LORRAINE CINK: We're about to
show you how Captain America
faced off against
Captain America in Marvel
Studio's Avengers: Endgame.
Hey, I'm the stars
and the stripes.
I'm Lorraine.
 If you throw me,
I'll come right back.
I'm Langston.
This is Earth's Mightiest Show.
 Hey, later on, musician
Ingrid Michaelson's going to pop
in to talk about her fandom.
But first, here's our own
Agent M with the scoop
on Cap versus Cap.
 Ooh, that's really
"America's Ask."
- Oh.
- I said ask.
 Ah.
 Hey, Marvel fans.
I'm Ryan Penagos,
aka Agent M, and I
am so excited to be
sitting here with VFX
supervisor of Marvel Studios'
Avengers: Endgame, Dan DeLeeuw.
How are you doing, Dan?
 Doing great.
 So there's so much to
talk about in this film.
You worked three years on it.
Let's just dive right
into some stuff.
Are you ready?
 Yeah, let's go.
RYAN PENAGOS: The first
thing I want to dig in to Dan
is Cap versus Cap.
I don't believe you
guys have the technology
to clone Chris Evans yet.
 Not yet.
 But how did we bring
this battle to life?
How did you have to
Captain America's
fighting so intensely?
 A lot of the ways we shoot
the fights is that you'll have--
you'll get out there and shoot
it with two stunt performers,
and then kind of run
the fight with them.
And then you'll
bring Chris Evans in,
and you'll shoot his
side of the fight.
But in this case,
he shot both sides.
And so the same thing--
we shot it with two stunt
doubles, and then Chris would
come in and play his side
and play the important side.
And so from that you could kind
of get the different coverage
with the stunties
and the actors,
and then you get that, you know,
great acting with them as they
fight.
You know, originally, we
shot it without the cowl,
without the helmet
of the old suit.
But then when we started
testing the movie,
people were losing track
of which cap was which.
Because we had the little--
the cut on his face
that he would have gotten
in the Battle of New York,
but people weren't
following that,
so ended up actually
having to put
a CG helmet onto Avengers Cap.
What we did is we
worked with Lola.
It's a visual effects
company, and they have
this thing we call the egg.
You know, maybe the actor will
come in-- but Chris will come
in and you'll have three cameras
kind of from the general angle
in which you shot it.
And then from that footage,
you'll take the three cameras,
take the best angle,
build the best angle,
and then basically take
Chris Evans' head plus face
and put it on the stunt double.
And the trick is that,
you know, a lot of times,
you can't just stretch
the actor's face to match
the stunt double's head.
So you end up having to like
warp the stunt person's head--
[LAUGHTER]
--and that's Chris Evans's head,
and then put his face on it.
 Oh my gosh.
 Yeah, so easy.
 Sure.
 Yeah.
 Yeah, easy.
So we're looking at this
scene, and all of it
essentially is created in
VFX, which blew me away
because when I watched
it, I was like, oh,
that's a really cool set.
So much of it seemed
practical and seemed so real,
to the point where there's,
like, all this glass and all
this action that's going on.
How much do you have to do
to bridge all those gaps?
And especially, the glass
and those little particles
seem wildly intricate
and difficult.
 We knew when we shot it,
it was going to be glass.
All the artwork that
everyone was attracted to
was this kind of big,
open-space glass skyscraper
for portraying the
insides of Stark Tower.
And it's something that we
couldn't find practically
and we couldn't
necessarily build.
So basically,
everything you see,
we basically modeled
inside of Stark Tower.
You've got one bridge that
we built made of glass that
was reflecting green screen.
So pretty much, that was great
to have, but then that got
replaced quite a lot too
because you couldn't pull
the mat off the green screen.
But all the offices you see on
the side are dressed, you know,
like you would dress a set.
You know, you build all
the office equipment
you could possibly want and
start dressing everything
from the sides.
And it was interesting
because the set
that we built digitally was
incredibly detailed-- we
found that we were cutting it.
