Names and Faces

• Throughout his long career, Woody Allen has been fascinated by magic, a theme he's explored frequently onscreen. He returns to the subject as he promotes his latest film, the lighthearted period romp Magic in the Moonlight, even as he's busy shooting his next movie in Providence, R.I. It stars Colin Firth as a cynical stage magician and Emma Stone as the young spiritualist whose magical powers he seeks to debunk. So far, reviews for the new film have been mixed. In any case, Allen said he long ago stopped trying to figure out how his movies will be received. "I'm always disappointed in each movie when I'm finished," he explained, "because there's a big difference between the fantasy you have when you're home writing the thing, and you think, 'This is going to be so great' ... and then you actually have to execute it, and Emma Stone can't possibly walk across the room as fast as you pictured, because no human can. ... And so I'm always disappointed, and I never have an idea which ones are going to resonate with an audience." Firth's character, Stanley, exudes the same cynicism about magic and spiritualism that Allen feels. "He's a magician who'd love to be proven wrong," Allen said.

• Several members of The Avengers descended on Comic-Con on Saturday in San Diego to debut the first footage from the forthcoming superhero sequel. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner were on hand with other cast members from The Avengers: Age of Ultron, including Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders. "It just keeps getting better," Downey told the boisterous crowd of 6,500 assembled in the San Diego Convention Center. "I'm so excited we're all here." The footage kicked off with the Marvel superhero team comically attempting to pick up Thor's mighty hammer off a coffee table. "If I lift it, do I get to rule Asgard?" Tony Stark wondered while trying to wield Thor's hammer -- both with and without one of his Iron Man gauntlets. Jackson, who most recently starred in Captain America: The Winter Soldier with Evans, took a moment during the celebration to appreciate the fans. "It makes me feel like going out and making movies for the rest of you," he said of going to Comic-Con. "We make movies because we want to entertain you guys, and I make movies because I want to see myself in them."

A Section on 07/28/2014

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