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| Avengers: Endgame |
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Footprinting Ceremony held on
Tuesday, April 23, 2019 |
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Avengers : Endgame Opened Nationwide on Friday, April 26, 2019, on 4,662 screens.
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Depending on who you talk to, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is either great or it is dross. What cannot be denied however, is that fact that the 23 film series, called "The Infinity Saga," has become the biggest thing in show-business.
Under the direction of super-saturated fanboy Kevin Feige, the films have utilized the same actors to protray the superhero characters in each other's films. All of this directionality came to a head with the first of the Avenger films, where the major characters all fought against a common foe: Loki. The Avengers are:
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Hulk
Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America
Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson
Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow
All of the MCU films are produced on the largest scale and scope possible; they all have eleborate sets, action sequences, the all-important special effects, cinematography, editing, music and so on. Most of them have been released in the IMAX® format, many of them in 3D — and since 2013, many of them have played the Chinese Theatre.
The Avenger performers, alongside producer Kevin Feige, were all imprinted at the same time with the blocks installed around the Avengers symbol. It is located next to the block of Marvel founder Stan Lee. The imprinting is a testimony to the box-office appeal of the MCU and "The Infinity Saga," whose characters include the Gardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Wasp and Captain Marvel. The 23 film saga has taken in over $22.6 billion worldwide theatrically — God only knows how much in ancillary markets.
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| TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers Forecourt block. Executed by Unknown, Tuesday, April 23. 2019. 65 x 51 inches. |
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| Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man in Avengers: Endgame, released in April, 2019. |
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| Robert Downey Jr. |
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Born: April 4, 1965, in New York City, New York
Age at the time of the ceremony: 54
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Robert Downey Jr. is the lynchpin which holds the Marvel Cinematic Universe together. As Tony Stark / Iron Man, he led the way for all of the Marvel Studios films to have good, serious actors headline their films, resulting in an attachment out there among movie-goers. He is the only performer who has been imprinted in the Forecort twice: for Avengers: Endgame, but he was imprinted before, on Monday, December 7, 2009.
Robert Downey Jr.'s father was the actor and director Robert Downey Sr., whose great claim to fame is the underground comedy film Putney Swope. (released in July 1969). Swope was a startling success, allowing Downey Sr. to make more of his decidedly oddball films.
Son Robert Jr.
played the role of "puppy" in his father's film Pound (released in August 1970) with Joe Madden. By now, Sr. had allowed Jr. to smoke pot, introducing the lad to the world of recreational drugs while living in the Village. Jr.'s parents divorced when he was ten. He packed off to England to study ballet (!), returning to the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in Sheldrake New York, in the later 1970s.
Living in LA with Dad, Robert dropped out of Santa Monica High in 1982, and headed to New York City to make the big time; his roommate during this period was Keifer Sutherland. After doing off-Broadway shows, Downey was in the new cast of Saturday Night Live starting in November 1985, but the entire cast got poor ratings and was replaced rather quickly.
Popular director John Hughes cast Downey as a bully in Weird Science (released in August 1985) with Anthony Michael Hall; the Hughes connection got Downey a role in Rodney Dangerfield's comedy Back to School (released in June 1986).
But it was director James Toback who headlined Downey with Molly Ringwald in The Pick-up Artist (released in September 1987. Playing drug-casualty Julian in Less Than Zero (released in November 1987) with Andrew McCarthy, made Downey exaggerate his own drug use off set. Despite this, Downey was seen in the big time alright: Air America (which had its World Premiere at the Chinese on August 9, 1990) with Mel Gibson, and Soapdish (which played the Chinese in May 1991) with Sally Field.
For director Richard Attenborough, Downey immersed himself in the world of Charles Chaplin (released in December 1992) with Geraldine Chaplin. Downey got an Oscar nomination for this film. In director Robert Altman's ensemble piece, Short Cuts (premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 1993) Downey played husband to Lilli Taylor.
For director Oliver Stone, Downey played tabloid muckracker Wayne Gale in Natural Born Killers (which played the Chinese in August 1994) with Woodly Harrelson. For director Jodie Foster, Downey played Holly Hunter's kookie, messed-up brother Tommy in Home for the Holidays (released in November 1995); wonderful movie.
