anderswolleck

Whenever this crazy ride of entertainment interviews that I'm on ends there are only a few things that will stick out as highlights. Interviewing David Cronenberg is number one on that list and number two will surely be visiting the set of Superman Returns in Australia. While I was on set with a number of other online writers a number of publicists kept apologizing to us for not having what they considered the most impressive sets up anymore. I kept telling them that what we were seeing was amazing regardless. We got to see a black colored Fortress of Solitude, I got to feel up the Superman costume [on a mannequin you sick minded freaks] and we got to walk about Lex Luthor's yacht. From what I gather Superman Returns takes place five years after the events of Superman II. Superman traveled to the remains of Krypton and when he came back to Earth, Lois Lane has had a child with another man. While on set I got to view the footage of Superman Returns that was shown at San Diego Comicon and interview director Bryan Singer.

Superman Returns opens June 30

Daniel Robert Epstein: Why does the character of Superman appeal to you?

Bryan Singer: It's personal, just like the reasons I did the other films. I'm adopted and I'm an only child. The growth of my life and career has been strange so the character appeals to me very much.

DRE: There've been so many Superman stories over the years, so how do you find a different way to tell the story and keep him fresh to the audience?

BS: I conceive a new story and have it take turns that you don't expect. In this, Superman has come back to a world that has moved on without him. That's what different about this movie compared to the stories you've seen in the other Superman shows and movies. He's been gone for years so Lois Lane has had a child. But there are things that will be familiar, as they should, because it's Superman.

DRE: Why did you decide to shoot Superman Returns with the digital Genesis cameras instead of film cameras?

BS: The higher resolution image will retain a romantic quality, a texture and dynamic range of film. When you see it you'll feel like you're watching something special but you'll still feel like you're watching film. The only analogy I can make is the one that came after the advent of 70mm. The impetus to do it came from when I was doing a screen test with Brandon Routh. Originally I was just going to shoot it in 35mm and then I decided to shoot a few takes in 70mm so we can have the experience of shooting in that format since we'll probably never have that experience again. We shot a few takes in that and when we processed them and watched them in a theater we saw that there was such clarity and the image was so strong. Then we felt we wanted to shoot Superman in 70mm. The issue was that the cameras are too large to put on certain complicated rigs, the film is too expensive, they don't process it in Australia and the lenses of the 70mm camera have too little depth to focus. Also we couldn't use zoom lens because the elements in the lens are too visible for what the 70mm picks up so it became impossible to make this movie in 70mm.

Then [director of photography Newton Thomas Sigel] said that there is a new camera built from the ground up in a joint project by Sony and Panavision called the Genesis camera that takes the image onto a single chip with about 12 million mega-pixels. It is meant to take the light and color more like film and the final result is very different than the standard three chip cameras now being used in features. They only had one of the Genesis camera and they're building a second one because for every 600 chips that get made, only one works, which is then put in a camera and tested in the hot and cold environments. Then they send it to Panavision, where many of them are rejected, so you have a lot of unfinished cameras. They brought two of them from France to Australia, tested it and did what, to date, is the most comprehensive Genesis film possible. We did long, elaborate late night tests with Brandon to try to make an actual comparison. We sent everything back to LA to have it transferred to film so we could compare the results. We really wanted to make this a personal decision of two people, me and [Newton Thomas Sigel], who have worked together since The Usual Suspects. We felt the comparisons were acceptable. What usually bothers me with digital film wasn't there and there was a possibility to make it look something you hadn't seen before yet wasn't making you feel like watch Superman: The Video.

DRE: The footage you screened at last year's San Diego Comicon and it got an amazing response. Did that change how you feel the fans may respond to the film?

BS: It just makes me feel more positive about the imagery and look of the picture. The fact that it was so well-received just makes me pretty excited. Also after you make two X-Men movies and have the costumes released early, you don't get offended by fan criticism. So after seven years in the X-Men universe I don't get worried about that stuff.

DRE: The footage we just saw has that smoky retro feel to it, why does that work for Superman?

