Bryan Singer Directing X-Men: Days of Future Past - Part 3

[NanaT]

I must say Lightning I'm a huge fan of your posts. I find myself agreeing with every you say. You make strong points which are needed because as you say the posters nowadays are very articulate and can write some excellent well thought out posts with equally strong points. Mrs Vimes, in case you couldn't tell that is a reference to you. Absolutely love your well thought out points even if I don't agree with them. It's nice to have someone providing a dissenting viewpoint without having to resort to insults or complete sarcasm. (the odd sarcastic comment is acceptable.)

Lightning I'm glad to have you championing our opinions and I'd like to say I don't envy your task. Making good arguments to some of these posts can be enormously hard. So I love reading your posts as you seem to do it with ease and your trademark humor.

[Lightning Strykez!]

Originally Posted by NanaT

I must say Lightning I'm a huge fan of your posts. I find myself agreeing with every you say. You make strong points which are needed because as you say the posters nowadays are very articulate and can write some excellent well thought out posts with equally strong points. Mrs Vimes, in case you couldn't tell that is a reference to you. Absolutely love your well thought out points even if I don't agree with them. It's nice to have someone providing a dissenting viewpoint without having to resort to insults or complete sarcasm. (the odd sarcastic comment is acceptable.)

Lightning I'm glad to have you championing our opinions and I'd like to say I don't envy your task. Making good arguments to some of these posts can be enormously hard. So I love reading your posts as you seem to do it with ease and your trademark humor.

Aww, thank you! I enjoy yours too. I may now be one of the "rusty old-timers" here but I can still keep up with these youngins any day. LOL

It's really all in good fun. When I enjoyed the privilege of moderating this forum years ago I really got to know the users here and learned just how passionate they are when it comes to this franchise. It struck me that these folks may get "riled up" but generally it's because they really care and have a stake in this just like I do. And that helped me not to take myself so seriously because they're posting thoughts fueled by the same passion albeit from a different place.

[marvelrobbins]

Checking the first pics of oscar arrival I saw Jennifr Lawrence has a more dark hair.Could this mean In DOFP In her non Blue makeup scenes,which we all know there will be,she
could have dark hair.

So far Hugh Jackman Isn't being seen as arriving.wonder If this means he's skipping the oscars to work on Prisoners.

[Majik1387]

Hugh Jackman was just interviewed by Kristin Chenowith on the red carpet.

[marvelrobbins]

Ok.When I checked at Wireimage I saw none of him.

[magneto23]

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

There is a specific reason why FOX and Bryan are bringing back the classic actors into this film alongside the FC cast: It's because they NEED IT. And some of us need to recognize that.

Or maybe its because this specific story calls for their inclusion and not because a FC sequel wouldn't be profitable enough. Maybe they want to bring them back before they get too old.

You think so? I'm not sure I'd give them both that moniker just yet.

Both Fassbender and Lawrence are already bona fide A listers regardless of what happens at the Oscars.

And your point is? No one said they weren't both talented. The point was (at least the one I made) was that balance would be necessary and that this film would be about saving the future. Therefore, there will be multiple POVs in this project but in many respects I think the FCs are going to be supporting cast for the original trilogy members.

"in many respects" Like what? How will the FC cast be the supporting cast when they will have the majority of the film to themselves? With the exception of the time traveling character, these casts are going to be separate from one another.The FC cast is leading their portion while the original cast is leading theirs.

[marvelrobbins]

Halle Berry Is also at oscars.

They are doing Days of future past since Lauren SHueller Donnor has been wanting to do storyline for years.And It provides Fox with crossover event.

If you don't think OT actors are going to be heavily featured In trailers and promation
you are fooling yourselves.

What are you going to do If The Wolverine outgrosses First Class?

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by The Guard

How did they screw up Gambit, exactly?