Downey had the lead in the period picture Restoration (released in December 1995) with Sam Neill, then starred as Tommy Lee Jones' sidekick in U.S. Marshals (which played the Chinese in March 1998). Downey took a role in the comedy Bowfinger (released in August 1999) with Steve Martin, and Wonder Boys (released in February 2000) with Michael Douglas.
By this time, Downey had been arrested on drug charges several times; he missed a parole drug test in 1999, which sent him to California State Prison for a year, getting out early for good behavior. To get back in the swing of things, Downey took a role as a new romantic interest for
25 episodes of Ally McBeal as Larry Paul, aired over the Fox Network from October 2000 to April 2002. Downey got a Golden Globe Award for his work on the show. While boosting the McBeal ratings, Downey was unable to remain clean, so the show runners fired him and wrote his character out of the show.
To help bring Downey back, Mel Gibson hired him to star in a film of The Singing Detective (released in November 2003) with Robin Wright. It bombed. Downey appeared in a whole raft of supporting roles in various films, most notably as CBS News producer Joe Wersba for director George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck (released in November 2005) with David Strathairn.
Finally, director Jon Favreau insisted on Downey playing Tony Stark in Iron Man (released in May 2008) with Gwyneth Paltrow. The film was a whopping hit, and was followed by another big-budget hit Tropic Thunder (released in August 2008) with Jack Black.
So Downey's career was back on track. He played journalist Steve Lopez in The Soloist (released in April 2009) with Jamie Foxx, and had his Chinese Theatre Forecourt ceremony just before his opening in the title role of Sherlock Holmes (which played the Chinese in December 2009) with Jude Law, which became a substantial hit.
Iron Man 2 (released in May 2010) with Gwyneth Paltrow, established Downey in the Iron Man franchise, while Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (released in December 2011) with Jude Law, established him in another. His detailed performances in these films carry them to a large degree.
The character of Tony Stark takes up a lot of time for Downey. In between The Avengers (released in May 2012) with Chris Evans, and Iron Man 3 (released in May 2013) with Gwyneth Paltrow, Downey took a small role in Chef (released in May 2014) with Jon Favreau as director and star.
Then back to Stark. In addition to playing Stark / Iron Man in various Marvel Universe projects, he has also led the pack (meaning, he gets top-billing) in Avengers: Age of Ultron (which played the Chinese in May 2015) with Chris Evans and Avengers: Infinity War (played the Chinese in April 2018) with Chris Hemsworth. He headlined once more in Avengers: Endgame (which played the Chinese in May 2019). The film has grossed $2.7 billion. He has starred in the title role of the second remake of Doolittle (released in January 2020) with Antonio Banderas., kinda flopped in the US, but has done OK internationally. He produced a very moving tribute to his father, Robert Downey Sr., called, Sr., released over Netflix in September 2022.
Downey received major buzz for his portrayal of Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer (which played the Chinese in July 2023). Downey received so much buzz that he won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for the film.
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| Mark Ruffalo |
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Born: November 22, 1967, in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Age at the time of the ceremony: 51 |
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Mark Ruffalo was born to Italian-American parents and raised Catholic, attending Catholic schools, where he gravitated toward wrestling. During his teenage years, he lived with his father, a construction painter, in Virginia Beach Virginia. It was here that young Mark caught the acting bug, in a class taught by Nancy P. Curtis.
The Ruffalo family moved to San Diego, then Los Angeles, where Mark studied acting with Stella Adler. After starting a theatre company, Mark wrote, acted and directed plays for the company while working as a bartender. He did this for ten years.
His first role came with his playing James Farentino's son Michael in a CBS Summer Playhouse episode called "American Nuclear" aired over CBS in July 1989. In Manhattan, Ruffalo was cast as the wastrel Warren in Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth (which opened off Broadway in October 1996). After doing a bunch of decidedly so-so films, Hulk director Ang Lee cast Ruffalo in his western Ride with the Devil (released in November 1999) with Toby McGuire, after which he got a prominent role in Kenneth Longerman's directing debut film You Can Count on Me (released in December 2000) with Laura Linney.
As it happens with actors who click, he made a couple of rom-coms: 13 Going on 30 (released in April 2004) with Jennifer Gardner, and Just Lke Heaven (released in September 2005) with Reese Witherspoon.
