CHAPTER 7:
COPYING DICK DONNER
As I mentioned a few chapters ago, WB tried to get Superman project after Superman project off the ground. From Superman Lives to Batman/Superman. However, the one project they were trying to get off the ground at the time was Superman: Flyby. Flyby went from McG to Brett Ratner to McG again. Then McG left again. So WB went to find a different director.
Enter Bryan Singer. The director of those X-Men movies that a lot of people on this site hate for completley understandable reasons, but I enjoy anyway.
Yeah, sorry.
During the filming of X2, Bryan Singer came up with the idea of Superman leaving Earth for five years. Bryan told X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner (wife of Richard Donner, director of Superman and a good chunk of Superman II) his idea and she really liked it. So after X2 came out and was a big hit, WB went to Bryan Singer and offered him a chance to direct a remake of Logan's Run. However, Singer saw that their Superman project wasn't sailing as smooth as they hoped, so he pitched his idea to the studio. They liked the idea and so Singer, along with his X2 writers, left X-Men 3 to work on the script treatment for Superman Returns. Leaving X-Men 3 in the trustworthy hands of Matthew Vaughn. Then he left because he felt he was under a lot of pressure and so the project went to Brett Ratner and we got whatever the hell The Last Stand was.
Now, some of you hate Singer's X-Men movies. Some of you enjoy Singer's X-Men movies. But we can all agree on one thing:
The worst thing Singer did was this:
Okay, maybe you don't think that.
But people who love the X-Men movies and those who hate them can agree on THIS: Singer has never read a comic.
Singer may not have read a Superman comic, but he did see the 1978 Richard Donner film. He claims it to be a major influence on his writing. And by "major influence", he means "Screw it, let's just make Superman 5". Early versions of the script had references to the attacks that happened on Septem...
Singer wanted to include Zod in the movie. His original script even included Zod. There was just one problem - Jude Law. Singer's only choice for Zod was Jude Law. After asking Law several times and Law turning it down each time, Singer cut the character from the script.
BTW, I should probably mention this. The real reason Singer made his own movie instead of Flyby was because he thought the script was way too different from Superman lore. Some of you may call him a hypocrite for this, I say "What, are you kidding me? Have you read Abrams's Superman script? It makes his X-Men films look comic-accurate".
Now for casting. Jim Cavezial campaigned hard for Superman, but he was considered "too famous". Brandon Routh, who previously auditioned for the role for Flyby, got the part. Eric Christian Olsen, Topher Grace, and Shawn Ashmore were considered for Jimmy Olsen. Shawn's twin borther, Aaron, portrayed Jimmy Olsen in Smallville. Kate Bosworth wouldn't have gotten the role of Lois Lane if it wasn't for Kevin Spacey, who convinced Singer to give her the role. Hugh Laurie was cast as Perry White, but schedule conflicts with House forced him to leave. Frank Lengella got the part.
When the movie was released, it got decent reviews. Some liked the old school feel, the acting, the airplane scene, story. While others critizied the length, lack of action sequences, and Lex having a real-estate scam. AGAIN!!! At the box office it did okay, it would have done better if A) it had better word of mouth and B) if Pirates 2 didn't come out the very next weekend. What do I think of this movie? I don't know.
When I first saw it, I didn't like it. When I saw it again, I didn't think it was that bad. I saw it like fifty more times after that, but I don't know what to think. I like Brandon Routh and Kevin Spacey. I like the character development for Superman. I adore the plane scene. I like the premise. However, I don't like Luthor's plan. I don't like the Superman's kid subplot. There's a lot to like and dislike. To be honest, I don't think I have an opinion.
However, Superman Returns didn't do as well as WB wanted to be. So WB decided to put all their faith in their Batman franchise.
TO BE CONTINUED...