Director Joe Russo came to The Little Theater Monday afternoon to answer questions about the newest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ‘Avengers Infinity War’ (2018). Students filled the seats and asked the filmmaker questions about the superhero epic, as well as his longtime career in the entertainment industry.

“I thought it was really cool. It was interesting to get a new perspective. Everybody has a perspective as a viewer but it was very cool see his perspective and how he made the movie,” said Ivan Johnson ‘18.

Russo, along with his brother and co-director Anthony Russo, helmed other Marvel spectacles such as ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014), ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016), and next year’s untitled ‘Avengers 4’ (2019). The siblings started their careers in the late-1990’s with two independent films they both wrote and directed, ‘Pieces’ (1997) and ‘Welcome to Collinwood’ (2002). Eventually, they moved to the world of TV where they became foundational to the popular series ‘Arrested Development’ (2003-present), which they won an Emmy for in 2004, and ‘Community’ (2009-2015).

Russo talked at length about various surprises and spoilers that occurred during ‘Infinity War.’ However, he made sure to keep his silence about questions and theories retaining to the future of the MCU and how ‘Avengers 4’ would play into that, along with ‘Ant-Man and The Wasp’ and ‘Captain Marvel,’ both of which release before next May. When asked about the film’s absence of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), all Russo said is that “[Hawkeye] will have an incredible arc in Avengers 4.”

The filmmaker also shared he’s been a lifelong Spider-Man fan and it was an honor to work with actor Tom Holland and bring the character into the MCU in the third Captain America installment.

Eventually, the Q+A turned to more of the logistical aspects. Russo talked to students about the process of working with a great number of people behind the scenes to make a big Hollywood blockbuster of this gargantuan size. “There is upwards of 6,000 people working, so you’re basically running an army unit. A lot of that is about communication and how you communicate what you want to other people and you have to do it efficiently.” 

He went on to tell the students that “directing an action movie is much like a comedy movie, ” explaining that action films, as well as comedies, have a beat and a rhythm and the movie feels balanced with action and emotion. “Directing comedy and action are almost identical,” Russo said. “They’re very geometric. A lot of it comes down to the camera angles and how a scene is staged. The action scenes are very similar to the some of the gags we staged in shows like Arrested Development.”

When asked about the importance of female characters within Marvel’s grand universe, Russo said, “female heroes within the MCU are vitally important. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is only going to get more diverse from here. Everyone should be able to identify with a character from a gender standpoint, from a cultural standpoint and from a sexual orientation standpoint. It is our duty as directors, and Marvel’s duty as a studio, to bring you those characters you can identify with.”

As the question portion of the event came to an end, Russo hopped off stage and took photos with the students in attendance, as well as sign his autograph and even record my personal voicemail greeting, which he was beyond thrilled to do.

Later that evening, Russo gave a lecture at The Englert Theatre where, much like earlier in the day, every seat was filled by fans of all ages. He talked in depth about his journey into the entertainment industry and how attending the University of Iowa, where he majored in English, played a huge factor in his life and filmmaking experiences.

Russo also discussed how his views of filmmaking have changed as he has become more experienced with the projects both him and his brother have tackled, moving from indie to television to mainstream. “If you want to be a good carpenter, you build a lot of tables. If you want to be a good filmmaker, film a lot of movies. TV is a great way to become a good filmmaker. You get to film a lot because of how many episodes there are.”

Joe and Anthony Russo have become household names in both Los Angeles and Iowa City with their big Marvel blockbusters. And it’s safe to assume they’re currently planning to bring a lot to the table within the next year due to the success of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and the highly anticipated ‘Avengers 4.’