Director David Fincher cast him to play a police inspector in Zodiac (released in March 2007), where he worked for the first time with Robert Downey Jr.. Branching out, Ruffalo directed and co-starred with writer Christopher Thornton in Sympathy Delicious (premiered at Sundance in January 2010).
Ruffalo worked with director Martin Scorsese in Shutter Island (released in February 2010) with Leonardo DiCaprio, then played a sperm doner for director Lisa Cholodenko in The Kids Are All Right (released in July 2010) with Annette Benning.
When actor Edward Norton baulked at having to play the Incredible Hulk for the rest of his life, producer Kevin Feige cast Ruffalo, who took over the role of the Hulk in the first mega-hit ensemble film The Avengers (released in May 2012, and grossed $1.5 billion worldwide) with Robert Downey Jr. and the rest of the gang. Now, Ruffalo could do what some of the other super-heroes do: appear in little films, and help them to get made.
He began with Foxcatcher (premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014) with Steve Carell, then played A.I.D.S. activist Ned Weeks and was co-executive producer on The Normal Heart (aired over HBO in May 2014) with Matt Bomer.
Back at Marvel Studios, Ruffalo was in Avengers: Age of Ultron (which played the Chinese in May 2015, and went on to gross $1.4 billion), then had the lead role in the Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight (released in November 2015) with Michael Keaton.
Donning the Marvel Green once again, Ruffalo played the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok (which played the Chinese in November 2017) with Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and in Avengers: Infinity War (played the Chinese in May 2018, and which grossed $2 billion), and again in Avengers: Endgame (played the Chinese in May 2019, and which grossed $2.7 billion). Endgame is now the reigning box-office champ.
Working with indie director Todd Haynes, Ruffalo starred in Dark Waters (released in December 2019) with Anne Hataway. He plays identical twins in the drama I Know This Much Is True, streaming over HBO Max in May 2020. He has been known to play the Hulk on the show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, streaming over Disney+ in August 2022.
Ruffalo has been getting rave reviews for his performance in Poor Things (released in December 2023), and he has a role in the adaptation of All the Light We Cannot See with Aria Mia Loberti over Netflix in November 2023. |
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| Jeremy Renner |
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Born: January 7, 1971, in Modesto, California
Age at the time of the ceremony: 48
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Jeremy Renner is the oldest of seven children born to high school sweethearts Lee and Valerie Renner. They divorced when Jeremy was ten. After attending Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto, he studied computer science and criminology at Modesto Junior College.
As an elective, Jeremy took a drama class and became hooked.
After a few years, Renner got his first film role in National Lampoon's Senior Trip (released in September 1995) with Matt Frewer. During the next few years, Renner worked as a makeup artist in between guesting on television shows.
His breakthrough came with his playing the infamous serial killer in Dahmer (released in June 2002) with Bruce Davidson. Renner's performance in the ghastly story was well received, so he was cast in the Hollywood actioner S.W.A.T. (released in August 2003) with Samuel L. Jackson.
Renner then became something of a staple on the film festival curcuit, appearing in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2004) with Asia Argento, Neo Ned (premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2005) with Gabrielle Union, 12 and Holding (premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2005) with Linus Roache and A Little Trip to Heaven (premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2005) with Forest Whittaker.
Finally, some smart producer gave Renner the lead in the bio-hazzard horror sequel 28 Weeks Later (which played the Chinese in May 2007) with Rose Byrne. He got to play Wood Hite — one of the Jesse James Gang — in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (released in October 2007) with Brad Pitt.
Renner then starred in the Best Picture Oscar winner The Hurt Locker (released in July 2009) with Anthony Mackie. Back on the film festival slate, he co-starred in Ingenious (premiered at the Santa Barbra Film Festival in February 2009) with Dallas Roberts.
Renner played William Brant in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (released in December 2011) with Tom Cruise, and did so well that they brought him back for another. Somewhat ignominiously, Renner played Hansel in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (released in January 2013) with Gemma Arterton as Gretel (we know — you probably missed that one).
