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Big SUPERMAN Thingee
Hey folks, Harry here with the latest on SUPERMAN - everything in this report jives with what my sources have told me so far. And you'll notice Singer's response regarding "Jesus" ahem.... Mark - I told ya so! Anyway, seems like Bryan is aiming at a March start date for shooting! And so far, it ain't derailing! Here ya go...
Hey Harry -
You published a review of Intolerable Cruelty awhile back...and that's about it. I visit the site. Obviously.
Anyway, Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris ALL visited NYU this morning and spoke to a group of around 30 students, including myself. I was expecting the film students there to diluge Singer with questions about the Usual Suspects, for the most part, but really, for an hour or so, all we did was talk about Superman.
He made no mention of the title whatsoever, although the guy who ran the meeting referred to Singer as the director of the upcoming "Superman Returns." For all we know, he might have just lifted it from the site.
Anyway, here are some tidbits.
- When asked if it will be a sequel, remake, or origin story, he said, in so many words, sequel. He said that the previous movies will be referenced in a "vague historical sense" (this wasn't clarified), and that the origin itself will be handled in the same way it was in the first Batman movie, with intercutting flashbacks.
- When asked the "status," he hesitated, but said that they were moving to Sydney (in which they've rented 8-10 acres) in November (they scouted "several weeks ago"), and shooting would begin IN MARCH.
- Casting came up. He said that right now the main offices are setup in New York and LA, but he has 10 offices "all over the world." He said that he's only looking for Lexes and Supermans right now, but he has a "sense of where he's going to look" for his supporting players. Many students around the room were hoping for a shot at Jimmy. He said that he really wants to cast an unknown in the lead.
- Caviezel came up. He said, with ample humor, that since Caviezel, is KNOWN, he won't cast him. He also mentioned that he's looking for an actor between 25 and 30.
- I asked him afterwards (that's right, I talked to him! Yeah! Sigh...) if he was going to, as a director, go for a mythic Donner-like approach or more character based, like Smallvile aspires to be (i don't that show, consequently, despite the fact that Superman is my religion), and he responded quickly. "Mythic. Definitely."
- He mentioned his pitch to Alan Horn right after the dismissal of McG. He mentioned that at that point, they were still doing the Abrams draft, which he hadn't read, and that he knew, immediately after the pitch, that his plans for Logan's Run would have to be put on hold, that Fox would get pissed at him for dumping X-Men 3, because he KNEW that Horn liked his pitch, and that they would forget about the $50 million they spent over the last 11 years and make it. He said the pitch lasted around 30-40 minutes.
- On related subjects, he says that he's going to have a Logan's Run "room" setup in Sydney so he can develop it during the filming of Superman, and move on it immediately afterwards. He says that he feels bad about not participating in X-Men 3 (which he won't). He mentioned a lot of the pre-visualizations on Logan's has already been done, and he seemed really, really excited about it.
- Also on a related subject, I spoke to Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty regarding Ender's Game. They said they did 3 drafts and haven't heard anything more about it. They told me some details, which I'm not going to share, but I'm really happy with some of the changes they made.
- Back to Superman. He said the look will be "traditional." That's good.
- I'm trying to remember if he said anything else, but I think that's about it. He seemed pretty confident that it was getting made, mentioning that "Warner really wants Superman," which he said contributed to him getting tapped to do it. But it was all his idea - Singer, Harris, and Dougherty did the whole thing when in Hawaii and decided, rather sporadically, to pitch it. And it worked.
I guess that's about it. He was a blast to listen to, very funny and honest. Harris and Dougherty, who look like they're about 12, were great also, and this was a confidence booster to me big time that they're up to it.
Oh, one more thing. He was asked how solid he was on his vision for the now-reassigned X-Men 3 and mentioned only that he would probably have to add in Gambit because "he's so easy." He said that Angel was cut from X2, Beast from X-Men, and that neither, he thought, would ever "come back." That's all.
So, if you use this, call me...
SR Hadden
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NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP NEVERSLEEP .....And thus, Drink all night! - - - George, The 7th Chicken!!!!
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Sep 26, 2004 6:21:44 AM CDT
SECOND!!!!!! YES!!!!!! COMES RIGHT AFTER FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by booface
BASE SUPERMAN OFF BIRTHRIGHT!!!!!! DO IT!!!!!!!!!
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Thats the sound of the approaching onslaught, in talkback form, of the Caviezel fans who are either really pissed off, or are going to deny what this article says is true, and will STILL say JC is playing Superman. Oh well, I march to the beat of my own drum, and the name of that tune is "Bryan Singer may have potentially ruined X3". Lets hope someone can save the X-Men franchise from the Batman Forever/Batman & Robin plague. Hmm, wouldn't it be a horrible irony if McG ended up doing X3? Thats enough to cause a shiver up Jason's back. Freddy: "So... you're afraid of something afterall".
