The Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth photoshoot for USA Weekend

Photos by Timothy White, Stockland Martel, for USA WEEKEND

Source: USA Weekend

Hanging out with Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth

by Brian Truitt for USA Weekend

Hanging out with Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth at our exclusive duo superhero cover shoot in New York City, only one thought comes to mind: Man, I need to get to the gym.

But back to our superhero mash-up. Two of this summer's biggest guys (we mean that literally and figuratively) shared the love, just for USA WEEKEND's Summer Movie Preview. You may not know them yet — Evans burned up the big screen as the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies, and Hemsworth is an Aussie hunk in his first major starring movie role.

But you will soon, when the two actors duke it out at the box office for the season's hottest, or coolest, superhero: Hemsworth, 27, as the title thunder god of next month's Thor (May 6) and Evans, 29, star of Captain America: The First Avenger (July 22). Also sharing the credits: Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins in Thor and Tommy Lee Jones in Captain America.

And though we thought they were in the kind of shape that most mortal men envy, both Chrises were in the process of rebuilding into Marvel-ous, super-bod condition to film the reprise of their roles in the ultimate comic hero smackdown, the movie The Avengers. Meaning that unlike most celebrities at a photo shoot, who barely touch the elaborate spreads laid out for them, these guys couldn't get enough. They made several trips to the buffet table for presumably muscle-building chicken, fish and fruit.

Even more unusual about the occasion: the security guard. And he wasn't protecting our famed superheroes. He was guarding the comic characters' gear — Thor's hammer and Cap's shield — lest it be assaulted by the enemy (or overly eager fan).

Fortunately, we were able to get up close and personal with the stars themselves. After the shoot, we sat down for a man-to-man chat. Here are excerpts:

What went through your mind the first time you put on your colorful costumes? Hemsworth: Holy [expletive]. I walked onto set, and Anthony Hopkins and I were in our full get-up. We looked at each other and he said, “Well, there's no acting required here, is there?” It was like being a kid playing dress-up, but the costume's worth more than your house.

Evans: It's all still terrifying. It's a lot of responsibility and a little nerve-racking. As actors, you make movies for the audience — you really can't act without an audience, otherwise you'd be crazy. And this is such an important thing for the audience, you really want to make sure you get it right.

Who are your personal heroes? Evans: This sounds cliché, but it's so true: my parents. They've done everything right when it's really hard, and they've been very selfless. To me, there's something about a hero that should be selfless. It's a very tough thing to do, to put yourself last, and they've done that consistently.

Hemsworth: I grew up surfing, and I idolized Kelly Slater for years. As a young kid, I had a theater studies thing I had to do on a Sunday at school, which I wasn't happy about. That was my surfing day. [One Sunday,] my dad had come back from surfing, and he goes, “Guess who I surfed with today?” I was like, “Who?” “Kelly Slater.” I remember my eyes literally watering because this guy was a god to me. They couldn't have told me anything worse. That I missed that opportunity was heartbreaking.

Did you feel silly doing any of the superhero stunts? Hemsworth: Some of the wire gags and hanging upside down. I'm a pretty active person, but some of that stuff, I was like, “God, get me down from this thing.” It's hard work! It's like you're an actor one minute and an acrobat the next, spinning upside down backward for certain things and just wanting to throw up. But it all looks good once it's up there on the screen. We know you worked out hard, but did you enjoy getting out of shape, too?

Evans: As soon as we stopped shooting, I stopped going to the gym. Oh, my God, I never wanted to see another weight in my life! I completely just dove into a bowl of lazy for about two months. Hemsworth: It was really weird because you almost become addicted to it. Then all of a sudden the hand brake is pulled and you're allowed to relax. There's a part of you that doesn't really want to, because it's used to doing this, but you do need to rest.

How cool has your personal life been lately? Evans: Well, it's not not cool [laughs]. It's fun.

Chris Hemsworth, what did your new wife think of your physical transformation? Hemsworth: Some girls love more muscles, some girls less. She likes it if I'm sort of generally healthy. Physically for women, it's usually less of a concern than it is for men. We tend to be a bit more superficial.

What's your superhero workout tip for America? Evans: If you want to die, you're doing it right. I've always worked out my whole life. But I go to the gym and I'd leave feeling good. That's not a workout. You want to leave the gym contemplating killing yourself. If that's what you're thinking, then you're having a good workout.