I think people just expected him to be with the X-Men, have some romance story-arc with Rogue and not just appear in a Wolverine spin-off movie. He also didn't get a lot of screentime in Origins.

[Cagefighterkip]

Originally Posted by marvelrobbins

What are you going to do If The Wolverine outgrosses First Class?

I wonder what kind of business it will do. No ads or anything yet, aside from one poster (the painting) I see in theaters. No trailer(s) or TV spots or anything. They'll have to kick ass in the marketing department post-trailer release. But Fox knows what they're doing.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by Mad Ones

I still can't believe Spider-man got a reboot, while X-men didn't and was in much worse shape.

Sony didn't know what to do with the series after Sam Raimi bailed out. I also heard the major cast wouldn't comeback if Raimi was out. They lost the director and they lost the major cast.

With X-Men, even if Vaughn and Singer keep dropping out, FOX would still continue this series and the actors like Hugh Jackman would still comeback for another movie.

Originally Posted by marvelrobbins

The cheapness of Fox was reason they hasn't been an X4 Immedetly after Last Stand.
Or maybe we should say the cheapness of Tom Rothman.All the money spent on Last Stand was because he was desperate to beat Superman Returns to theatres.

There Is 2 possibiltys for end of DOFP

1:All other films besides First Class and 1973 part of DOFP are erased.Thus ending of 1973 part of DOFP Is starting point for future films
2:Time traveler returns to future at end of film to discover not only future with sentinles
has been prevented but some other parts of history has been Changed(Allowing Bryan to
as he called It correct parts of films he wasn't Involved In)

I just don't see how FOX would want to continue the series set in the 70s and 80s! Especially if they are trying to connect it to the Fantastic Four series. Then the roster of their team. Even if they introduce the younger version of Cyclops, Jean, Storm, I don't think they could top James Marsden, Famke Jannsen and Halle Berry in terms of star power and familiarity with the general public.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by JP

The majority of the film takes place in 1973, ergo McAvoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence remain the leads.

But that doesn't mean Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen won't be one of the leading characters too. They already appeared in at least 3 X-Men movies and I doubt FOX would downgrade them as a supporting character.

Originally Posted by JP

Is that so? Quinto had Heroes. A short lived NBC drama that, like most NBC shows, was watched by nobody.

Fassbender had critical buzz from Inglorious Basterdz and Shame.

I'd say they were about the same.

I never heard of Fassbender before I saw First Class. I know Inglorious Basterdz because of Johnny Depp but I never heard buzz from Fassbender for appearing in that movie. Then when Shame came out, First Class was already released in theaters.

I knew Quinto because I watched Heroes but Heroes got a lot of buzz during its 1st/2nd season and for a NBC show, that ratings for the 1st season was really good. And a couple of actors in that show got a lot of buzz.

[blueserenity]

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

Jennifer Lawrence is smoking Hugh Jackman? Patrick Stewart? Paquin already has her Oscar and has not been idle. These actors have commanded blockbuster franchises and revered television series for decades. She is nowhere near their star power. No. Where. Let's not oversell this young lady, m'kay? She's beautiful and gifted but...not quite there yet.

Never said Lawrence was smoking Jackman. I said has as much marketability. I can't go into a grocery store without seeing her face all over the magazines. Not that I mind, of course. She's adorable. But she is the hot topic right now, leagues beyond Paquin. Lawrence's appeal is to the 12-30ish age group, which let's be honest, is the biggest demographic who's going to be seeing this movie. Stewart is revered for sure, in a different way. He's revered but he's not the hottest item of the moment. I'm not talking talent here. If I'm perfectly honest I like Lawrence more for the interviews I see her in than her skills as an actress. Not to say she isn't good, but I think she'll get better with time.

That's your opinion and I certainly respect it. But I also disagree and think you are seriously overestimating First Class' appeal. Box office receipts don't lie my friend.

