Armageddon Expo, New Zealand’s largest pop culture convention was held in Wellington over the Easter weekend. Seeing large numbers of fans of film, television, anime, video games and comics converge on Westpac Stadium in Wellington to revel in all things nerdy and geeky. One of the big draw cards for conventions is the film and television guests, and Wellygeddon drew out the big guns securing Hawkeye himself, Jeremy Renner. So here’s the top eight things we learnt from Jeremy Renner’s question and answer panels on Saturday and Sunday.
Who would win between Hawkeye and the Green Arrow?
It’s a bit of an unfair question to ask since Renner is of course going to pick his own character. But it would be an interesting fight to pit Stephen Amell up against Renner. He reveals he did undergo a long period of training to get into Hawkeye character, “I’m pretty good with a bow and arrow, I could kill most of you people here *laughs*” however also readily admits that his form is definitely not one to be replicated should you wish to take up archery properly.
What actually happened in Budapest?
When a fan gets up to quiz Renner on *that scene* from The Avengers, things seem to go a little awry with the microphone. Or more accurately Renner fakes some technical difficulties in order to bypass answering the question. It’s a nice little bit of situational and physical comedy as he taps the mic and muffles into it. Guess we all are just left to imagine it for ourselves!
Why was Hawkeye left out of the trailer and poster for Infinity War?
“I don’t make the trailers man!” Renner kept very coy and sassy about his exclusion from the marketing for the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War film. We can all hazard a fairly safe bet that the real reason is because something pretty crucial happens. And even if he’s not in Infinity War, he will show up in Avengers 4: As Yet Untitled.
Jeremy Renner does do his own stunts … including breaking his arms
Films like Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, The Bourne Legacy and The Avengers all showcased Renner’s action prowess. Something he’s quite proud of “That’s all me, I believe it’s necessary to be honest, I want the audience to see that it’s me. It also makes it easier on the director and the editing when it’s all me”. Ironically though, it’s his forthcoming comedy movie Tag, where he’s suffered the worst injury “Of all the action movies I’ve done, it took a comedy to break both my arms. It was a silly stunt, I fell 20 feet onto my arms and face. I didn’t miss a day of work though, I got it done. I broke my arms on literally day two of the movie, I’d just take the cast off and keep working”
If he could have a practical superpower it would be ….
“Flying would be cool I guess, but a practical superpower for me to be able to take a nap anywhere, just kinda go out, I have trouble sleeping, my mind’s too active. Hawkeye’s got the courage more than most, I think he’s fine, he doesn’t need a superpower”
Wind River almost got caught up in the Weinstein saga ….
Renner’s recent drama thriller film that he starred in called Wind River (directed by Taylor Sheridan) was almost caught up in the Weinstein saga. Originally the film was set to be distributed by The Weinstein Company however when all the allegations started surfacing a number of the producers bought back the film and ended up distributing it themselves.
Music is a deeply personal and important part of his life …
Some may not know but long before acting Renner played music, “I played drums, then learnt guitar and piano. Writing and performing music is a deeply personal expression. At the moment I just keep it for my daughter, I sing and play with her. It’s a little vulnerable to put it out there.” However later this year an animated children’s film Arctic Justice will feature not only his voice acting talents but also him performing along with musician Eric Zayne on the soundtrack.
Some solid life advice ….
“Be willing to fail, get good at accepting that sometimes you suck. To overcome adversity is hard to be taught that. We have to fall to then get back up. Whatever it may be, something emotional or physically challenging. Getting good at overcoming obstacles. Also don’t put your head in a microwave” (you had to be there for that one).
For more details about the Armageddon Expo, head to: http://armageddonexpo.com
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