Source: USA Weekend

Chris Evans on being the star-spangled superhero of ‘Captain America’

by Brian Truitt for USA Weekend

Our comic book superheroes are an all-American bunch, but a majority of them are played by actors not from around these parts. Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds is from Canada, Christian Bale (aka Batman) and Henry Cavill (the new Superman) hail from Great Britain, and Aussies Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth play Wolverine and Thor on the big screen, respectively. Fittingly, the one guy who is American is the man wearing the red, white and blue togs of Captain America. In Captain America: The First Avenger (directed by Joe Johnston and coming out in theaters July 22), Chris Evans — a native of one of the original 13 colonies, Massachusetts — stars as Steve Rogers, a scrawny weakling who’s rejected by the U.S. military in the 1940s but then signs up to be a test subject for a top-secret super-soldier serum. Now supersized, Rogers becomes an American hero during World War II, taking on Hydra and their evil Nazi leader, the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving). I ventured up to New York City for an exclusive cover shoot with Evans and Thor star Hemsworth, his on-screen pal in the upcoming superhero team-up The Avengers (co-starring the likes of Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson), for this weekend’s summer movie preview. I’ll have more from my interview with Hemsworth tomorrow and Monday, but read below for what Evans had to say about being Captain America and check him out in action in this trailer.

One of the striking things in the movie is you coming out of the military pod and looking crazy buff post-serum. How much training did you endure to get into that condition? Ugh, so much training. It was tough. I’ve always been in the gym and worked out and things like that, and I’ve had to get big for other films, but nothing like this. They flew a trainer over from London – I was in Boston working on a film, and we did three months prior to shooting. We were working out every day for just about two hours, sometimes twice a day, and it was just grueling. I’ve never trained like that in my life. I’m just getting back into it now and gearing back up and trying to get big again.

So, lots of eating? Lots of eating. That’s the hardest part. You’d think that would be the fun part, but sometimes you’re full. You just don’t want to eat. I have to. I’m a naturally skinny guy, so to try and get mass like that, it’s not easy. I have to make sure I’m taking in a lot of protein.

In the Marvel comics, Cap is a guy who went from the 1940s to modern times when he’s found encased in ice by the Avengers. Assuming part of that will be in The Avengers movie, your Cap will have to live in a world that’s very different from what he’s used to. Yeah, at least there’s some meat on the bone. You want to play a character that has conflict – that’s what makes a character appealing to an actor, getting to find an arc and a reason, something to chew on. And that’s a lot. If you woke up one day and it was 50, 60 years in the future and everyone you knew had passed away and the entire world around you is different — you don’t have a friend, you don’t know anybody, you don’t know anything — that’d be a lot to take in. It’s exciting as an actor to try and tackle that.

What’s this I hear about a “Captain America song”? There is a Captain America song, but I don’t sing it. Initially in the film, when he becomes Captain America, long story short the serum is destroyed and they can’t reproduce the experiment so I’m the only super soldier there is. The U.S. government won’t allow me to go to war because it’s too risky and they can’t afford to lose me, but they use me as a propaganda tool and they send me on a USO Tour. So there’s a whole Captain America song, and they try to make him a little bit of a celebrity to try and sell bonds. There is a Captain America song, and there was a week of shooting, and I had that song in my head. I couldn’t stop humming it! It was so annoying. But it’s a funny sequence actually.

They Benjamin Buttoned you a little bit and digitally made you a 98-pound weakling at the beginning of the movie. What was it like seeing that part after you’ve just gone and worked out hard for three months? Well, it wasn’t that foreign to me because that’s what I looked like for a big chunk of my life. [Laughs] When I saw it, I was like, “My family is gonna die.” This is what I looked like for all of all middle school. Up until maybe sophomore year, I was a pretty skinny kid for a long time. It looks pretty normal. It was a crazy process doing that stuff. They went back and forth on the type of technology they were going to use. Initially, they were just going to do body shrinking, and then they thought, “Well, maybe we can get another skinny actor and put Chris’ head on it,” and I really, really was against that. I said to Joe, “Look, I know we want this to look good and this effect to not be distracting from the film, but it has to be my performance. I don’t want to share this. Your body is a huge piece of the acting puzzle, and I don’t want to have somebody else’s body tell the story that I’m trying to tell.” So they did some tweaking and they did a bunch of tests and we went back to the initial plan to shrink my body. Anytime my body’s completely still, if I’m lying on that bed or if I’m sitting in a chair not moving, it was easier for them to put my head on a smaller body. But anytime there was movement or action or acting involved, Joe and I were pretty adamant about saying, “Look, you’ve got to shrink me down.” And they did. I haven’t seen the film yet, but I’ve seen a couple different scenes of the shrunken stuff and it looks amazing.

