Visit Madame Tussauds Hollywood & Interview with Producer Trinh Tran of Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is one of those films that you’ll never forget. Think of it like a reunion where all your favorite superheroes get together, in one amazing film, and hold your attention with ease for the next 90 minutes. Released in theaters in April 2018, it took Marvel and Disney fans by storm. With the much anticipated BluRay and DVD release happening on August 14, 2018, what better time to get to know the woman Executive producer behind one of the most amazing superhero movies of all time? Enjoy our exclusive interview with Trinh Tran plus my experience at the Madame Tussauds Hollywood.
Myself, along with 24 other bloggers were invited on an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to share our experiences with our readers. This was part of the #InfinityWarBluRay event. All opinions are my own.
Introduction to Trinh Tran, Executive Producer of Avengers: Infinity War
Trinh Tran is not only an amazing executive producer, she is an inspiration for millions of other women in the world. Her story of success is not only awe-inspiring but just proves that she has her own superhero powers herself. Her movie industry career began as an assistant, but she knew in her heart that it was just a place for her to start, not end. While many people may feel that it’s not a “starting point” that they care to be at, Trinh Tran viewed it as an experience and spent her time learning everything that she could about the movie industry. Hard work paid off because now she is the producer of one of the best and biggest superhero movies in history, Avengers: Infinity War!
©Marvel Studios 2018
Trinh Tran’s role and day to day responsibilities when producing the film:
You know, it’s amazing because I’m able to be a part of the culture from beginning to end. When the idea first came out, we were finishing up, shooting Captain America: Civil War. We were in the story room with Joe, Anthony, Steven, and Chris, our writers, and we started just hashing out ideas. It was wonderful being a part of that creative process and sitting together with the Writers and Directors, coming up with ideas, then just really taking it all the way through shooting.
Being on set every day, just really making sure that Marvel’s vision was there and that we were following through with the stories that we wanted to tell. Following it through in post production, being in Editorial every single day, night, holiday, you name it….it was just being there every single day, every step of the way, which was the most exciting part.
When you are producing, at that point, are you getting the storyline developed and did this happen in this movie?
I think there’s always an idea that we want to bring each of our stories to, towards a particular direction. I think Kevin Feige is the genius behind this all and he has a vision of where Marvel is going to be and for the last 10 years, was able to tell those stories. To bring us to where we are now…I think what’s also unique is that we embrace the journey in way. We let the audience kind of allow us to, because they are invested in these characters as much as we are. So to be able to see them actually grow in each one of our franchises it really helps us and to allow us to tell the story that we want to tell for each of the movies.
©Marvel Studios 2018
Who decides who survives in the movies?
It was pretty difficult. Sitting in the story meeting we really had to make the decision of yes, who we want to survive so that we could tell the next story and we sat there and we boarded out, we brainstormed, we’d sit in the room, we hash it out every single day, involvement in pre-production and it was really trying to figure out how this was going to connect to Avengers 4 and we wanted to be able to tell a story, you know, I won’t get into it much because I don’t want to spoil anything but there is a specific reason why some of these people survive.
Is there a character that you really wanted to survive?
You know, I had the same reaction the first time I watched Peter Parker and it was pretty hard, pretty emotional to see him go through it especially with him being so young and he’s Tony’s protégé. I was pretty heartbroken when we decided that he had to go.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..Spider-Man/Peter Parker (Tom Holland)..Photo: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2018
What are some of the biggest challenges of shooting 2 movies like this back to back and somewhat on top of each other?
Being away for a year and a half I think was one of the biggest challenges. Shooting a back to back movie is really just the amount of time that you spend and trying to complete the movie but really getting the cast together. This is the biggest cast that we’ve ever had. The amount of talent that we have and to be able to actually bring them all together, even to shoot one scene, was pretty challenging but we have the best people. Some of these crew members we’ve worked with since “Winter Soldier” so we have this trust that everybody is going to be able to figure out a way to make that happen and we were able to pull it off and make a great movie out of it.
What was it like working with Victoria Alonzo? What support did she provide to you and what do you feel about women supporting?
She is amazing. She’s one of the Top 3 at Marvel and I actually used to be her Assistant for a period of time. She is so supportive. Marvel’s so wonderful because everybody’s very supportive and positive and really try to nurture your career. Victoria especially, since Day One, brought me over to her and really allowed me to just grow. She’s an advocate for bringing more women into the Film Industry.
I wish we can all be in the story meetings together. I think that it is important we have such a different perspective and we need more of that in the industry. She is a fighter for that which I really love. We’re doing more and more of that at Marvel, which is amazing.
Photo Credit: Louise Manning Bishop – Momstart.com
What would you say to young women who want to be you?
You know what? I think first of all, I would say don’t worry. Just go on a journey and don’t worry about the outcome because ten years ago, never did I imagine that I would be right here producing two of the biggest Marvel Movies. I thought, Kevin was crazy at one point when he said, do you want to do it, do you want to spearhead this Movie? You want me to what? I think also just embrace your difference. As I mentioned earlier, films are stronger when ideas are generated and questioned by different perspectives.
Who we are and the way we think is really important and it matters. So as a female and as a minority, I think it’s so important that I embrace it. I’m learning every day that it’s OK to be in a room with other males who some of them have over 20 years of experience. I’m sitting there and sometimes I feel a little intimidated, and it’s like do I speak up? It’s all about if you let your perspective shine. There’s a great story that can we can all agree will be great.
