On the Set of Captain America 2: The Shield #CaptainAmerica

***Disclosure: I received an all expense paid trip to Hollywood, courtesy of Disney and Marvel. However, all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***

You all may remember that last April, I was in Hollywood for the amazing premiere of Iron Man 3. During my whirlwind adventure, I got to interview Gwyneth Paltrow and Ty Simpkins, check out the legendary El Capitan Theater and the famous Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, and I even got to walk the red carpet with the stars! (I am still pinching myself!)

But one of the coolest parts of my MARVEL Hollywood experience would have to be my surprise visit to the set of "Captain America: The Winter Soldier". I mean, how many people get to hang out behind the scenes while a movie is being filmed?! 

I can't say too much about everything that happened on set. That will come at a later date. I pinky promise. But I can say that we bloggers got to interview Russell Bobbitt, Property Manager. (See! There I am, in the front row in the beige-ish sweater with my hair up in a clip. ) 

What did we talk about? No, not whether Chris Evans wears boxers or briefs...Get your minds out of the gutter, ladies. We learned all about the SHIELD! Yes, that shield. Isn't it pretty? I never realized just how much work goes into all aspects of film-making, and the meticulous attention to detail. 

There is actually quite a lot of detail in creating the Captain America's signature shield, and I'd love to share what I learned with you. 

They actually create several different shields, crafted from different materials. They're designed not only for looks, but for comfort and ease of use while filming. Here's what Mr. Bobbitt had to say about the different shields used in the movie:

"In our movie we have four different looks because he goes into different scenarios, different missions.  And he applies different material -- Marvel materials that help make the shield stealth in different situations.  And so we have four different styles.  In theory in the Marvel lore, there’s one shield. "   

"And so in this movie we -- we have a couple surprises with the shield.  And it’ll appear that there are different shields.  But it’s only one shield. For that one shield I have to make 50 of them to accommodate all the different filming scenarios-- I have hard rubber, soft rubber, fiberglass, metal... depending on if there’s an insert on it, I use a metal one ‘cause it looks the best.  

The reason we need so many is because we do different sort of scenes. You know, if he’s walking around and it’s on his back, I can put a really clean nice heavy one on him.  And when we photograph them from behind, it looks shiny and new like metal.  When he takes it off and starts fighting with it, obviously we can’t hit each other with metal shields or the boys won’t be able to play very long.  So, I make soft ones to accommodate the fighting scenes.

This one that you’re gonna hold and play with it’s the hard rubber one.  It’s the next to the best."

Yes...He did just say we would get to wield the mighty Captain America Shield ourselves! Of couse we didn't handle the ultra-heavy, metal shield. The rubber shield we got to check out is made of a hard, rather substantial rubber. It had some weight to it, but wasn't too unwieldy. 

And here I am, standing outside of Stage 26, with THE Captain America Shield! It was freezing cold and windy in LA that day, but we hardly noticed due to the butterflied in our stomachs and the excitement! And of course, my preschoolers think their mommy is a super-hero. My teen? Well, he's not that gullible, but I did earn some major "cool mom points". 

So are you excited about Captain America: The Winter Soldier yet? I know I am! I cannot wait to see this shield in action and see forces of good prevail over evil....At least I assume that's what will happen. We won't know that for sure until this long-awaited film hits theaters on April 4, 2014!
Stay tuned! In March, I will have some more amazing behind the scenes goodies to share with you! 

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CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER releases in theaters everywhere on April 4, 2014!