There was so much
complexity to it,
that on the shortcuts of how
we usually share our fights,
you couldn't follow the action
anymore because you needed
to kind of get the clean
silhouette of Cap fighting Cap
with all that busy background.
So we ended up having to go in
and just adding a little more
atmosphere, kind of cheating
the depth of field a little bit
just to kind of pull
some of the detail
out that we had put
into it so there
wasn't as much visual
information going
into your eye.
So it was a roundabout
way to get there.
 Sure.
 But, you know, it
ended up working.
RYAN PENAGOS: In Stark Tower,
you know, so much of it is VFX,
but there's also a practical
set of stairs that was actually
built. How do you and
the VFX team, you know,
work with the practical
side of things
to make sure that
all comes together?
 Well, essentially,
I like shooting
as much practically as we can.
And it's, you know, we have
this relationship with the stunt
team, and Cap falling
and smacking things
seems to be one of
their favorite things.
You kind of-- you let the
stunties do their craft.
You keep them safe,
pan out whatever
pads they need, and then, you
know-- but let them, you know,
do their wire work.
And you get that-- you
know, you kind of get just
to that edge of
something that feels
like it's really going to
hurt, but Cap can survive it.
And so when you look at
the scene, you've got,
you know, the bridge.
The stunties fall
off the bridge.
Then you cut wide.
You go to CG digi
doubles of Cap.
And then the shots
looking down where they're
bashing between the
two stairs, and you're
back to stunties again, and then
you're panning out the wires.
So you let them do it, you know?
RYAN PENAGOS: Yeah.
DAN DELEEUW: And then that's
what makes it look real, makes
it look feel like it hurts.
 It definitely
looks like it hurts.
[LAUGHTER]
DAN DELEEUW: You know, it's kind
of a love letter to the fans.
But it's kind of a
love letter for us
too, just because we had
worked on so many films,
and especially with
Cap, so that kind of--
you know, when you go
into it, it's like, OK,
what has to happen?
And it's like, well, you have
to have the shield throw.
You know, you've got to get a
shield throw in there somehow.
You know, it's a lot of the--
your love of the characters.
 I felt there was also love
for that American tuchus
that we saw--
DAN DELEEUW: There is.
RYAN PENAGOS: --right
at the end there.
DAN DELEEUW: It's
the tuchus, yes.
[LAUGHS]
 Dan, thanks so much
for sharing so much
about Marvel Studios'
Avengers: Endgame.
You guys, make sure you
pick up the film now.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
 It is mind-blowing
the work that
goes into this from
all the fight choreo
to just building the world.
- Yeah.
- It's nuts.
 Yeah, you mention
the fight choreo.
Learning two sides
of the same fight
so you can fight yourself, I
mean, it sounds like a blast.
It sounds like my dream,
but it sounds like a lot.
- Would you fight yourself?
- Oh, absolutely.
 Yeah, same.
I would fight
myself in a minute.
 In a heartbeat, yeah.
Well, listen, you don't
have to fight yourself
when you get Marvel
Studios' Avengers: Endgame
on digital and Blu-ray now.
LORRAINE CINK: Oh, my gosh.
I can't wait to watch
all those deleted scenes
and bloopers because
that's my favorite part.
 Mm-hmm.
Well, hey, in the
comics Captain America
has fought himself
before, you know?
 Hey, that's true.
 Mm-hmm.
 It was actually a
reality splintered evil
version of himself in the
SECRET EMPIRE comic book event.
LANGSTON BELTON: Yeah, yeah.
LORRAINE CINK: He was not nice.
LANGSTON BELTON: Evil
is putting it mildly.
LORRAINE CINK: Yeah, he was bad.
LANGSTON BELTON: He was quite,
quite an evil person, yes.
 Yeah.
 Well, hey, everyone's
a fan of Captain America,
so the more the merrier--
just not the bad ones,
pretty please.
 Yeah, just the good ones, like
in Marvel Studios' Avengers:
Endgame-- all right, our next
guest, Ingrid Michaelson,
is actually taking her
fandom to the next level with
her new album, Stranger Songs.
 Check it out.
