The table was placed between the front row and the silver screen. The journalists and bloggers took their seats in the Main Theater at Walt Disney Studios, the same theater in which many of us had seen a screening of Marvel’s Ant-Man the night before, except daylight found us clutching iPads instead of popcorn buckets. It was early and the conversations shifted from the film to coffee and back again.

Then the side door opened and the cast, producer and director took their seats. The room leaned forward, everyone eager to talk about Ant-Man.

The conversation started with producer Kevin Feige giving background on the character, namely that in the comics he was one of the founding Avengers, and how great it felt to add Ant-Man to the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU)—a universe featuring 12 films that are obviously connected and yet surprisingly different.

Ant-Man may be the most different yet, noted director Peyton Reed. “Marvel encourages these movies to be really idiosyncratic, and one of the things I love about Ant-Man is that it’s a pretty weird movie in a great way. I mean, it was allowed to be weird, and that was fantastic.”

Paul Rudd, who plays Ant-Man and also wrote part of the script, added that he was excited about doing a Marvel movie and the challenge of doing something that surprised people. He started to address the physical demands of the role, which opened the door for the rest of the cast to rib him about his newfound fitness.

“Did you enjoy being ripped?” asked actor David Dastmalchian (Kurt). “Because there’s one shot where you look like you thoroughly enjoyed being ripped.”

“I was very self-conscious during that day of shooting,” admitted Rudd, smiling as he does.

“I remember what you had for lunch that day,” added Dastmalchian. “You had one almond.”

“And I felt so bloated,” he replied. Later he added, “I didn’t eat anything for about a year. I worked out all the time. I took that Chris Pratt approach, which is just basically eliminate anything fun for about a year, and that’s a good way to prepare to play a superhero.”

The conversation kept coming back to a number of things, including the relationship between dads and their kids. Many of the actors, including Michael Douglas, said their kids had strong opinions about their roles in the movie. “My 14 year old’s reaction was like an agent. He said, “’You know, Dad, this could be a whole new audience for you.” So I took that to heart and here I am.”

Other tangents included the hilarity of Michael Pena, who nearly stole the movie with his performance (“He wouldn’t shut up,” teased Evangeline Lilly); and that Lilly, who plays Hope van Dyne, is the toughest person in the film.

Lilly appreciates how seriously Marvel has been taking their female characters and the latitude this gave her to play her role. “I could see a hunger in them to really, really do right by Hope, and do right by their female fans and the female audience. And you know, when I pick a role, one of the things that I aspire to is that somebody’s parent will come up to me after the film has come out and say, “My daughter idealizes that character. You’re her hero.” And that’s what we aim for, especially in this brand, right? We’re in the business of making heroes.”

Then everyone, talent and press alike went down the unavoidable “Paul Rudd is adorable” rabbit hole (anthill?) until he finally had to admit, “I know, it’s crazy. Even I fell in love with me. It’s unbelievable, isn’t it?” And then, as if to make his point, everyone loved him a little bit more. It was like a moment.

After that we had some coffee.

Marvel’s Ant-Man opens July 17.

Whit Honea is the author of The Parents’ Phrase Book and his personal website the Honea Express. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two sons, and too many pets.