There is a specific reason why FOX and Bryan are bringing back the classic actors into this film alongside the FC cast: It's because they NEED IT. And some of us need to recognize that. One of the biggest gripes among fans with FC was its lack of star power and it's pretty clear the studio is addressing that. Points to consider:

1.) If FOX and Co. were so confident in this "A-List" star power you claim is possessed by Fassbender, Lawrence, etc., they would be making a straight FC sequel now, not a crossover hybrid.

2.) Box office receipts, box office receipts, box office receipts. First Class underperformed the first X-film from 13 years ago even with inflation adjustment. And I'm sure you'll blame X3 for that too, but er uh, as you said, significant time had passed between the films, right? Besides, if Lawrence and Fassbender were such A-Listers why couldn't they garner the same audience on their own merits with this "fresh take" as you put it?

You can't have it both ways.

I am so sick of this insipid "box office" argument. Just because it underperformed doesn't mean it wasn't well loved. With two horrendous X-Men movies before it, who WOULD want to take the chance and spend the money? If they made a third Ghost Rider movie and all the critics raved and RT gave it a 95% and everyone I knew told me it was one of the best superhero movies they had ever seen, I STILL would not see it. I'd wait till it was available on Netflix so I wouldn't have to spend money on it. And if it turned out everyone was right, Ghost Rider 3 IS awesome, then that's great. But my support of it will not be reflected in the BO numbers.

XMFC had a very, very long list of things working against it, and the fact that it made as much money as it did is a frigging miracle. I wish we could have some concrete numbers on its second life out of theatres. I do remember that when a decent copy of it hit the torrent world it was the most torrented movie for a decent amount of time. How we watch movies now is very different than how we watched them 10 years ago. We didn't have all this easy and oft-free access to films. Before we had to rely on rental places, charging fees that were barely higher than seeing the film in theatres, so why not just see it in theatres?

We adjust the numbers for inflation, but we don't adjust them for this brave new world of Netflix, Torrents, and red boxes.

FC had a lack of "star power" because the main three (four?) were virtual unknowns. James was doing well in the quieter, drama movie department and Lawrence had an Oscar nod under her belt (wow what a weird combo of allusions), and nobody knew who Fassbender or Hoult were unless they had a penchant for small British films or a certain UK drama series. That's all changing though. I have a feeling Nicholas Hoult in particular is set to get really big really quickly.

1) You may have a point, but I think if that's a reason it's only one of a number of them. I think after Avengers broke 1B FOX pissed themselves in fear and scrambled around trying to figure out how to match the BO numbers (spoiler alert: They never will). I actually think it's one of the reasons Vaughn left, not this paltry "uhh I have to make this mediocre comic a movie before anyone else steals this idea", or whatever the clearly-BS excuse was. I think he wanted to do a proper First Class sequel and then the studio stepped in and told him he had to make this giant blockbuster and bring in some old cast because AVENGERS. So he threw up his hands and left, because he can't stand people breathing down his neck and not letting him do what he wants. I've been thinking back to some of the things he said back when sequel possibilities were discussed, and none of them add up to what this "sequel" is turning out to be.

As for why the old cast is back, DOFP plot aside: they need the FACES. Avengers had the luxury of what, 5, 6 movies? before it that built up the characters individually. Which is why they were able to pull off Avengers with zero character development and hardly anyone noticed. But to make an event movie that follows ONE movie, First Class, you need to bring in WAY more characters, especially since the Hero team has been reduced to 4 members, maybe 3. Sooo they need to fill up the teams on both sides without the time of 5 movies to do it. With only 2 hours to tell the story and no room whatsoever for new characters to get development they turn to the closest Avengers-like solution they have: characters who were developed in other X-Men movies. Cue the old cast. Boom.

2) Significant time has passed and people will forget plot points and characters but not when a movie leaves them with a bad taste in their mouth. Especially when they feel betrayed by it. People are STILL upset about Spider-Man 3. People are still disappointed with Superman Returns. There are probably some people still pissed about Superman III.