And we’ve seen how the Red Skull looks now, too. Oh, that looks so badass. You’d be talking to Hugo on set and he’d be wearing that thing, and you kinda want to just touch it. It looked so good! It didn’t look fake — it looked like there is a man with a red skull standing next to me who is evil.

Did having two Fantastic Four movies under your belt help in knowing at least the fervent, comics-loving fanboys you’d have to deal with? Sure. It’s great to get an experience of the press tour and the craziness and the workload after filming. Filming is one thing, but all movies are relatively similar. The work comes in the form of press. You go all over the world and you don’t sleep and it’s just answering a lot of the same questions thousands of times and trying to promote this thing you’ve worked on so hard. But the good thing about Fantastic Four is everyone wanted to talk to Jessica [Alba]. No one wanted to talk to me! [Laugh] It was great! I got to sit in the background and be there, but not have to really carry the load. This is obviously different. It’s nice to have had a little taste but yeah, it’s gonna be nothing close to this.

Do you enjoy that extra responsibility? No! My God, I hate it! [Laughs] I almost didn’t do this movie because I hate that so much. It’s just not for me. I don’t know, it’s a strange thing to talk about yourself. You have to look at it as a job, you have to look at it as work. If all of a sudden you stop – at least if I stop — in the middle of an interview and look at myself, I become very uncomfortable, very nervous. It just feels strange. I feel false, it doesn’t feel right. This movie is a lot of that – it’s gonna be a lot of press. I have a little bit of an anxiety issue. I wasn’t making whatever movie I wanted to make – you still have to struggle — but I was very happy, very content, with what I was doing. I’d make a movie every now and then and I’ve made a good living and I got to do what I loved and I managed to stay out of the public eye, and I was very happy. This was one of those things where it was like, “Alright, if you do this, there’s really no off switch. There’s no rewind. You’ve got to make sure you’re ready and that you really, really want this.” A lot of times, people only see the good part and they forget how tricky it can be. For some reason, I only saw the bad. [Laughs] When I first got offered the movie, I just only saw the negatives and ran from it.

What changed your mind? The fact that I was scared. I said to someone close to me, “I was offered this movie and I think I’m going to say no.” And she said, “No, you’re not. You’re going to do this movie.” I said, “Why?” And she said, “Because you can’t live your life based on fear.” That’s a really good point: I think I’d end up having more regret if I didn’t do it because I was scared than if I did it, and whatever comes, comes. At least I wasn’t a coward.

So what happened in sophomore year that beefed you up? Did you get into sports? I did play sports, yeah. I think I just started caring a lot about girls and saying, “Alright, maybe I should try and work out, I guess.” I think that’s what you’re supposed to do. And I had a lot of buddies who played sports and everyone was always in the gym. So around 14, 15, I started working out a little bit. There was a summer when I was going into my senior year of high school, I lived in New York City and I interned at a casting office – that’s how I kind of jammed my foot in the door. But that summer, I had no friends, I was 17, I couldn’t go to a bar, I lived in a s***hole in Brooklyn, so I’d go to work and then I’d come home and sit in my room all night. I just did the prison workout — pushups, pull-ups, little dips on my chair — for the whole summer. At the end of that summer, I think that was when my body changed a little bit.