Who knows what caused producer Kevin Feige to cast Renner as Clint Barton / Hawkeye in The Avengers (released in May 2012), but the fans certainly liked him in the role, which he reprised in Avengers: Age of Ultron (which played the Chinese in May 2015). That same summer saw the release of Renner's other blockbuster: Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation (which played the Chinese in July 2015) with Tom Cruise.
Renner played Hawkeye once more in
Captain America: Civil War (which played the Chinese in May 2016) with Chris Evans. He then co-starred in the sci-fi thriller Arrival (released in November 2016) with Amy Adams. Renner returned to the western in Wind River (released in August 2017) with Elizabeth Olsen, then returned to play Hawkeye in Avengers: Endgame (played the Chinese in May 2019. Hawkeye gets his own television show starting in November 2021, with Renner starring.
In January of 2023, Renner was severly injured by a 14,000 pound snowplow at his house. Breaking over 30 bones, Renner was operated on and released after a few weeks in hospital. He has played the lead in Mayor of Kingstown streaming over Paramount+ in November 2021.
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| Kevin Feige |
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Born: June 2, 1973, in Boston, Massachusetts
Age at the time of the ceremony: 45
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Kevin Feige (pronnounced FAH-ghee) was born in Boston, but grew up in Wesfield New Jersey, just west of Staten Island. After spending his childhood admiring all things in the comic book / movie worlds, he graduated from Westfield High School, and applied to the Cinema School at USC.
Turned down five times, he was accepted on his sixth try. He cut his teeth in the biz by being an assistant to producer Lauren Shuler Donner on both Volcano (which played the Chinese in April 1997) and You've Got Mail (released in December 1998). In 2000, he joined the newly reorganized Marvel Studios.
Working again with Lauren Shuler Donner, Feige was an associate producer on X-Men (released in July 2000) with Patrick Stewart. Feige used his knowledge of the "Marvel Universe" — the fact that most of the Marvel comic characters and stories take place in a shared (and real) world — wowed Marvel Studios head Avi Arad, who made him vice-president right away.
Marvel's recipe for success
went a little south with Daredevil (which played the Chinese in February 2003) with Ben Affleck; it is a film most fanboys would like to forget; the same may be said for director Ang Lee's Hulk (released in June 2003) with Eric Bana. It dissappointed fans. So did Fantastic Four (released in July 2005) with Ioan Gruffudd.
With the departure of Avi Arad in 2006, Feige
was made president of Marvel Studios in March 2007. Under his leadership, the key to making blockbusters was in hiring stars who could play the Marvel characters convincingly and directors who could tell the stories with real feeling and panaché. The turn came with Iron Man (released in May 2008) with Robert Downey Jr. in the title role. Iron Man has had two sequels, taking in a combined $2.4 billion.
The Incredible Hulk (released in June 2008) with Edward Norton as the Hulk, did well, pointing the way to The Avengers. There was an animated The Spectacular Spider-Man in 2008. There was an animated Iron Man in 2010. At the end of 2009, The Walt Disney Company purchased the Marvel Studio for $4 billion.
A successful version of Thor (released in May 2011) starred Chris Hemsworth. There have been three Thor movies, grossing $1.9 billion. Steve Rogers / Captain America, now portrayed by Chris Evans, got his own film with Captain America: The First Avenger (released in July 2011). There have been three Captain America films, which have made $2.2 billion.
The big payday came with the release of The Avengers (released in May 2012), which brought many of the Marvel characters together in one storyline; it was an even bigger grosser than any of the other films. There have been four Avengers movies, which have taken in $7.6 billion.
Marvel Studios did a new version of The Amazing Spider-Man (released in July 2012) with Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy. There have been two Spider-Man movies with Garfield, taking in $1.4 billion.
Guardians of the Galaxy (which played the Chinese in August 2014) with Chris Pratt, was a huge hit, spawning a sequel. The two films have brought in $1.6 billion. Ant-Man (which played the Chinese in July 2015) with Paul Rudd, was followed by a sequel; the two films have brought in $1.1 billion. Doctor Strange (which had its World Premiere at the Chinese on October 20, 2016) with Benedict Cumberbatch, did $677 million.
In an effort to blend the Spider-Man films into the "Marvel Cinematic Universe," a new film was created: Spider-Man: Homecoming (which had its World Premiere at the Chinese on June 28, 2017) with Tom Holland as Spider-Man. It made $880 million.
