Waiting For Superman

We’re waiting. We sit in front of our computer screens with coffee breath clicking on our favorite movie news website hoping to hear that a new Superman film is on its way. We assume that Warner Bros and DC Comics are hard at work searching endlessly to find the right director and writing team to take on this seemingly impossible task. We hope to see a Superman film that displays a healthy balance of action and drama with sequences and villains ripped straight for the pages of our favorite comics. We’ve been through this before, and for some Superman Returns was the reward for our efforts, for others it was a disappointment after so many years of waiting.

Loyal Smallville fans are once again lobbying for “their Superman” Tom Welling to strap on the boots in what is being called a “revamp” by Jeff Robinov at Warner Bros. Their tireless work which includes petitions and manipulations of their top choice in a Superman suit are spread out in forum threads across the internet. Although smaller in number but just as relentless in their pursuit, fans of Brandon Routh are also making the case for “their Superman” to once again don the cape using similar tactics as the “Wellingites”

Fans of Routh were pleased with a story that broke on Latino Review in which Paul Levitz at DC mentioned that Brandon Routh had been to the DC offices in NY and LA to discuss Superman. This confusing turn of events sparked debate on movie forums across the internet as Superman Returns “apologists” and “haters” clashed over the validity of the Latino Review claim and both wondered how Routh could play the role of Superman if WB was rebooting the franchise.

It certainly is a question to ponder. How is it possible for WB to reboot a franchise while at the same time using the same actor in the role of Superman from a previous film that they are trying to distance themselves from? If going forward with Brandon Routh as Superman will the general public associate the universe that Bryan Singer created with this reboot? If the same situation applies with using Tom Welling in the role on the big screen, taking along the Smallville Universe, then it certainly has to apply to Routh. WB and DC might be thinking that if they do an origin story with Routh then it would erase the storylines of Superman Returns. It does happen in the comics, but this is the big screen we are talking about. Sometimes the audiences are not as forgiving.

I thought Routh was a good Clark Kent, but I would give his take on Superman solid at best. If they are truly going with a reboot which Robinov’s comments seem to suggest, then I find it hard to believe that they would cast Brandon Routh in the role. Sure it could be looked upon as a compromise between fans and non fans of Superman Returns going forward, but if true, this compromise could result in WB paying the price…again. Let the waiting game continue.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121936107614461929.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

http://latinoreview.com/news/exclusive-dc-comics-president-gives-superman-update-5511

Who Is Writing The Superman Returns Sequel?

From most accounts circulating behind the scenes the Superman Returns sequel is happening and aiming for 2010. The question remains, does the sequel already have the writer(s) or are meetings still taking place? Over the next couple of days I will be reporting on some of the possible contenders:


Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci

The duo worked on the summer blockbuster Transformers and the upcoming Star Trek film. Iris from www.brandonrouth.com reported that "Kurtzman and Orci seem to be interested in writing a script for MoS" on November 17th, 2007, just after Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris left the project in October.

http://www.bluetights.net/theplanet/showpost.php?p=1489507&postcount=386

On February 6th I reported that a "famous screenwriter" was talking with WB, this screenwriter was Roberto Orci.

Some rumors are circulating that the WB is preparing to bring a "famous screenwriter" in to discuss a possible Superman Returns sequel or a totally different Superman movie. Right now of course this is just a rumor. However, with the strike seemingly winding down and the latest news before the strike being WB was bringing in various writers to meet with, one has to wonder.

http://showtime029.blogspot.com/2008/02/new-man-of-steel-writer-being-brought.html

On March 10th, 2008 IESB reported that Orci and Kurtzman were in talks with WB to pen the sequel.

Word is Transformers/Star Trek scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are considering being behind the project. This gives Superman fans hope after Returns' mild disappointment amongst fan boys. The pair are apparently in talks and have had "several meetings" regarding the film. No need to worry about a lack of action from these two!

http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4497&Itemid=99

Up Next: David Hayter

John Williams Scoring Superman Sequel.

