Posted by Mr. Beaks

Few filmmakers better understand how to finesse the geek crucible that is the San Diego Comic Con better than Bryan Singer.  Three years ago, he unspooled a very early teaser for the still-filming X2, about which questions were abounding, and brought a packed Ballroom 20 to its feet.  Scored to the rousing “Mars” movement of Holst’s The Planets, and sans a shred of CG, this brief glimpse extinguished any doubts about the direction of the project, and won the filmmaker whatever goodwill was being deprived him after the modest, but well-liked X-Men.

With that in mind, the expectations for his Saturday morning Superman Returns presentation, for which the filmmaker flew in from Australia where the film is still being shot, were precariously high.  Anything less than a bull’s-eye would surely disappoint.

As it stands, enough people seem to think the teaser hit the mark that WB and Singer can carry on with their $200 million confident that this familiar looking, but thematically disparate adaptation is solidly on the rails.  Though the director helped his cause immensely to the point of cheating by utilizing John Williams’s evocative score from the 1978 Donner film, one can’t deny that the film looks every bit its price tag.  Shot with the brand new, Genesis digital camera, Singer and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel have captured some strikingly filmic visuals.  If the rest of the movie looks this good, particularly after color correcting, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that this could be the project that ends the film versus digital debate.  And Guy Dyas’s production design is a lush evocation of the American Modernist era that manages to completely avoid the inert stylization of last year’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.  His may be an eye-poppingly fantastical Metropolis, but it feels as if it’s been hand-built by humans rather than conjured up with 1’s and 0’s.  Based on this footage alone, Dyas is fast approaching Alex McDowell status.

As for Clark Kent/Superman, the most that can be said at this point is that Brandon Routh looks the part if that part is a more conflicted Man of Steel than we’ve previously seen.  Happily, judging from Bryan Singer’s comments in the below transcript of Saturday’s press conference, which followed the well-received presentation, this seems to be precisely what he’s going for.  Having been M.I.A. for five years, Superman has returned to Metropolis in a time of great uncertainty brought on by some unnamed disaster meant to suggest 9/11.  The love of his life, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has moved on – her long-term relationship with Perry White’s son has spawned an out-of-wedlock child – while the rest of the world seems to have inured itself to life without its caped savior.  Essentially, both Clark Kent and Superman must examine their own relevance as they attempt to reins_ert themselves back into the lives of those they’ve previously abandoned.

This is weighty stuff for Superman, but it’s the kind of allegorical storytelling that’s served Singer well on his previous X-Men films, which used the mutants’ outcast status to explore the issue of homosexuality.  Will American audiences respond positively to such thoughtful reinvention of their most beloved superhero, as they’ve recently done with Batman Begins?  Read on, as Singer does his cautious best to put fandom’s fears to rest without spoiling too many of the surprises in store for next summer.

How did you like the reaction?

It was very good.  It was very flattering.

Are you pleased with the reaction to Brandon Routh?

It’s hard when you just see a photograph of it.  It represents one thing, and people interpret it.  It’s just a photograph.  But when you see it in motion, how we’re treating the lighting and color, and this was only our first pass at color timing – this little piece was done on the fly – I think he sells it.  If you were to meet Brandon in the suit, that’s when you really feel, “Oh, that’s Superman.  I get it.”  I hope it will be a good reaction.  You can please some of the people some of the time.

I was interested in your reaction to the question about how you related personally to Superman.  Can you talk about that?

Well, sort of what I said:  I am adopted, I’m an American, I’m an older child, and Superman was these three things, except what interested me is that he’s the ultimate immigrant.  What makes him different, his special heritage; he carries it with pride in the sense of the suit.  He’s very idealistic, unlike Wolverine, who’s very cynical.  He kind of represents a bit of what America is, and the pitfalls one experiences in their idealism.  I very much like the character; I find him very pleasant.  I’d like to think that there are people like Superman, or aliens like Superman that existed.

You said that the John Williams theme will be used in this film.

Yes.

Will that be played over the opening credits?

Yes.

Will the opening credits be similar to the Christopher Reeve films?

Similar.  It will have some other elements to it, but it will be similar – “in the spirit of.”

Could you talk about the Marlon Brando [blooper] footage?  Is there any chance that this is going to show up on a DVD?

