Before Thor Ragnarok is released and distributed, the rating systems will have to be considered to which country as different countries have different rating systems. For example, In Hong Kong, the rating system is split into 5 categories. In Thor Ragnarok, the rating would fall onto the IIA. In America (as Thor Ragnarok is a Hollywood based film and Hollywood based film are usually from America), the age rating system there would fall into PG-13. The reason why Thor Ragnarok falls into the parental guidance category (or IIA; the Hong Kong counterpart) is because of the violence in the film like where Thor and Hela were fighting (where Thor’s eye was chopped off), or Thor and Hulk were fighting. Another reason is also because of the language in the film; it is rated PG-13, or IIA rather than Restricted or IIB is because the use of profanity in the film is not that mild and used commonly. The rating system is implemented because of the safety of the audience; certain audiences can only watch certain films based on the ratings. The way the rating system is decided is based on the content of the film; any film that has heavy use of either (or maybe if all) violence, profanity, drugs, nudity or any other sexual content is included in the film.
When Marvel was in their pre-production stages in Thor Ragnarok (and their other films), it is important for them to understand the legal regulations and be able to comply to them otherwise, the Marvel could be sued for not complying with any legal requirements such as breaking contract negotiation with the actors or shooting at a location without permission. If Marvel is sued for not following any of those possible things, their company could be liable for any legal requirement they broke. Marvel Studios is a private company, therefore they have limited liability which means that they can only lose whatever they put into the company and would not lose any personal asset but if Marvel Studios were a public company, they would lose everything, even their personal asset. It is important for Marvel Studios to consider the legal side of the pre-production stage and ensure that they have legal documentation ready and ensure that every actor appearing in the film signs a contract/consent form for them to be used in the film.
Health and safety are one of the other important factors Marvel Studios assess the location of the scene in their shooting and identify any possible risk factor when filming and be able to know how to tackle the risk. Therefore, the producers should have risk assessment filled in to be able to understand the possible hazard there is around the location set, who could be affected by the hazard and in case the risk did occur, how can the people prevent it or minimise the situation. Before filming, Marvel Studios have to cover insurance for everyone in the set so that in case someone in the set is injured, insurance is covered and that the insurance company covers the medical bill of the injured person rather than Marvel Studios. However, If Marvel Studios did not cover insurance before filming, then they are the ones that have to pay for an injured person’s medical bill.
A consent form is another one of an important aspect for Marvel Studios to cover in their pre-production stage. They have to get actors in the film to sign a contract before filming, in some case, sign a contract with the company to appear in multiple films like with Thor as he appears in not only his own films but also the Avengers film. It is important for both parties to follow the rule what the contract says such as Marvel Studios has to make sure that the actors get paid for being in the film, and the actor has to make sure that they are doing their job properly and following the script that they are given. Copyright is not a problem for Marvel Studios because the content of the film is based on a comic book (with some adjustments) and the writer of the comic book (Stan Lee) already gave his permission to use it in the film as long as he is included in the film. Another form of consent Marvel Studios has to cover is the consent to use the location, especially if it’s going to be an outdoor location like when the Central Business District of Brisbane is closed for 4 days to film Thor Ragnarok. Marvel studios have to get permission from the government to use the area and to close the area for a certain amount of days to film a scene there. When Thor Ragnarok is filming in a studio set, Marvel Studios has to get the consent of the owner of the set while in the stages of pre-production to rent the set to use.