What do you think this Generation will take away from this movie?
We really wanted to tell a different story which is why Thanos was such a prominent character and had a prominent role in this but not that bad guys are good. We really wanted to raise the idea that in doing so, a debate, about society now and how, you know, he really thinks that what he’s doing is right. He feels that with limited resources out there, we’re going to head that direction. What he’s doing is absolutely wrong but his belief, he feels so strongly about. So we wanted that conversation. We also wanted the heroes. I think people always assume that the heroes are going to win at the end of every single movie. We wanted to challenge that. We wanted to say, you know what, it’s OK, sometimes if it doesn’t happen but they are still Super Heroes. So you know, for kids out there, it doesn’t matter I guess whatever happens, they’re gonna find a way to overcome it.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..Thanos (Josh Brolin)..Photo: Film Frame..©Marvel Studios 2018
Which Character’s evolution has surprised you the most and why?
That’s a good question. There are so many of them to choose from. I think the one that really stood out in this particular movie, “Infinity War” is Gamora. I think she really shines in this one and I didn’t really get to see as much of that from Guardians 1 and 2, and we really wanted to give her a prominent role next to Thanos so I think her evolution and her back story and having to be able to tell her side and her relationship with Thanos was really important here.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..Gamora (Zoe Saldana)..Photo: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2018
Which Avenger would you want to be?
You know what? I know Captain Marvel is not Infinity War but she’s the one. I’m looking forward to her movie and I think it’s about time. You know, it’s only because she’s so strong and what’s so important is that she embodies leadership and we got to have more of that especially Female so I’m looking forward to March when this movie comes out.
What is the most challenging part of the movie-making process?
In this particular movie, it is really about bringing the cast together. It’s really making sure that the vision is clear and the audiences are coming to love what you do. We all want to make something we’re passionate about but people have to go and see it so I think there’s a lot of pressure, in terms of making the right movie or making movies that everybody is going to watch. We try to push on all sides and it’s just about the passion of film making. It’s the passion about the story that we want to tell so I think the challenge is to not hear some of that and just really bring out, each and every one of what we love to tell in the story and we try to tell the best one we can.
What’s it like having the star power all under the same roof? Do all of them use a stunt double?
Most of them do. When they do have to perform the bigger stunts, we try to definitely use the stunt double. Just having them all in one roof, I think the first time when I see them all in their costumes. They’re walking together for the first time and I see the different characters from the different franchises come together. It is pretty incredible just to see them. I can’t believe that this is finally happening. So it’s the star power, when they’re all coming together and they’re all in one scene. I think the crew just go silent like this is happening. We’re actually making this. It’s pretty powerful.
Marvel Studios’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR..L to R: Okoye (Danai Gurira), Black Panther/T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) and Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan)..Photo: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2018
How did you know that you wanted to get into film or was there a moment when you thought this is what I want to do?
There wasn’t really one moment per se but I knew I wanted to get into the Film Industry ever since I was little. Watching all the Movies and just loving everything that came out of it, I knew I wanted to be a part of that. Then growing up and in my culture, it was very different. My Parents never understood what that meant like for a female and wanting to be in the Film Industry? It is a very Male dominated Industry and you’re a woman of color so what does that mean? It really is just pushing through all that and going, you know, I want to do what I’m passionate about and I’m gonna do my best. I’m gonna work hard. I’m gonna surround myself with positive people.
What was the most satisfying Character pairing for you?
When we worked on the story, we really tried to figure out which character made sense with each other. We call that strange alchemy, putting Characters together that you normally wouldn’t see together ever. I think to me it was really Tony and Strange because I really like those two personalities. I wanted to see the Ego vs. Ego and where that was going to go. There was a lot of uncertainty and brainstorming….
Madame Tussauds Hollywood: Marvel Universe Themed Area & Marvel Super Hero Wax Figures
If you are a Marvel fan, you will be excited to know that Madame Tussauds Museum in Hollywood has an entire room themed with wax figures of the Marvel Super Hero characters. I had the opportunity to make a souvenir Infinity Wax Gauntlet hand!
Where else can you get some of the most awesome selfies possible with Marvel Super Hero Characters? Check out some of these great pics that we were able to capture! I had an absolute blast standing proudly next to Captain America!
Don’t forget to check out my Captain America Cupcakes!
We’ve all probably been to those wax museums where it’s hard to even figure out what person they are trying to replicate…but this was NOT an issue at Madame Tussauds in Hollywood. The time that was spent on the replication of these figures is amazing. They were spot on with even the tiniest facial features, like wrinkles and dimples. So cool to be able to be up close to such detail! I never knew the amount of artwork and time that went into creating wax figurines.
VISITING MADAME TUSSAUDS HOLLYWOOD:
Visiting the Madame Tussauds Hollywood Museum was such a fun experience. Charge those cameras, and get ready to be wowed the moment that you walk in the door. It’s truly a fun way to spend some time reliving your love of movie characters throughout the years!
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War – “Family” Featurette
MARVEL STUDIOS’ AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR IS AVAILABLE ON Digital HD 7/31 and Blu-ray & DVD 8/14
Unless otherwise noted, all photos taken during the interview with Trinh Tran should be properly credited to Louise Manning Bishop of Momstart.com
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