Captain Europe?

Patriotism. We all have some form of it. We all have debated our points about it. Some have even gone so far as to paint their houses in red, white, and blue, place a flag on their car, or even wear a coat that looks like a flag. None of this compares, however, with Marvel’s mantra of making a movie about the ultimate symbol for American pride—Captain America.

Remember way back to the auditions when Marvel execs were adamant about casting an American actor to play the lead? Remember all the time, energy, and PR they wasted in making sure people knew this movie was going to be 110% American? Remember when they said that this movie will be a great source of Americana? Remember?

Well, the powers-that-be at Marvel have decided to film the entire movie in—-England! That’s right, the very country from which we declared our independence will benefit greatly from the filming of this slice of American history. How did this happen, you ask? It’s real simple. The powers-that-be decided Captain America does have a price.

Money apparently is one motivating factor to move the filming of Cap across the pond to England. According to Vice-president Louis D’Esposito, one factor to film in England was the tax breaks they received. In essence, Captain America can be bought.

Despite D’Esposito’s efforts to lobby California for a tax break or two, ultimately he felt the movie would be cheaper to take it out of the country. Of course, he likely ignored the fact that it would also mean a European crew. This is where I disagree with the decision. They are filming the ultimate American patriot film with an all-European crew in Europe! Not one scene will be shot in America. Not one! Aren’t we in economic turmoil? Don’t we need jobs?

The Other Side

Now, to be fair to D’Esposito, there are other sources coming to light and say the main reason it is being filmed overseas is because of the story. Apparently, the movie goes to the roots of Captain America, which did begin in Europe. There are even reports of a plan to shoot a series of scenes at the Piccadilly Circus. So, one could construe that much like America itself, Captain America was also born in Europe.

This seems to have put out the fire of controversy this started with many Captain fans. It seems to have widespread support. I’m not that convinced.

While I think it is great to shoot scenes at Piccadilly Circus, I can’t imagine why the entire film had to be shot in Europe. I admire the use of the actual Circus instead of a green screen. It does add authenticity to the film. However, why would D’Esposito lobby California to film the movie there if this was the main reason? It sounds to me like they didn’t get what they wanted, decided whining about it was a better option, then moved their sandbox to England to play with the other kids.

I’ve been on movie sets before. I’ve seen what geniuses who shape scenes can do. They can make downtown Denver look like Paris if given enough time to scout locations and build sets. It truly is an art form. You might even argue it is a uniquely American art form, but why twist the knife?

I’m not a fan of this move. I would’ve been fine with shooting the Piccadilly scenes overseas, but not the entire movie. I think the execs did a real disservice to the film by touting it as an American film and excruciating over an American actor only to move the film to Europe. I think it shows a real hypocrisy at Disney and Marvel.