Marvel's Inhumans (which played the Chinese in September 2017) with Anson Mount, aired over ABC in September 2017. Black Panther (which played the Chinese in February 2018) with Chadwick Boseman, suprised nearly everyone by bringing in an asounding $1.3 billion.
To celebrate the 19th anniversary of the Marvel Studio, a retrospective of 20 films produced up to that time were shown in the IMAX® format at the Chinese from Thursday, August 30 to September 3, 2018. On November 12, 2018. Captain Marvel (which played the Chinese in March 2019) with Brie Larson, has brought in $1.1 billion. Avengers: Endgame (which played the Chinese in May 2019), has grossed $2.7 billion.
Feige continues on his merry way. Aside from overseeing Spider-Man: Far From Home (which played the Chinese in July 2018), he launched WandaVision with Elizabeth Olson streaming over Disney+ in January 2021. He's got so many upcoming projects, it would make your head spin. You occasionally see him doing his thing in the documentary Marvel Studios: Assembled (released in November 2021). The latest Feature he has produced is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (which played the Chinese in February 2023). Wait, wait - the latest movie is The Marvels, which famoulsy dudded at the Chinese in November 2023. |
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| Chris Evans as Steve Rogers / Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, released in April, 2019. |
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| Chris Evans |
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Born: June 13, 1981, in Boston, Massachusetts
Age at the time of the ceremony: 37 |
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Born in Boston Massachusetts, Chris grew up in Sudbury, west of Boston, where his mother was artistic director of the Concord Youth Theatre. He is of Italian, Irish, English and German heritage; he was raised Catholic.
Mother Lisa must have been a strong influence, since sister Carly is a high school drama teacher, and his brother Scott is an actor. When Chris was only 16, he got a prominent role in a Conoco Phillips promotional film called Biodiversity: Wild About Life! (released direct to video in 1997). After graduating from high school, Chris lit out for New York, studying method acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
Evans was cast as one of the three boys who attend the first co-ed class at a girl's school in The Opposite Sex aired over the Fox Network in July 2000 with Milo Ventimiglia and Kyle Howard as the other two boys. He played a slacker / football player in the satire Not Another Teen Movie (released in December 2001) with Jamie Pressly, then went on to get the lead role in the caper movie The Perfect Score (which played the Chinese in January 2004) with future Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Scarlett Johansson.
Speaking of the MCU, Evans was cast as Johnny Storm / the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (released in July 2005) with Ioan Gruffudd as Dr. Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic. The film got clobbered by critics, but the fans showed up, so they made another, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (released in June 2007) with Jessica Alba. It was around this time that the MCU was being re-organized by Kevin Feige. Evans played a acting skateboarder in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (released in August 2010) with Michael Cera.
After the launch of Phase One of The Infinity Saga with Iron Man in May 2008, Evans was cast as Steve Rogers / Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger (released in July 2011) with Tommy Lee Jones. Meanwhile, Evans starred in stuff like the rom-com What's Your Number? (which played the Chinese in September 2011) with Anna Faris.
The MCU really came together with the release of The Avengers (released in May 2012) with Robert Downey Jr.. The film was a mega-hit, but like his fellow co-stars, he would take roles in smaller films like The Iceman (which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in August 2012) with Michael Shannon, but these have been few and far between.
Evans has concentrated on playing Steve Rogers / Captain America since then: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which played the Chinese in April 2014) with Scarlett Johansson, Avengers: Age of Ultron (played the Chinese in May 2015) with Chris Hemsworth, Captain America: Civil War (which played the Chinese in May 2016) with Robert Downey Jr., Spider-Man: Homecoming (which played the Chinese in July 2017) with Tom Holland, Avengers: Infinity War (which played the Chinese in April 2018) and Avengers: Endgame (which played the Chinese in April 2019).