You think so? I'm not sure I'd give them both that moniker just yet. I'd say they're more rising stars and for Jennifer Lawrence I think hers will be bonafide pending tonight's outcome at the Oscars. The buzz around her reminds me of Ellen Page's turn with Hard Candy.

But no one here is questioning their talent. I am the biggest Fassbender fan (I have ALL of his stuff). But I'm not blind to say somehow he's eclipsing anyone like Hugh Jackman. I'm just saying it's foolhardy to assume that the producers are going to waste all of the tested talent they have invested with Hugh, Anna, Shawn, Patrick and Ian. They are reuniting with their director. They are not going to be on the sidelines.

A-listers aren't determined by Oscars alone. Heck, Brad Pitt has never won a single one, and he is pretty much the King of Hollywood! I guess we need to determine what defines A-lister. To me it's a very popular leading actor/ess who is highly sought after in the industry and whose name is instantly recognizable. Again with the 12-30something demographic, this is Jennifer Lawrence, win or no win tonight. Fassbender isn't near her level but he IS A-list, definitely well-known, and highly sought after. Lawrence has definitely eclipsed Paquin and Page though, no question whatsoever. Again, Paquin may have won an Oscar (20 years ago!!!) but since X3 her career has pretty much been True Blood. And I wouldn't call that A-list.

Fassbender is certainly not eclipsing Hugh Jackman, I never said that. But he will be more of a lead in this movie than Wolverine. At least that seems to be the direction based on comments from Kinberg. I'd like to think Singer knows how to make a movie where Wolverine isn't the centre of attention but his X-Men history proves the opposite... sigh. It will be interesting to see if Wolverine in Japan does well at the box office (can't help but think this will be because of FC, if it was coming off the heels of XOW it would be BO suicide) and is well received. If it is I imagine it will prompt FOX to continue his solo films, rather than keep him the focus of the so-called "ensemble" films.

Take note of what I highlighted above. Therein lies your position on this matter and that's fine. There's nothing wrong with being biased against the returning cast. But for some, like me, a stronger film will be generated from their inclusion with this FC class.

Who is to say that any of the old heroes WILL be interacting with the FC cast? The traveler could be an entirely new character. Either way it will probably just be ONE character, maybe two. Makes no sense to have them ALL go to the past.

Wait, I thought you said he was an "A-Lister"??

He is. A bunch of blockbusters does not an A-Lister necessarily make. There's no one secret recipe to it, it's a combination of luck and timing. If I were to pinpoint that moment for Fassbender, it would be when George Clooney made a joke about the impressive size of his manhood at a major awards show. It's unfortunate because this incredibly talented man will have to put up with dick jokes from insecure interviewers for another few years but it's fortunate because it made people look into his movies and discover what an actor he is. He really has exploded in the last year. Pardon the unintentional pun.

And your point is? No one said they weren't both talented. The point was (at least the one I made) was that balance would be necessary and that this film would be about saving the future. Therefore, there will be multiple POVs in this project but in many respects I think the FCs are going to be supporting cast for the original trilogy members.

You described Sir Ian as conquering if they have a scene together.

And what respects are those? No one at all, Singer, Kinberg, even the embarrassingly pretentious and brutally uninformed Mark Millar, has said anything to give the impression that the movie will focus more on the originals. Everything that has been said leads to quite the opposite idea.

Let's be very honest here: the biggest star of this franchise is Hugh Jackman--not Fassbender, McAvoy, or Lawrence. They are all newbies to this franchise. Talented? Yes. But newbies. And I strongly believe they may take a back-seat a bit for the return of the Original Actors. Now what do the facts show?

1.) FOX has consistently proven for over a decade now that their main focus will always be Wolverine featuring The X-Men. He has two solo films, two origin films, etc. They even inserted him as a cameo in FC for no reason.