Between The Avengers and the Captain America sequel in the works, have you figured out what else you’ll be doing not involving a costume or a shield? I have a movie [Puncture] that’s coming and will go to the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s a little indie. It’s nice to get independent films in there. It’s a completely different feel. Sometimes in movies like [Captain America], there’s a lot of money involved, and as a result, everyone is paid a lot of money to make everything look perfect. You’ve seen these movies – it’s art, it’s gorgeous. But as a result, it’s very tedious. Some days, you really sit around, and you go home and you’re like, “Man, I spent maybe 60 percent of my day sitting on my ass.” A little indie movie, you go go go. You’ll burn through seven or eight pages in a day. On a film like Captain America, you might get a page. With the indies, you come home and you really feel like, “I made a movie today. I went to work and I worked and I was an actor for a living and I was told I had to be ready all day. There was no rest. I had to be there.” You really feel like you got your hands dirty. Sometimes this just feels a little slow, so it’s nice to get back to some indies.

With Cap, you are in the spotlight and the star. In The Avengers, there are at least seven A-listers involved. Do you feel a little more comfortable with that situation? Oh, I can’t wait. [Laughs] I’m hoping they only want to talk to Robert and Scarlett. Please! That’s all I was thinking about with The Avengers: Just get through Captain America and then I can disappear into the background come press time. The movie’s one thing – obviously you want to act and it’s fun to make a film and play a role, but come press and interviews, I have no problem being way in the back seat and trying to let everyone else take the heat.

Source: USA Weekend

Second preview of Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth for USA weekend

Chris Evans & Chris Hemsworth on the cover of USA Weekend

Captain America’ star Chris Evans on submarine sequences and his uncomfy costume

The first full Captain America trailer arrived some weeks ago and it featured Chris Evans’ Cap getting super-sized with super-soldier serum, slinging shields, beating up Nazis and Hydra agents, facing off with the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), being shot at, and jumping in the water to stop an escaping enemy (played by Richard Armitage) in a submarine. That last part was one of the zaniest sequences Evans had to do, the actor told me last month when he was in New York for our upcoming summer movie photo shoot with fellow superhero actor, Chris Hemsworth of Thor.

“It’s a pretty cool-looking thing actually,” Evans says of the scene. “He takes off and my character runs and dives in and swims after him and grabs the submarine and punches it. It’s this whole underwater thing, and as I was reading it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve never done a scene underwater. This is crazy!’ And it was. It was like five days in this giant tank underwater. They yell ‘Cut!,’ you swim over to a guy with a respirator and a tank, and you breathe. Then you take it out and he yells again. It was just a crazy thing but it was fun.”

We’ll have more from Evans closer to the April 15-17 issue featuring the pair of Marvel Comics heroes, but read below for what the former Fantastic Four star thought of the 1940s aesthetic of Captain America (in theaters July 22) and his superheroic threads.

Captain America director Joe Johnston is no stranger to action-packed period pieces — he helmed The Rocketeer, of which Evans is a big fan, as well as October Sky and Jumanji, which had old-school scenes in the beginning. “That’s one of the appeals to me,” Evans says of the ‘40s-era sets, music, garb and environment. “I think that’s going to be a good selling point for the film. Joe is so good at creatig that world. You’d walk on set and you’re like, ‘Man, I can’t believe where I am right now. This is wild.’ ”

Evans wasn’t as psyched about Cap’s costume, which to an untrained eye looks leathery and uncomfortable. “It didn’t breathe, no,” Evans deadpans. “I don’t know if they washed it. It was this type of canvas – there were leather straps. It was a lot of layers and pieces and very cumbersome. Every morning you’d put it on and you’d have a little conniption fit in your trailer where you were just like, ‘Arrrgh!’ and then you’d just surrender and say, ‘OK, let’s go make a [freakin’] movie.’ ”

Of course, he did not actually say “freakin’ ” — instead he used a four-letter word not suitable for a family blog, or a superhero for that matter. Evans paused after saying it and laughed. “I shouldn’t be swearing. Captain America shouldn’t swear. But I get caught with these interviews and I start dropping f-bombs! This is why I can’t do interviews!”

Source: USA weekend

Chris Evans: I always feel guilty

Chris Evans wishes he had more time to keep in touch with family members and indulge in pursuits such as yoga.

Chris Evans thinks he often suffers from a guilty conscience due to his Irish origins.

The 29-year-old American actor is of both Italian and Irish descent and was raised in a Catholic environment. The religion famously encouraged adherents to confess their sins on a regular basis.

Chris often feels guilty about his behaviour, and can cite a long list of things he feels bad about which include staying in bed too long.

“Well, I killed a man once. Don’t tell anyone [laughs]. What do I feel guilty about? There’s a list. I should read more, I shouldn’t sleep so late.