I was talking to one of my friends last week who happens to be a writer from a movie website. We were discussing the Superman Returns sequel and passing info back and forth, and it came up that I had some info that John Williams is in line to score a Superman Returns sequel. Low and behold, around the same time a poster on http://www.superherohype.com/ also was talking about Williams being in line for the sequel.

http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=14751545&postcount=110

Now the Boston Globe is reporting that Williams is indeed going to be the next composer for Man of Steel. See below.

Ready for a new round of Indy music? Film composer John Williams will be in town this week to reunite with his old friends the Boston Pops, and he'll be premiering selections from his soundtrack to the new "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which opens in

Williams is laureate conductor of the Pops and a longtime collaborator with Steven Spielberg, director of the "Indiana Jones" series. He will conduct Film Night performances at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. On tap is memorable movie music including Williams's work from the "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter" series. Actress Lynn Redgrave will join in each night to narrate what's being called the "Harry Potter Grande Suite."

The program will include a tribute to David Lean, the visionary director behind "Doctor Zhivago," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "Oliver Twist." Film clips will be featured along with music.
The Pops' Film Nights events are typically evenings of good fun. Two years ago, when Williams led a similar event, "a roar of welcome from a sold-out Symphony Hall" greeted him when he took the stage, wrote Globe reviewer Richard Dyer. "Thirty years on, the special effects in the early 'Star Wars' films are beginning to look a little cheesy, but the music is still stirring," Dyer wrote.

Williams, now 76, was conductor of the Pops from 1980 to 1993. According to industry reports, he remains a busy man, with soundtracks for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Jurassic Park IV," and "Superman: Man of Steel" all scheduled for his touch.

http://www.boston.com/ae/movies/articles/2008/05/17/the_music_indy_runs_on/

Thomas Tull Talks Superman Sequel

Speaking at Hamilton College, Thomas Tull mentioned a Superman Returns sequel in which he hopes to invoke more of the image of "an angry god".

See a sample of the article below, click the link for the entire article

Thomas Tull '92, founder, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures (the company jointly responsible for producing the films Batman Begins, Superman Returns and 300), spoke to Hamilton students on April 17 in Wellin Hall about his journey from Hamilton to film production. Tull expressed appreciation for Hamilton's impact on establishing his success, and reciprocated by screening never-before-seen footage of Legendary Pictures' upcoming Batman sequel, The Dark Knight. While lecture attendees were required to sign a nondisclosure agreement about the contents of the film clip, audience members were treated to a short scene from the movie featuring Heath Ledger in his last performance as the Joker. Tull mentioned that the lecture required his creative team to bring substantial video and sound equipment up to the Hill to screen the movie, a decision attendees undoubtedly appreciated.

While he explained that Legendary focuses on commercial projects over independent films, he said that the company seeks to make the stories they tell "elevated" and take the source material seriously. Legendary's roster of upcoming films includes a wide variety of properties, including Watchmen (from the renowned graphic novel), Akira (a remake of the popular Japanese anime film), a Superman sequel (in Which Tull hopes to invoke more of the image of "an angry god"), Clash of the Titans, Where the Wild Things Are and a film of Paradise Lost (Tull is particularly interested in the "[story] arc of Lucifer"). Tull is also sponsoring the Legendary Film Treatment Challenge, an upcoming opportunity to submit film treatments to Legendary Pictures for consideration.

http://www.hamilton.edu/news/more_news/display.cfm?id=13939

David Hayter On Man of Steel

David Hayter was a guest speaker at York University in Toronto Canada about 2 1/2 weeks ago. He came in to discuss his profession with the class and somebody asked him about Superman Returns and what his thoughts were on the movie. He said he thought it was great but the films biggest problem was that "it couldnt decide whether it was a richard donner film or a reboot Singer film"

He said bryan is working on the sequel and hes talked to bryan about it and Bryan is aware of the fanboy complaints with SR and is committed to more modern comicbooks for MOS. He also said that Bryan was a hawk when it comes to trying to please the fans and will go all out for this one. He also told the class how much he loathes X-3.