Evans played an Irraeli Mossad agent in the historical drama
The Red Sea Diving Resort (streamed on Netflix beginning in July 2019) with Ben Kingsley. He plays a smarmy fortune hunter in Knives Out (released in November 2019) with Daniel Craig. He starred in eight episodes of Defending Jacob Streaming over Appletv+ in April 2020. After doing a walk-on as himself in Free Guy (which played the Chinese in August 2021), Evans is in the ensemble comedy Don't Look Up (released in November 2021). Evans took over as the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Lightyear (released in June 2022), and co-starred with Ryan Gosling in the Nexflix thriller The Gray Man (which had its premiere at the Chinese, on July13, 2022). In 2023, he starred in a pair of films: Ghosted with Ana de Armas over Apple+ in April, and Pain Hustlers with Emily Blunt over Netflix in October |
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| Chris Hemsworth |
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Born: August 11, 1983, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Age at the time of the ceremony: 35
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Chris Hemsworth answers the question of "Are there more back home like you?" with a "Yes." Born to a English teacher mother and social services worker father, Chris is the middle child with two acting brothers, Chris Hemsworth (younger) and Luke (older). When Chris was 21 or so, the family relocated to a small island outside of Melbourne, where he and his brothers surfed a good deal.
Hemsworth got a guest shot on the Aussie soap opera Neighbours aired over the BBC and Ten Network in August 2002 (younger brother Liam got to play Josh Taylor for 25 episodes, beginninng in October 2007). Auditioning for one role and being turned down, he was given another role, that of Kim Hyde on 192 episodes of another long-running soap, Home and Away aired over 7 Network from February 2004 to September 2007, (younger brother Liam guested on the show once).
Chris and Liam moved to Los Angeles, where they shared an apartment. Once in LA, Chris got a call from director J.J. Abrams to step in at the last minute to play Captain Kirk's father George Kirk in Star Trek (which had its west coast premiere at the Chinese on April 30, 2009).
Both Chris and Liam auditioned for director Kenneth Branagh for the role of Thor (released in May 2011) with Anthony Hopkins, but Chris won the role and has played Thor Odinson in the "First Phase" of the MCU ever since. Before Thor was released, Hemsworth played a big jock in the horror flick The Cabin in the Woods (released in April 2012) with Kristen Connolly.
When all the Marvel superheroes were called to fight Loki (played by Hemsworth's school chum Tom Hiddleston), Thor was among them. The Avengers (released in May 2012) with Robert Downey Jr., became a huge hit, popular with audiences and critics alike.
The same cannot be said for Snow White and the Huntsman (released in June 2012) where he played the titular Huntsman with Kristen Stewart as Snow White. It squeaked by. Hemsworth played George Kirk once more in Star Trek: Into the Darkness (released in May 2013) with Chris Pine, then made his first Thor sequel, Thor: Dark World (released in November 2013) with Natalie Portman.
After playing Thor once more in Avengers: Age of Ultron (played the Chinese in May 2015), he played Kevin the receptionist for the all-female Ghostbusters (which played the Chinese in July 2016) with Melissa McCarthy.
Thor: Ragnarok (which played the Chinese in November 2017) with Tom Hiddleston, was a fun trip, helping to revive the Thor franchise, while in 12 Strong (played the Chinese in January 2018) with Michael Shannon, he played a member of a US Special Forces team in Afganistan. He played Thor again in Avengers: Infinity War (which played the Chinese in April 2018).
Hemsworth and his Avenger co-stars were asked to make their imprints in the Chinese Theatre Forecourt. Three days later, Avengers: Endgame (which played the Chinese in April 2019) swept the country — and the world, bringing in $2.5 billion worldwide. Chris, along with Liam Hemsworth, are the only brothers to have their imprints in the Chinese Theatre's Forecourt (sisters Norma and Constance Talmadge were both imprinted in 1927, while sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine beat the Hemsworth's by 67 years).
Hemsworth starred in a reboot of Men in Black: International (which played the Chinese in June 2019) with Tessa Thompson, and headlined the action flick Extraction with Byron Lerum Streaming over Netflix in April 2020. He has supplied the voice of Thor in the animated television series What If. . .? (aired in August 2021). Another Thor picture came out in 2022: Thor: Love and Thunder (which played the Chinese in July 2022). To keep himself busy, Hemsworth headlined Extraction II over Netflix in June 2023.
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| Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Ramanoff / Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame, released in April, 2019. |
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| Scarlett Johansson |
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Born: November 22, 1984, in New York City, New York
Age at the time of the ceremony: 34
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Scarlett Johansson's parents are Polish and Russian on her mother's side, and Danish on her architect father's side. Growing up in Greenwich Village, Scarlett showed an interest in music, dance and performance at an early age. At age eight, she began studying acting at the Lee Strausberg Theatre Institute(!). She became frustrated at being offered only commercials for work.
