Something about Da Vinci’s Demons, a new 8-part Starz miniseries, felt very familiar as I was watching its first two episodes.  The handsome, fit young man, the flowing blouse (chest always exposed), the leather “tunic” that really just looks like a regular modern leather jacket, a portrait of a genius as a young, lusty rogue — yes, I’ve got it: it’s Shakespeare In Love!  Tom Riley, as Leonardo da Vinci, is particularly reminiscent of Joseph Fiennes in his portrayal of a young and lusty William Shakespeare, and it’s neither a wholly good or wholly bad thing.  Hit the jump for my preview of this upcoming drama (which is worth a watch) and why, as it says, “history is a lie.”

While this summer is loaded with huge movies like Iron Man 3, Fast and Furious 6, Pacific Rim, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z, White House Down, and so many others, the one at the top of my list is Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel.  Written by Davis S. Goyer and produced by Christopher Nolan, I really believe this is the Superman film we’ve been waiting for and everything I’ve seen and learned tells me it’s going to be one hell of a ride.  In addition, I’ve spoken to a few people that have seen the film and everyone is raving.  June 14th cannot arrive soon enough.

This morning I got to speak with Goyer for his new Starz show Da Vinci’s Demons, which premieres April 12.  While I’ll have the full interview online soon, I wanted to share what he said about Man of Steel today.  Since I knew going in he wouldn’t be able to say much about the movie, I asked how he got involved with the project and his reaction to seeing the finished film.  Hit the jump for more.

David S. Goyer, best known for his recent DC contributions as a screenwriter for The Dark Knight Trilogy and the upcoming Man of Steel, is now set to direct a remake of The Count of Monte Cristo.  In fact, the film is being pitched as a “19th Century Dark Knight” with a “graphic novel” approach to the script by Michael Robert Johnson (Sherlock Holmes), so make of that what you will.  The latest adaptation of the classic revenge tale by Alexandre Dumas will be made at Constantin Films with Impact Pictures’ Jeremy Bolt (Resident Evil) producing.  Hit the jump for more.

David S. Goyer‘s resume is a mixed bag, ranging from a story credit on the stellar The Dark Knight to full authorial control as writer/director of the tepid The Unborn.  Goyer conceived the story for Man of Steel with Christopher Nolan and wrote the screenplay.  The latter fact may be cause for concern when Goyer says things like this:

“We’re approaching Superman as if it weren’t a comic book movie, as if it were real.”

That’s the kind of sound byte that makes Matt Goldberg want to punch things, but I will try to give Goyer the benefit of the doubt.  What I hope he meant is that he wants to take Superman’s world seriously, to ground a larger-than-life story in genuine human emotion.  The problem is what he actually said, distancing his serious work of art from the lowly comic book source material.  That’s silly: Superman is the most comical of comic book characters, a superhero with every strength and practically no vulnerability.  An accomplished screenwriter should be able to distinguish between treating the comic as a real world and the real world.  Of course, Goyer did elaborate, so hit the jump for the full context.

The Television Critics Association is currently running through shows from the networks, which means plenty of interviews with showrunners and creators.  David Goyer was there promoting Da Vinci’s Demons, and he was asked about Man of Steel, which he wrote.  Goyer said, “I never thought I would be doing a Superman film.  But I think the only way to top myself, or ourselves on Batman, is to tackle Superman – who’s kind of the Granddaddy of all the Superheroes.”

Hit the jump for more on what Goyer had to say about the Man of Tomorrow.  We’ve also added a larger version of a recent image of Superman (Henry Cavill).  The film also stars Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, and Russell Crowe.  Man of Steel opens in 3D on June 14th.

Universal Pictures has acquired the sci-fi comedy script, Subdivision, from writers Morgan Jurgenson (Tucker and Dale vs Evil) and Alex Ankeles.  Attached to produce is Justin Lin, who is currently filming The Fast and the Furious 6.  Interestingly, Lin may also  develop the project as a potential directing vehicle.  The logline for Subdivision is under lock and key at the moment.  The picture comes as another win for the writing team of Jurgenson and Ankeles, who previously sold their spec script Hyperdrive to Paramount.  For a list of other projects Lin is involved with, and a look at another recent sci-fi script pick-up, hit the jump.

Premiering on Starz in the first half of 2013 is David S. Goyer‘s Da Vinci’s Demons.   Starring Tom Riley (as Leonardo Da Vinci), Laura Haddock and Lara Pulver, the show is a “historical fantasy, following the ‘untold’ story of the world’s greatest genius during his turbulent youth in Renaissance.”

At this year’s New York Comic-Con, I was able to talk with Goyer before his panel.  During both a roundtable and exclusive interview he talked about how he got attached to the project, how Da Vinci’s Demons could never air on network TV, the exciting visuals for the show, the fact that he “shamelessly pillaged the crews of Luther, Sherlock and Game of Thrones,” getting Bear McCreary to do the score, and more.  In addition, I also asked when we might see the next trailer for Man of Steel (which he wrote), the difference between working on cable and network TV and why he became frustrated with Flash Forward, and he set the record straight regarding whether there were a lot of deleted scenes from The Dark Knight Rises.  Hit the jump for more.

