May 20th, 2019 by Karen Burg with Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA
Interior ship...
“The challenge here was to create a lived-in look to convey that our characters had been marooned for a long time,”
notes Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International, as she again generously takes us behind the scenes of the AVENGERS!
Editor's note: Part 1: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR can be found in our Film Decor section as well!
Robert Downey Jr as
In the aftermath of catastrophic destruction, having been soundly defeated by the evil demigod Thanos, who decimated the planet, randomly wiping out half of the world’s population—including many of their fellow Avengers—the remaining Avengers are faced with their biggest challenge yet, finding the resolve within themselves in the midst of their grief to come together to find a way to defeat Thanos once and for all.–Marvel Studios
Once again, we are tiptoeing through the Marvel Universe, sharing details but not spoilers of the colossal conclusion to the Avengers chronicles!
As she did for AVENGERS: INFINITY WARS, Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International gives us insights and peeks into the settings for this final chapter, in which she, Production Designer Charles Wood and their teams took us both forward and back into this wide-ranging universe.
The still state-of-the-art Avengers Compound became the center of the film, the physical space for the coming together of the remaining team, enhanced by newly discovered technology. We visit Tony Stark’s lakefront house...and myriad new sets...and revisit more deeply his father’s lab and other settings from the past...
We mustn’t say more!
See the film, read Leslie's fascinating notes, peruse the fabulous photo gallery above...
Enjoy!
—Karen Burg, Editor
Notes from Set Decorator Leslie Pope SDSA International...
“AVENGERS: ENDGAME is the culmination of many, many story lines and therefore we revisited a lot of territory from other MARVEL films. Sometimes we refabricated entire sets or pieces of sets from other films (from BLACK PANTHER, IRON MAN, ANTMAN) sometimes we extrapolated from the other films and created new sets (BLACK PANTHER, IRON MAN, ANTMAN, THOR, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER). We also revisited many sets created for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR but time has passed and we had to modify them.”
Avengers Compound...
“A gigantic set built in an old Convention Center near the Atlanta Airport, this set is seen in both INFINITY WAR and ENDGAME, and thus: stood, was wrapped & stored, and then rebuilt over a couple of years. Everything from Set Dec had to be carefully inventoried, packed and stored so we could re-erect the set quickly. We wanted to convey that the compound had several floors and myriad uses. So a key room in the compound, with its very distinctive ceiling and wall lighting patterns, was dressed several ways—as offices, a TV lounge, a laboratory, a conference room, etc. We also used the re-stagings, here and on other sets, to show the passage of time.”
Battlefield...
“As is customary in many action films, including our previous one, a gigantic battlefield and aftermath had to be created. Again, Charles was determined to have the sets grounded in the physical world. So my crew and I became best friends with scrap dealers, metal and pipe purveyors and recyclers all over the South.”
Destroyed sets, Flooded sets...
The destroyed sets were created on stage. The furniture, pipes, electrical conduit, light fixtures, circuit breaker boxes, etc. were usually purchased new and then destroyed in place or run over with large machinery to give them that bent and twisted look that we so desired. This was a lot of fun for the Set Dressers, who were charged with destroying all kinds of life-sized toys. It was bumper cars every day!
Tokyo aftermath...
“One of the totally new and exciting settings, Tokyo aftermath, was dressed on an existing street in Atlanta and an abandoned storefront on that street.
I had been pulling my hair out trying to find a buyer in Tokyo who could round up all the items I kept seeing in research photos...Lanterns, light fixtures, electric meters, recycling bins, etc and etc...but without success. My Atlanta buyer, Charlotte Lee, reached out in desperation to her Japanese friend here in Georgia and he said, “Oh that’s what my sister does.” Voila. We had our buyer. She procured the Japanese items we needed and more. She was invaluable. So was Charlotte. We also had many items manufactured in the Prop shop at the studio in Georgia, enhancing the involved detailing for these sets.”
...For photos depicting this and more, see gallery above!
* Check Film Decor for our coverage of CAPTAIN MARVEL...BLACK PANTHER...GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOLUME 2...SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING...IRONMAN...and AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR!
Convenient links in the list below...