 I am here with the incredible
musician Ingrid Michaelson.
Hello.
 Hi.
 I'm so excited to talk to you.
Especially because
I've heard that you--
you have some Marvel
fandom going on.
 I do.
My boyfriend's daughter and
her boyfriend our obsessed
with Marvel, so I had
a Spider Gwen cake
made for her birthday, and
I specifically designed
it myself based on her colors--
the pink, turquoise,
blue, and white--
and had a little Spider
Gwen cake topper.
 So you've also been
pulled into this.
 I didn't make the cake.
I designed the cake.
 But that counts.
 And then--
 You were cake architect.
 --I picked it up and bought
it-- yes, yes, cake architect.
 But let's talk about
your new album, Stranger
Songs, which is incredible.
I've been listening to it
weirdly on repeat at my desk.
Where did the album come from?
I know you're a big
Stranger Things fan,
and clearly, it's
also into your family.
 Yes.
So I love the show.
I love nostalgia.
I love sci-fi.
And I wanted to
do something that
was different and inspiring,
and this show specifically, it
was just one of those
things that I, like, allowed
myself to just get lost in.
The way it makes me feel--
it reminds me of my youth.
So I started writing
poems about the show.
And then I was like, if I'm
writing poems about the show,
maybe I should write
a song about this.
And then I just
started performing
these songs from the point of
view of all the characters.
But if you haven't
seen the show,
you still can appreciate it.
It's not, like, so
specific that you won't
get what the song's about.
But if you know the show, you're
like, oh, I know what that
is-- oh, I know what that is.
There's like little
Easter eggs everywhere.
 I especially love
the song, "Pretty,"
and I loved the sentiment
that you shared with it
about what that song was about.
Would you talk a
little bit about it?
INGRID MICHAELSON: Yeah.
So there's that scene
where they dress
11 up in a blonde wig and a
pink dress, and Mike's like,
oh, you look pretty
good-- you look
pretty good because
he's embarrassed that he
thinks she looks pretty.
But the idea of what makes a
girl or a woman pretty, what
makes a woman beautiful, it's
this sort of like blonde hair,
pink dress trope that I think
the Duffer brothers were
playing up on, which then,
of course, she throws
off basically, casts aside.
And it was just the concept of
what makes a woman beautiful,
I thought, would be a really
interesting take on that scene
and how to make something
very anthemic and powerful
for people to listen to.
 I found it so stirring
because there is something--
I think you even say,
fight like a girl--
INGRID MICHAELSON: Yeah.
 --in the lyric.
 She's the strongest
character in the whole show.
 Yeah.
 We don't see that often--
a small girl is the
strongest character,
I mean, like, from
the beginning.
Like, it's just really rad.
 Well, because you seem
to have this affinity
for girl superheroes,
I thought, what if we
did a girl superhero quiz?
What do you think?
INGRID MICHAELSON: Yeah, yeah.
LORRAINE CINK: Great.
I'm going to give
you some questions.
You're going to give
me your answers.
We're all going to
be better for it.
 [LAUGHS]
 All right, you
desperately need a snack.
What do you grab?
A, nuts, of course; B,
dinosaur-shaped nuggets;
C, a slice of pizza; or D, a
plant-based superfood smoothie?
 A piece of pizza.
 Oh, yes.
Well, you're from New York, so.
 Yeah, Staten Island.
 Yeah, you know a
good pieces of za.
 Za.
 [LAUGHS] It's your day
off-- where do you go?
A, out with my big
group of friends?
INGRID MICHAELSON: No.
[LAUGHTER]
 B, I hide out
tinkering with a project?
C, I take a ride and
feel the wind in my hair?
Or D, I take time to meditate?
 2, tinkering around
with a project.
 Excellent.
 Or B, whatever it was.
 B2 it is.
Time to get dressed--
what is your style?
A, yoga pants are
comfy and fashionable;
B, overalls and glasses,
please; C, I love a jumpsuit
and aviators; or D,
something befitting royalty?
 Glasses and overalls
because literally that's
what I wear most of the time.
