Here are photos from the gigantic LA premiere of Avengers: Infinity War. There are so many photos, it’s like the Met Gala only for comic-book movies. In this post, I’m just including photos of Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson and Elizabeth Olsen. Sorry peeps, that’s just the way it shook out.
Sam and Tom’s friendship has always sort of amused me – Sam is clearly a nice guy, looking to get along with costars on every project. But I get the feeling that Sam just genuinely likes Tom in general, and that interest makes Tom seem a bit cooler. Tom didn’t have a date to the big premiere, so Sam posed with him. Tom IS Mr. Lonelyhearts.
It probably didn’t help Tom that his ex-girlfriend Elizabeth Olsen was there and looking really good. Elizabeth didn’t seem to have a date either – I guess she’s still with that guy, but she didn’t bring him to the premiere or pose with him or anything. I always forget that Olsen has a really great figure too – this Oscar de la Renta ensemble really shows that off. I approve!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Outside of MCU they were also in Kong: Skull Island together.
I thought that was Brie Larson?
Samuel L. Jackson.
All of them were in the movie.
Elizabeth looked amazing last night. I’m sure Tom can handle seeing her because they worked on these movies after.
Tom and Sam made me laugh on the livestream. Had no idea they were so close.
Elizabeth looks like a super amazing superhero, I guess that was the goal.
Agreed, she looked so beautiful!
I’m usually underwhelmed by her fashion but she nailed this
Gosh, who would’ve thought I’d EVER dig fuzzy ginger beard?? I just want to…..I don’t know, to Tom Hiddleston.
Totally agree ZGB. I thought Hiddles was dead sexy in The Night Manager, but seeing him with the longer hair, scruffed-up beard…yes, please!
Yup, yup, yup. He looks hot!
The Veranda is open and YES, we are serving Comet Sophies and bivalves because the Comet made an appearance last night.
LEGS lent the gray suede shoes to CHemboy.
Samuel L. Jackson is just one of the coolest people to ever live and he and LEGS do seem to enjoy one another. They seemed to have a lot of fun working on Kong together.
LEGS is on Kimmel tonight with Ruffalo and Scarlet and Dave Bautista.
THE REAL LIGHTPURPLE, ACCEPT NO IMPOSTERS
Correction: Samuel L. Jackson is the coolest person to ever live. No competition there.
I’m joining you on The Veranda. Feeling genuinely happy that all the latest Tom news have been so positively accepted.
Colin will be right over with your Comet Sophie.
Make mine a double. Goodness, didn’t he look so very handsome last night? Also having the best time.
On the way.
Im loving the influx of Hiddles we’ve had over the last few weeks.
Also hurrah for the Fuzzy Hiddles look, which I love.
It is so refreshing after the long drought. Let’s drink him up before he disappears again.
Do you have an imposter?
Yes. And not a very good one. I rarely post about his relationships, except perhaps to correct timelines. That’s one way to tell.
You’ve made it now! I haven’t noticed anything weird, but then again it sticks out a lot when it’s your own name (there’s a second Bridget and it looks so weird even though she’s probably just using her name).
Well, it’s springtime in Boston for Green Eyes and I am out of hibernation. Please count me in with a mimosa.
And it is finally above 30 degrees! Mimosa on the way.
I really, really would like to know what happened on the Ragnarok set and afterwards – besides Taika W being nasty to Tom. It seems Chris was totally OK with Taika preferring him, and it also seems the “brother from another mother” duo is more or less broken up. There are not too many pics of Tom and Chris together on the purple carpet. Chris didn’t show up in Shanghai, apparently because he was in hospital for an injury to his arm that was conveniently cured by the time he had to leave for LA two days later…
What makes you think Taika was nasty to Tom?
In the press and on social media (AFAIK), there was nothing but praise for each other.
Among other things script revisions without telling Tom, cutting things differently, letting him show up for scenes when he found out after some waiting he wasn’t needed…
@Nanea, what’s your source for all that? I’ve never heard any of it.
That sounds pretty standard for big films, I remember actors (not Tom) saying they don’t bother learning lines for the next day because they get rewritten all the time anyway. Also, actors joke often that 90% of their work is sitting on set and waiting.
The only slightly shady thing would be letting Tom wait OFTEN and then not filming him at all, but scheduling actors and transporting them is not the director’s job (while he oversees everything, surely actually arranging timetables for transportations and make-up and all for actors and crew is somebody else’s responsibility).
