Man of Steel (2013) (1 Viewer)

[Will_B]

Welsh! Oh my, that's a fantastic turn. I'm glad to have been so far off base.

And for the record, I was also wrong about Brandon Routh -- he's a Methodist! I don't even know what a Methodist is, but, it came up in google in this article about "The Religious Affiliation of Comic Book Character Clark Kent/Kal-El Superman":

http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/Superman.html

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Levi can do the Clark Kent role in his sleep and bring the most emotive Superman to the screen ever. The bulking up part would be his biggest challenge.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

They'd have to do something about his eye brows, too.

 

[Jason Roer]

So Will - now that you discover Levi is Welsh and not Jewish it's suddenly ok for him to play Superman? Seriously - are the mods even reading this thread? Will - you really should think before you post.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Jason Roer
So Will - now that you discover Levi is Welsh and not Jewish it's suddenly ok for him to play Superman? Seriously - are the mods even reading this thread? Will - you really should think before you post.

Cheers,

Jason

Not to speak for anyone but I didn't feel that he had a problem with it but he was saying that some people would. I hadn't thought of it before but with the ignorance and bigotry that are still prevalent today, he's probably right that some people would hate a Jewish person playing Superman (even if he isn't Jewish).

 

[Patrick Sun]

Which would be ironic as Jerry Siegal (writer/co-creator of Superman) was Jewish (or born of Jewish parents).

 

[Jason Roer]

Travis - My problem was that he thought Levi wasn't right for the role because of his appearance - that superheroes are "white-skinned, blue-eyed, with a chiseled jaw." Then when he found out Levi wasn't Jewish, suddenly it was all right for him to play the role. Which tells me it was about religion, not appearance, because unless Levi had facial reconstruction surgery in the last 24 hours, he still looks exactly the same.

Incidentally - count me in for the really excited camp that Levi is up for the role. Great actor. Anyone can beef up. Not everyone can act.

Cheers,

Jason

 

[todd s]

Also, this tidbit is floating around

Clint Morris over at Moviehole has spent a bit of time trying to verify the rumors ran by Geektyrant about Christopher Nolan's bro Jonathan helming the upcoming Superman project which Chris is involved with. Apparently a source has revealed a few things...
Late this afternoon I hopped on the phone with a contact who shed some light on the J. Nolan rumours.
"You know, some of that is true", my very reliable* contact, said ."Jonathan Nolan is not onboard yet, but it looks like he will get the job. Jonah wants to direct, Chris wants to land him that gig, WB doesn't want to upset Chris. That said, it is far from a done deal -- but with Chris and Emma producing, the odds are with Jonah"
"Also, it is a TV star that they're looking at for the lead - but, despite what that article says, I don't believe anyone has actually tested." (He/She has heard nothing of Zachary Levi being considered).
So there you have it, Nolan is the frontrunner for the job.
Sorry? What? Oh, you want to know which "TV star" is currently atop of the WB wishlist?
Says our insider, "[He's a] popular TV actor that no one is thinking of, but everyone will be thrilled with if he pulls on the blue tights"
So, they have their Supers, he's a tv actor, you know who it is, but we can't? Mmmmm. He goes on to say Your first guess is likely the right one. I'm getting a terrible Tom Welling feeling. But that would never happen.. would it? Anyway Morris then says that nothing is set in stone, and WB just have their favorite for the role. Their source also says...
"This Superman is neither a reboot or a sequel. It's just a Superman film. The basic elements of the storyline are: BIG action, BIG set-pieces, witty dialogue, playful romance, a light-hearted feelgood mood juxtaposed with derring-do and danger, top-notch cast, epic feel, sci-fi background (sounds a little like Donner, right?) BUT with some sort of huge twist on the legend."

http://comicbookmovie.com/fansites/rorschachsrants/news/?a=20072

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Jason Roer
Travis - My problem was that he thought Levi wasn't right for the role because of his appearance - that superheroes are "white-skinned, blue-eyed, with a chiseled jaw." Then when he found out Levi wasn't Jewish, suddenly it was all right for him to play the role. Which tells me it was about religion, not appearance, because unless Levi had facial reconstruction surgery in the last 24 hours, he still looks exactly the same.

Did he actually say anything of the sort, though? His response was simply, "Welsh! Oh my, that's a fantastic turn. I'm glad to have been so far off base." That doesn't imply anything about Levi suddenly being alright for the role, only a bit of self-amusement at his own prejudices being undermined.

I not infrequently have a bit of a laugh at myself when the expectations I have for someone or something based on a name, appearance, etc. turn out to be way off-base. I don't think we need to call in the political correctness brigade on this one quite yet.