2.) Do you honestly believe that things will suddenly change with this original trilogy member--and the franchise's main face--taking top billing in this film? If Storm, Cyclops, Jean, Xavier--hell everyone else--can take a backseat to Logan in the original trilogy films WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?

Does that scare you?

Yes, HJ is the star of the franchise, much to my chagrin. That doesn't mean it can't function well without him. Again, his absence/reduction to a cameo was not the reason FC failed.

There is absolutely no reason whatsoever the FC crew will take a backseat to the old cast. How on earth can you think that? Even if this was a brand new reboot-everything movie, the very idea of DOFP is that the X-Men of the PAST have to stop an event in the future.

1) I'm pretty sure he will not be the focus in this film. He'll have an unfortunate large role, I'm sure, but the focus will likely still be Charles and Erik (young and to a lesser extent old, I imagine). They threw him in as a cameo because it was a hilarious opportunity to see the pair get gruffly rejected, and a neat nod to the old trilogy. He was the ONLY mutant they could have done that with because he's the only one who doesn't age. I'll bet you every dollar I have that he wasn't in it because of studio pressure but because Vaughn (or Singer) wanted him in there for the cameo.

2) Yes. It's a good transition for them, as I doubt he'll show up for the third film. Can't have him consistently helping out the X-Men and then have NONE OF THEM remember him in the future. It's already a continuity clusterfrig as it is.

Are you sure about that? Again, what do the box office receipts show? That would suggest that FC wasn't quite as popular as some seem to believe. It'd be a gamble for FOX to put all of its eggs in that one basket again. Clearly they aren't. The original trilogy films didn't have such problems with their box office numbers. But somehow, I think you know this already.

Disagreed. This production didn't get real buzz until news of the return of Bryan Singer and the original cast hit the waves. Google it. Every comic and movie chatroom is debating which cast members are coming back or not. All of the articles are debating it. It's all the interviewers are asking Bryan about. I haven't exactly heard anyone inquire about McAvoy, have you?

In the real world, that is to say, the world outside of movie news and superhero forums, THERE IS NO BUZZ ABOUT THIS MOVIE. Normal moviegoers seem to be largely unaware of its existence, let alone the plot.

Not sure that people wondering what new cast will be announced is proof that people prefer the old. It's really the only thing people who aren't entrenched in this movie have to speculate because it's straightforward and simple to have a discussion about. It's the same as when any new superhero movie gets announced. "Who's the villain going to be? Who will play him?". Those are easy things. Wondering about how the FC characters will have changed over 11 years is a more lengthy discussion best saved for places like this. Or at least it used to be before everyone suddenly started playing for this weird "TRILOGY ONLY!!" team. Such a shame.

Again, you're totally underestimating the appeal of the original cast coming back. It's not a shot in the foot, it's a much-needed shot in the arm.

According to who? Again, as it's been stated by me and a few others many times, if X4 was so desired, why didn't they make it a few years after X3? It's not like its predecessor didn't make money. In fact IIRC, it made the most money of all the X-films. So if your argument about FC is its box office numbers, and lack of cast desirability, why did FOX opt OUT of making a sequel to a box-office smash with so many "A-listers"? Seems to me that, according to your arguments, it would have been the perfect recipe for a smash hit.

If you're going to argue that FC NEEDS the old crew to make it viable, I'd like to argue that the old crew needs the FC crew much, much more.

No, we were referring to Fassbender going into FC. Quinto was the face of Heroes prior to Star Trek. And Quinto certainly was the bigger star pre-Star Trek compared to Fassbender.

Oh ok then yes you're right. Quinto was way more well known back then than Fassbender was before FC.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by blueserenity

According to who? Again, as it's been stated by me and a few others many times, if X4 was so desired, why didn't they make it a few years after X3? It's not like its predecessor didn't make money. In fact IIRC, it made the most money of all the X-films. So if your argument about FC is its box office numbers, and lack of cast desirability, why did FOX opt OUT of making a sequel to a box-office smash with so many "A-listers"? Seems to me that, according to your arguments, it would have been the perfect recipe for a smash hit..