She appeared in a small part in the Off-Broadway play Sophistry starring Ethan Hawke, then enrolled at the Professional Children's School, an acting school in Manhattan. Director Rob Reiner selected Johansson to play a small role in North (released in July 1994) with Elijah Wood.
Her breakthrough role as a troubled teenager in The Horse Whisperer (released in May 1998) starring and directed by Robert Redford, put her feet on the path to the Big Time. She practically walks away with Ghost World (released in September 2001) with Thora Birch. Around this time, Johansson enrolled for further studies at the Tisch School at New York University, but was turned down.
Director Sophia Coppola cast Johansson in Lost in Translation (released in October 2003) with Bill Murray. Clearly, Johansson was going places, with rave reviews for her work in Girl with the Pearl Earring (released in January 2004) with Colin Firth. However this was followed by a string of flops: The Perfect Score (which played the Chinese in January 2004) with future Marvel Cinematic Universe co-star Chris Evans; The Black Dahlia (released in September 2006) with Josh Hartnett and The Nanny Diaries (released in August 2007) with Laura Linney.
Woody Allen changed that trajectory with her third film for the director, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (released in August 2008) with Rebecca Hall. After this, she made her first forray into comic book land, playing Silken Floss in The Spirit (released in December 2008) with Gabriel Macht. The film utterly tanked.
She made her Broadway debut and won the Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play as Catherine in A View from the Bridge (for 81 performances in January 2010). Director Jon Favreau cast her as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow in Iron Man 2 (released in May 2010) with Robert Downey Jr.,
After playing Black Widow in The Avengers (released in May 2012) with Robert Downey Jr., Johansson played Janet Leigh in Hitchcock (which world premiered at the Chinese on Thursday, November 8, 2012) with Anthony Hopkins in the title role, then starred on Broadway as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (for 84 perfs in January 2013).
Johansson did her Iron Man director Jon Favreau a favor and took a small part in Chef (released in May 2014), then played Black Widow again in Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which played the Chinese in April 2014) with Chris Evans, and did the same in Avengers: Age of Ultron (played the Chinese in May 2015) with Robert Downey Jr..
Working with the Coen Brothers, she played a pregnant movie star in
Hail, Caesar! (released in February 2016) with Josh Brolin. Even though the "The Infinity Saga" concludes with Avengers: Endgame (which played the Chinese in April 2019), and after making Marriage Story (released in December 2019) with Adam Driver, and Jojo Rabbit (released in November 2019) with Roman Griffin Davis, Johansson starred in her own Black Widow movie (which played the Chinese in July 2021). 2023 saw her in Asteriod City with Jason Schwartzman released in June, and North Star which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. Johansson is in high demand. Stay tuned.
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| TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Kevin Feige, Chris Hemsworth, Chis Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and Mark Ruffalo share a fist bump after making their marks in the cement. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez. |
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| TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Kevin Feige, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner show their cement hands after making their marks in the cement. Photo by Bob Freeman. |
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo show off their dirty hands. Photo by Bob Freeman.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Robert Downey Jr. shows his dirty hands to the crowd. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Mark Ruffalo seems to enjoy himself as he inscribes his name in the cement. Photo by Albert L. Ortega.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Jeremy Renner shows off his dirty hands to the cameras. Photo by Valerie Macon.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Kevin Feige takes to the dias at the beginning of the ceremony. Photo by Gotpap/ Bauergriffin.Com.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Chris Evans shows off his cementy hands. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Chris Hemsworth shows off his dirty hands. Photo by Bob Freeman.
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Scarlett Johansson gives a charming smile while signing her name in the cement. Photo by Bob Freeman.
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| TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame ceremony, Tuesday, April 23, 2019. Scarlett Johansson and Mark Ruffalo share a high five. Photo by Bob Freeman. |
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TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX®, Hollywood, California. Avengers: Endgame block, Saturday, November 2, 2019. The Avengers blocks had been installed in the Forecourt — next to Stan Lee’s block — but had not dried yet. Photo by Kurt Wahlner.
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