“I’m half Irish so I have a lot of Catholic guilt,” he told the British edition of Cosmopolitan.

The talented actor leads a hectic showbiz lifestyle, and often has to travel across the globe shooting films or promoting them. This means he doesn’t always have the chance for pursuits such as keeping fit or staying in touch with family. “I should ring my grandma more, I should go to church more, I should do more yoga, I should eat less sugar, I should follow politics more,” he added.

Source: www.musicrooms.net

Chris Evans: I don't have crazy fans

Chris Evans is pleased to say he doesn’t have any “crazy” fans.

The 29-year-old movie hunk has romanced some of the world’s most beautiful women, having dated actress Jessica Biel for five years before they split in 2006, and more recently being linked to stars such as Ashley Greene.

Despite his dashing good looks, the actor insists he doesn’t receive a great deal of female attention, apart from in more flirtatious environments such as nightclubs. “If I’m in a club, women are bolder. But if I’m walking down the street then people leave me alone. I don’t have any crazy fans,” he told the British edition of Cosmopolitan.

Chris is currently promoting upcoming action movie Captain America: The First Avenger, where he dons a tight-fitting superhero outfit as the title character. The heartthrob admits the role may gain him more attention from the opposite sex once the film hits cinemas, although he doesn’t know whether the attention will be good or bad.

“Will they change for the better or worse? It could go either way. But I’m ready for it,” he mused.

Source: www.musicrooms.net

Chris Evans thinks women who are high maintenance are “hot”.

The 29-year-old American actor stars as Steve Rogers/Captain America in science-fiction adventure Captain America: The First Avenger, which is due for release later this year. Chris has no problem dating a girl who may be perceived as being hard work, as he adores women who take pride in their appearance.

“High maintenance can be hot. I love it when you can tell a woman’s made an effort. I like women to be comfortable in sweatpants and moisturiser, but looking slightly more made up is pretty great,” he told British magazine Glamour.

The actor believes the secret to a long lasting relationship hinges on the initial attraction between a couple. Chris went on to reveal he would terminate a relationship if he thought there was a lack of passion, as that elusive spark fuels most great unions.

“I know straight away if I like someone. It’s all about instant chemistry, if it doesn’t happen early on then it probably won’t happen at all. Do I believe in love at first sight? Hmm… I believe in infatuation at first sight!” he added.

Source: www.musicrooms.net

Chris Evans & Producer On Steve Rogers' Morals in Captain America: The First Avenger!

Chatting with USA Today from the set in England, while filming for Marvel & Joe Johnston's much-anticipated Captain America: The First Avenger movie was underway, the star Chris Evans and Producer Stephen Broussard subtly elaborates on what makes Steve Rogers paramount and more.

"Steve has been dealt kind of a lousy hand in life," Evans says. "He's 5-foot-nothing. He's 110 pounds. He's got a lot of ailments, but it hasn't made him bitter or jaded or anything. Even after he's given this great gift, he still continues to do the right thing, not to prove anything to anyone other than himself. He just has this great moral code."

"The first cover issue of Cap punching Hitler was definitely a political statement," says producer Stephen Broussard. "Like today, the country was divided and there were people who thought we should go over there and do the right thing, and there were others who said it was Europe's war and to stay out of it."

"Captain America was invented essentially for American propaganda. I mean, who was going to be like, 'Nah, the Nazis, they were OK. They had a few (good ideas)!'" Evans jokes. "It's safe to say we can all agree it's pure evil, right there. So it's fantastic to create a character of pure good, pure honesty and true morality, and say this is ultimate bad against ultimate good."

Chris Evans talks about his Captain America suit

Chris Evans has compared donning his Captain America costume to “putting on ski-boots”.

The 29-year-old American actor stars as Steve Rogers/Captain America in science-fiction adventure Captain America: The First Avenger, which is due for release later this year.

The hunk dons a rather fetching stars-and-stripes jumpsuit for the movie, and admits he has become attached to the attire.

“When you put it on first thing in the morning you think, ‘Man, this thing is stiff,’
“Then you spend four hours sweating in it, it starts to loosen up and by the end of the day you kind of forget it’s even on.

“It’s like putting on a pair of ski boots: you’re like, how am I going to work in these things?
“An hour later you’re skiing and you’re not even thinking about your feet,” he told Total Film.

