DC EARTH ONE
(Note: I cut out certain characters such as Clark’s Football Coach for the Metropolis Sharks, The Greedy Business man Clark applies to, and the child versions of Bruce Wayne, Harvey and Jessica Dent.)
SUPERMAN EARTH ONE
Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman: Clark is the protagonist of the story. He is the 21-year-old adoptive son of a childless couple from Smallville, Kansas. Clark is aware that he did not originate on Earth and hopes one day to find his origin and purpose in life. He is especially gifted in science and journalism, despite only having earned an associate degree from Smallville Junior College. He travels to Metropolis in search of a career. Clark's alien heritage gives him superhuman abilities while in the presence of Earth's yellow sun; among his powers are flight, superhuman strength, invulnerability, x-ray vision, and heat vision. After the battle with Tyrell, Clark discovers his origin and his task as the last surviving Kryptonian; to use his powers well and wisely, and to avenge the murder of Krypton. He decides that he should benefit and protect humanity as Superman. Clark finds he would rather work for the Daily Planet, being impressed with the newspaper's integrity for the truth, and adopts the persona of a mild-mannered, spectacle-wearing reporter.
Nicholas Hoult (Age: 22, Height: 6’2”. Notable Works: X-Men First Class, A Single Man): A fantastic actor not hitting his prime, he was had done a great performance as Beast in X-Men and a creative choice for the young Clark Kent, who is trying to find himself in the world. Many people throw out the names like Joseph Gordon Levitt or Henry Cavill (who’s already nabbed the role, fan casting him is kinda useless at this point) But Hoult is a perfect fit for an Earth One Film adaptation. In truth Hoult has the Physique, the look, and the talent to play the Earth One Styled Superman.
Jonathan and Martha Kent: The couple are Clark's adoptive parents who, despite their awareness of Clark's extraterrestrial origins, rescued him as an infant from the wreckage of his spaceship. Clark is especially close to his adoptive father, who provided him with wisdom and guidance that would shapes Clark's character. Clark was deeply affected when Jonathan died. Martha Kent is supportive towards her son, and has faith that Clark will choose the right path. Prior to Jonathan's death, she made Clark's Superman costume using the indestructible Kryptonian clothing Clark was wrapped in when they found him.
Bruce Boxleitner (Age: 62, Height: 6’2”. Notable Works: Tron, Tron Legacy, Babylon 5) & Frances McDormand (Age: 55, Height: 5’5”. Notable Works: Fargo, Moonrise Kingdom, Burn After Reading): Together the two look as if they’ve been ripped from the pages, With Bruce looking exactly like Jonathan, and Frances exactly like Martha. Both performers have played sensible parental roles before, Bruce in small parts of Tron Legacy, and McDormand in scenes of Fargo. Both performers know the breed of character and can definitely find something new to bring into the characters of the Kent.
Lois Lane: The staff reporter of the Daily Planet. Clark Kent develops a crush on Lois at first sight when he has a job interview with Perry White. Clark is impressed by her dedication and idealism towards her career during the Dheronians' invasion. Lois, along with Jim, also saves Clark when he, in his Superman persona, is trapped in Tyrell's gravity field. She later writes an editorial praising Superman's heroism during the crisis.
Kat Dennings (Age: 26, Height: 5’5”. Notable Works: Thor, 40 Year Old Virgin): She’s a young actress who’s really shown her marks in recent years. A tough young woman and one of the most talented actresses in Hollywood, There’s no doubt she fits the characterization to play Lois Lane, and has never really played a role such as Lane. No doubt Lois Lane is an incredible and tough role to cast, and casting Earth One Lois made things all the more difficult as it’s a particular characterization to adhere to, but I have a monumental amount of faith in Kat to deliver a strong performance.
James "Jim" Olsen: The staff photographer of the Daily Planet. Jim is known for his dedication to his job, deliberately putting himself in harm's way and risking life and limb for a perfect photograph. The photographs Jim has takes during the invasion have saved the Daily Planet from financial failure, and other news companies begin seeking reprint rights for Olsen's pictures.
Logan Lerman (Age: 20, Height: 5'8½". Notable Works: The Number 23, 3:10 To Yuma, Gamer): Olsen is a 20 something man who travelled to Metropolis. To be honest you need a 20 something ensemble supporting actor to play this role. Lerman is a fine fit; he’s done decent performances and has had a strong backing to play Spider-Man before. Honestly the role of Olsen is a supporting role he’s never done, but could benefit him.