JL(M) Is A Go For 2009

According to the juggernaut that is Variety "Justice League Mortal", which is the rumored new title, is fast tracked to drop in 2009. This is a almost a complete 180 to recent news floating around the internet the last couple days speculating that JLM might be pushed back to 2010 and moved to Canada. Even George Miller, the JLM director, called the movie's status "precarious". Exerpts from the Variety article below:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981504.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Now that the writers strike has been resolved, Warner Bros. is pushing ahead with its plans to make "Justice League" in time for a 2009 debut. Warners tried to get "Justice League" into production earlier, but put it on indefinite hold in January, allowing the cast options to expire. At the time, the studio said it didn't want to move ahead until the scribes had another shot at the script.

Scribes Kieran and Michele Mulroney are busy polishing up the script, which is expected back at the studio in several weeks, and the cast has been advised to keep training for their superhero roles. Director George Miller is in pre-production in Australia.

Now from all reports Adam Brody is playing The Flash, Common is playing Green Lantern, Megan Gale has won the role of Wonder Woman, and Arnie Hammer may or may not be playing Batman. What about Superman? As of now the actor who is supposed to strap on the cape as Superman seems to be shrouded in mystery. DJ Controna and Scott Porter seem to be the front runners to pull on the tights but I can already hear the Welling Rumors being whispered in my ear again.

What does this mean for Man of Steel, the sequel to Superman Returns? I assumed this might mean that a sequel to Superman Returns is completely dead. From what I am hearing that might not be so. There are now rumblings that Man of Steel may have finally found their writer(s). Interesting.

Superman Not Taking Flight In 2009

Now I for one enjoyed Superman Returns, the movie had its flaws, and I can understand the criticism the movie has received from some fans. It obviously did not perform the way that WB projected. That being said I was optimistic when I heard a seasoned screenwriter was coming in to take over the reigns with either a Superman Returns sequel or another Superman movie. Not because I didn't like what Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris did with the Superman Returns script, but because I want to see Superman on the big screen again. I urge anybody who hasn't read the Superman Returns script to check it out, in my opinion, it flows much better than the movie did in some respects.

Anyway, this is what the Hollywood Reporter has to say about the possibitlity of a Superman Returns sequel.

There are at least nine more projects that are not dated but could be slated for 2009, according to one source. But one studio tentpole, the sequel to "Superman Returns," is not so lucky. There apparently are no current plans to add the project to the slate, according to a studio source.

Read the rest here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i09f751dd163aa4110d36b46a59d23839?pn=2

New Superman Screenwriter?

Some rumors are circulating that the WB is preparing to bring a "famous screenwriter" in to discuss a possible Superman Returns sequel or a totally different Superman movie. Right now of course this is just a rumor. However, with the strike seemingly winding down and the latest news before the strike being WB was bringing in various writers to meet with, one has to wonder.

Thanks to Super Kal of Superherohype for the above manipulation.

Bryan Singer Back For Man of Steel?

Slice of Sci Fi is reporting that Bryan Singer will indeed go forward with a sequel to Superman Returns according to the below movie talk snippit and podcast report.

Movie Talk: Contrary to reports last year that director Bryan Singer opted out of returning to helm the “Superman Returns” sequel, the famous director has decided to accept Warner Bros’ offer and return to the center seat.

http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2008/01/26/slice-of-scifi-145/

Thanks to "\S/JcDc\S/" of http://www.superherohype.com/ for the scoop and "Super Kal", also from The Hype, for the Superman manip.

*The Podcast is reporting the budget will be 170 million and the movie will not be out until 2011 or 2012 with a start date of 2010. According to the podcast there are no screenwriters attached and it seems that the studio is now straying from the Jason storyline and it this could mean the end of Brandon Routh as Superman.

This report sounds as if it is being pieced together from previous reports but the 2011 and 2012 release date sounds off to me.

Hollywood Kryptonite Foils Man of Steel?

