IN BRIEFS: News From the Men Who Wear Tights on Film

IN BRIEFS: News From the Men Who Wear Tights on Film

Michael Keaton wanted to go "back to the core" of Batman, Tobey Maguire says The Lizard is a "great" villain, and Kevin Spacey wants to reprise the role of Lex Luthor!

By bsprecher - Nov 24, 2009 02:11 PM EST
Filed Under: Batman






Michael Keaton, Bruce Wayne/Batman

On why he didn't reprise the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Forever:

"I liked it, but I didn't love it. I thought we needed to regroup, to go back to the core."

It seems that Keaton was on to something because that's basically the approach that director Christopher Nolan has taken with the franchise to spectacular success. Instead of Batman Forever, Keaton took a role far removed from Batman, as the psycho killer in Pacific Heights.

"I guess it wasn't the obvious way to go if you wanted to carry on being a big star. People said to me, 'You can't do that.' And I would say, 'Oh yeah, you're right, but you know what? I gotta do it anyway.'"












Tobey Maguire, Peter Parker/Spider-Man

On his thoughts on an MTV poll that chose The Lizard, Mysterio and Carnage as the top three villains the fans would like to see in Spider-Man 4:

"I'm not that familiar with Carnage. I mean, I'm aware of Carnage, but I know Sam [Raimi] was sort of a fan of the early Spider-Man comics and Carnage comes much later. So, I'm more familiar with Lizard and Mysterio...I don't know, I like them as villains. I think they're great. You know, Lizard, obviously, has a really personal relationship with Peter Parker, so we often will go towards that kind of stuff. I don't know. We'll see."
















Kevin Spacey, Lex Luthor

On whether we'll see a sequel to Superman Returns or not:

"If I ran Warner Brothers I could tell you definitively we’d be making that movie. But I don’t, and they haven’t called me to tell me.

"Literally all I know is what I’ve heard from press reports. I can’t even confirm whether those are true or not because I haven’t spoken to Bryan [Singer].

"I don’t know what the situation is. If they do it again and Bryan directs, I’d be delighted to come along for the ride. But who knows?"
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bsprecher
bsprecher - 11/24/2009, 2:50 PM
Thanks to Rorschach for the Spider-Man find!
Bijous
Bijous - 11/24/2009, 2:56 PM
Man, hearing Keaton talk just makes you wonder what could have been. He seemed to really dig on being Batman and understand the character. Of course, we might not have gotten Batman Begins and The Dark Knight if the franchise hadn't been so f***ed up by Shumacher!
PhillyHulk
PhillyHulk - 11/24/2009, 2:59 PM
great find Brent/Ror, either villian would be great, hopefully they do it right this franchise cant afford another miss step
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 11/24/2009, 3:06 PM
I prefer boxers to briefs myself ;)
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 3:20 PM
BRENT @ Wicked article man!!

Love it altogether too, an yes to SPACEY back as LEX!!

Wait for it.......


: D
Bijous
Bijous - 11/24/2009, 3:22 PM
@Brent: Yeah, I agree with LEEE! I like the way you've combined the news! Nice snapshot of what's going on!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 3:35 PM
Hey my LOBO didn't get deleted did it???

bsprecher
bsprecher - 11/24/2009, 3:39 PM
@LEEE: Not by me, no. In fact, I just spent 10 minutes editing it (watch your grammar, brother) and then it disappeared. I figured you took it down. Just edit it (please) and put it back up.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 3:45 PM
GEEZ @ UM okay Brent!! Make sure ya don't let anyone else steal the story lol, coz i ain't doing it twice for nothing! : D

Cheers for the heads up @ BRENT!
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 11/24/2009, 3:47 PM
Cool, I guess I wouldn't mind if Spacey came back, he did the best with what he had in Returns, but I want Routh back, and if both Lex AND Superman came back, I don't think that's a good idea.

Besides, I want a younger, more physical Lex next time around. Paul Bettany please! :)

But it is nice to see he's still enthusiastic about the role. That's always a plus!
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 4:25 PM
TYLER @ You want ROUTH, you get SPACEY too and he's a [frick]ing quality actor!!

Another shot at it, an he'll do an amazing job, though really don't want much LUTHOR screen time in the next one, gotta be DOOMSDAY with DARKSEID behind the scenes maybe!

BETTANY for ADAM STRANGE! ; D

Batmanknight
Batmanknight - 11/24/2009, 4:26 PM
@Bent- great gathering of news man. Saves the time of scrolling down all the articles.

Spacey was one of the only good things in Shitman Resquirts. He looked and acted just like Lex should.

I dont think theyll have him come back, but if they did it would be awesome.

Carnage should NOT be the villain in Spider-Man 4. If he is I boycott(Not really;))

InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 11/24/2009, 4:42 PM
Lee: Why do Routh and Spacey come in a package deal? This isn't Nolan and Bale we're talking about here.

I don't want to get into an argument about Doomsday because I've given my points on the character countless times.

BatmanKnight: He didn't act like Lex should. He was too goofy and just zany. Lex should be much more calm, cool, and collected. I'm not knocking Spacey as an actor, he's a phenomenal one, the script wrote Lex that way, so I don't blame Spacey.

I don't really blame any of the actors/actresses in Returns. Except Bosworth. Her performance was inexcusably bad.
Batmanknight
Batmanknight - 11/24/2009, 4:51 PM
@InTyler- I agree if Routh and Spacey come back for a reboot, then it wont necessarily look like a reboot.

Well Lex is supposed to be a little bit zaney and goofy while still being intimidating in other scenes. I agree though the script did kind of limit his potential for a perfect Lex.
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 11/24/2009, 5:00 PM
My favorite interpretation of Lex would probably be TAS one. He was almost always calm, but he gave off such a villainous atmosphere. I liked that he was a big guy, not a small, puny old man, but had an air of power and sophistication about him.