Just because the studio is not greenlighting the movie yet, it doesn't mean they don't think it won't make more money. There's no Indiana Jones 5 yet, there's no National Treasure 3 yet and there's no X-Men 4 yet.

Studios and producers usually give this movie franchises a break to do other things like spin-off movies, spin-off TV shows and or just things that isn't related to the movie franchises. And for some, they just don't have the effort anymore to continue the series. But that doesn't mean they don't think a "X-Men 4" type of movie is not gonna be a success.

[marvelrobbins]

Originally Posted by psylockolussus

Sony didn't know what to do with the series after Sam Raimi bailed out. I also heard the major cast wouldn't comeback if Raimi was out. They lost the director and they lost the major cast.

With X-Men, even if Vaughn and Singer keep dropping out, FOX would still continue this series and the actors like Hugh Jackman would still comeback for another movie.



I just don't see how FOX would want to continue the series set in the 70s and 80s! Especially if they are trying to connect it to the Fantastic Four series. Then the roster of their team. Even if they introduce the younger version of Cyclops, Jean, Storm, I don't think they could top James Marsden, Famke Jannsen and Halle Berry in terms of star power and familiarity with the general public.

Well I think opotion 2 Is most likely.The thing I don't see Is all X-Men films Including the Wolverine being erased and they continue to use actors from past X-Men films.And I have said this before but I will say It again what chances realisticly Is that Bryan Singer would erase his own films and contunie to be Involved with films.

[EnDz0n3]

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

You mean a "stench" like the ones on Patrick Stewart and Kelsey Grammar? You guys kill me with this dismissal of television actors and their value.

Obviously some stars have gotten rid of said stench. Stewart is one of them. Clooney would be another. Give Quinto another hit with this next Trek movie and he'll be there.

And it's not like I'm the only person that's ever made a funny out of TV and it's stigma it leaves certain actors. Afterall Amy Poehler made a joke on the Golden Globes stage about this very thing. "Only at the Golden Globes do the beautiful people of film rub shoulders with the rat-faced people in television."

[Wolvieboy17]

Originally Posted by psylockolussus

I never heard of Fassbender before I saw First Class. I know Inglorious Basterdz because of Johnny Depp but I never heard buzz from Fassbender for appearing in that movie. Then when Shame came out, First Class was already released in theater

Sorry, this just didn't make sense to me... What does Johnny Depp have to do with Basterds?



Also, on an unrelated note, people need to really keep the idea of X4 in perspective. I know it's exciting to have Singer back and I know we all loved his movies and it would be great to forget the mistakes of the past but before we all start marking our calendars for when we'll see X4 in cinemas, let's not forget that correcting all those mistakes and coming out in a better place for the series by the end of DOFP is still going to be a HUGE task. It's got to be a great movie in it's own right, not just a liquid paper patch up job for the plot holes and failures of the series so far.

How about we count our chickens once they've hatched? There's an incredibly ambitious movie between now and X4 and I would think fellow fans who have been so burned by XFilms in the past wouldn't be so willing and ready to get their hopes up again.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by Wolvieboy17

Sorry, this just didn't make sense to me... What does Johnny Depp have to do with Basterds?



Also, on an unrelated note, people need to really keep the idea of X4 in perspective. I know it's exciting to have Singer back and I know we all loved his movies and it would be great to forget the mistakes of the past but before we all start marking our calendars for when we'll see X4 in cinemas, let's not forget that correcting all those mistakes and coming out in a better place for the series by the end of DOFP is still going to be a HUGE task. It's got to be a great movie in it's own right, not just a liquid paper patch up job for the plot holes and failures of the series so far.