Either way, I doubt cutting Loki’s role is a consequence of Taika W having an issue with Tom. It’s more likely Marvel’s, and perhaps Taika’s and Chris’s, wish for Thor to be in the centre this time, and that sounds fair given that it’s a Thor film.
The source for this Taika doesn’t like Tom gossip is Tumblr from someone who is well know to make stuff up to stir up the Hiddle’s fandom. Too bad it has to bleed over here.
@Melody there seems to be quite a bit of that on several topics being carried over.
Ragnarok, like other recent MCU films, had a bloated cast. Focus was always going to be on the Thor-Hulk pairing and the first MCU villainess played by Cate Blanchette. The new characters played by Jeff Goldblum and Tessa Thompson were also going to get attention. They had a third of the Westworld cast and avJurassic Park reunion going on. Despite all that, Loki is the one who gives them the security code to steal the spaceship to escape Sakaar. Loki is the one to bring the large spaceship to Asgard on which the people escape. And although it is Thor’s idea, Loki is the one who resurrects Surtur, so the people can escape, which Thor believes to be a suicide mission.
These are adults working in a multi billion dollars franchise. It doesn’t matter if Taika loves or hates Tom. Just show up and do the job. Feige knows the work Tom put into helping make the MCU a reality beyond Ironman.
That sounds like bullying and should not be tolerated on in any workplace. I have no idea if it’s true, but if so, it’s disgusting behavior.
@ Darla- How is that any shape & form bullying? Was he calling him names? pushing him around? Just because your boss changes the time of the meeting doesn’t mean it’s bullying.
Taika W being nasty to Tom? Do you know what happened, I completely missed out on this. It must be like being mean to a golden retriever puppy.
During the filming of Thor Ragnarok, I thought it was odd that the majority of the publicity was about Taika and Chris instead of Chris and Tom. At the infinity premiere, I expected a Tom and Chris bromance as it was in the past. It did seem like a coolness or a distance was there. Chris has said that he and Taika have talked about what they can do with the Thor character. Also, Chris went to Feige with the ideas. So maybe it’s some truth about the rumors that Taika favored Chris and downsized Tom’s role.
@Gabbygirl2
See my post below on the way Marvel/Feige runs the multi-movie Marvel universe. I’m not sure why anyone would suggest Loki’s character was snubbed at all. Ragnarok has a big, all star cast, and Loki played an intricate role in the plot and to Thor’s character. Movies with this many central characters and moving parts are difficult to bring together in one cohesive 2 hr story and be entertaining. Remember Taika had to cover a lot of ground and set up all the characters new and old for the next installation, IW.
Directors have to cut lines, drop scenes and sometimes make up new scenes to make the best movie they can while meeting the primary objectives. I think Taika made a good choice by focusing on Thor’s character as the central thread that ties all the others and all the side plots together. Next he spent good time on Valkyrie which made sense since she’s a new, continuing character.
The Tom and Chris bromannce was back when they were both very excited to be a part of a successful franchise, but they were never bff. They were two colleagues that shared the same orientation into the whole MCU and all the fan events that they had to do together especially since neither of them were established actors nor their characters established in MCU yet.
@Gabbygirl2
Also Hems and Taika likely got on very well because they’re both Aussy-Zealand-erites. Ragnarok was very much an Auss/Zealand project, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where Chris had influence. Chris’s career has boomed, but he doesn’t get paid as much for Marvel movies as he can in other films. And playing Thor takes up a lot of time filming and promoting. He’s made it no secret he hates the costumes and how uncomfortable they are. Plus he has a wife and little children.
Feige arranged to appease Chris by shooting in Australia to he can be close to his family. Plus I bet all the big Aussy actors in Ragnarok and even Taika share some of the same Australian representation with Hems too. Along with Cate, Hems and Taika there was Carl Urban and I think I even spotted Sam Neil.
I really don’t think they were ever as close as they tried to make out. I think there friends but it’s not like there besties. They signed autographs together for the fans and took a pic inside.
They have vacationed together several times. And Tom seems to have given Chris the gray suede shoes.