That's why I want Bettany for the role. He just comes off as sophisticated, intelligent, and superior at the same time. He also isn't a pushover, he's 6'3", a great height for Lex.
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 5:01 PM
TYLER @ Bwhahahhahahhahhaha!! ; D
LEEE777
LEEE777 - 11/24/2009, 5:04 PM
Paul Bettany's not a great LEX but would be an amazing ADAM STRANGE!



GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 11/24/2009, 5:08 PM
BETTANY FOR GIANT MAN
Batmanknight
Batmanknight - 11/24/2009, 5:08 PM
@Tyler-bettany is tiny. Hes tall but hes not strong enough if you want a truely strong Lex. The Justice League/TAS Lex is my favorite too.
GUNSMITH
GUNSMITH - 11/24/2009, 5:10 PM
I WISH WE COULD SEE MICHEAL KEATON PLAY BATMAN FROM THE FUTURE GOING TO SMALLVILE BUT IN THE PAST , BUT YOU KNOW, OLD BATMAN, BUT STILL DOING HIS THING AND HE GOES BACK IN TIME TO DO SOMETHING THAT INVOLVES CLARK .
InTylerWeTrust
InTylerWeTrust - 11/24/2009, 5:20 PM
BatmanKnight: I'm not talking about physical power when it comes to Lex. I was talking about giving off an air of power, and that's what Bettany would do great at. If I had one complaint about TAS Lex it would be that he was too big, not height wise, but he was pretty much almost as built as Superman, which shouldn't be the case IMO.

Bettany's not that skinny, he looks normal and pretty muscular in one of the posters for Legion, but I digress.

Lee: So how's that Adam Strange movie coming along? Oh, I forgot, there isn't one.
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/24/2009, 5:41 PM
Under different direction, I think Spacey would have nailed a perfect performance as Luthor!
cyclopstb
cyclopstb - 11/24/2009, 8:29 PM
Michael Keaton should do Batman's voice for a future video game, The Lizard should be in Spidey 4 and I want to see Barndon Routh's Superman with revenge beat the hell out of Spacey's Lex Luther.
ProfOJ
ProfOJ - 11/24/2009, 8:41 PM
wow someone sure likes paul bettney a whole lot!! lizard is in you can tell. keaton was good....great actually (for the time) none of us could possibly know or even dream they would make as good of a batman movie as begins! i remember thinking, when i saw daredevil ( god, if they could only make a batman film like this).....who knew! p.s. just caggin on ya tyler!!!!
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/24/2009, 8:56 PM
ProfOJ, that's LEEE for ya! You oughta see him on a Routh-roll...
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 11/25/2009, 5:17 AM
lol @ a Routh - roll. nice
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 6:26 AM
Paul Bettany would be a decent Lex but the Perfect Mr. Freeze!!!

And Spacey's character got shafted as much as Routh's! Spacey had to act remarkably close to Gene Hackman's portrayal of Lex while Routh had to do the same to Chris Reeve's portrayal of Supes. BOTH Spacey AND Routh COULD do much better given the right director like JJ ABRAMS!!!
comicb00kguy
comicb00kguy - 11/25/2009, 7:44 AM
If Keaton had more say in the direction of the sequel to his Batman, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened. It sounds like he understood and appreciated the character, and wanted to do something less.... sideshow or campy in atmosphere.

Spacey is a fine actor, but please! I would love to see just ONE Superman movie where he fights a different villain from his rogue's gallery. Can we get one film with Brainiac, Metallo, or Darkseid, just to name a few?
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 7:56 AM
comicb00kguy- I entirely agree!!!

Michael Keaton is in the same boat as Tom Jane IMO. Both had great ideas to bring the character to but the studios saw otherwise. Both did the right choice IMO.
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/25/2009, 9:49 AM
Shaman, I have to respectfully disagree. Spacey's acting ability had shown through the tripe we know as Superman Returns. Routh fell deadpan to me and not especially remarkable. I have seen enough of Spacey's work to know what he can really do. Routh?...still waiting. This guy can't act, I'm telling you! He did a horrible job on a soap and its plainly documented that Singerman hired him after seeing him at Halloween party. Not from a slew of films or stage work. What has he done in the last 4 years?? Nothing! Nothing of note. Nothing of substance.
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 10:34 AM
Phinehas- You do have a point there. But i wouldn't doom his career on a performance where he wasn't even aloud to act outside of Reeve's mold. My point was that since Spacey had to do it, it's a sure bet that Routh did also so no one can actually judge his true potential from that movie. The only one that didn't seem to fit was Perry White and Lois Lane. I guess Singer didn't care enough to mold those when he should have, especially for Lois. I'd love to see what Routh actually can do before saying he shouldn't be Superman anymore. Of course, he'd need a similar character for us to judge accordingly...
Phinehas
Phinehas - 11/25/2009, 10:38 AM
Anything that conveyed masculinity would suffice. A trait that alluded this movie and most of Singer's work! LOL
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 11:05 AM
Yeah, with Singer it's a miracle that Jackman had the right to keep his chest hair LOL :P
StephenStrange
StephenStrange - 11/25/2009, 11:23 AM
LMAO!!
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 12:06 PM
Didn't Kevin Smith tell Brandon to keep his wooden acting from SR for Zack and Miri's porno??? I'm sure i read that somewhere... LOL :P

I can't hear it at work so i'll have to rent it or somethin' :P
Shaman
Shaman - 11/25/2009, 1:32 PM
Bobby Long LMAO!!!
TheDurkinKnight
TheDurkinKnight - 11/25/2009, 8:58 PM
Spacey better damn well not EVER go near a Superman film again!
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