I have no idea.  It’s definitely fascinating to look at.  Like any movie, sometimes when you’re filming, you get the words right.  Sometimes you don’t.  Sometimes you talk about it.  So, I don’t know what would be appropriate and what would be inappropriate to put on a DVD.  That would probably come down to the estate’s rights with Marlon Brando.  We have the rights to use these elements and aspects of him as Jor-El, but whether you can use… I don’t even know if I’m violating any rights by telling you about Brando bloopers, but they’re definitely fun.  But when he’s on, he’s on as Jor-El.  It’s amazing.

How did you end up directing Superman Returns?

I directed two X-Men films.  (Laughter.)  And I love Superman.  I have enough credibility, I guess, where Warner Brothers will trust me with what they consider one of their largest franchises. 

We heard you were having some issues with the Australian location.

The only issues with Australia, for me, is just the personal distance.  My family lives in New Jersey, and my home is in L.A.  And, god forbid, should something happen to my family, it’s twenty-two hours of travel.  But so far the crew has been extraordinary.  We’ve got a lot of people off King Kong, we’ve got a lot of other folks off Star Wars and The Matrix.  They have a terrific crew.  For me, it’s just a combination of a little homesickness, and, on [certain days], it will get to me.  It’s intangible, because the place is beautiful; Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

In the footage you showed downstairs, we saw that Lois Lane is married and has a kid.

Yes.

How did Warner Brothers react to that?

I pitched Alan Horn, Jeff [Robinov] and Polly [Cohen] the story, and they responded to it.  It comes to a conclusion.  It’s sort of about Superman finding his place in the world that’s very much changed, and ultimately he does at the end of the picture.  It leaves some things open for future films, but they just responded to it quite instantaneously.  Because I said my deal to make this movie was made in seventy-two hours.

Has the success of Batman Begins made you look at Superman Returns any differently?

No, I don’t think about other films [in terms of] their success, both financially and critically.  I actually don’t.  I look at this film individually, completely separate from that.  I’m excited.  It’s good for Chris [Nolan], it’s good for Warner Brothers and it’s good for Batman, but it’s not something I can factor into the movies I make one way or the other.

Your X-Men films had a lot of nods to comic book fans.  Is there anything like that in Superman Returns for them?

Oh, absolutely.  There’s two cameos; Noel Neil and Jack Larson, who played the original Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen from the 1950’s T.V. series. 

Jack Larson plays a bartender?

Yeah, yeah.  Jack Larson plays the bartender.  With Jimmy Olsen in the scene, so it’s great.  They have a scene together.  It was fun to shoot.  It was a very long day; Jack… flew fifteen hours to get there and then worked an eighteen hour day.  He’s not young, but he’s got a lot of energy.  I was impressed.

Can you talk a little bit about the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane?

I saw the movie Beyond the Sea twice.  She was phenomenal.  I really liked her, and I brought her in to read with Brandon, and they had chemistry.  It was a combination of her work in Beyond the Sea, and the chemistry she had in the room with Brandon, and the general sense I had in the meeting.  I’ve had a good record with casting, and it’s always been the meetings when I make [my decision].

Did you and Brandon watch the other Superman movies together?

We looked at some of the original Superman just to take a look at it together, but by no means did I ever say, “Act like Christopher Reeve”.  It’s weird with Brandon:  one moment he’s a dead ringer for Christopher Reeve; the next minute, he’s completely different.  He’ll have moments where you’ll recall the first film, and moments where he’s his own Clark, he’s his own Superman.

How much rewriting did you do with Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris on the set?

It was pretty far along, but, you know, my style is everyday we invent something new.  Everyday I freak out and change something, which also has a ripple effect on everything I’m going to shoot.  It happened just the other day, but it’s always exciting; it’s always for the best.  It’s a mixed bag, but that’s why it’s great having Dan and Mike there all the time, because I can sit there and suddenly say, “Why am I doing this?  This should happen.”  And they’re right there to help me make it happen.  Or vice versa.

How much did you dip back into the comic books for this other than what was based on the other movies?

Very little. 

Very little?

Little to none.  It’s mostly original material.  If you look back at the comic history, they’ve done pretty much everything.  Superman’s rescued everything, picked up everything, thrown everything, caught and captured everything.  Everything’s bounced off of him.  You have to just sort of see what serves the story you’re telling at the given moment.  But there’s definitely a respect to taking an overview of the series, and an overview of the movies, and an overview of the series, and an overview of the musical, which I’ve seen.  (Laughter.)  Taking a piece of everything… all its incarnations to kind of give a general…

For the continuity of the Lois Lane character, did you make any changes to Kate Bosworth’s eye color?