The build up toward Superman Returns was a fantastic experience for me. I was found myself scouring the internet for news throughout casting, pre-production, production, and I am still discussing this movie on forums across the internet even now. Fortunately, I was able to get close to some of the people involved in production of Superman Returns on both sides of the fence along with others in the industry who had first hand knowledge of production. Naturally said industry insiders were also able to give me some information on a possible sequel, which now seems to be in jeopardy. Below is a message I received on August 26th of 2007 from a internet message board I frequent. I have blocked out some of the message as well as the identity of the poster in order to protect their identity.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i267/IronGiant29/ManofSteel.jpg

The next day Film Ick ran the same story which you read if you click the link below. Either Film Ick had the same source on this one, or they ran with my story.

http://www.filmick.co.uk/2007/08/whats-gonna-come-of-man-of-steel.html

What really surprised me looking back at the message, is the information on Tom Welling and JLA. The source introduces the idea of Welling being cast in JLA after season 8 is completed. Obviously the strike has changed things and Welling might be free to sign on sooner than that. We'll all find out where this project is going by tomorrow.

Truth, Justice, and the Hollywood Way?

Superman! Batman! Wonder Woman! All of them together on the big screen? Sounds like a fanboy dream but it seems that it might be a nightmare for Warner Bros. George Miller's Justice League of America has yet to be "officially" announced but comic book fans all over the country have sure had a lot to talk about in relation to the project. The biggest discussions and debates swirling around on forums across the internet has involved casting, the biggest question, who is going to be playing the Man of Steel?

The first bomb was dropped by Rob over at IESB on G4's Attack of the Show, where he announced that Tom Welling "most likely" will be Superman and was "pretty confident" in his sources. Click the first link below for video the announcement and the 2nd link for the article at IESB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9cZvKOZaXg
http://www.iesb.net/index.php?option=com_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=1&article=3138

What happened next can only be described as "Kingdom Come" as fans of Tom Welling rejoiced while fans of Brandon Routh were feeling the disappointment of their Superman being passed up for the role. Rob's announcement instigated some heated debates among fans as well as an explosion of rumors debunking the Welling announcement and rumors that further supported Rob's information.

Although the first most of us heard about Welling being up for Superman was from Rob's announcement there were those claiming that a poster from Countingdown had beat Rob to the punch long before his announcement on G4. The poster, known as Emijayne or Jayne, made her appearance on IESB to contribute what she knew about Welling and Superman and her following from Countingdown multiplied. You can check out her blog below, some believe she is a fraud, some swear by her information, but one thing is for sure she has turned herself into an internet celebrity by no fault of her own. I have given Jayne a little bit of heat from time to time indirectly on some of the forums, but she is definitely tied into the movie industry. Judge for yourself.

http://theinfamousemijayne.blogspot.com/

Some of the more recent news out of Hollywood is now pointing to Justice League being delayed or even canceled with a report today suggesting if the movie is not greenlit by Jan 15th, then it will be revisited after the strike.

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/01/and-justice-for.html

If this movie doesn't end up happening or if Tom Welling is not cast as Superman, it is not because of lack of support from the fans of Smallville and Tom Welling. They have stormed every major website and every major poll showing their support for "their" Superman. Check out the poll below for a sample of this devotion to their hero.



Special Thanks to Mike22 & OobeDoobBenubi of The Hype for the above manip.
http://forums.superherohype.com/showpost.php?p=13217106&postcount=217

Return to Krypton

Believe it or not Superman Returns is still being discussed on http://www.superherohype.com/ & http://www.bluetights.net/. The colors of the suit, Superman's curl, Bryan Singer's directing choices, and Lex Luthor's plot points are all being debated back and forth by fans even now.





One of the debates revolves around the Return To Krypton scene or RTK as it has been dubbed by the fans. Above is some amazing artwork done by Ben Proctor who not only worked on the RTK scene but also some Smallville scenes and the FOS (Fotress of Solitude). Ben's work is truly amazing and you can check out what he did with Superman Returns and other movies such as Transformers by clicking the link below.

http://www.benprocter.com/SITEv2/HTML/HOME.html

While on the subject of Superman Returns, as above one of the hot topics before, during, and after production was the suit. Thanks to Steve Younis at Supermanhomepage and concept designer Eddie Yang, we can compare Bryan Singer's version of the suit to the concepts below before Bryan was brought on board to direct Superman Returns. I would advise if you're a Superman fan that you check out Eddie's page, you will also find concept designs for Tyzor, a villian from JJ Abram's Flyby script. Enjoy.

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php

http://www.eddieyang.com/portfolio/costume.html