The Avengers (2012 film)

The Avengers (titled Avengers Assemble in some countries) is a 2012 American superhero film produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures¹, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is the sixth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was written and directed by Joss Whedon and features an ensemble cast, which includes Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Samuel L. Jackson. In The Avengers, Nick Fury, director of the peacekeeping organization S.H.I.E.L.D., recruits Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America to save the world from destruction.
Development of The Avengers began when Marvel Studios received a grant from Merrill Lynch in April 2005. After the success of the film Iron Man in May 2008, Marvel announced that The Avengers would be released in July 2011. With the signing of Scarlett Johansson in March 2009, the film was pushed back for a 2012 release. Whedon was brought on board in April 2010 and rewrote the screenplay that was originally written by Zak Penn. Production began in April 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before moving to Cleveland, Ohio in August 2011 and New York City in September 2011. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
The Avengers premiered on April 11, 2012 and is scheduled for release on May 4, 2012 in the United States in 2D and 3D.

Filming

Part of The Avengers film set on East 9th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.

Part of The Avengers film set on Park Avenue in New York City.

Principal photography began on April 25, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico with filming scheduled to continue in Cleveland, Ohio and New York City.^[1] The following day Paul Bettany confirmed he would return to voice Tony Stark's computerized assistant, JARVIS.^[35] In May 2011, Gwyneth Paltrow stated that she might "possibly" appear very briefly in the film as Pepper Potts.^[75] Also in May, Stan Lee confirmed through his Twitter account that he will have a cameo appearance in the film unless they "shoot it on the moon".^[36] In June, stuntman Jeremy Fitzgerald injured his head while attempting a stunt involving a 30-foot fall from a building after getting hit by an arrow. A Marvel spokesperson later told TMZ.com that, "[Fitzgerald] was fine. He slid briefly along the side of the building. He got right back up and did several more takes."^[76] In July 2011, it was reported that secondary filming took place about an hour outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Butler area.^[77]
In August 2011, production moved to Cleveland, Ohio for four weeks. The city's East 9th Street was chosen as a double for New York City's 42nd Street to be used in climactic battle scenes.^[78] Army Reserve soldiers assigned to the Columbus, Ohio-based 391st Military Police Battalion provided background action during the battle scenes in Cleveland. Staff Sgt. Michael T. Landis stated the use of real soldiers made the scenes more realistic and helped portray the Army in a more positive light, explaining that, "It's easy for us to make on-the-spot corrections to tactics and uniforms, the director actually took our recommendation on one scene and let us all engage the enemy as opposed to only the gunners in the trucks engaging".^[79] Filming also took place in the large vacuum chamber at the NASA Plum Brook Station near Sandusky, Ohio.^[80] The station's Space Power Facility was used to portray a S.H.I.E.L.D. research facility.^[81] A series of explosions were filmed at the Chevrolet powertrain plant in Parma, Ohio as part of the battle sequence that began in Cleveland.^[82] Scenes from the film were also shot on Public Square and the Detroit–Superior Bridge.^[83] The southwest quadrant of Public Square was turned into Stuttgart, Germany, for filming.^[84]
In September 2011, production moved to New York City for two days to wrap up filming.^[85] Filming locations in New York City included Park Avenue and Central Park.^[86][87]