Perry White: The editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet. White struggles to keep the once-great metropolitan newspaper running and refuse to give up, and only Lois Lane and Jim Olsen support him, as well as giving the inexperienced Clark Kent a chance to work for him. After the Dheronians' invasion and Superman's debut, the Daily Planet's in-depth coverage from Lois, Jim, and Clark of the event has saved the newspaper and return to its former glory, and Perry is proud that the Daily Planet is back on top.
Cirian Hines (Age: 59, Height: 6’1”. Notable Works: Rome, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy): Aside from looking exactly like the Perry White in this book, in every way shape and form, He is an amazing performer that hasn’t played an Editor before, but sure as hell has played a boss and a strict one at that! There’s no doubt that he could play a role like Perry and bring his own set of challenges to the mix.
Major Sandra Lee: A major in the US Army, scientist and a member of the Second Army Advanced Technology Division, a secret research facility where Clark's Kryptonian ship has been held and studied. Sandra has been tasked with finding out as much as possible about Superman and his origins.
Katee Sachkhoff (Age: 32, Height: 5’6”, Notable Works: Battlestar Galactica, 24, Batman Year One): We all loved her in Battlestar, and to be honest that’s what got us to notice this lovely performer. Major Lee is a key character that reminds me a lot of Katee as a person, and her performance in Battlestar really showed what she could do as part of an ensemble.
Tyrell: The antagonist of the story, Tyrell is the genocidal leader of an alien armada from the planet Dheron, a neighboring world of the destroyed planet Krypton. Tyrell invades Earth and has the information that Clark is desperately seeking, but Tyrell's aim is to kill Clark or to destroy most of humanity if Clark does not reveal himself. Tyrell has some of the same powers as Clark under a yellow sun; superhuman strength, invulnerability, and flight. Tyrell dies when he is impaled by a sharp piece of falling equipment after his battle with Clark. Before he dies, Tyrell warns Clark that other Dheronians will also try to find and eliminate him, and refers to something that Clark still does not know about.
Garret Dillahunt (Age: 47, Height: 6’2”. Notable Works: Deadwood, Burn Notice): He’s an amazing performer, I love casting him in villains roles, I cast him as Joker, Riddler, and now Tyrell. He’s great at doing action, he’s amazing at playing renegade masterminds. Using an actor as established as a villain opposite Nick for Superman is a goodway of showing experience versus youth. Each performer is talented for the roles they play and could do doubt knock their roles out of the park.
Screenplay: Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the screenplay, and delivering it, in the required format, to Development Executives. Screenwriters therefore have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. They either pitch original ideas to Producers in the hope that they will be optioned or sold, or screenwriters are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book or short story.
J. Michael Straczynski (Notable Works: Ninja Assassin, Babylon 5, Thor, Superman Earth One): Honestly this choice stems from having actually wrote Scripts such as Ninja Assassin. He’s a mastermind when it comes to writing stories that could be told in a 90 minute cinematic pace. Ninja Assassin is not a long film, but he does a lot with the time he had, which made it a modern violence art masterpiece. JMS knows how to write Superman and would be well suited to tell her Earth One story on the big screen.
Director - Directors are responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film under the overall control of the film producer. They often develop the vision for a film and carry out the vision, deciding how the film should look, in other words they make their vision come to life. They are responsible for turning the script into a sequence of shots. They also direct what tone it should have and what an audience should gain from the cinematic experience. Film directors are responsible for deciding camera angles, lens effects and lighting with the help of the cinematographer and set design with the production designer. They will often take part in hiring the cast and key crew members. They coordinate the actors' moves, or blocking and also may be involved in the writing, financing and editing of a film.
James McTiegue (Notable Works: Ninja Assassin, V For Vendetta): Having worked from a JMS script before, and having wanted to Direct a Superman film, I trust McTiegue to deliver. He can do wonders with Political Dramas (Such as American V For Vendetta {Polotics were a complete Bush jab} and High octane fast paced action as in Ninja Assassin. While his style is fresh and put together he does have a sensible artistic license that could help bring the explorative factor into a cinematic form.