No.  I like her different eyes.  I find that interesting.

Perry White’s son is married to Lois Lane.  Doesn’t this run the risk of making Superman a homewrecker?

Not a homewrecker – it’s just what happens when old boyfriends come back into your life.  Something happens, and it’s tough.  They’re not married.  Richard White and Lois Lane are not married.  And you don’t ask her about that question.  Not Kate, but the character of Lois.  She doesn’t like that question.

But whose child is it?

It’s [Lois’s] and Richard’s.

But they’re not married.

They’re not married.  It’s a child out of wedlock.  I know, it’s very racy.  (Laughter.) 

What was the big creative challenge of making Superman relevant for audiences today?

The biggest creative challenge is to just make a good movie.  I don’t really care about “the relevance of today”.  I don’t particularly worry about where we are right now, because where we are right now, or what you consider today, will be different tomorrow.  So, I just basically wanted to be respectful to the Superman universe.  The one thing that makes it more modern is the fact that it is about what happens when old girlfriends come home.  The world has moved on since Superman was the idealistic young man who emerged from the Fortress of Solitude.

How are you going to play Lex Luthor?  Campy like Gene Hackman, or more sinister like Michael Rosenbaum on Smallville? 

I think you’ll find there’s humor.  I don’t particularly think Gene Hackman was campy; I think Gene Hackman was phenomenal.  But on the other hand, with Otis and the way it unfolded, there was a kind of humor… I’m kind of exploring some of that humor, but, at the same time, he’s probably going to be a bit darker, a bit edgier – somewhere in between what you’re seeing in Smallville and what you saw in the first Superman.

And then Parker Posey and Kal Penn—

Yeah, Parker Posey, Kal Penn and a group of thugs, which are kind of modeled loosely after the crime gang in the musical.  Which has very little to do with this movie.  Please don’t say, “He’s basing it on the musical!”  (Laughter.) 

What about the discussion of an IMAX 3-D version?

We discussed an IMAX version.  As far as the 3-D version, I have to see the demonstrations of how to do that without shooting [the film] that way.  In theory, the best way to do 3-D is shooting it 3-D.  Jim Camron is doing Battle Angel Alita in 3-D – he showed me the camera he’s using, and it’s quite extraordinary – but as far as us doing a 3-D release, we would have to re-render other elements of the digital world.  So, we’ve not yet discussed the notion of rendering our digital effects in 3-D.  That discussion hasn’t started yet, because I’d like to see some demonstrations of what that looks like.  Obviously, the film hasn’t been shot in 3-D; we’re shooting the film with something called the Genesis camera.  We’re the first film to really utilize this camera; it was built from the ground up by Sony and Panavision to look more like film than any digital camera that, to date, has done.  It’s quite fascinating.  When I did Brandon Routh’s screen test, I did it in both 35mm and 70mm, and when I looked at the 70mm image and the resolution, I said, “God, if only we could shoot this in 70mm!  But it’s not possible with the weight of the cameras, the lenses and the rigs.  Processing the film… it’s just not possible.”  But the Genesis camera came the closest to generating something classic but new, and with a resolution that will blow up to IMAX.

Your DVD’s have always been pretty great.  What are you planning for the Superman Returns DVD?

Well, Rob Burnett and his gang produce a pretty good DVD.  (Rob is actually manning a camera filming this press conference, so he gives a self-deprecating look back to the room as if to say, “Well, I’m okay.”)  They’ve been with me since the re-release of The Usual Suspects, so they’ll throw in whatever they think is relevant or fun.  And we do these weblogs, which are a little irreverent, mostly because I trust Rob and his team.  I kind of trust these guys, so I let them get a lot of behind-the-scenes footage that’s more interesting.  They’re more fun.  They’re not like, (scholarly voice:) “This is a green screen.  This is a camera.”  They actually show that there is a cast of characters not just in front of the camera but behind the camera that are involved in making a picture.  When you make a movie, it’s a kind of theater even that occurs.  On any given day, I employ 800 people.  By the finish of our run in Australia, we’ll have employed 10,000 people.  And that’s not including the visual f/x houses, and thousands of people.  So, to see a bit of all that, especially down in Australia where it’s hard for you guys to come visit, it’s great to be able to do that on DVD.  It’s great to be able to have that background.  Hopefully, we’ll do it with fun and character, which is like what you’ll see on BlueTights.net, which is a fan site that airs our weblogs.