All that ‘brother from another mother’ stuff started during Thor: The Dark World press tour when people were asking Hemsworth How he felt about Loki being so popular. If you watch back those clips you can see the ‘oh, really?!’ reaction from Hiddles. It’s fairly obvious it was exaggerated to cover any suggestion that Hemsworth might have a bruised ego.
They clearly get on well enough as colleagues and have good on-screen chemistry, but if they’re not actually working together they can go several years without hanging out. They’re not really bffs.
I’d take rumours is Taika being ‘nasty’ as a pinch of salt, because all of that stuff is standard for supporting actors on big Hollywood productions. Did Hemsworth put his foot down with Marvel to make sure Hiddles’ role was supporting and that he was treated as supporting actors usually are, instead of being treated as co-lead? Quite possibly – there was a lot of talk about making sure Thor was the most compelling character in a Thor film beforehand, and clearly he and Taika were on the same page about that. Loki’s role was certainly de-emphasised from antagonist to side-kick.
And yet, after all that effort, Thor was still not the most compelling character in his own movie. Sure, he had some of the best one-liners (thanks to Taika) and some good fight scenes, but I wasn’t invested in his fate at all. At best he was maybe third most interesting – and a case could be made for fifth or sixth. Honestly, I enjoyed Valkyrie, Hulk (not Banner), Hela, Loki and even Skurge far more than I did Thor.
I always felt that during panels that a lot of the other actors were a bit put out by the attention that Tom garnered. It wasn’t his fault that he and his character were popular but it did seem to put some off, including CH. Just what I thought I was seeing in videos.
It also could have been just because CH is a bit wooden in those things.
“Did Hemsworth put his foot down with Marvel to make sure Hiddles’ role was supporting and that he was treated as supporting actors usually are, instead of being treated as co-lead?”
No. Hemsworth doesn’t have that kind of influence to determine other actors film credit status. Their contracts are already negotiated, and more to the point only Kevin Feige can make decisions regarding changes to a character’s prominence in the film, NOT Taika. Everything regarding the plot structure and the basic part each character was to play in Ragnarok was already agreed and approved of by Feige. It was up to Taika to execute it and make it happen. He had some room for his ideas on how he’d envision the Marvel /Thor universe. That’s were most his creative input comes in.
As far as the script, well it was obvious much of it was improvised, especially Jeff Goldblum’s character and Hems too. Hell everyone seemed to be improvising at one point or another, even Oden. That’s what Taika seemed to want was a funny, off beat, one-liners kind of interchange. He wanted the effect of fun and spontaneity which usually means script drafts get scrapped for the sake of what the scene needs once they’re filming. Usually many versions of a scene are filmed and which ever works best is kept. This would have nothing to do with Tom.
I think that what happened is that Hemsworth supported and helped advocate for some scene ideas that Taika and he had worked on. Many times scenes, initial dialog just don’t work out or don’t fit to what the director wants ie. not funny enough. It doesn’t sound to me that any of this had any effect on the initial plot and character structure.
Imo Loki had a substantial role in Rag., and I was very satisfied with it, even more so than in TDW. Feige has made it very clear that no matter how popular a character might be, he’s not changing in any significant way the multi-plot universe he’s already set in motion. So regardless how many (like me) thought Loki’s character could be explored a lot more and needs his own movie, it’s not part of the plan. Loki is part of the MCU, but he’s not an Avenger. He is the main character and relationship that defines Thor’s role in MCU.
I don’t know about any snub (nothing comes up in a search, even on Reddit) but to me, you can’t discuss that dynamic without also discussing the fact that Hemsworth finally deigned to step up this time and the end result was Hiddleston being pushed aside. As much as I love Taika’s work and get the promo strategy, the dynamic still felt weird, considering the way Hiddleston happily stepped up when needed before.
I agree 100%. Tom stepped up and was a major factor in the first two Thor’s success. Taika was a new director for Thor. Kevin Feige himself said that he gave Taika a lot of latitude in script development and directorial guidance of the characters. Hemsworth was well aware of Loki popularity with the public.
Chris also realized that Thor was the weakest link in the MCU and his films outside of Marvel didn’t do well. Chris relayed in an interview that he was an ambitious person. We will see what happens in the. Ext chapter of his and Tom friendship.