Original Motion Picture Composer - A film score (also sometimes called background music or incidental music) is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score forms part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects, and comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental or choral pieces called cues which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers, under the guidance of the film's director and/or producer, and are then usually performed by an ensemble of musicians - most often comprising an orchestra or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists - and recorded by a sound engineer.
Brian Tyler (Notable Works: Predators, Rambo, Dragonball Evolution): I primarily chose him because his Score for Dragonball Evolution was quite literally a great score for a Superman Earth One film. He hits every note, every key, and every theme of the book musically and has a vision with the story that I’m sure he didn’t even notice. I constantly use his score for Dragonball to accompany scenes of the Earth One Graphic Novel when looking at it in a cinematic presence, and when casually reading it. I feel assured there is none better who could score this particular Superman story outside of Brian Tyler.
Batman Earth One
Bruce Wayne/Batman: The disillusioned heir of the Wayne and Arkham families; after his parents' death, Bruce vows to find their killers. Eventually, his quest for revenge leads him to discover a cause greater than his own. Wishing to intimidate the criminal element in Gotham, Bruce dresses as a bat to strike fear in them, preparing himself by training in various forms of martial arts available from his legal guardian, Alfred Pennyworth, alongside self-teaching to become a skilled detective. Bruce also refuses to use conventional firearms against his opponents in the memory of his parents, leading him to design arsenal for himself and seeks Lucius Fox's aids to develop them.
Garrett Hedlund (Age: 27, Height: 6’2”. Notable Works: Four Brothers, Tron Legacy): A great actor in his own right, having done a fantastic job in Tron Legacy. In it he essentially played the Earth One styled do it himself Batman. One aspect that I highly respected of Earth one is how well it preserves and shows the realistic nature of what a billionare brat would be like. And For this style of Batman Garrett works perfectly.
Thomas & Martha Wayne: The billionare couple stemming from the families, Arkhams and the Waynes that built Gotham City. Thomas engages in a heavy mayoral campaign in his attempt to restore balance to Gotham City. Just a few days before the election, Thomas and Martha take young Bruce to the movies in celebration only to be murdered later that night.
Jon Hamm (Age: 41, Height: 6’. Notable Works: The Day the Earth Stood Still, Mad Men) & Jennifer Connelly (Age: 41, Height: 5’7”. Notable Works: The Day the Earth Stood Still, A Beautiful Mind): To be honest when you need a couple to play the Waynes you need 2 performers who look like they’re born rich and are decent people. Jon Hamm may not look like Gary Frank’s Thomas Wayne, but he’s at the top of many people’s list for the role of Batman, for good reason, he can disguise himself as a honest Joe, or a crooked bastard. Jennifer Connelly is a gorgeous woman who just oozes the idea of generosity which is a key factor in playing Martha Wayne.
Alfred Pennyworth: A former soldier of the Royal Marines, a friend of Thomas Wayne, and a skilled martial artist and sharpshooter. After his friend's murder, Alfred become Bruce Wayne's legal guardian and trains him in martial arts. He has a daughter living in Seoul, South Korea with her mother, where Alfred previously had worked at a security firm. In the military, Alfred lost a leg in an explosion. After Thomas Wayne saved his life following the explosion, he helps create a prosthetic leg to replace the one that Alfred lost, leaving Alfred indebted to Thomas's generosity.
Hugh Laurie (Age: 53, Height: 6’2½”. Notable Works: House, Street Kings): This is an odd choice for Alfred, being that most people cast Hugh as J. Jonah Jameson or Perry White. But he’s a natural brit and I do want to see the early adventures of Batman and Robin and I do think that Hugh has a class in his performance that can’t be matched or compared to. He works for Alfred because the dry wit of the character matched with Alfred’s non-sarcastic personality is a lot like Hugh’s personality from interviews and panels. He is a genially nice guy who is just a great actor and I think he fits the role of early Alfred as best as anyone could.
James Gordon: Once an idealistic cop, the mysterious death of his wife has left Gordon disillusioned and tries to protect his daughter from the crime-ridden Gotham City. Faced with his new partner, Harvey Bullock, and the subsequent emergence of the vigilante dubbed as Batman, Gordon's own principles are ultimately revived, and sets to once again become the moral and just cop he once was.