BS: To me, Superman Returns for all its modernism and scope and action and contemporary nature in regards to the plot and in terms of Superman returning, and putting the early films into history, it's a very 1940's love story about what happens when old boyfriends come back into your life.

DRE: What is your favorite era in the Superman comics?

BS: I like a lot of artists' interpretations of Superman, but my personal favorite is Alex Ross. It's very mythic. He humanizes them but also makes them into these paintings.

DRE: Whether you meant it or not, there seems to be a strong political aspect to Superman Returns. Superman is the most powerful man in the world, he lives in American, he helps people when maybe they didn't ask for help, the people of the country where he lives may not want him to help anyone and reporters print stories about how we don't need him. These are strong allegories to the political climate of America.

BS: Sure but it's not really intentional per se. Superman has constantly reflected the times since the second World War. I like to see Superman as a more global superhero who happened to be raised in a farm in America. He has that whole notion of fighting for Truth, Justice and The American Way. That's an idealism that Americans very much have about themselves and their place in the world. But that idealism is ultimately fraught with obstacles and sometimes misunderstandings. But it's an idealism and that's why it's so charming in the first movie when he says, "Truth, Justice and The American Way" and she says, "You'll end up fighting every politician in the U.S" and he says, "You don't really mean that Lois" and she says, "You must be kidding" and he says, "I never lie." In that way he's a very American superhero. But in our movie I'm trying to make a point that not only is he the great American superhero but that he's also the ultimate immigrant. He comes from a foreign land, he dons the costume and embraces his special heritage but at other times tries to adapt to the culture by being Clark Kent. His multiple personalities are very much part of him as the immigrant and is very much the heart of how I see the American immigrant.

DRE: You've said you've had the idea for this movie for a while. Where did the inspiration came from?

BS: I loved the George Reeves series as a kid and I loved the Donner films. It began when someone mentioned they were making a Superman vs. Batman film. I don't remember this, but apparently I was talking to [Superman Returns co-screenwriter] Mike Dougherty about what I'd do if I had these two superheroes in a movie. Ultimately I started thinking, "What if I was just making a Superman movie?" I started thinking I wouldn't want to touch the first one, because to me it's very classic. So I figured I would make him gone for a while. Then one night in Austin, Texas, about two years ago, Richard Donner, Lauren Shuler-Donner and I went up into a hotel room for some reason and I said to Richard, "Can I talk to you for a second?" and Richard said, "sure." I said, "What if I were to make a Superman movie? It's not available, there's a whole other script, someone else is involved, but what if I did that?" Richard Donner said, "That's fantastic. That's great. What would you do?" We started talking about it and I told him a vague idea of what I'd do and he embraced it. I pitched it to Warner Bros but they were committed to another idea. I read that idea and did not respond to it. Then I was speaking at Hawaii University with [producer] Chris [Lee] when I was given the JJ Abrams draft. But I didn't respond to it and then it was gone and then the next year the project was available again but with no director. I was producing Logan's Run with Warner Bros and they saw how quickly I moved in the development process with Logan's Run so they were more receptive to the idea of me doing something new. Then I started talking to [co-screenwriter] Dan [Harris] and Mike in Hawaii. I said, "Here's my vague idea" and we started talking about it. Then after four days we were halfway into a 30 page single spaced treatment and we were committed to doing it after Logan's Run. The next night we were at dinner with [production designer] Guy Dyas and the four of us decided to make Superman Returns next instead.

DRE: What made you want to cast an unknown as Superman?

BS: Superman is such an iconic character so he should feel as though he stepped out of the pages of a comic book or your collective memory of the television series or the films. A name actor wouldn't be able to do that. So that was a lot of going through a lot of tapes and materials that had been collected previously, along with new material. Then we started having meetings with unknowns. I had seen a tape of Brandon that intrigued me so I went to meet him at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Sunset Boulevard. I walked in and I figured I'd know in 20 seconds if it's a no go. I walked in the room and 20 seconds later, I'm thinking, "it's still working for me." I was actually going to Australia for a scout so I was two hours from my flight. I had to get picked up from the coffee shop to make it to the airport. I started to feel good about him just sitting there and then after 10-15 minutes of us just sitting there. I asked him, "Do you want to go outside?" and he stood up, and up and up, and I went, "Whoa!" He's got quite the frame. We went outside and the meeting went on for two hours. Then what was weird is that I got a call from Kevin Spacey's manager, Joanne Horowitz. She said, "Well, I hope you find the next Hugh Jackman" and I said, "I may just be sitting in front of him right now." I looked at Brandon and he looked away like, "I'm not listening to this, I'm not listening to this." I knew that I had Superman.

