Minute Thirty-Four: From a Cameo to a Day Off

‘Jovial’ Jay Shepard digs around in the impact crater with us in this minute as we talk about wormholes and Puente Antiguo.

In the thirty-fourth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• The townie who finds the impact crater turns out to be none other than J. Michael Straczynski. The connections are strong with this one as they relate to the Thor comics, Babylon 5, and more.
• We also talk about the nature of comic book creator cameos and how it’s nice to see. (We don’t get into the issues that these creators are having with Marvel over their creator rights, which is a huge topic for another day.)
• He runs down to the base of the impact crater and finds Mjølnir embedded in what looks like a block of cement. We debate the look of this prop because on the one hand, it allows the people interacting with it to really struggle but on the other hand, it looks manmade, not like something that would happen naturally from impact.
• To that end, it does allow for comparisons with the sword in the stone and the fact that no one can pull it free.
• But then we also now can judge each of these people trying to lift Mjølnir. Apparently, this town ain’t worthy.
• As Straczynski tries to lift Mjølnir, the sound design kicks in with that sound we’ve come to know and love that we hear when Thor wields the hammer. But is it diagetic? Is this townie hearing the ringing sound too?
• We leave our time with the townie as he gives us a little ‘huh,’ which is played so well. Kudos, Straczynski!

Welcome to Puente Antiguo. Finally.

• As we bid adieu to the townie and Mjølnir for now, we find ourselves in the small town of Puente Antiguo, which means ‘old bridge’ in Spanish. Turns out, they named it this because of how it works as a reflective opposite of Asgard.
• They built this town of Puente Antiguo at the Cerro Pelon Ranch, aka Cooks Ranch Filming Studio in Galisteo, NM. Turns out Tom Ford owns it and if you’re on the market for your own movie ranch, you can buy it from him right now!
• The elevation of Puente Antiguo matches that of Galisteo. That doesn’t track at all based on the mileage from Albuquerque we saw in the One-Shot A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor’s Hammer.
• The population of Puente Antiguo doesn’t make sense at all either. It’s over 2000 people which, for this small a town, makes no sense. Even Galisteo only has a population just over 200 people. Where do all these people live? Were they just trying to make it seem like more lives were in danger here in Puente Antiguo when the Destroyer arrives?

Hey, they've got at least one big chain!

• The town is big enough to have a 7-11, but it really feels like a Flying J would make more sense. Then again, why would people drive here? It feels so isolated.
• We point out the newsstand, the liquor store, and a very prominent billboard advertising the great state of New Mexico while also dropping another comic reference.
• And of course Smith Motors stands at the end of the main drag, essentially filling in for Valaskjalf in this small town. It’s a fantastic design as a defunct car dealership here in Puente Antiguo with a star on top. We love it!
• The billboard looks like some information has been redacted. Was that left accidentally as something they forgot to clean up? Or was it intentional and meant to be something perhaps graffitied on there?

Jane, Erik and Darcy busy themselves in Smith Motors at the end of Puente Antiguo’s main street.

• We join them here where clearly Jane has made her temporary workspace. But is that a crew person in a hammock we see in the next building over?
• Darcy works overtime in this scene as our audience surrogate because Jane and Erik talk about the possibility of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, or a wormhole. Erik explains to her what that means, so he’s essentially explaining it to us.
• Are superhero films science fiction? Or are they their own genre that happen to be pulling science fiction elements in to enhance the story?
• The dialogue here feels like the screenwriters had some scientific conversations with people who understand this stuff far better than we do to make sure it sounded somewhat accurate and possible.

We talk about impact craters, Straczynski, Puente Antiguo, Einstein-Rosen Bridges, and more in this minute. Tune in!

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• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
• Original Material
• ‘Jovial’ Jay Shepard at MCU:Location Scout and Retrozap