Marvel studios developing stand-alone ‘Black Widow’ film

CEBU, Philippines - Marvel Studios is developing a film that would revolve around Black Widow, the character played by Scarlett Johansson in the “Iron Man” and “The Avengers” franchises.

Studio president Kevin Feige has long been high on the character even before her role was expanded for April’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.” When promoting the homevideo release for “Iron Man 2” in 2010, he said, “We’ve already started discussions with Scarlett about the idea of a solo movie and have begun putting together concepts, but ‘The Avengers’ comes first.”

But Feige is once again discussing the prospects for a Black Widow film now that “The Winter Soldier” is about to be released on April 4.

“We wanted to change the dynamic of  the cinematic universe with this film,” Feige said. “We wanted Cap and really the entire cinematic universe to be very different at the end of ‘Winter Soldier’ than it is at the beginning.”

According to Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, Black Widow’s storyline in “The Winter Soldier” revolves around “her coming to terms with her history, that she’s been a spy, and spies aren’t necessarily trustworthy,” he said.

That will be further explored in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron,” out in 2015. Film starts production in March.

“(Black) Widow’s part in that is very big,” Feige said. “We learn more about her past and learn more about where she came from and how she became in that film. The notion of exploring that even further in her own film would be great, and we have some development work with that. When we meet the Avengers at the top of ‘Age of Ultron,’ it’s a very different landscape than we left them at the end of the first film. Partially, that’s because we love the rhythm that the comic books have developed — each of the characters appear in their runs, occasionally they get together for a big event or crossover series, they part again, and then they come back together again.”

Ellen Page comes out

Ellen Page has come out as a gay woman. The star of the upcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past” made the announcement in a moving and deeply personal speech delivered at Time to THRIVE, a conference to promote the welfare of LGBT youth held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“I’m here today because I am gay,” Page, 26, told the audience.  “And because maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.”

Page first shared the inner turmoil she’s felt since she thrust into the Hollywood limelight following the blockbuster success of 2007’s “Juno.”

“It’s weird because here I am, an actress, representing — at least in some sense — an industry that places crushing standards on all of us,” Page said. “Not just young people, but everyone. Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me.”

“You have ideas planted in your head, thoughts you never had before, that tell you how you have to act, how you have to dress and who you have to be. I have been trying to push back, to be authentic, to follow my heart, but it can be hard,” she admitted.

Page added that reading about herself in the tabloids can be a trying ordeal, and mentioned one article, accompanied by a paparazzi photo of her wearing sweatpants on the way to the gym, that asked, “Why does this petite beauty insist upon dressing like a massive man?” The answer: “Because I like to be comfortable.”

That kind of gender stereotyping serves “no one,” Page said. She then went on to single out examples of “courage all around us,” naming football hero Michael Sam, “Orange Is the New Black” star Laverne Cox and musicians Tegan and Sara Quinn for their contributions to furthering LGBT visibility and pride.