Chris Evans talks to Total Film about taking on Captain America

Chris Evans has spoken exclusively to Total Film about the demands of taking on the Captain America role.

Evans was cast as the iconic comic hero for Marvel's The First Avenger, and he'll also be appearing in superhero team-up The Avengers.

"It's a big commitment," he tells us. "At one point it was nine pictures. We've got it down to six but still, that's making a decision for a big portion of your life."

"I love acting but there are other things I want to do. I want to write and direct. If the movies do well and they want to exercise all six films, I could be doing this until I'm 40."

"That's a crazy thing to try and process."

Evans is also fully aware of the demands of transporting such a well-loved property to the big screen: "It's important, you know at the end of the day we are doing this for the fans. And if they're not happy, we've missed the mark."

"You go in and do as much research as you can from the comic books, but you're also trying to make something your own. This is an origin story."
"I think a lot of the comic books deal with after he's become Captain America, so to some degree we had to take some liberties. But you want to make sure you've done your homework."

The actor is also keen for the character to remain human, and not disappear beneath the iconic status: "You want the character to be the icon, but if you reduce him to a red, white and blue outfit it makes him shallow."
"It wasn't until we got our hands dirty with the script and had a good couple of scenes in the can, that I thought, 'Man, I think I'm actually getting this guy.' I feel like the character now, much more than a shield or a mask."

Despite Evans initial reluctance towards the role, he assured us that this has been an experience he has very much enjoyed: "I wouldn't trade this movie at this point for anything. I'm very happy with the decision."

Captain America: The First Avenger is due to hit cinemas on 29 July 2011.
For more from Chris Evans, get the new issue of Total Film Magazine, which hits newsstands today!

Source: www.totalfilm.com

Captain America in Empire Magazine

Enjoy reading the article about Captain America in Empire Magazine!

And keep your eye out for a movie poster that will be released tomorrow and the tv-spot during the superbowl next sunday!

sources: http://www.comicbookmovie.com/ , http://www.empireonline.com

Empire Magazine's new Captain America cover

New Captain America Picture
Steve Rogers is our new cover star

It's that time of the month, the day we reveal the new Empire cover and its stars-and-stripes covered star, Captain America: The First Avenger. Doesn't he look upstanding and anti-Nazi-y? Roll on World War II, we say.
The film, of course, tells the story of skinny, weak Steve Rogers (Chris Evans. plus a bunch of digital trickery), who is determined to fight in World War II despite constantly being turned down for service on medical grounds, and who becomes a volunteer for a Super Soldier Serum formula which turns him into the ultimate soldier (Chris Evans, plus a weight regime that would kill lesser men). Only problem is the fiendish Nazis he's going to have to fight, led by their ruthless commander Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving) and his men.

“Scripts had been developed that took place half in World War Two, half in the modern day and none of those scripts were particularly successful because the costume ended up overshadowing the man,” says Marvel chief Kevin Feige. “So we finally said, ‘If we could make a Captain America movie any way we wanted to make it, how would we make it?’ Well, we’d set the entire movie in the past, in that period, with all of the Marvel trimmings. And so we made the fun, kick-ass Captain America movie we wanted to.”

“I’ve always loved Raiders and the tone that it had,” says director Joe Johnston. “It was period but didn’t feel like it was made in the period. It felt like a modern-day film about the period, which is what we’re doing on Captain America. It will not feel like a war movie. It’s funny where it needs to be and emotional where it needs to be and serious and full of action.”

And he's not just an American hero, argues Evans. “I think he’s the ideal human,” says Evans. “Not just American. It’s what being a good person is. Steve’s managed to overcome all the shortcomings he’s had in life and he does what’s good and what he believes is right.”

Source: http://www.empireonline.com/

p.s.: Thank you again John for the headsup!

Captain America in SFX Magazine

We want more!!!

Captain America in L'Ecran Fantastique

Spoiler Warning: The next issue of French rag L'Ecran Fantastique has an in-depth interview with Captain America production designer Rick Heinrichs, in which he reveals plot points about the film.