I think Chris wanted this movie to be about Thor instead of Loki, and in the process Tom kinda got shoved to the side during promo in favor of Taika. I think Taika is a funny dude and I enjoy Ragnarok very much, but…eh. Thor is a cool character, but simply not as compelling as Loki no matter how you try to change the story. Tom gives Loki dimensions that Chris, as good as he is as Thor, can’t compete with. And I think it was a mistake to try to sideline Tom during promo as a means to increase interest in Thor/Chris. People just really freaking love Loki, so go with it, lol. I also think it was weird to see a director so heavily involved in the promo. I know he played a smaller role in the film too, but it felt odd to have Chris and Taika paired up for press.
All that said, I do think Taika did right by Loki by making him a bit lighter and turning him back toward the good side. It was time to embrace the trickster side of the character instead of the villainy.
And, as I said above, Loki was the one who had the security codes for the spaceship garage, Loki is the one who brought the rescue ship to Asgard. Loki is the one who made the suicide play to resurrect Surtur. He probably used the tesseract to escape.
I still want to know why he and Elizabeth spilt up. They dated for at least a year if the rumours about them being extra close in set were true. Elizabeth said in the The Times style section that she doesn’t mind putting her bf on her SM because he’s not an actor but if he was she said she’d be all like “let us have our privacy.” She also said she could see herself living in London and loves Suffolk (funny fact that’s where Toms mum lives) I don’t know if it doesn’t work out with her boyfriend (who looks pretty greasy and wears those baggy harem pants) I could see her and hiddles giving it another go. It’s a shame because they were actually really good friends before they dated. There’s a video of them on Getty images in 2012 catching up at the mulberry show and they seemed to have a connection even then.
She’s been with her current boyfriend for 2 years so obviously he’s a better fit. Tom was probably a rebound since she was coming straight out of a long term relationship and engagement to Boyd.
She’s been with her current boyfriend less than two years, she dated Diego Luna briefly before that and they ended just before the globes in January 2016.
January 2017*
Is there a source for that? I thought it was widely accepted that they had a FWB relationship or were hooking up during filming and promo, but she was with her fiance right up to when they started working together, and got together with her current partner not that long after.
I know they have a lot of very devoted shippers, but I don’t see any evidence of a longterm relationship.
Filming started in like September 2014, Boyd her ex fiancé said she dumped him over the phone the same day his friend and mentor died which was like the 27th of October. At the time a few people commented that they saw Tom and Lizzie in schrevport were they where filming and seemed inseparable. She was spotted near his house in London in the following January/February, the booking up article came out in May followed by a sneaky fan pic of them walking in London with his hand around her. Then they did a pap walk in July, Olsen denied they were dating at TIFF while promoting the film so some people thought it came to an end until she showed up in a collage the Kong skull island director posted of the cast hanging out and she was in the pics. That was like in November but the pic didn’t get uploaded till like January. During that time there was lots of break up rumours but that was before the pic was made public.
My personal (with no actual evidence) theory is they were off and on, or very casual, during that time. Probably got together during/after ISTL filming and it lasted a few months. They went their separate ways for a while, there was a time when Lizzie was routinely spotted in LA and Tom was either in London or off filming. Maybe they tried again that summer, but it didn’t go anywhere. That’s why both said in different ways they were single that fall. After spending time together at TIFF, they may have tried to give it one last shot and Lizzie jetted off to Hawaii during Kong. That didn’t work and they decided “Nope, better off as friends” and it was over for good. p.s. It is now clear to me I have given this far more thought and attention than it deserves. It’s ancient history.
Actors working closely together and being close on a shoot is nothing unsual and certainty not evidence of dating. Olsen always denied Hiddleston and she’s never denied her serious boyfriends and has been perfectly fine showing pda with her finance and now this guy. Hiddleston went on to embark on a very public extremly photographed fling with swift so he doesn’t seem very private either. So all evidence points to Hiddleston and Olsen not being a serious rs if they had one.
It’s actually completely possible that they told the truth and really were just friends the whole time. They were friends before filming started, they made a film together that involved working very closely with each other, were seen out and about together sporadically after filming finished but never caught in serious PDA, and have been seen together a few times since then at events laughing and joking together. That’s entirely consistent with a long-term friendship IMO.
Lest we forget, Lizzie Olsen was also reported to be seeing Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans during that time period after being seen out and about with them. Friends and colleagues can hang out socially without banging each other.