With The Dark Knight Rises officially less than two months away from its domestic debut, a Bat-heavy mega-issue of Empire magazine has hit the shelves.  Within the pages, you won’t only find a massive poster that features the Caped Crusader (Christian Bale) on one side and Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) on the other, you’ll find a lot of interesting information on how The Dark Knight Rises came about; what has changed since its earliest imaginings by Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David Goyer and the original plans for a villain.  Apparently, by as early as the premiere for The Dark Knight, the Warner Bros. executives were all hopped up on Leonardo DiCaprio coming on board to play The Riddler for the final picture in the trilogy (we were half right on that guess).  Hit the jump to find out what else has changed and, more importantly, what has stayed the same.

David Goyer has been attached to remake The Invisible Man since 2007.  To give you an idea of how long that is in movie years, in 2008 Steve interviewed Goyer and got details on The Invisible Man and the Magneto prequel.  The Magneto prequel was eventually woven into this year’s X-Men: First Class.  But The Invisible Man is still alive and “working its way through the Universal development channels.”  Disconcertingly, Goyer tells Hero Complex that his take on H.G. Wells’ original 1897 story way (which was adapted by James Whale in 1933 and starred Claude Raines) would expand the mythology of the character (ugh).  Hit the jump for the full quote from Goyer and why I find it disappointing.

David Goyer is set to write Gareth Edwards’ upcoming Godzilla reboot.  Deadline reports that Goyer will write a screenplay based off a draft by David Callaham.  While Mike Fleming raves about how Legendary Pictures is smart to get a pro like Goyer on board because he’s had so much success launching franchises, but let’s look at the films Goyer directed because those are the scripts that are almost certainly 100% his: Blade: Trinity, The Invisible, and The Unborn.  All of those movies are terrible.  What about his ABC series Flash Forward?  Also terrible, and then rightfully canceled.  Yes, Goyer has a track record of having a screenwriting credit on movies that make a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean he writes good movies.

I’m also wary that “Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible,” because that’s not what I want out of a Godzilla movie.  You can have authentic characters, but I don’t want “authenticity” out of a giant mutant lizard whose hobbies include destroying metropolitan areas and fighting other giant monsters.

After recently co-writing the scripts for the highly anticipated 2012 DC Comics films The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, writer David S. Goyer is staying in the comic book realm with a new project on cable. Deadline reports Goyer is in the midst of taking the Vertigo comic 100 Bullets to Showtime in the form of a new drama series. Written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso, the comic is considered to be one of the best in the past decade with 100 issues published between 1999 and 2009. Described as a dark noir-style story, the comic focuses on the staple moral question, “What would you do if you were given the opportunity and the means to get away with murder, scot-free?” More after the jump.

If all those Batman rumors aren’t your thing, then how about some rumors regarding upcoming film for DC’s other major superhero.  What’s Playing is reporting a couple interesting rumors regarding Zack Snyder’s Superman: The Man of Steel.  WP reports that while Man of Steel will feature Superman, the primary focus is on Clark Kent.  Per What’s Playing, “A character breakdown issued to casting agencies this week says that the plot involves Clark getting involved in some sort of battle between two tribes in West Africa.  When he is compelled to use his secret powers to intervene in a crisis in West Africa, Clark returns to Smallville to learn more about his origins and the hero he was born to be.”  Yeah, who wants to see Superman fighting Lex Luthor or Brainiac when you can see how lifting heavy things will somehow solve generations of violent power struggles.  Is the “modern context” producer Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David Goyer were talking about?

Hit the jump for more on the film and Anne Hathaway as a “contender for Lois Lane”.

Prepare to be confused about what direction Superman: The Man of Steel is going.  Our previous reports indicated that the new film would be a reboot of sorts.  Director Zack Snyder said the new film would “focus on early days of Superman.”  There was also a logline that said the new film would have Clark Kent traveling the world and wondering if he should even become Superman.  However, screenwriter David Goyer previously indicated that the new film would not be an origin story.

Now comes the baffling report that the production may be looking for an actor that is around “35-40″ to play the Man of Steel.  Hit the jump for why Jon Hamm may be smiling.

Earlier this week, we reported that Zack Snyder had signed on to direct Superman: The Man of Steel.  Vulture now reports that slightly unsettling news that Snyder was hired because Warner Bros. knew he could get the job done fast.  Warner Bros. needs a Superman movie in production by 2011 or they’ll be subject to potential lawsuits by the heirs of the character’s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.  Here’s the really disconcerting line from Vulture’s story:

We’re told by knowledgeable insiders the reason Warner Bros. picked Snyder for Man of Steel is that the script by David Goyer was rushed, is still a bit of a mess, and that Warner Bros. needs someone who won’t spend months or even years trying to get it just right (i.e. [Darren] Aronofsky).

Vulture adds that even Snyder believes that the script needs work, but he’ll be able to get the movie made faster than Aronofsky.  While we all want to have faith that Christopher Nolan’s guiding hand can push Superman to a great movie, this report casts a shadow over the production.  Hit the jump for what we know about the movie thus far plus the film’s newly-revealed logline.

Zack Snyder is directing the upcoming Superman: The Man of Steel (Deadline).  Snyder was on a shortlist that also included Tony Scott (Man on Fire), Matt Reeves (Let Me In), Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles), Duncan Jones (Moon), and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler).  As we’ve previously reported, the new Superman is being overseen by Christopher Nolan and David Goyer is handling the script.  It’s safe to assume that his producing partner/wife Debbie Snyder will come on board to produce.

Hit the jump for what we know about The Man of Steel and my thoughts on Snyder getting the gig.