Bryan Singer Directing X-Men: Days of Future Past - Part 1

[JP]

He should not be left in charge of the creative aspects (or hiring aspects, apparently) of a film.


So, you didn't like First Class either?

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by EnDz0n3

I would think the picture of the potential first page of the script for an X-men film would be headline-grabbing news around the net. At the very least even just on the superherohype website. Why isn't this being reported??

Maybe because it was from Twitter. And Bryan didn't confirm it was the actual script for Days of Future Past.

[JP]

Despite what Patrick and Ian say, Singer is not going to announce something that isn't official.

Ian McKellen was just on a talk show yesterday where he said twitter is stupid and he doesn't tweet. That means it's his team that tweets from his official twitter handle, which you could have easily assumed because all of the tweets read like a publicist is tweeting it.

Anyway, before Singer sent his tweet, Ian's official twitter sent this out:

‏@IanMckellen
Filmmaker (#x-men, #usualsuspects) shares secrets of upcoming projects (#JackTheGiantSlayer). Welcome to Twitter, dear friend @BryanSinger.





Now why would his team feel the need to tweet that at THAT specific time, an hour before Singer's announcement? Especially when Singer had already been on twitter for a month.



McKellen's twitter page then proceeded to RETWEET Singer's announcement. Yeah, sounds pretty off the cuff and jumping the gun to me...

[BMM]

Perhaps people aren't jumping on Singer for announcing Stewart's return, because Stewart himself announced he was reprising the role two months ago.

[psylockolussus]

It seems like we still have to wait for FOX's official cast announcements but Bryan Singer knows the story and he knows which characters will be in the movie, if he said Patrick and Ian are going to be in the movie, they'll be in the movie unless Patrick/Ian refused to sign the contract which I think is impossible.

[X-Maniac]

Originally Posted by EnDz0n3

I would think the picture of the potential first page of the script for an X-men film would be headline-grabbing news around the net. At the very least even just on the superherohype website. Why isn't this being reported??

I reported it

And I'm actually away on holiday, so keeping up with film blogging stuff has had to go by the wayside for a bit!

[X-Maniac]

Originally Posted by BMM

Perhaps people aren't jumping on Singer for announcing Stewart's return, because Stewart himself announced he was reprising the role two months ago.

Patrick probably got spoken to officially, asking him to watch what he said. Fox, Singer and the producers know too well that every interview from now on is going to be fishing for information (as it was with Jackman etc).

[ThePowerCosmic]

Ian recently made a comment about how he's excited to play the role of Magneto again in DoFP, or something like that.

[jaymes_e06]

Originally Posted by ThePowerCosmic

Ian recently made a comment about how he's excited to play the role of Magneto again in DoFP, or something like that.

Right maybe that's why. Or maybe they are under contract or something to that effect. It would make since if they did a three picture deal when they resigned for X3.

[Angamb]

Originally Posted by X-Maniac

Patrick probably got spoken to officially, asking him to watch what he said. Fox, Singer and the producers know too well that every interview from now on is going to be fishing for information (as it was with Jackman etc).

I dont get the point of Fox trying to stop the actors confirming their return. That's exactly what is creating a great hype so early. Its free publicity. So they should let these big name actors to show some excitement being back in the franchise.

Patrick could easily say: "I havent signed yet or read the script, but Ive talked to Bryan and we both are really excited to work together after all these years".

Its not a big deal, you know?

[X-Maniac]

Originally Posted by Angamb

I dont get the point of Fox trying to stop the actors confirming their return. That's exactly what is creating a great hype so early. Its free publicity. So they should let these big name actors to show some excitement being back in the franchise.

Patrick could easily say: "I havent signed yet or read the script, but Ive talked to Bryan and we both are really excited to work together after all these years".

Its not a big deal, you know?

I agree completely. But for some reason, Patrick has gone all defensive about it. And that's the only reason I can think of. That's partly because I've noticed Fox can be a bit over the top and officious at times, making websites take down pictures and script reviews and stuff that is actually promoting a project. Sometimes they need to actually look at the effect of what has been written/said - a lot of the time it's positive and beneficial.

[blueserenity]

Originally Posted by JP

He should not be left in charge of the creative aspects (or hiring aspects, apparently) of a film.


So, you didn't like First Class either?

I love First Class. It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen, that's why I've been so bummed about every development we've heard about DOFP so far. I don't trust Singer to respect the direction and tone the prequel set, rather than just try to make the X3 he never got to.

