg last year.

“I was told by our crew how happy they were that we shot in Johannesburg,” says Joss Whedon, director and writer of the movie.

“The government has been great, the City [of Johannesburg] has been great and people have just opened their doors to us and we couldn’t have done it on this scale without that.
 

“We are so grateful because you really can’t capture a place like this unless you’re really there. I have to say the local background performers here were just so great and gave the same amount of energy running up and down the streets of the city take after take.”
 

With pre-production done in London, the first order of business was a three-week shoot in Johannesburg. The cityscape and surrounding areas provided the backdrop for one of the biggest action sequences in the film involving Iron Man and The Hulk.
 

“Johannesburg has a very particular look and style to its architecture that I really liked,” says Whedon.

“It has very much its own rhythm, its own feel, its own tones, and there’s an earthiness to the way it looks. It is very different from the other locations we shot. You know immediately you’re not in North America.”
 

The film includes a stellar cast – among them Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Idris Alba, who has a cameo role.

Age of Ultron is produced by Kevin Feige.
 

A continuing epic, this big-screen action adventure started in Marvel’s The Avengers. In Age of Ultron, the super hero dream team is back to protect the world from the greatest threat mankind has ever seen.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will be shown at all cinemas.