How about we count our chickens once they've hatched? There's an incredibly ambitious movie between now and X4 and I would think fellow fans who have been so burned by XFilms in the past wouldn't be so willing and ready to get their hopes up again.

Woops, I mean Brad Pitt, the lead actor of that movie.

And seriously if the line-up for X4 is like this:
Wolverine
Cyclops (assuming Bryan Singer resurrected him at the end of DOFP)
Storm
Jean (just like Cyke)
Rogue
Iceman
Shadowcat
Colossus (the usual small role)
Angel
Psylocke

And the villains are Apocalypse and his minions. There's no doubt it would be more successful than a First Class sequel that might consists of Young Prof X, Young Magneto, Mystique, Beast, Young Cyke, Young Jean and Young Storm. Even if they have Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister as the villains. I don't think they could easily rival the star power of the original series. If I was the head of FOX or one of the producers, I would really suggest that they develop and move forward with their stronger and more marketable series.

[Mrs Vimes]

Originally Posted by blueserenity

I actually think it's one of the reasons Vaughn left, not this paltry "uhh I have to make this mediocre comic a movie before anyone else steals this idea", or whatever the clearly-BS excuse was. I think he wanted to do a proper First Class sequel and then the studio stepped in and told him he had to make this giant blockbuster and bring in some old cast because AVENGERS.

I don't know if I agree with that. Vaughn wrote the treatment and the script and bailed out very very late in the process. He was already talking about making sequels set in 70s and 80s at the time First Class was released. There was already talk of the movie being more ambitious when he was still attached as the director. I can't imagine that the whole idea for the movie changed that radically after the script was already written.

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

Paquin already has her Oscar and has not been idle.

You know who else has an Oscar? Marcia Gay Hayden. Who? Exactly. Winning an Oscar is not necessarily going to set your career on fire. Especially when you win it for a supporting role in a bleak Jane Campion movie when you were barely a teenager.

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

I'd say they're more rising stars and for Jennifer Lawrence I think hers will be bonafide pending tonight's outcome at the Oscars. The buzz around her reminds me of Ellen Page's turn with Hard Candy.

Sorry, that's absolutely nowhere near close. You could maybe compare it with the buzz Lawrence had when she got nominated for Winter's Bone, which like Hard Candy was a small, acclaimed little-seen movie. Since then Lawrence headlined Hunger Games and Silver Linings Playbook is over $100M at the US box-office right now.

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

Star power is star power. A household name is a household name. Patrick Stewart had done far more theater than Hugh Jackman going into 2000's X-Men. But I don't think even you would argue that he was the bigger star having led eight years of arguably the most popular Star Trek series ever.

Well, at the time Jackman's star meter was pretty much a zero so any reasonably known actor would have been a bigger star in comparison. But yeah Patrick Stewart was the bigger star... and still the lead went to this virtual unknown. Which goes back to my earlier point about studios surrounding lesser-known/new hot actors playing leads with older, respected, better-known actors.

Thing is, as revered Stewart and McKellen are, unless it's a Star Trek movie they're never really used to play genuinely leading roles in big blockbuster films. In X-Men they're respectively playing an old wise mentor type, and a villain.

And I'll certainly give you Jackman, big time. But I bet that if you went to a movie studio right now and proposed to either make a 1) a film with Fassbender, Lawrence and McAvoy as leads or 2) a film with Ashmore, Paquin and Page as leads, the studio heads will be on to option 1 before you even stopped naming option 2.

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

Star power is star power.

If it really was, TV actors wouldn't struggle so much making it big in the movies. TV fame might make it easier to get roles, but actually becoming a movie star is a whole different game. You might be big on TV but that will not necessarily make people shell out their money to go and watch you on the big screen.

And when you're mostly known for playing a specific character on a TV show, the baggage is even harder to shed. People often tend to love the character, not necessarily the actor playing them.

Originally Posted by Lightning Strykez!