News of Berry and Marsden joining the cast has me even more worried, not only because I'm worried the old cast will overshadow the new (no matter how little screentime they may get) and because CYCLOPS being in the film makes me worry that Singer is completely disregarding X3. Don't get me wrong, X3 is a terrible, terrible piece of work both as a film and as a contribution to the franchise, but the fact remains that it DOES exist. And as much as we'd all like to, it's difficult to forget things that happened in that movie and pretend like it never happened at all.

Singer in particular has proven he's not very good at making movies that are part of a pre-existing series that ignore some aspects and perpetuate others. Superman Returns... what on earth WAS that? It was a sequel to Superman II, sort of, except completely not, but also it kind of was, but not really, but it had to be for the baby aspect to make sense, but also disregard all these other things that happened in Superman II. What a mess! Continuity in X-Men is already screwed up and the general public noticed the discrepancies and are annoyed by it. If they can be ticked off by Beast having been human-looking in his 40s in X2, I think they're not going to be thrilled having to come up with workarounds as to why Cyclops is alive (and potentially Jean, should Famke be the next name announced).

But I was tangenting there sorry. To get to your bolded points, I'm not sure how much Bryan actually had to do with the way First Class turned out. Was the movie his idea? Absolutely it was. But here are some things that were definitely not Singer's decision and can be attributed to Vaughn:

1) Casting McAvoy and Fassbender as Charles and Erik. THE best casting decision that has ever been made in this franchise (sorry Hugh, you've fallen to second place). I'm not sure who picked the rest of the cast but it doesn't matter. These two stole the show. Vaughn cast McAvoy first and Fassbender after seeing their screentest.
2) The music ahhhh the muuuuusic!! Henry Jackman has never particularly made me stand up and take notice before, but XMFC's soundtrack is one of my all-time favorites. I challenge ANYONE to present me with a piece John Ottman has ever composed in his entire career that comes close to the emotional power of "Mutant & Proud" or the simple but unforgettable Magneto theme. At this point I have almost no doubt Singer will choose Ottman over Jackman, and Jackman's absence will be as noticeable as if they recast one of the leads. It was Vaughn that brought this man in after their partnership on KickAss. It was also Vaughn who defined the Magneto theme.
3) Script. As far as I'm aware, Singer never contributed to the FC script. What we saw was a mix of about 6 or so screenwriters, with Vaughn and Goldman having had to "rewrite the whole thing" after reading the script they were given.
4) Costumes and locations?
Nothing has been said either way about this one but considering the British director's decision to shoot in the UK and the American director's decision to shoot in Canada (and likely nothing in the UK), I'd say this decision fell to Matthew. Similarly, the woman Bryan hired to do costumes did not work on FC but she did work on X1-2.

I imagine Singer was in charge of the less creative producer things, like keeping things on budget and creating shooting schedules and keeping the production ball rolling. But creatively I think his contribution was telling FOX he wanted there to be a film about the X-Men when they first began.

[JP]

I love First Class. It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen, that's why I've been so bummed about every development we've heard about DOFP so far. I don't trust Singer to respect the direction and tone the prequel set, rather than just try to make the X3 he never got to.



So, you don't trust Singer to trust the tone and direction HE SET?

First Class was a Bryan Singer film, directed by Vaughn.

DoFP is a Vaughn movie, directed by Singer.

[jaymes_e06]

Blueserenity all you've said is opinions and assumptions from the xmfc to bryan singer so its hard for me to take youu serious.

[marvelrobbins]

I am not sure we should call DOFP a Vaughn movie.Since Singer was already a producer
he likely had a hand In devolping the story.But DOFP defently has more a Vaughn hand
in devolping story than First Class did.Also reports say the inclusion of original films cast
was planned when Vaughn was directing.

[JP]

Originally Posted by marvelrobbins

I am not sure we should call DOFP a Vaughn movie.Since Singer was already a producer
he likely had a hand In devolping the story.But DOFP defently has more a Vaughn hand
in devolping story than First Class did.Also reports say the inclusion of original films cast
was planned when Vaughn was directing.

True. Singer worked on the story and treatment for for FC and was a pretty hands on producer who was on set nearly every day, and had a lot of input in casting, etc.

While Vaughn developed the story and treatment for DoFP, and had a hand in the actual script, we don't yet know how involved he'll be as a producer.

[marvelrobbins]

Well we still don't know If anyone besides Simon Kinberg worked on the actual screenplay.
We know Matthew Vaughn wrote the story treatment but we don't know If he did any work
on actual screenplay.

[JP]

Funny you bring up Kinberg cause I just remembered how First Class was also... dun dun dun, his idea.