Josh Brolin (Age: 44, Height: 5’10”. Notable Works: True Grit, No Country For Old Men, Gangster Squad): I wanted a different type of actor for a different type of Jim Gordon. Josh is a fantastic actor who’s in a serious need of a career change. With Gangster Squad coming out it might bring his career out. He is the kind of actor who just fits Gordon but isn’t old enough for the traditional Gordon but throwing him into the role of Earth One’s Gordon might be able to forgive the age of Brolin if he adapted to the role the way I believe he can.
Barbara Gordon: A 17-year-old library assistant and daughter of James Gordon, Barbara lost her mother at an early age. Taking on a supportive role for her increasingly disillusioned father, Barbara is soon captured by Mayor Cobblepot's henchman, The Birthday Boy. Her rescue by Batman then inspires her to consider a role in vigilantism.
Hailee Steinfeld (Age: 15, Height: 5’7”. Notable Works: True Grit {2010}, She’s a Fox): I’ve used her quite a bit recently. She is a fantastic actress, and a great choice for Barbara. Her skills in Drama are fantastic and make her a significantly great choice for Barbara.
Harvey Bullock: A decent, yet arrogant police detective from the Los Angeles Police Department, and the host of the cancelled reality show "Hollywood Detectives", Bullock requests to transfer to Gotham to look for the chance to revive his fame. Harvey works together with his unwilling partner, James Gordon, to at first attempt to solve the Waynes' cold case murder, then rescue James' daughter Barbara from the serial killer, The Birthday Boy. It is heavily implied that Harvey takes up drinking as a coping mechanism after witnessing the travesties that occurred in Arkham House, The Birthday Boy's dwelling.
Ryan Gosling (Age: 31, Height: 6’1”. Notable Works: Drive, Gangster Squad): Like I said with Jim Gordon, a different kind of actor for a different version. Gosling having Co-starred with Brolin in Gangster Squad already has a working relationship which really adds to the strength of performance Gosling could give. Much like the character Gosling can portray a morally good handsome leading man. He fits John’s take on Bullock pretty well, and while the character would probably grow larger in size in future books a fat suit could be given to Gosling just as long as he keeps his performance strong.
Lucius Fox: A young, but brilliant intern at Wayne Medical, Fox wishes to develop a cybernetic prosthetic for his niece, who lost her arm in an accident. After helping repair and even perfected Bruce Wayne's grapple gun, he deduces that the young billionaire is the vigilante Batman after witnessing him using the same device on the news. It is implied in the end of the story that Lucius has come to accept his new role as a silent equipment developer for Batman, preparing a set of Batarangs for use.
Donald Glover (Age: 28, Height: 5’10”. Notable Works: Community, Mystery Team): This is a younger Lucius Fox, this is a different type of Lucius Fox, and Donald is an actor who’s best known work and stroke of genius is largely sitcom based. He has great potential to play a dramatic character and Lucius Fox’s Earth One incarnation is a good fit for him to start in a career change towards dramatic. Not to mention it would be a neat addition to his growing geek cred.
Mayor Oswald Cobblepot: The current, corrupt mayor of Gotham City, Cobblepot was an opponent of Thomas Wayne during his mayoral campaign. Bruce Wayne long suspects that Cobblepot arranged his parents' murder, and becomes Batman to verify it and avenge their death. It is revealed that in the past, Cobblepot did plan for the Waynes to be murdered, but was not ultimately responsible for their death. Cobblepot is the only person outside of Alfred to discover Batman's secret identity, but is soon killed by Alfred as he is about to kill a vulnerable and unmasked Bruce.
Michael Sheen (Age: 43, Height: 5’9”. Notable Works: Tron Legacy, Underworld Film Series, Frost/Nixon): Honestly, aside from looking Exactly like Oswald in the Earth One verse, he’s a fantastic actor, he’s perfect height, look, style, voice, movement he is just the right type of guy to play this styled Penguin. This is the first time I’ve actually cast him in a DC Role and he fits it well. He’s done great work in the past, his role as Castor in Tron Legacy was entertainingly over the top (which yes is why he could be a decent joker) but I really want to see how he’d handle the mob/mayor styled Penguin.
Jacob Weaver: Once a police detective of Gotham City Police Department, Weaver quit the force to work for Cobblepot. Weaver is Bruce Wayne’s primary suspect as the gunman of his parents’ murder.
