I was one of the ones who got to see 17-minute clip of Guardians of the Galaxy, and although the line for the clip was beyond ridiculous (the people in the front of the line were in there for probably at least a couple of hours – I was in line an hour before the screening), it was all good fun. Like many others, I’m not familiar with this Marvel comics series, but the wacky bunch seem to have a way of filling you up with giggles and joy.
And Collider brought up a list of things you should know before you watch the movie, or at least things that are interesting to know. But if you don’t want to be spoiled one bit, then you might want to skip this stuff. I for one find this kind of stuff quite informative.
On Practical Effects:
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Everything is grounded in a real world setting even though the story takes place on the other side of the galaxy
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When filming, the production built a practical version of one of Rocket’s guns so the animators could see shadows on the set and the actors to react to something practical in the scene.
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Peter Quill’s gun has a lot of moving parts and lights so it will look great on camera with no CGI added.
On director James Gunn:
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There is a fight sequence in the movie involving two characters that they’d practiced for over two months and days before they were set to shoot, James Gunn informed them it wasn’t working and they had to redesign it. When they finally shot it they did it 22 times and it was the last take they got it right. The entire fight was done in one take.
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Joss Whedon suggested that James Gunn add more of his own voice to the script and the night he got that advice, Gunn wrote a seven page scene that’s in the movie. He also added more of his unique voice to the entire script.
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Gunn compares Guardians to a Nirvana song saying it’s slow and quiet and then loud and strong. Then slow and quiet and loud and strong.
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Gunn says they were going to use the Badoon but 20th Century Fox owns the characters.
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We will get a bit on Rocket’s backstory, but we don’t get into the Kree backstory in the film.
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Gunn says the most important thing is the relationship between the characters and they’re not the pieces of shit they thought they were at the beginning of the movie.
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He calls the Collector (Benicio del Toro) the most unique character in the film. Plays a very important supporting character.
On Things to Know:
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Some of the things the Collector has in his collection will “definitely” be involved in future Marvel movies. His collection looks like the cubes filled with monsters and creatures in Cabin in the Woods.
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Takes place on at least 5 planets and features hundreds of different alien races.
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The ending battle scene is the biggest in scope of any Marvel movie.
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Gunn shot a scene in a prison which is the longest shot he’s ever done in his career.
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In the production art that we were shown we saw a picture of Ronan bowing to Thanos.
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Guardians might be the funniest movie Marvel has done but it’s grounded in reality with real stakes and danger.
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Peter Quill’s costume has a lot of technology in his clothing. His outfit isn’t just clothing, it’s functional clothing and he’s got an array of gadgets. He’s also a bit of a space cowboy with a laid back vibe and antihero attitude.
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Sakaaran is the name of the soldiers Ronan brings in. They wear masks and you rarely get to see their faces (they’re disfigured underneath their helmets as they are missing their nose and mouth). One of the really interesting things about this race is they can grow their armor, helmets and even their ships. It’s all organic.
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We might see a member of the Kree in the prison sequence.
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The production built a huge gambling table that is 21 feet long for a scene. It’s like a miniature Greyhound track with roulette. In this version of gambling you’re betting on the animals and the table has steam and flame effects.
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3D printers were used to help create certain weapons like Rocket’s gun.
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Chris Pratt was working on Parks and Recreation while filming Guardians. NBC and Marvel worked out a deal to let him do the movie by letting him out of a few episodes. He also has flown back and forth a few times and as soon as he wraps he’s back on Parks immediately.
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Kevin Feige has described Star-Lord as Han Solo meets Marty McFly. He leaves Earth when he is 8 or 9.
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Sean Gunn (James Gunn’s brother) played Rocket on set.
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While some films have a lot of improvisation, the cast said during interviews that there wasn’t much improv on Guardians.
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James Gunn told Chris Pratt not to read the comics after getting cast.
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Pratt said about 10-15% of the script changed from when he first got it to what they ended up filming.
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Zoe Saldana said that she wanted her character to be pretty, which is something she normally doesn’t care about when doing a role.
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It took almost 10 camera tests to find the right color for Gamora.
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Like Pratt, Saldana didn’t read the comics to get ready for the role. She also didn’t watch Star Trek after landing that role so she could make the character her own.
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Saldana called the film a dark comedy and said “we’re the Rolling Stones of the Marvel universe.”
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Drax is in four major fight scenes in Guardians.
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A lot of the comic relief in the film has to do with Drax.
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Karen Gillan has an “epic” fight scene with Zoe that she trained 2 months for.
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Gillan said she read Infinity Gauntlet before getting the role.
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Groot can grow and use his limbs. He’s very powerful in the movie.
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Rocket and Groot have a background before the movie starts and Rocket treats Groot like a slave.
You can read the rest of the list at Collider.