DRE: Brandon does have that Christopher Reeve thing.

BS: Oh yeah, in certain ways it is quite remarkable and in others it's different. Since this film puts the Donner films in its history, it was even more important that those qualities be in Brandon even more than the other characters but then also he should be his own guy.

DRE: Did you ever meet Christopher Reeve?

BS: No, the only time I was near him was at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. I was eating lunch at the hotel and he was sitting a couple of tables away. Later I wandered by one of the tennis courts and saw him playing tennis. I sat and watched him play tennis for 20 minutes and a week later he had his accident. I found it very disturbing. I'll never forget that. I just thought "How quickly life can change for some."

DRE: How is it directing Kevin Spacey again 11 years after The Usual Suspects?

BS: It's been a chance for him to come, kick back and enjoy being this character. It's very interesting because it seems like no time has passed and we're having more fun than ever. I went to look for him at one point. I was walking towards my trailer in this big quad area and I was looking at this guy staring at me and I thought, "Oh, he's just a crew member I've never seen before" and I keep walking and he's staring me at me all the way and I'm like, "AHHH!" and it was bald Kevin. That was the first time I saw him like that.

DRE: We've heard about him having a Lex Luthor golf cart.

BS: Yeah he tied Superman to the golf cart and drove around dragging him screaming into a megaphone "Kill Superman!" or "I'm coming to get you" or something. Then he drove right onto the set and crashed it onto some chair [laughs].

DRE: What made you cast Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane?

BS: I first became aware of Kate through Beyond The Sea which Kevin directed. So because of that I met her, then I brought her in and her chemistry with Brandon was extremely good and very appropriate for the role. She's only 22 but I felt she could carry the maturity and experience of a woman who'd been a reporter for a period of time and also had a four year old child. The combination of chemistry and the ability to carry that off impressed me tremendously.

DRE: Can you talk about the casting of Hugh Laurie [as Perry White] and then him leaving and Frank Langella coming in?

BS: Hugh Laurie was obvious for me since I produce his show, House, and I cast him in the pilot. Then House got picked up for another year, good news for me but bad news for his role in Superman Returns. Basically it was a high class problem. I also knew Frank Langella through a mutual friend and have been a fan of his ever since I saw him Dracula on stage. Frank turned out to be perfect.

DRE: What old materials did you have access to when making this movie?

BS: Anything and everything. One of the unique things is that since I needed to use elements of Marlon Brando for this movie, I got to see all the material they shot with him and listen to all the original [Automatic Dialogue Replacement] sessions. They're very funny. [in Brando voice] "This is no fantasy. This is no careless product of\u2026 fuck\u2026 fuck\u2026 what is it?" [laughs] A lot of that.

DRE: Will all of it be available for you to use in the film?

BS: Yeah, we had to make a deal with the estate of Marlon Brando. There's a sequence that requires the voice and image of Marlon Brando. You'll be hearing original vocal elements that were not used in the film.

DRE: You are really good at finding new talent.

BS: Yeah, I've had great luck since The Usual Suspects with Benicio [Del Toro] and Kevin [Spacey], then with Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen. At the time I had seen Halle Berry in Bulworth and I just fell for her in that. With Hugh Laurie in my TV show, I wasn't even familiar with the work he's done in England but I\u2018ve never been afraid to have an unknown or lesser known at the center of my projects.

DRE: You've also said that you were going to be using John Williams score in certain ways but also that the Fleischer cartoon and George Reeves series inspired the look of the film. Have you ever thought of using any of their thematic cues?

BS: I thought of using the one from the Fleischer cartoons. It is really weird because if the Fleischer cartoons didn't have that theme going in them, they'd be really dark. They're really intense and graphic in the way he interacts and transforms. That's because rotoscoping was used, in fact, it was some of the first rotoscoping ever done.

