There are times in your life when you want to soak in every moment and remember every detail. Hanging out on set for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 was defiantly one of those moments. From exploring the props room to watching them shoot a scene — the entire visit was epic (obviously).
Thanks to Disney for inviting me on this once-in-a-lifetime set visit.
During the set visit, I met with cast and crew and had a chance to learn some of the behind-the-scenes stories that people don’t get to hear. We touched the costumes, we ate lunch alongside the crew and we hung out with the case – in full costume!
After months and months of keeping those stories to myself, I finally get to share. This week I will share seven posts filled with cast and crew interviews, and today I will start with some really cool facts from Producer Jonathan Schwartz and Property Mater Russell Bobbitt. Be sure to check back this week for more pictures from the set with the stars and some surprises.
About Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” blasts into theaters on May 5, 2017.
But first, how is this for cute.
That’s me, hanging out with Rocket and Baby Groot!!!
7 Cool Facts About Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
A Little Bit Rock And Roll
Although Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 picks up just a few months after the first movie, Jonathan Schwartz told us that the guardians’ look has evolved into more of a rock and roll / Rolling Stones vibe to go along with their new attitude.
The Guardians are a little full of themselves now. They’re a little famous. They saved the entire planet of Zandar and they’re like, “Oh yeah, we’re famous all over the galaxy. We can do whatever we want.” And as you can imagine the fame is kind of going to their heads a little bit and making it difficult to live with each other.
New Characters In The Mix
In addition to the characters we love from the first movie, Jonathan Schwartz told us about new Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2 characters including Peter Quill’s father, Jayson, (Kurt Russell) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff).
Kurt Russell’s character, Jayson, who is Quill’s biological father, has been searching for him for a long, long time. He’s an intergalactic adventurer who’s been going from planet to planet having his own outer space adventures. He’s been looking for his long-lost son, and he takes Quill with him to his own planet. And that’s the beginning of the split in the Guardians. Some of the Guardians stay behind with the Milano ship, some go off with Quill and Jayson.
Other Guardians sort of have their own relationships that are building. There’s a new character in this movie called Mantis, who’s a classic Guardian from the comics, who’s played by Pom Klementieff, who’s new in this movie, who’s totally amazing. Mantis works with Jayson, the Kurt Russell character. And Mantis and Drax kind of have a really interesting relationship. It evolves over the course of the movie.
Cooler Tunes
According to Jonathan Schwartz, the soundtrack for Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 is even cooler than the first movie.
It’s a cooler mix, I think. And I think James [Gunn] is really great at writing that music for specific moments so it feels like what you want it to feel, in a very similar way to the way it was in movie one. Some of the songs on the movie two I like can’t stop singing. I go nuts. I think the music plays a much bigger role directly in the plot than it did in movie one. The music is much more important to the actual story of the movie.
That Headset
Yes, that headset, the one Peter Quill is wearing in the picture above. Property manager Russell Bobbitt is filled with stories about how he and his team were able to make the movie’s props come to life. He’s one of those people whose stories I could sit and listen to for hours. One of my favorite stories was about Peter Quill’s signature headset.
The Walkman that Chris wears, was insanely challenging in that there are plenty of the Walkman’s out there. You can find those. But the headset… allegedly Sony had a fire in the warehouse and all of that model burned to the ground.
So I said, “Okay just go find them. Go online, go to eBay, do what you do to find those headsets.” And we found two pairs for $8,000 each — because they were in Guardians of the Galaxy 1. And nothing irks me more than having to pay $8,000 for something that we created in the first place that was a $12 purchase.
I called my manufacturing people. I put together a plan, and I manufactured my own, probably cost me more than eight but not much more than eight.
A Belt Made Of What?
Sometimes the coolest props are made out of ordinary things used in an unordinary manner. Russell Bobbitt gave us an up close look at the belts created for Yondu’s Ravagers.
I went to electronics surplus stores and bought all kinds of gears, and electronics, and heat syncs, and motherboards, and I went out and got 1980s cell phones and just tore ’em apart. And so there’s tons of cell phones going on in here. There’s all kinds of cool stuff. And it looks really good on these guys with their costume, and none of it pops out.
The $20,000 Carpet
One of the things that fascinated me about talking to Russell Bobbitt was the attention to detail given to even the smallest moments. In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 be on the look out for the carpet that the High Priestess walks on because that is a $20,000 carpet!
The production designer came in who is in charge of the overall look of the film, and he said, “I’ve got this swatch in my office of this fabric that I’d for you to use for the carpet.” And he said, “I approved it with James Gunn.” Perfect, let’s do it.
So the fabric comes, and then the bill came. I didn’t even ask how much because the production designer wanted it, the director had approved it. The bill — $180 dollars per foot, $20,000 bill.
But these are the silly quirky things that get along in our world that make it awesome and fun, and I get to tell these stories of the silly carpet that could have been so easy and inexpensive, but we go to great lengths to make it look the best we can make it. And sometimes cost doesn’t matter.
Real v Rubber
There is a lot of fighting during the Guardians movies, which means there are a lot of blasters used in the movie. But what you might not know is that there are often two versions of props, a real one made of metal for close-ups and a rubber one that is much lighter.
What I’m holding right now, I’m gonna pass it around, is virtually impossible to hold for 12 hours a day while we shoot, or ten or eight or even two. So this is a real one, and what the real ones allow me to do is shoot real good close-ups. You can see that this is a metal pipe. And there’s no other material in the world — no paint that can emulate that. So I have to make one that’s this heavy.
So, what I’ll do is I’ll make a lightweight rubber version of it, and we do the best we can to make it look great. But it will never have that metallic feel.
And just for kicks, here’s our group of bloggers holding an assortment of the Ravangers’ Quad Blasters and Laser Canons. Can you tell who is holding rubber versions and who is holding the real ones?
Did you catch the Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 spot during the Big Game last night? The scene we saw being filmed made it into the spot! In case you missed it, here it is again. You will see the scene above at the end of the spot.
On Set With Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2
Don’t miss any of my posts from the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Check back every day this week for more exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 interviews.
- Chris Pratt – Peter Quill / Star-Lord
- Zoe Saldana – Gamora
- Dave Bautista – Drax
- Michael Rooker – Yondu
- Karen Gillan – Nebula
- Director James Gunn