 

[Paul_Scott]

"This Superman is neither a reboot or a sequel. It's just a Superman film. The basic elements of the storyline are: BIG action, BIG set-pieces, witty dialogue, playful romance, a light-hearted feelgood mood juxtaposed with derring-do and danger, top-notch cast, epic feel, sci-fi background (sounds a little like Donner, right?) BUT with some sort of huge twist on the legend."

You know, the studio would be really smart to use a Superman film as a vehicle to introduce another superhero character/franchise.
Maybe not market it as 'the next Superman movie' since that brand has been slightly de-valued by the last film. Market it as a DC Superhero film starring Superman.

Similar to the way that Warner won't commit to putting money towards non- Superman/Batman centric animated movies, but will allow for a 12 minute DC showcase short to highlight a lower profile character.

And if Batman is going to be the 'realistic' franchise- use Superman as the lighter, fun, retro comic book franchise.

A large swath of the public looks at the character as cornball-but they all know the brand. Leverage that awareness to build name recognition for other properties.

 

[Patrick H.]

Oh, you want to know which "TV star" is currently atop of the WB wishlist?
Says our insider, "[He's a] popular TV actor that no one is thinking of, but everyone will be thrilled with if he pulls on the blue tights"

Has anyone thought of...Nathan Fillion?

At 39, he's on the older end of the scale...but honestly that'd be fine by me. Actually, if they are going for a lighter tone (which they should), he could be GREAT.

 

[Will_B]

Love Nathan. But he's got serious eye-bag problems now that's he's approaching middle age.

And let me correct some mistakes being made about my impression of Levi: I absolutely DO NOT think he's right for the role. He's great at being a skinny, dorky guy, but he'd need an extra hundred pounds of muscle to even look the part -- and he still doesn't look the part.

I just watched Returns again last night, and Routh was fantastic. And it reinforced even more the need for an iconic Superman-looking actor.

 

[Will_B]

Oh, you want to know which "TV star" is currently atop of the WB wishlist?
Says our insider, "[He's a] popular TV actor that no one is thinking of, but everyone will be thrilled with if he pulls on the blue tights"

My bet is Ian Somerhalder. UPDATE: But I like Inspector Hammer's suggestion below much more!!!

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I still say they should get Matt Bomer to play Supes, so he's slightly shorter than Routh, so what? Put an extra inch or so in his boots.

If he puts on a few pounds and hits the gym to build some muscle he would be a magnificent Man of Steel...

He almost has the Superman curl goin' in this pic...

I agree about Levi, it takes more than just black hair and dark eyebrows to play Superman and he just doesn't have the right stuff. /img/vbsmilies/htf/thumbsdown.gif

 

[Douglas Monce]

While Superman's adoptive parents are shown as being protestants, Superman’s origin story has very definite old testament Jewish influences.

The story of Moses in particular with his parents sending him off alone in a small craft to escape an impending doom. Being adopted by kindly parents of different race and raised as one of them. Then becoming a defender of the weak and helpless. Superman clearly echoes this.

There are some historians that consider Superman to be the first modern Jewish hero. The fact that Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are both Jewish is not lost on them.

Interestingly, Tom Mankiewicz had a more Christ like allegory in mind when he was writing Superman: The Movie. He felt that Superman represented a Christ like figure coming to save humanity.

Doug

 

[RobertR]

Originally Posted by Douglas Monce
While Superman's adoptive parents are shown as being protestants, Superman’s origin story has very definite old testament Jewish influences.

The story of Moses in particular with his parents sending him off alone in a small craft to escape an impending doom. Being adopted by kindly parents of different race and raised as one of them. Then becoming a defender of the weak and helpless. Superman clearly echoes this.

There are some historians that consider Superman to be the first modern Jewish hero. The fact that Superman’s creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster are both Jewish is not lost on them.

Interestingly, Tom Mankiewicz had a more Christ like allegory in mind when he was writing Superman: The Movie. He felt that Superman represented a Christ like figure coming to save humanity.

Doug

Yes, I thought the Christ allegory was rather overt -- Jor-El saying "I have sent them you, my son" -a superhuman being from beyond earth, etc.

 

[Douglas Monce]

They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Matthew Bomer is too slight of build, and stature. Just watch him in "White Collar". A stiff wind would blow him over. You'd have to cast a lot of shorter actors and actresses and extras if you casted Bomer in the role of Supes.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Originally Posted by Inspector Hammer!

He almost has the Superman curl goin' in this pic...

So does Zach. /img/vbsmilies/htf/smile.gif

Edit: Ack. Even when it's my boy Chuck, I'd rather be posting pictures of Alizee than some guy. /img/vbsmilies/htf/crazy.gif

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Interestingly enough Bomer tried out for SuperMan back in the day.