Do you have a personal favorite version of Superman?

I think it was a combination of the George Reeves series, and Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman.  Those are my biggest inspirations.

You’ve called the film Superman Returns, and the theme of the film, in part, is coming back.  The franchise is coming back for the first time [since 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest for Peace].  Could you talk about the pressure and the responsibility of taking this franchise forward?

I feel an enormous responsibility especially because it’s Superman.  It’s an icon that surpasses probably any comic icon, and most icons that exist in popular culture.  I guarantee you the cross and [the Superman “S”] into the jungle, and you will have 50-50 recognition.  It’s an extraordinary responsibility.

Do you want to do another Superman movie after this?

I have no idea.

X-Men 2.5?

We’ve talked about it.  Rob was talking to me about it, and, yeah, I’d participate, obviously, because I’m very proud of The X-Men films, particularly the second X-Men film, and it would be fun to go back and look at it and talk about it, and throw in some pieces and bits that haven’t been seen.

What were the physical challenges of doing Superman Returns?

It’s huge.  That’s why it’s so funny; I’m showing a character piece [at the convention], but the movie is huge.  There are 1,500 to 2,000 visual effects shots.  It’s got sequences where you’ve not seen this character do things of this scope.  It takes you from outer space to the depths of the ocean.  It’s quite a big canvas.

Do you see the full range of his powers?

You see most of them.  A lot of them. 

Any chance of seeing Krypto, the Super Dog?

(Laughter.)  No, but we have a little mascot on set we call “Dingo”, because we think that’s funny.  In Australia, calling a dog “Dingo” would be like calling a dog “Dog.”

You’ve worked with Marvel and D.C. now.  How would you describe the differences between the companies?

There’s no real difference.  They’re both companies that are passionate about their universes, and hold them dear, and are affording me a great deal of trust in the direction I’m taking.  I’ve been afforded, as with X-Men, tremendous control over the picture… it’s just all support.  It’s all good stuff.  They’re doing a video game, and I’m involved with that with EA.  That’s spectacular.  That’s going to be quite a video game.  It’ll be for the Next Generation console, which will be amazing.  And that’ll be different.  It’ll have elements of the movie in it, but it’ll have elements that will make game play more exciting in terms of the construction of Metropolis and Superman’s powers.

How comedic are you playing the Clark Kent character?

He’s goofy.  Clark is definitely not young Clark from the farm – I mean, you see a bit of that – but in The Daily Planet he’s awkward.  He’s the invisible guy.  He’s playing a role.  As Quentin [Tarantino] said in [Kill Bill Vol. 2], that’s his costume.  Superman is him. 

Did you recast Pa Kent?

Pa Kent is dead.  That’s Ben Hubbard, the neighbor, who had the farm five miles down.  And Ben Hubbard’s doing more than taking care of Ma Kent.  (Laughter.)

What do you want to bring to this film that wasn’t brought to the Donner film?

I can’t think of anything.  I think that’s a wonderful film.  Just bring him back.  There are things that couldn’t do back then.  Now that we have rig removal and sophisticated visual effects, we can do things technically that he couldn’t do back then, but I think for what he had back then, he did an amazing job.  You couldn’t paint out cables back then; you just had to move the camera in such a way, and Chris Reeve had to act it, and you had to hid things – the rigs and that sort of thing.  What they did was very challenging back then.  And we’re trying to meet the challenge of today with flying.

Could you talk about creating your own version of Metropolis rather than basing it loosely on New York City like Richard Donner did?

Richard Donner didn’t base it loosely on New York City, he made it New York City.  We have a city that’s sort of… captures the whole idea of the film – a 1940’s love story.  So, it’ll be a bit more Deco – Thomas Hart Benton kind of stuff.  But ultimately it will be based on something between today’s New York and the New York of 1938. 

What do you think of Brett Ratner directing X3.

He’s great.  He’s a good friend of mine, I’ve known him for years, and I’m excited for him.  I hope he has enough time to make the picture.