Let's be very honest here: the biggest star of this franchise is Hugh Jackman--not Fassbender, McAvoy, or Lawrence. They are all newbies to this franchise. Talented? Yes. But newbies. And I strongly believe they may take a back-seat a bit for the return of the Original Actors. Now what do the facts show?

1.) FOX has consistently proven for over a decade now that their main focus will always be Wolverine featuring The X-Men. He has two solo films, two origin films, etc. They even inserted him as a cameo in FC for no reason.

2.) Do you honestly believe that things will suddenly change with this original trilogy member--and the franchise's main face--taking top billing in this film? If Storm, Cyclops, Jean, Xavier--hell everyone else--can take a backseat to Logan in the original trilogy films WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?

I don't remember hearing anything about Jackman taking the top billing in this film.

But yes, certainly no one can argue that Hugh Jackman is the biggest star of the franchise, and it's certainly possible that the First Classers might take a backseat to him. However, why does the popularity of Wolverine make it a given that the First Class actors will also take a backseat to the rest of the original cast? There's a tendency on this forum sometimes to roll the rest of the cast together with Wolverine as if they're somehow one and the same, and Wolverine's popularity somehow spreads onto the other characters as well.

Originally Posted by NanaT

I Mrs Vimes, in case you couldn't tell that is a reference to you. Absolutely love your well thought out points even if I don't agree with them.

Thanks I do believe in a civil discussion.

[merbass]

I bet Jennifer will demand more screen time

[JP]

Xavier and Magneto were NEVER leads in this series until McAvoy and Fassbender played them. That's not going to change.


And Lawrence has been a huge a list star for some time now. Her name was buzzed because of Winters Bone and the oscar nom. Then her status skyrocketed after Hunger Games. How did she follow that? By proving she's a bonefied box office draw by opening a poorly reviewed film where she was the sole lead to a #1 box office hit. Then she once again scored a lead role to huge box office numbers AND a lead actress Oscar win. Next to Jackman, she's the biggest star in DoFP. This was true before her win tonight, and after her win it can be written in stone.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by merbass

I bet Jennifer will demand more screen time

I doubt she will but I could see her team demanding for more screentime.

[Mrs Vimes]

And more screentime as a human, too.

[psylockolussus]

Originally Posted by Mrs Vimes

And more screentime as a human, too.

They could just put her name on the posters and put her scenes w/o the blue make-up in the trailers/TV spots.

But she shouldn't appear in human form most of the time because of her star power.

[ThePowerCosmic]

Agreed.

[X-Maniac]

Originally Posted by psylockolussus

Woops, I mean Brad Pitt, the lead actor of that movie.

And seriously if the line-up for X4 is like this:
Wolverine
Cyclops (assuming Bryan Singer resurrected him at the end of DOFP)
Storm
Jean (just like Cyke)
Rogue
Iceman
Shadowcat
Colossus (the usual small role)
Angel
Psylocke

And the villains are Apocalypse and his minions. There's no doubt it would be more successful than a First Class sequel that might consists of Young Prof X, Young Magneto, Mystique, Beast, Young Cyke, Young Jean and Young Storm. Even if they have Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister as the villains. I don't think they could easily rival the star power of the original series. If I was the head of FOX or one of the producers, I would really suggest that they develop and move forward with their stronger and more marketable series.

I keep wondering if it would be better if Wolverine went off to start and lead his own team (X-Force), with Deadpool, Psylocke, Archangel, Domino, Colossus or a roster something like that.

Then we could have a Wolverine-free X-Men team with a team such as Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Iceman, Rogue, Kitty, Gambit, Jubilee. Then add Daniel Day Lewis as Sinister and we're getting there!

I also keep wondering if one possibility for Peter Dinklage's character is Madison Jeffries, the mutant who could communicate with machines and developed robots. He was involved with the Weapon X program among other things and in the Weapon X: Days of Future Now storyline, his robots took on a life of their own, with one of them calling itself Master Mold.