The year is 1942, and Steve Rogers is a scrawny lad who desperately wants to fight Nazis for his country but can’t because he’s been deemed physically unfit. His fate — and his physique — is radically transformed when he signs up for Project: Rebirth, a secret military operation that turns wimps into studs using drugs and assorted sci-fi hoo-ha. There’s a love interest (Major Peggy Carter, played Haley Atwell), there’s a sidekick (Bucky Barnes, played by Sebastian Stans), and there’s the Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), Hitler’s treacherous head of advanced weaponry, whose own plan for world domination involves a magical object known as The Tesseract (comic fans know it better as The Cosmic Cube).

- 90% of the film takes place during the period 1939-1945, but the beginning and end of the feature film takes place today ...

- As an introduction, we see an exploration team discovered the remains of a giant bomber under the snows of the Arctic. Flashback (true beginning of the film): attack on a village in Norway (Hansberg) by troops from Hydra. Johann Scmidt is present (Skull), who has a passion for Nordic mythology. He looks for an object, the Cube [as seen in the Comic Con footage]

- The Skull is a former Nazi party member who left to found the organization Hydra. His vehicle is a car which is nine feet long, shielded and armed ... Hydra's secret base is located in the Alps, and he worked on controlling the energy of the Cube. The Cube is able to open a portal to "other dimensions of space-time. His "human" face is just a mask hiding his true appearance: Red Skull.
- Steve Rogers is a young man puny victim of mockery by thugs in Brooklyn. The body of actor Chris Evans will be digitally processed to give it that look. Steve is already friends with Bucky Barnes [his sidekick in the film]. Unlike Steve, he was accepted into the army and he was preparing to leave.

- The two friends visit an exhibition in New York, "The world of tomorrow." Among the exhibitors? Howard Stark [Tony's father]. There is a showcasing of anti-gravity boots, which only have a fraction of the energy of the cube. Stark Sr. will create the shield of Cap.

- After his transformation, Steve Rogers is used as a mascot in cinema, theater and performing in a music hall. During a performance (at Radio City Music Hall in New York) Rogers ended his show by hitting an actor dressed as Hitler (reenacting the cover of Captain America comic issue #1).

- He became a celebrity, while remaining down to earth, once sent to Europe, where he learns that Bucky was captured in a weapons factory in the Hydra. During this first mission, he frees a group that will become the Invaders.

- There will be a quick montage with several missions of Captain America: for example the sabotage of a train of Hydra. Cap and his crew rappel down a mountain and atterrisent on the roof of the train.

- The final scene: The Red Skull's purpose is to build a carrier style bomber, containing planes carrying bombs, which are destined for London and U.S. cities. The armament and machinery will be important. Red Skull uses the cube to power these machines (huge tank, bomber). There will be a great battle between the Red Skull and Captain America in the plane which eventually crashed in the Arctic.

- Captain America 2: Heinrichs evokes the possibility of a film blending the past and the present [as the current Ed Brubaker stories show]. Especially at a time of the interview, he speaks of the Hydra as an organization still in existence, and Nick Fury is fighting still fighting against it.

Empire preview of Captain America

Another Captain America preview, this time from Empire Magazine. When bigger scans are available I'll let you know!

Keep an eye on E.T. this week for a Captain America behind the scenes segment!

Captain America in Veronica magazine

(Article is from Veronica Magazine a Dutch tv-program magazine)

Captain America: The First Avenger

FINALLY

It's a strange sensation when you walk on the set of a superheromovie between American soldiers from WOII.

After the succes of the "Hulk" and the "Iron Man"-movies there were more and more voices to finally devote a big blockbuster movie to Captain America. In our country a not so familiar superhero, but in his own country he's been popular for generations. 'Cap' was born during World War II as a feared enemy of the nazi's. Nowadays the propaganda is no longer required so now he is fighting evil in general. The movie about his beginning takes place for a large part in New York during the forties. Filming on location was difficult, but Manchester and Liverpool turned out to be perfect to continue as Brooklyn. The filming there caused some headaches though, because the public filming spots were difficult to keep secret. For example the filming of a car explosion in Manchester was online within six minutes.

When we visit the set, the whole crew has relocated to a couple of studio's within London where work continues to the impressive decors. They work against the clock, while filming on one set, the next is still under construction. It's like we are walking on a construction site, where the walls are hanging full with blueprints of the most fantastic constructions. Some of them are so big that just a part of it is build. Production designer Rick Heinrichs:"The nice thing of Captain America is that it's a mixture of World War II and sciencefiction. Some ideas from then are transported to modern times. We wanted to do justice to history and at the same time to the comic."