This all would have been so much simpler if Tom and Lizzie had just reenacted the famous From Here to Eternity clinch on Waikiki Beach in full view of the tourists. But since they didn’t, I will allow there is always going to be some wiggle room in knowing the exact nature of their relationship. If either one of them ever say definitively “we’ve never shagged” I will believe them, but there was enough ambiguity in what they both said that I can’t quite let it go.
The timing was all off. It seems they were attracted to each other and started a little romance while filming ISTL. Her relationship with her fiance was ending or had already ended, and Tom was more than happy to fill in. But it never got much of a chance to become a real relationship. After filming ended they both had other commitments. Tom had a lot of work that year as he was filming and promoting movies back to back around the world. So whatever they had was mostly a transitional thing as they never got a chance to know each other more comprehensively in a steady environment much less the same country.
Tom has such beautiful hair : it looks so soft, I just want to run my fingers through it.
Sam’s got some fantastic frames going on in here! I probably couldn’t pull them of, but they look great on him.
Is Hiddleston back? Is he sexy again after airing all that Swifty dust off him? Lol, he seems like a nice guy even if he’s been a bit awkward in past interviews. Had a weird dream about him that I was taking a bath in my living room and he just walked on by…gave me a wink and that was it. Wtf Tom, what am I supposed to do with that?
Do you often bathe in your living room? Yes, I know it was a dream. Do you often dream about bathing in your living room?
SLJ has an impeccable style!!! love the man
I’m digging so much Tom’s look lately, longer wavy hair and ginger beard.. I’m all for it!
Jeff Goldblum and Mark Ruffalo also love Tom. It’s quite sweet seeing them hug each other anytime they meet.
Tom is so awkwardly awkward that he melts my maternal heart. He looks great here, as do SLJ and E. Olsen.
…Is it Thursday yet??
Hiddles is better than ever. Older, cooler, shaggier. Love it. 😍
And SLJ’s not bad, either.
I won’t be able to see it until the weekend! I need to retreat to an underground bunker with no internet access to avoid the inevitable spoilers.
Seriously, Jetlagged. I am debating searching for spoilers. I do not want to be emotionally blindsided. 😭
I’m seeing it Thursday night and I am bracing for total emotional devastation in the first five minutes.
SPOILER BELOW
I hear there is only one end credit scene and it is supposedly a mind-blowing cliff-hanger.
SPOILER ABOVE
I feel genuine dread going into this movie, lol. Too many of my favorites are doomed.
OMG I CAN’T DEAL.
I’m going in as soon as the review embargo lifts at 1800 hours EST.
I am getting little/no work done today FYI
*sing* Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I see it Tomorrow 🙂 Can’t wait.
Well I did it
I squinted at the review headlines with one eye closed just to make sure it’s not a dud (consensus says it’s good – phew) and that’s all I’m going to do. I’m off to my bunker…
I have to wait until Friday night. Not sure I can stay spoiler free until then 😳
Tomatometer at 89% and climbing
M16 – do I need one box of tissues or two?
I’m fine with it if Loki dies, I just don’t want it to be in the first 5 minutes, I need TH in leather pants for a while to make this ok. LOL
Of course, I could just look at him in the pictures before Kimmel last night. Those pants are a blessing.
DB70 💔😭🤢
I can’t
Taking tissues, I think they should pass them out with popcorn
I always get the feeling that SLJ is very amused by Tom. Like he finds his earnestness, extreme Englishness, and people-pleaser personality a bit silly but also endearing. Their friendship is funny, but it’s nice to see.
Tom looks incredibly handsome. Elizabeth looks beautiful, too — love me some pants on the red carpet.
When they are both on the Graham Norton show and Tom says how many times he had to reshoot a scene and SLJ laughs at him is one of the funniest things I’ve seen.
Yeah I agree. I think SLJ has been around so long in the biz and been in UK a lot, so he’s got quite a worldly perspective and a lot of experience with Brits. So not much would faze him. As you say he seems to find Tom, not your regular cup of tea, endearing.
You didn’t saw Tom and Lizzie on London fan event? They were hugging, laughing, talking etc. And they stood beside each other on almost all photos. They’re are two mature people – if breakup wasn’t bad, why end a friendship. And they know each other very long. It is childlish to treat your every ex like enemy, when you finished RS.
Or they just didn’t have a relationship and were really just friends. I never saw the ambiguity that others did in their denials.
Oh look who is not depressed after all.