— it took a lot of special effects to make the toned actor look like the skinny military hopeful he’s supposed to be at the beginning of the story.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Evans told Reuters. “They took shape out of my jaw line, they shrunk my skeleton and they made my shoulders less broad.”
Those rippling muscles on his Captain America alter-ego, however, are anything but CGI — the actor put on 15 pounds of muscle to play the part.
Everyone’s raving about Chris Evans in the film and how, thanks to CGI, they are able to make the actor look like a 90 lb soaking-wet weakling when the actor has in fact packed on 15 lbs of real muscle; but what they aren’t telling you is that after his character receives the super-soldier serum, that body doesn’t belong to Chris Evans either.
FA has obtained the exclusive rights to a behind-the-scenes photo of the real actor/stunt double, who just happens to be a real-life super-soldier about to deploy to Afghanistan:
Behind that Captain America half-mask, the rugged patriotic scowl, and brandishing that star-spangled shield,is FA’s very own CJ. Believe it or not, neither CGI nor photoshopping was involved in this picture of America’s finest super-soldier! The Taliban and al-Qaeda have no idea what’s coming their way!
Based upon the above photo, an artist made the following rendition of CJ (most have confused it for Chris Evans as the artist’s live model):
WaPo:
Even his name exudes an America that time forgot: Steve Rogers, who as channeled by Chris Evans embodies the kind of wisdom, bravery and fairness that a country mired in debt and political rancor could use right around now. “I don’t like bullies,” Rogers says simply before joining the U.S. Army in 1942. Some time later, after he’s been pumped up by a muscle-building serum even Roger Clemens would envy, someone asks Rogers, “What makes you so special?” “Nothin’,” he replies. “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn.” Sure, but one who was knocking Hitler on the jaw when he was first introduced to comic book readers in 1941 (goading a recalcitrant administration into doing the right thing).
This seems to be the year of the super hero movies:
The movie looks enjoyable. Anyone who is seeing it care to offer up a review?
I was never a fan of Captain America as a comic book reader growing up; but as an adult, I’ve become sensitive to how symbolic the character is (he turned my stomach when he fell into the clutches of anti-Bush writers); or at the least, the potential this character has in embodying American idealism and exceptionalism.
I’m not expecting this to be a flag-waving, “rah rah America #&%@ yeah, we’re #1!” kind of movie; just good old-fashioned entertainment, good vs. bad, that is respectful of America and absent of Hollywood liberal worldview messages.
Michael Medved writes:
Hollywood increasingly depends on overseas markets, so executives at Paramount Studios worried about anti-American sentiment hurting their new film, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. They therefore offered foreign distributors the chance to sell the film simply as THE FIRST AVENGER, but only three nations made that choice: Russia, Ukraine and South Korea.
The rest of the world embraced the CAPTAIN AMERICA title, suggesting that hatred of the US may be less a factor than we think.
I’m still baffled that they didn’t capitalize upon a 4th of July weekend opening here in the States.
Previously (Related post):
Truth, Justice, and the UN Way
A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.
I saw it in 3D and liked it. Good movie, go see it.
When you talk about an actor putting on 15 pounds of muscle for a movie role, I can relate.
In fact, if you want to read a funny story continue.
________________
It involves me, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Serge Nubret.
I joined Golds Gym to be able to help my mom after her stroke, and my mom was heavy.
I worked out for strength, not for looks.
After a few months I met Serge Nubret who joined that Golds.
He offered to be my workout partner and we spent about 5 hours a week working out together for months.
When the movie, The Last Action Hero, was filming in Long Beach, Arnold started coming to that Golds Gym, too.
I had no idea the extent of their past rivalry.
But they had a long history of competing against one another.
One day Serge couldn’t work out and I was going to do it alone.
But Arnold saw me and came up and said he’d be my partner that day and shock my muscles so they’d grow.
We were going to do quads and calves.
So, he took my to the leg press machine and said we were going to ”run the rack” on it.
(Go up by 90 pounds per set until you can only do 1 rep.)
We started (at his suggestion – because I am a”girl” – 49 years young at the time) with only 360 pounds on the machine.
Both of us could do 25 reps.
We worked our way up and up.
(I never told him I had been a speed skater.)
After we hit 900 pounds and I was STILL doing 25 reps, Arnold seemed dismayed.
Finally when we had 1,200 on the machine, I told him my doctor limits me to under 1,200 on the leg press because of the cumulative damage it might do to my knee joints.
So, we stopped at 1,200 with me doing 5 or 6 reps and him keeping up.
Now I know in his heyday he would have been able to go higher, but by this time, he was well past his prime.
AND his legs have always been his weakest part of his build.
So, the next day I’m back and Serge is back.
I’m bopping around, doing back and biceps with Serge.
Arnold comes in and is dragging himself around.
He barely does anything and leaves.
Serge was so proud of me!
_____________
The movie looks cool and I like action stuff on the big screen so I’ll probably see it in a few days.
Great story, Nan.
@thebronze: Is it really worth seeing in 3D?
@Nan G: Didn’t Serge just die recently?
@another vet:
Sadly, yes.
April, 2011.
I couldn’t go to the funeral because it was in Paris, France.
He had been a TV and movie star in French language European and Caribbean shows.
He had homes in CA, France and the Caribbean.
@Wordsmith:
It was only $9.50 where I went, so hell yeah!
If it wasn’t, I’d say no. I had no idea how much the 3D was going to be, but pleasantly surprised when it was “only” $9.50.
Some of the movies advertising themselves as 3D these days seem like rip-offs; like they decided last minute to try and turn themselves into a 3D movie post-production to capitalize on the trend; like cheap window-dressing imitations that are only partially 3D.
Nan G, hi,
quite a story to live , I would be careful on your legs not to push it too far,
because the damage will haunt you only in your older days, and it is the legs that get the rest of the body going, and you can’t change them once they start failing you,
bye
@ilovebeeswarzone:
Thanks, for the concern, bees.
Now that I’m much older (the filming of the Last Action Hero was 1992) I don’t do any of the heavy lifting I used to do.
Super-slo-mo lighter sets gets the same great effect of keeping my muscles strong but without strain on the joints at all.
I never intended them to be big, after all.