That explains why we see American soldiers walking around and girls with prewar curlers in their hair. The male lead in this movie is played by Chris Evans who seems to be more at ease in his military garb then in his futuristic, tight, Captain America suit. Or so he says. Unfortenately we won't get to see this suit.

Captain America will be in cinemas in july 2011.

Source: Veronica Magazine

I translated a part of the article. I apologize for any misspellings or wrong translations.

Deronda

(27-12-2010 Update: I replaced the old scans for better ones)

In People magazine

Chris in the Canadian The Globe And Mail

Chris in the Los Angeles Times

Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times

BUSY: Evans spent three months in Hong Kong shooting “Push,” right after he worked on “Teardrop Diamond.”

Chris Evans of 'Push' is a mover but not a shaker

The science-fiction star would rather stay at home than revel in the Hollywood scene.
By Alicia Lozano February 7, 2009

Spending three months in Hong Kong shooting the frenetic science-fiction thriller "Push" was more difficult than Chris Evans expected.There's the fact that he doesn't speak the language or even particularly like Chinese food. Then, as the film's lead, he worked almost every day while his costars, including 14-year-old Dakota Fanning, were free to sample the electric city vibe and travel the country's scenic landscapes. But the worst of it was that he was separated from his beloved American bulldog, East, who normally hangs around on-set with Evans as he works."Look at that guy!" he said, whipping out his BlackBerry at Studio City's Daily Grill and thumbing through photo after photo of the white hound like a proud new father. "He's the greatest thing in the world!"

Evans' bright green eyes light up any time he can talk about his pal East and the Celtics. Even though he's spent the last 10 years warming up to young Hollywood, he's still the kind of guy who tools around town wearing a black baseball cap and hoodie and who would prefer watching a Celtics game at home than hanging with Hollywood hipsters.Growing up in a Boston suburb, he didn't spend his time reading comic books or consuming science-fiction novels and films, so who would have guessed he'd build such a formidable résumé in the very genre that failed to capture his imagination as a child?And yet, a decade after moving to Los Angeles, the gregarious 27-year-old -- best known for burning up the screen as Johnny Storm in 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" franchise -- is starring in yet another sci-fi thriller, this time as the telekinetic Nick Gant, a "mover," in the argot of the film, who grudgingly joins a rogue group of expat psychic warriors united in bringing down a shadowy military agency attempting to harvest their abilities for supernatural warfare.

In "Push," which opened in theaters Friday, Evans' character can move things with his mind. It was a new skill to master for the reluctant action hero, who has burst into flames as the Human Torch and raced to save the planet in Danny Boyle's underrated 2007 space odyssey, "Sunshine."Working with Boyle, whose unexpected hit "Slumdog Millionaire" propelled the Irish director to the top of Hollywood's most-wanted list, made boarding a soundstage spaceship seem less ridiculous to the would-be thespian (Evans studied theater in high school and moved to New York in search of the stage right after graduation). "Whether he's making a movie or wants to handle my finances, I'd be like, 'All right, I trust him,' " the actor said of Boyle.

When Evans learned that Fanning had signed on to costar in "Push" as a clairvoyant runaway, he brushed off all sci-fi fatigue and got to work. "It's humbling to meet someone who was born in the '90s -- the '90s! -- who has a more sophisticated vocabulary than you do," he marveled. "She's like 34. I want to see her ID."But he still cringes over his time in Hong Kong in the fall. He missed his dog and had to spend his downtime in a tiny wagon-sized Chinese trailer rather than the standard Hollywood accommodations.

And just before the "Push" shoot, he'd spent three months in Louisiana filming Tennessee Williams' "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond," in which he plays Jimmy, a down-and-out urchin who captures the heart of reclusive debutante Fisher Willow ( Bryce Dallas Howard from " Spider-Man 3"). Though he has always admired the Southern playwright, spending so much time away from home on back-to-back projects really took it out of him."Sometimes you would be sitting in those little buses losing your mind," he said. "It felt like work." Then he realized that even with the inconveniences, he still has it pretty good. "I'm splitting hairs. I'm still making movies."