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I agree with Singer that an unknown would be a much better choice for Superman. A star, even only a vaguely known actor, would just be too much of a distraction. Chris Reeve was barely a blip on the Hollywood radar, so it gave the audience the opportunity to believe in him and Reeve the opportunity to grab the role by the throat and make it wholly believeable. One of the reasons for the downward trend of superhero movies lately is the casting of flavor-of-the-months or huge names. I wasn't watching "Daredevil" - I was watching Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, and Colin Farrell jump around in leather costumes. And let's not even go into the Hell of the revolving Batman door. I also believe this latest casting for the Fantastic Four movie is just ridiculous. Oh well, here's hoping that we get to see a fresh new face for Superman instead of someone like Adam Brody or Heath Ledger. feh.
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Sep 26, 2004 6:47:32 AM CDT
So..,when Knowles collects on that Caviezel bet...is he gonna bu
by smarkjobber
I'm just hasslin' ya, Harry! I remember that money was for charity... And what was your charity again, Harry? Preserving comics or something? That's much more important than any cancer/AIDS research. I guess a geek does have to have geeky priorities. /// Anyway, I'm relieved Jesus Caviezel is out of the picture. That was an incredibly ludicrous wet-fanboy-dream. Ick -- wet fanboys. That's like "moldy maggots", isn't it?
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Bring it on Singer, does this mean Joss Whedon is going to do X-Men 3? If so life is good,
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That would have been cool. As for Superman? Can't wait.
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Sep 26, 2004 8:26:08 AM CDT
If they pick some pretty boy and not Caviezel I aint seeing this
by spacesheik
Mythic or no mythic.
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It breaks my heart they are remaking my favourite film of all time. I don't know how I will feel about seeing Superman without John Williams' score or without Christopher Reeve's definitive portrayal. No one will better that cast. Not a weak link among them.
I wish Bryan Singer's film all the best, and I cannot wait to see a trailer, but I don't think it is possible that it will have the sheer joyous excitement and adventure and fun that Richard Donner's version had. The sharp smart witty dialogue, the charming performances, the heart pounding adrenaline rush of the action. Sure the SF/X are hokey in today's world but the story telling is grandiose and epic and unrivalled.
It will be very hard to top a masterpiece. Very hard indeed. -
It's whatever charaters Whedon wants now.
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I hope they reference "Nuclear Man" from "Superman IV".
He was so shittastic, it's incomparable! -
Sep 26, 2004 10:18:25 AM CDT
What does a new Superman film need to succeed? KRYPTONIAN WEREW
by uncle stan
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I'm not entirely sure what that means, or if one is better than another. Smallville is currently 2700+ minutes, 920 a season or thereabouts, 42 minutes or so weekly. I don't think you could maintain purely "mythic" that long, even if you wanted to. On the other hand, Superman the Movie had plenty of character-driven stuff (again, whatever that means - heavy characterization?). Although perhaps more in the subsequent Superman 2. Any new movie would really have to be "mythic", even if they only do the origin in flashbacks.
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Why remake it? The story was lame, predictible, the last hour dragged on with no sense of pacing, the set design sucked, the effects sucked, it practically was already remade as minority report.
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I was glad when Burton left this because it meant no Elfman (a great composer but he does what, ever other film score these days?) IF this is a sequel using the same story IT MUST USE THE SAME MUSIC! For me and I'm sure many others, the original Superman theme was one of the most memorable things about the film. And get Kate Beckinsale as Lois Lane, assuming she can hack the accent. (and get away from shitty werewolf movies) She's gotta be younger than Margaret Kidder was in the original. Or maybe what's-her-face... uh... Jennifer Connely. She might be OK as well.
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Robin Williams would have been PERFECT as Beast. X-Men just isn't complete without him. Goddammit, Bryan Singer you fucking asshole!
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Be grateful we dodged that bullet and have Singer now.
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As much as I would love to see John Williams return to score Superman, he's not. Ottman is Singer's guy. Good thing I dig Ottman's work.
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Sep 26, 2004 1:25:06 PM CDT
People who make posts about people who make first post have smal
by ribbons
Or is it people who make posts about people who make posts about people who make first posts? Blah. The point is, yes, it's a juvenile form of entertainment, yes, it's a little sad, but then again, so is the agenda to stop it. First posts are dead weight, but surely they don't make the talkback any better or worse. If anyone has something to say, they'll say it regardless.
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I'm optimistic due to the fact that this project is rolling on without any speedbumps. I'm also glad that Singer is determined to cast an unknown as Big Blue; while it's probably not as easy as it looks (there's some quote I remember about lightning not striking more than once), I was getting tired of having to run into the forest to scream every time I heard tell of Ashton Kutcher or Josh Hartnett or Acting Unit No. 17 being considered for Supes. As far as 'X-Men 3' goes, I would have liked to see Singer continue on with the project, but I actually feel more relieved now that I know he is, indeed, not coming back. There are plenty of talented creators who would love to take a crack at Marvel's Merry Mutants, and as life goes on, so too will X-Men. In the meantime, I look forward to both (Superman and X-Men, that is, not X-Men and life. Which isn't to say I don't enjoy life. Whatever.).
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F*CK Bryan Singer for abandoning X-Men. Finish what you started you sell out. Not only will I not pay money for Superman, I sincerely doubt I will put money towards a single Bryan Singer film again. Yes I'm that pissed. Superman is the most boring comic character ever put to paper. If X3 turns out like crap I will be out for blood Singer!!! I can't believe someone so talented could be so short sighted. I guess money talked and B.S. walked.