So basically everyone involved in creating First Class (Singer, Vaughn, Kinberg, LSD) are back again for DoFP. Seems like there's nothing to freak out over...

[Cagefighterkip]

Originally Posted by JP

Funny you bring up Kinberg cause I just remembered how First Class was also... dun dun dun, his idea.


So basically everyone involved in creating First Class (Singer, Vaughn, Kinberg, LSD) are back again for DoFP. Seems like there's nothing to freak out over...

THIS.

Singer's a talented director, look at X1, X2, Valkyrie, The Usual Suspects. Every talented director has a couple dogs on his resume though (Superman). Singer's DoFP will be terrific, I'm sure.

[Angamb]

for sure!

Singer knows perfectly he has a giant proyect in his hands, and its the perfect chance to clean his image and direct the biggest x-men movie ever and surprise lovers, haters and critics all at the same time.

He knows this is a big deal, and he will deliver. we'll see it

[psylockolussus]

Only time can tell.

[blueserenity]

Originally Posted by JP

I love First Class. It's the best superhero movie I've ever seen, that's why I've been so bummed about every development we've heard about DOFP so far. I don't trust Singer to respect the direction and tone the prequel set, rather than just try to make the X3 he never got to.



So, you don't trust Singer to trust the tone and direction HE SET?

First Class was a Bryan Singer film, directed by Vaughn.

DoFP is a Vaughn movie, directed by Singer.

I don't think either of those statements are true. First Class was Bryan's idea, but Vaughn took over most (all?) the creative aspects of the film, including the tone and direction (for example, the 60s James Bond feel). As listed above, he at the very least was in charge of all the important things. And I said, the two leads were cast by Vaughn, not Singer. Not sure if Singer or Vaughn hired the rest of the cast but none of them particularly stood out to me. Vaughn was handed the script and told to make a movie and he instead said "this needs reworking" and rewrote it with Jane Goldman. It was really his movie. He's not a perfect director, don't get me wrong. I haven't seen Layer Cake, but Stardust I found pretty boring and KickAss wasn't spectacular. But what he did with XMFC was the most refreshing thing I've seen in a superhero movie since the genre began. And no one needed that more than the X-Men franchise, which has not really stood the test of time.

As for DOFP being a Vaughn movie, I'm not sure about that either. He has made no major creative decisions on it so far that we can see. He hasn't stuck around for casting, he'll have no say on music, costume and location were Singer's choices, and Vaughn's contribution to the script may have been overwritten. We're not even sure yet what Vaughn's "involvement" in this film as producer will be. I have a feeling it will be in name only. He did leave leave DOFP to rush Secret Service, I'm not sure he'll be able to be in two places at once.

If someone can cite specific examples of Singer's creative involvement in First Class it'd be much appreciated. I have no faith in this director or his methods and it'd be nice to have even one scrap of hope for this movie.

[JustSomeGuy]

I still don't understand how some people hate Bryan Singer...DOFP wasn't on my radar at all until I heard Singer was going to be directing, now it might be my most anticipated movie over the next few years. I love every single one of Bryan Singer's films, I think he is an incredibly talented director and am so glad he's coming back to do another one.

FC, while it had a cool concept and some good acting, was just horribly written IMO. Nails-on-a-chalkboard horrible. "Mutant and proud," "you didn't ask so I didn't tell", "never again", as well as anything Emma Frost says . Thank god a director who likes his films written well is back in the chair.

Don't mean to start a fight here, I was just so surprised to hear some people can't stand Singer

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by JustSomeGuy

FC, while it had a cool concept and some good acting, was just horribly written IMO. Nails-on-a-chalkboard horrible. "Mutant and proud," "you didn't ask so I didn't tell", "never again", as well as anything Emma Frost says . Thank god a director who likes his films written well is back in the chair.

Those lines might sounded a little cheesey but I think they were good lines especially "never again" and "mutant and proud".

And don't forget Bryan's X1 had a questionable line too and it was "do you know what happens to a Toad when it gets struck by a lightning" from Storm.

[marvelrobbins]

And the toad line was ironiclly written by Joss Whedon.Bryan takes fault for how It was delieved on the X-Men audio commantary.

The hate for Bryan Is 1:Those who didn't like Superman Returns who bash everything he does and 2:don't like someone doing film series of marvel comics characters not at
Marvel studios.Some hate the Amazing Spider-Man for same reason.

Since I consider X2 to be best marvel film and one of 3 best comic book films ever I love him directing X-men film again.We may finally have film that can challenge X2 among
X-Men films for best.