The moviegoers of planet Earth are currently in the midst of a very enthusiastic makeout session with The Avengers, one that includes heavy petting, blockbusting, and some unnecessary 3D.  As you're doubtless aware, the world has Avengers-fever, as reflected by the movie's global gross of $1.18 billion in under a month and the fact that Joss Whedon's superhero team-up is basically on track to be the third-biggest movie ever (not adjusted for inflation). 

But let's think about the future, a future filled with The Avengers DVDs and Blu-rays packed with special features, all of them arriving on September 25th.

Prepare for many, many headlines making terrible puns about sinking, as this weekend's new releases couldn't manage to compete with Marvel and Disney's superhero team-up.  The Avengers continues to dominate the domestic box office, according to the estimated grosses, while wide releases Battleship, The Dictator, and What to Expect When You're Expecting all basically had to settle for also-ran status.

Now that Tony Stark has saved Manhattan and made probably the biggest superhero endorsement in shawarma's history as part of The Avengers, he's going back to the solo adventures that so suit his outsized personality.  Iron Man 3 is starting principal photography any minute now, so Marvel Studios and Disney are locking down the supporting cast, including the latest addition, James Badge Dale.

Four years ago, after Iron Man, when Marvel Studios announced its plan for a crossover series of blockbusters leading up to this year's The Avengers, the plan seemed almost ludicrous, a fanboy wet dream that could never possibly become a reality.  A week ago, the ensemble blockbuster truly busted up some blocks, setting the record for the biggest opening weekend of all time by earning more than $200 million in just a few days.  Now, The Avengers has set another record, this time for the biggest second weekend of any movie.  Ever.

The world has caught The Avengers fever, but Marvel Studios and Disney are busy prepping the next superhero adventure.  Iron Man 3 is going into production this month, and the film needs an appropriately beautiful and intelligent actress to portray a "sexy scientist" who is on Tony Stark's level.  After a recent false start, it looks like Rebecca Hall might just be that actress.

How do you know it's summer?  When an event movie debuts to positively absurd fanfare and astonishes everyone by making a phenomenal amount of money in its debut.  Last year we knew that summer started a bit earlier than usual when Fast Five closed out April by ranking at number 30 on the all-time domestic chart.  Everybody knew that The Avengers would announce the start of summer, but few imagined that Marvel's showpiece would become the biggest domestic opener ever released.

Over the last decade and change, the superheroic exploits of neon gods in spandex and armor have become one of our most reliable sources of blockbuster entertainment.  Ever since Bryan Singer's X-Men and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man ushered in the modern age of the comic book movie, the Marvel Comics stable of iconic heroes have dominated the popular culture and multiplexes across the country.  Now, even with comic book adaptations having saturated our sensibilities, The Avengers is something truly unprecedented.

It's the event movie towards which Marvel Studios and its head honcho Kevin Feige have been building since the studio's first feature, 2008's Iron Man.  It's culmination of years of planning and ambitious, never-before-attempted franchise cross-pollination between The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and both Iron Man films.  It's also an outstanding standalone piece of pop entertainment, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon ably providing thrills and juggling characters as writer-director.

Those characters Whedon so impressively juggles are played by an all-star cast, each of them capable of carrying their own franchise and many of them having done just that.  IAR Managing Editor Jami Philbrick was amongst the global entertainment journalists present at the Los Angeles press day for The Avengers.  Held in LA the day after the film's premiere, the press conference included Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Clark Gregg, and Cobie Smulders, all of whom were happy to discuss making the film together.

Since Nick Fury first showed up in Tony Stark's living room after the credits of 2008's Iron Man, the post-credits scene has been a ubiquitous presence in the Marvel Studios films, to the point that there have been seemingly endless jokes about Nick Fury recruitment scenes following any and every movie.  Well, The Avengers is the ultimate Marvel movie, so it's only appropriate that it should have not one, but two additional scenes during and after the end credits.

At times, The Avengers feels like a twelve year-old's fever dream of a comic book movie, pitting heroes against one another in slugfests that give life to years of "Who would win in a fight" discussions.  One such knock-down, drag-out action scene was glimpsed two weeks ago in a clip showing Iron Man and Thor slapping each other silly.  Just hours away from The Avengers arriving in domestic theaters, director Joss Whedon has provided a bit of running commentary on that clip.

May 4^th marks a very busy day for Academy Award-nominee Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) as the actor has not one, but two brand new movies opening on the same day.

First up for Jackson, is the highly awaited soon-to-be summer blockbuster The Avengers, where the actor stars as Marvel Comics’ resident badass Nick Fury. However, another movie opening that day starring the celebrated actor is the new thriller Meeting Evil, which is based on the popular novel by Thomas Berger. The film co-stars Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums), and was directed by Chris Fisher, who helmed the 2005 crime drama Dirty, as well as a string of sequels including S. Darko, Blue Crush 2, and Street Kings: Motor City.

Meeting Evil follows a disillusioned young man named John (Wilson), as a mysterious stranger named Richie (Jackson) takes him on a murder-fueled ride that transforms the weak-willed John into a desperate hero willing to go to any length to protect his family. In addition to Jackson and Wilson, the film also features performances from Leslie Bibb (Law Abiding Citizen), Peyton List (TV’s Mad Men), Tracie Thoms (The Devil Wears Prada), Ryan Lee (Super 8), and Muse Watson (TV’s Prison Break).

I recently had a chance to speak with director Chris Fischer about his new film Meeting Evil. The director discussed the new movie, adapting Thomas Berger’s novel, finding the film’s tone, casting Luke Wilson, and working with the great Samuel L. Jackson.