I just ran into this article about Superman Returns. It follows how Superman came to be in the competent hands of Brian Singer. What kills me though is reading about the Kevin Smith script. Kevin has spent the last ten years bitching about how his script should have been made, but now that I hear the details I have to say, Kevin! When did you become such a whore? Writing a Superman script is a dream job, but it means nothing if you end up being known as the guy who killed the Superman movie franchise. This is a great article, if you’re into Superman you should read it.
Superman Finally Returns! And what could’ve been…
Rampway.org
How did we ever survive? One of the world’s greatest champions had disappeared into a sea of Hollywood pre-production hell, and rabid fanboys feared that the King of Super-heroes would be doomed to battling polar bears in the arctic. Not to mention the gay robot, BLACK suit, and THE GIANT SPIDER! What? Are we talking about Superman? The one who stands for “Truth, Justice, and the American way”? A hero who’s iconic “S” shield can be recognized from all corners of the globe and whose image has been translated to practically every medium known to man? Yes.
If you can think of the worst possible way to translate Superman to the silver screen then you’ve probably been trumped by a “Superman Lives” project by movie producer Jon Peters. Jon Peters had three requirements for Kevin Smith (Clerks/Mallrats) when Smith was offered the chance to write a Superman movie script.
1. No Flying! (because Superman and flying just don’t work)
2. No colorful suit! According to Peters the traditional Superman suit looked “too faggy”. He wanted the suit to be all Black; think Neo from “The Matrix.” 3. He has to fight a GIANT SPIDER in the third act. Peters would finally get his GIANT SPIDER when he would go on to produce the instant shitfest: “Wild Wild West”.
Not only did these demands take a giant dump on the character’s comic roots and wreck the image of Superman in the public conscience, they also separated the possible movie from being in any way connected to successful Superman movies starring the late, great Christopher Reeve. Peters would also require that Superman’s nemesis “Braniac” have a robot side-kick voiced by a gay, black man. He got this ridiculous idea after watching a screening of Smith’s “Chasing Amy” where a gay, black man was featured. The final and most hilarious Peters demand came about when Peters was reading through Smith’s script and wanted a fight scene. Even though the scene he had just finished reading was set in “The Fortress of Solitude” (Superman’s pad in the North Pole). So Smith asked for a suggestion because he was confused by how Superman could fight someone in his “Fortress of Solitude”.
Peters than suggested that Superman fight a polar bear. This is because Peters believed them to be “the most fierce animals in the animal kingdom”. So Smith wrote in a scene where Superman went head to head against a polar bear.
The mayhem would continue to ensue after Tim Burton (Batman/Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) was hired to direct. Thankfully, Burton didn’t want anything to do with Smith’s corrupted script, but Burton would go on to make one of the worst casting decisions ever! He wanted Nicholas Cage to play Superman!
This created massive uproar among the fan community and was also criticized by the media. Mr. Receding Hairline himself was going to play Superman? It was like a horrible joke. Burton was also feuding with Warner studios about the budget and creative decisions while dealing with the huge backlash for casting Cage. This would ultimately lead to Burton bowing out and leaving with the a certain amount of money regardless. But Burton leaving meant Cage and the rest of his crew had to go to. Fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Cage’s separation from the project.
The Superman movie project would later be worked on by “Charlie’s Angels” director McG and “Rush Hour” director Brett Ratner. Both directors would eventually leave the project citing problems like casting, budget, and location issues with the studio. While Superman is ‘a beacon of hope’ his efforts to make it to the big screen again seemed like a ‘hopeless endeavor’.
That is until “X-Men” and “Usual Suspects” director Bryan Singer burst on to the scene…..
After McG left, Singer met with Warner execs and presented a fresh, original story concept. This concept would have the Man of Steel returning from a five year absence to a world that has learned to exist without him. Superman’s one true love, Lois Lane, also has moved on and has written an article called “Why the World Doesn’t Need a Superman”. Singer’s Superman interpretation would be faithful to the comics and Superman would definitely fly and wear his famous costume.
The Warner Bros. producers, after hearing this pitch, completely backed Singer and tossed all the work that had been done by Smith, Peters, McG, Ratner and others away.
Singer explained how he wanted to be respectful to the Chris Reeve movies and factor them in as a vague history for his movie.
SUPERMAN RETURNS!
Singer before pitching his idea even got the blessing from “Superman: The Movie” director Richard Donner to move along with the project. Singer wanted to follow in Donner’s footsteps and also cast an unknown for the title role. He was able to find his unknown in McG’s casting tapes when he came across an individual called Brandon Routh. Brandon was a part-time waiter from Iowa and had very little acting experience. But Singer met with him and instantly knew that he had found his lead. After making the hardest casting decision, Singer followed with an easier obstacle and cast fan-favorite Kevin Spacey (American Beauty/Usual Suspects) as Lex Luthor. Spacey then saved Singer some trouble and suggested his “Beyond the Sea” co-star: Kate Bosworth (Blue Crush/Wonderland) for the role of Lois Lane. Singer tested Kate opposite Brandon and found that they had really great chemistry and cast Kate immediately.
Bryan also found a way to connect with the Superman movie fan base by submitting video blogs to a fan-site called bluetights.net. This was the first time the fans were given feedback on the situation with the project and it’s disposition. Shooting on the film continued from March 2005- to late October 2005. Throughout the course of the film production, Singer has submitted video blogs and the studio has been releasing pictures from the set. The teaser trailer for Superman Returns debuted with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and was met with mostly positive reactions. Fan sites such bluetights.net, supermanhomepage.com, and kal-el.org are filled with up-to-date info on the film and all seem to be anxiously awaiting June 30th, 2006, the release date for the film. All of a sudden the turbulent history behind the film’s production seems to be long behind it and the ‘hope’ that Superman embodies is felt by the fans for this movie. They know it’s true potential and know how had it not been for Singer, a lot of us would be watching “The Last Son of Krypton” trying to get out of hammer-lock, from a fierce, angry polar bear.
