Victoria Alonso, the most important woman at Marvel Studios, recounts unknown facts from “Eternals” | INTERVIEW

If there is a living example of the saying “when one door closes, another opens”, we do not have to go any further than Victoria Alonso, who traveled from her native Argentina to the United States at the age of 19 pursuing the dream of being an actress. but he found triumph behind the cameras. Today as president of Physical Production and Postproduction, Visual Effects and Animation Production of Marvel Studios, the 55-year-old producer is one of the most powerful women in Hollywood and, perhaps more importantly, is alongside Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito part of the triumvirate that decides the future of the filmic titan that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Involved in this project from the beginning with “Iron Man” in 2008, Alonso now sees another of her dreams fulfilled with the release of “Eternals” on November 4 and with the inclusion of Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry), the first openly superhero homosexual, being one of the main promoters for the representation of LGBT characters in the MCU, a community to which she also belongs.

It is not the only example of representation, since in the film it also presents the first deaf superheroine with Makkari (Lauren Ridloff), as well as several superheroes of color such as Kingo, played by Pakistani actor Kumail Nanjiani; Gilgamesh, with the Korean Don Lee; Ajak, with Mexican actress Salma Hayek; and Sersi, the performer of Chinese roots Gemma Chan.

In the midst of the excitement for this premiere and already preparing other MCU projects, Trade and other Latin American media we had the opportunity to chat with the busy producer about this milestone for the MCU.

“In a way it was simple”, Revealed Victoria Alonso, highlighting that the fact that the Eternals team is made up of ten individuals allowed it to be more representative of the world in which we live. Despite this, he noted that narrative considerations were also a priority in his decisions.

“We always said that we were not going to do the things that are ‘what we have to do’. Although the audience has asked us many times for the part of inclusion – which is something extremely important for what we do – we do not want to do it as a matter of responding politically to something that is happening. It had to make sense of how to tie these people’s stories into our franchises.”

“The important thing was that if you have the opportunity to have ten new characters, how are we going to tell a story that transcends seven thousand years of world history?”, He reflected. “Do we count it with all the people the same? Or do we tell the story with people who are very different, who have gone through different moments in our human history, who have observed and lived life in different ways? Because not because one is an Eternal, their experiences are the same.”

One of the factors that most draws attention to this film is its director Chloe Zhao, who last year swept the Oscars with the movie “Nomadland.” “Eternals” is the first blockbuster by the Chinese-born filmmaker at work.

“The idea was always first to have the best director or the best director that we could find. Here comes Chloé Zhao, who when she came, four years ago, had not even finished with her film that gave her the Oscar“Alonso emphasized, noting that even a year before they started talking to the directors, work had already begun on the” Eternals “story.

Although “Eternals” only opens this November 4 (or a day later in the United States), the film has already stood out before the critics, although not favorably. With 53% ‘freshness’ on the Rotten Tomatoes review aggregator, the film has the lowest rating of an MCU installment to date.

In response to this, Victoria Alonso said that although “they welcome all criticism, the important thing is that when everyone sees it they feel reflected.”

“We do not make films so that they have good reviews, we do it because it is a good story, which seems to us that perhaps it is something that the world wants to see, and if the world says yes, we accept it, if the world says no, we accept it“, Held.

As one of the Latinas in one of Hollywood’s most prominent positions, it was impossible for questions not to turn to the place of Latin American talent in the competitive world of Hollywood. Alonso herself had already fueled this conversation two weeks ago, during the premiere of “Eternals”, when she answered a question from the journalists present in Spanish and rebuked them to learn the language, a request that quickly spread on social networks.

“I want you to know that I did it in a very natural way and everything. I don’t want the world to think I’m a despot“Said the producer. “But in a way, I would love for the world to learn (Spanish), so that we could communicate a little better.”

For the veteran producer, there has been a change in terms of Latino participation in Hollywood, although she regretted that this has been “at a snail’s pace.”

“Being a person who moves very quickly, of many things, change takes time“, I consider. “So for me the important thing is that people do not lose faith and do not stop fighting for change.”

“It seems to me that we are at this moment in a place where change is taking place, there is much more representation. There is no representation that I would love for us to have, and that is Hollywood’s fault and we are to blame for not making our place in the world”He added.

At this second point, the producer recalled an advice she gave to a young woman who wanted to enter the industry and told her that she felt she did not belong in that place. “I tell him ‘if you feel that you don’t belong, you don’t belong. What you have to do is say ‘I belong here, permission, I’m going to sit down.’ Make your place at the table, from there it is a question of whether you have something important and intelligent to say“, he claimed.

At another point in the dialogue, Alonso emphasized that in terms of representation, it is essential for him to be through all levels and not only what people see from the outside (the actors), but also those who are inside (producers, cameramen and the rest).

“Because if there are more people like you and me, we are going to change the conversation about how things are a little bit, as long as they give us the opportunity to speak and that we can move the needle a little with respect to creating change.”