DRE: Will the Williams theme play over the credits?

BS: The opening credits will have a theme that if it is not identical will be similar to the opening credits of the first film. It was also be spread throughout the film as well. As for other things from past incarnations we have cameos from Noel Neill and Jack Larson [from the TV show Adventures of Superman]. In the backdrop of Metropolis you'll see the names Siegel and Shuster. There are certain rights issues so we have to see what's available.

DRE: The original opening credits of Superman were very unique, what are you doing for your opening credits?

BS: An idea similar to the Donner film but with more information, which will help us catch up with what's been going in the world with Superman. I'm designing it right now with Digital Kitchen, who did my opening for House. They're terrific people.


DRE: A film creator has to have many sides, the sensitive artistic side, the idealistic side and you also have to be a ruthless businessman at times. That seems to parallel the three big personalities in the movie, Clark Kent, Superman and Lex Luthor.

BS: If I were going to identify with one guy, I wouldn't identify with Luthor because he's kind of crazy. It would be more the three sides of Clark Kent. There's the side that's very idealistic and was raised on the farm had hopes and dreams of everything working out for his family. There's Superman who feels the need to do everything right and please everyone and solve problems and feels a compulsion to do that. Then there's Clark Kent, which is where I hide because I've just got a small group of friends. As for Luthor, I'm not a very ruthless person but I am very focused and I can be intense.

DRE: There are Superman fans from eight years old up to 80. Will this movie have broad appeal?

BS: Yes, absolutely but it will not lack in intensity. It'll probably be PG-13 but at the same time the violence and the tone of it will be much broader. This will be something older people will be able to visit and people will be able to take their kids to. But at the same time I don't think you'll be disappointed at all in the level of intensity. It won't be a soft Superman but it will be the broadest, most romantic and funny movie I've ever been involved with.

DRE: You've been credited with raising the level of comic book movies to the level of having real meaning in the world. What do these films allow you to do that straight up, dramatic films wouldn't allow you to do?

BS: Science Fiction and fantasy has always enabled people to tell stories about bigotry, about totalitarian governments, subversive issues of sexuality and gender and so many things. Star Trek had the first interracial kiss on television. Being under the guise of science fiction and fantasy allows you to talk about the human condition from a unique perspective and even though the adventure of it all kind of overwhelms the message, the message is still there. There's no specific agenda on my part, but you should be making a movie about something. There's a practical reason I'm making a Superman movie. I promise you that it's not the money and it's not simply "Wow, this is Superman." With this amount of time and this amount of life force, there has be a personal reason. There's a personal reason I made X-Men, there's a personal reason I made Apt Pupil and there's a personal reason I made The Usual Suspects, although that one errs more on the side of "this is going to be cool."

DRE: Is there much of a difference between directing Marvel and DC characters?

BS: I really wouldn't know enough about the differences about Marvel and DC. I don't view them as Marvel and DC because I'm not that familiar with all the characters to really comment on them. But there's definitely a difference in making an ensemble film like X-Men and making a film that is about one man and although there was romance in X-Men, Superman is a love story.

DRE: How come you met with Al Gough and Miles Millar, the creators of Smallville?

BS: We first met in Los Angeles, out of respect of the fact that Smallville has held the torch for the past five years of the Superman universe. Instead of alienating that show and that effort, which is incredible, I thought it'd be nice to sit down and talk to them about what we're doing. Then in turn they would talk about what they're doing and so far we've kept in touch so that we don't cut over each other's universe. You'll see Clark when he's young, before the Tom Welling years. I try not to tread over the universe they created. They send us scripts, designs and outlines of what they're doing. Then I'll send them a few of our designs. Don't misunderstand me, they're two separate entities but there's no reason we shouldn't co-exist.

DRE: Would you consider doing a Superman sequel?

BS: I take each of these as an experience and fortunately I'm not an actor, so I don't have to sign multi-picture deals. But of course I would consider it; I was perfectly thrilled to make a sequel of X-Men.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

SG Username: AndersWolleck