Steve Buscemi (Age: 54, Height: 5’9”. Notable Works: Fargo, Big Lebowski, Boardwalk Empire): He’s really the only actor who I could think of to work in this role. He’s a great actor, older than the character but things could be shifted around when you have an actor as great as Buscemi for the role.
Ray Salinger/The Birthday Boy: A serial killer who had escaped from Crane Institute under Cobblepot's arrangements, Salinger has a murderous fixation with his first victim Amanda Grant. The Birthday Boy is also the first costumed criminal that Batman encounters.
Kevin Durand (Age: 38, Height: 6’6”. Notable Works: Walking Tall, Legion): The weird thing about Kevin is that he’s a huge guy, a tall actor who can act, which is rare considering he’s not a wrestler (although some wrestling in his background wouldn’t be surprising) but he’s a performer who’s earned his stripes.
Axe: A drug dealer who works for Oswald Cobblepot, Axe finds pleasures on intimidating honest police officers like James Gordon; however, Axe eventually is beaten and arrested following the introduction of Gordon's new partner, Harvey Bullock.
Nick Stahl (Age: 32, Height: 5’10”. Notable Works: Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines, Sin City): Honestly he could fit this role perfectly, after having played on of the main villains on Sin City. His work of Yellow Bastard is a different criminal than Axe but Stahl being an actor a role different from his previous work would be a challenging aspect.
Jessica Dent: The twin sister of Harvey Dent and the president of the city's board of supervisors, Jessica is noted as being Bruce Wayne's friend since they were teenagers. Jessica is well known in the city for her ongoing feud with Mayor Oswald Cobblepot, and assumes the role of Mayor following Cobblepot's death.
Ellen Page (Age: 25, Height: 5’1”. Notable Works: Inception, Juno, Super): She’s a great actress who, simply because of how well she did in Inception, is the reason I cast. Beautiful and performing well she could do well to play The sister of the non-appearing D.A.
Screenplay: Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the screenplay, and delivering it, in the required format, to Development Executives. Screenwriters therefore have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. They either pitch original ideas to Producers in the hope that they will be optioned or sold, or screenwriters are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book or short story.
Geoff Johns (Notable Works: Smallville Absolute Justice, Blade The Series, Batman Earth One): He is a fantastic writer, he’s written the highest rated episodes of smallville during it’s last years. He has been gearing a script for a Flash Film, and to be honest, he’s one of the best comic book writers still active in the industry. Having a writer adapt his own graphic novel isn’t new for DC, after Judd Winnick adapted and fixed “Under The Red Hood.” Any of the main critical problems in the graphic novel are something that Johns could fix. No doubt he is the guy for an Earth One Screenplay.
Director - Directors are responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film under the overall control of the film producer. They often develop the vision for a film and carry out the vision, deciding how the film should look, in other words they make their vision come to life. They are responsible for turning the script into a sequence of shots. They also direct what tone it should have and what an audience should gain from the cinematic experience. Film directors are responsible for deciding camera angles, lens effects and lighting with the help of the cinematographer and set design with the production designer. They will often take part in hiring the cast and key crew members. They coordinate the actors' moves, or blocking and also may be involved in the writing, financing and editing of a film.
Ruben Fleischer (Notable Works: Zombieland, Gangster Squad): This is a director with style, an odd, bombastic style, which could be needed for an adaptation of this story. Taking a turn into a dark crime-themed story it could show that he is the director for Warner to pick up Batman. He could be the perfect candidate to take a real world crime drama application to the comic book crime drama styled graphic novel that Geoff Johns mastered.
Original Motion Picture Score - A film score (also sometimes called background music or incidental music) is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score forms part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects, and comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental or choral pieces called cues which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers, under the guidance of the film's director and/or producer, and are then usually performed by an ensemble of musicians - most often comprising an orchestra or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists - and recorded by a sound engineer.
Michael Wandmacher (Notable Works: Punisher War Zone, Drive Angry): His scores are wonderful, dark, and ensuing. It grips the idea of heroics, torture, and battle. As wonderful and tantalizing as his work is, it grips the real world feel of the Earth One Graphic Novel. His score for Punisher War Zone is a fitting application to the hard edged Noir style of Earth One.