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Check with Creative Light Worldwide. She has the right blend...attitude, persona... see her in The Possessed.
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I would do the Pheonix thing and get a horror director to do it. I'd have Pheonix turn the "hero comicbook movie" into a freaking nightmare. It would be great.
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Sep 26, 2004 3:32:24 PM CDT
"That's right, I talked to him! Yeah! Sigh" - so, his life is co
by salvatoregravano
How pathetic does one need to be to ejaculate at the mere thought of *speaking to some wossname director of two comic-book flicks*?
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Millar contends that a "search for an unknown" will take place (as a publicity stunt to generate buzz) but that once cameras roll Caviezel will be there. Nothing has contradicted that yet. Singer could just as easily be playing along with the [publicity machine in every interview he does denying Caviezel since he is a "known".
Fat Lady hasnt sung yet on this wager, will have to wait until March to see.
Dollars to donuts, this movie never gets off the ground. -
Yeah he's a little older than 25-30, but he looks young and he's perfect for the role.
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It is actually quite possible to have it both ways. What needs to be done is take the legend, and make it make sense. You can be faithful and revisisonist at the same time, as long as the revisions are made in the original spirit of the myth. Like what Frank Miller did with Daredevil.
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Eh, cares, Superman's lame anyway. And The Matrix already did the flying bit as good as it can look.
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Bryan Singer is gay?
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As much as I luv the Whedon, if he does do X3 then its gonna be all about kitty pride and shit, that guys gotta hard on for that character and her presence as a main ensemble character would be a waste , bring me the Gambit baby. "Don't mess wit de cajun."
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No wonder Lois and Lana were always fighting over him.
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not to defend the guy or anything (anyone who Sighs for talking directly to a celebrity needs a life) but I think you're leaving a couple films out of Singer's repertoire. I would much sooner applaud 'Suspects' than the Xmen films.
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hmmm?
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Soon To Be You Heard It Here First New Hotness: There... is... no... sanctuary.
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He is a very seasoned actor that is not that well known to an international audience. Now...lets see....Molly Parker should play Lois.
Who could Mary Walsh be? 8-) -
Who? you know, the black actress from Ally McBeal with the huge bosom. Come on, you would so too watch that. Seriously though, I know none of you socially active swingers are ever home watching TV on Friday nights, but set your VCRs. Jason Wiles who plays Officer Maurice "Bosco' Boscareli on Third Watch would be PERFECT as a replacement for Christopher Reeve. And he's available: on the season debut he got shot twice in the chest and twice in the face, so he'll be confined to a hospital bed with his face bandaged all season and his doctors say he'll never return to the job and probably never walk again. Speaking of which, that other Jason, Jason Ritter (Kevin Girardi on Joan Of Arcadia) for the teenage Smallville flashbacks). Seriously - if Jason Wiles ISN'T an unknown why did I have to look his name up at IMDb? Plus, on that Third Watch episode someone comes right out and says "Bosco is no superman", which proves he's being considered for the part! Oh, Nic Cage as Jonathon Kent. ***** One more thing, will you children please stop refering to 'the classic, original Superman movie". Haven't any of you ever seen or heard of the George Reeves theatrically released feature "Superman and the Mole Men"? If you're going to play at being media mavens get a clue or at least a Maltin movie guide or some sense of historical perspective or something. Geez, kids these days...!
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I'm all in favour of them making several shitty films:)
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Say what you want about Xmen, but at least singer got the characters for the most part down pact. After AvP and the way FF is looking i di not trust FOX to line up a good creative team for the future Xmen films.
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Sep 27, 2004 4:03:38 AM CDT
I lost as to why so many a hoping that Whedon takes over the Xme
by the founder
he'd done tv well, but a feature film? I do not want Whedon on X3. I just don't know what's the big deal about this guy. sure he did good work on Buffy, but that's about all he's done, and fire Fly was way overrated.
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VOTE KERRY
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Sep 27, 2004 6:41:37 AM CDT
No Caviezel -sigh- But i still have hope that Caviezel will dons
by darthbakpao
damn you Singer!
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Sep 27, 2004 6:48:41 AM CDT
Boreanaz can't be Superman ... and speaking of Boreanaz, he said
by darthbakpao
will play Ben Grimm before the cosmic beam incident? I'm not familiar with FF in detail, but i read somewhere that Ben Grimm used to be a tall handsome footballer kind of guy. Boreanaz suits the description.
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No sir. Benjamin J. Grimm will be played by Michael Chiklis, both before and after his transformation. Want proof? Check out Hollywood North Report. They've got set pictures of Chiklis (as Grimm) visiting Von Doom's offices prior to their journey into space. Boreanaz is rumored to have tested for a part (I had always heard Dr. Doom), but he either didn't get it or his involvement is being kept a secret.
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and add my vote for Paul Gross. Guy has that charming, somewhat naive, but very boy-scout look. Worked in Due South, what the hell.
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thanks! if boreanaz indeed landed a role, i'm curious to see which role he'll be playing as
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