The Russo brothers held court at the Market Garden Brewery in Ohio City, passing out movie tickets and answering fan questions about their new film that cost a reported 150-million dollars to produce. A good part of the Marvel Studios production took place in Northeast Ohio, in spots ranging from the Cleveland Museum of Art, to an extended shoot on the city's West Shoreway, which left some disgruntled commuters in its wake. The Russos say they hope they'll be forgiven for disrupting traffic patterns for a few weeks. Anthony says they have nothing but love for their hometown.
ANTHONY RUSSO: We have such a strong emotional connection to Cleveland. This is our third movie we've made here, so we know the city very well and that's just from living here and loving it, but also from a cinematic point of view. And I think that's one reason Marvel was so supportive of us shooting the movie here.
It didn't hurt that Ohio offered the production a nine and a half million-dollar tax incentive to shoot in the state for six weeks, last May and June. The brothers say the city was very cooperative with their production and they hope it will bring more film work to town. Joe Russo says he believes the skills they honed working on such award-winning TV programs as "Community" and "Arrested Development" will make for an entertaining movie
JOE RUSSO: I always say, I like to go in and watch a film that's energized and dynamic, and I forget to eat my popcorn for 50 minutes. So, that's the kind of film we're trying to deliver.
Film fans will now have a chance to test out that popcorn consumption theory. After tonight's premiere, the movie opens nationwide, this Friday.