 Amazing, so B it is.
Who is your best friend?
A, I have tons of best friends?
B, my pet and I are
basically the same person?
C, they're a mouthy dynamo and
my partner in crime fighting?
Or D, I'm more of a
lone wolf-- or panther?
 C. C, a mouthy dynamo--
I like it.
If you were a song, you'd be--
A, my own hummable theme song;
B, mathematically perfect;
C, anything you can
bump on the radio;
or D, the songs of my ancestors.
 [LAUGHS] A.
 Your own hummable theme song.
I love it.
All right, Ingrid,
it looks like you
got mostly Bs, which
means that you are
most like Lunella Lafayette.
 That's so cute.
LORRAINE CINK: Not only are you
the smartest person on earth--
INGRID MICHAELSON: Oh?
Mm-hmm.
LORRAINE CINK: --you're
a kid at heart--
 Yeah.
 --and maybe in real life.
Luckily, you probably
have a giant dinosaur
also to carry you around since
you're not old enough to drive.
 How young am I?
 8.
 I love it.
 So young.
 My skin is so young.
[LAUGHTER]
 Well, well done.
You're well on your
way to also being
a superhero, and
congratulations on all
of your amazing endeavors.
Ingrid, thank you so
much for talking with us.
 Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
 Oh, of course.
You guys, be sure to
listen to Strangers Songs
wherever you listen to
music, and check out
IngridMichaelson.com
for tour dates and more.
 Bye, thank you.
 Hey, Lunella
Lafayette-- great choice,
great person to identify with.
I appreciate solitude
sometimes as well,
so it works out perfectly.
 Yeah, it's great.
We actually shot that interview
with Ingrid before the news
that David Harbour, who plays
Detective Hopper on Stranger
Things, will be in Marvel
Studios' Black Widow,
and I'm sure she would've
been so pumped to know.
So now you know, Ingrid, enjoy.
- Yes.
Oh, hey, actually,
Lorraine, you got
to talk to Mr. David Harbor--
 I did.
 --at San Diego Comic-Con.
So, hey, you know what?
Just for fun, let's
take a quick look
at David Harbour on the
press tour for Marvel
Studios' Black Widow at SDCC.
 What does it mean for you
to join the Marvel Universe?
You're no stranger to fandom.
- What?
- As it were.
 Look at what you did there.
 Right, Stranger Things.
What does it mean to you
to be part of the MCU?
 I mean, look,
these guys are like--
these guys are like the
best at what they do.
So it's like, you know--
it's like delicious.
I mean, I don't
know what to say.
It's wonderful.
Like it's-- the
scripts are so good.
The characters are so good.
The directors-- Cate
Shortland is so good.
The movies are all so
unique in and of themselves.
Black Widow is, in
a way, a departure.
I mean, it feels almost
like an espionage movie.
It's got all these
elements to it.
So it's like wonderful.
I mean, I wish I
could say things that
were interesting in these
interviews, but all I can say
is like, it's great.
And it is-- it's great.
 For us, that is great.
 OK.
 Because we know nothing.
 OK, OK.
 Thank you so much.
 Thank you.
 Awesome-- awesome to see
David Harbour's passion already
coming out of his pores.
Like, I can't wait--
I mean, it's so good.
 Yeah.
 I love when I see someone
excited to join the MCU,
so we can't wait.
 Yea, yea, I can't wait
either to see Marvel Studios'
Black Widow in May of 2020--
May 1.
 Yeah, so anyway, we're going
to attempt to be patient.
 [SIGHS]
 Deep breaths and--
 Oh, it's going to be hard.
 --a lot of--
a lot of meditation.
[LAUGHS]
 Yeah, that's it.
All right, tell us what
your favorite fight
scene is in Marvel
Studios' Avengers: Endgame.
And use that hashtag--
#earthsmightiestshow.
 Tell us in the comments, and
we might just use your comment
in a future episode.
But until then, we'll
see you next time.
 Yeah, I'm Lorraine.
 And I'm Langston.
 And this is Marvel.
 Your universe.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
