11:37AM - A few clips that were left out from Superman Returns.
A clip of Marlon Brando talking with some new dialog. Probable tests from the new transition. Behind the scenes clips and funny outtakes/spoofs. A lot of funny outtakes and spoofs from the Superman Returns filming. Basically a full blooper reel that had some really great footage on it. The fans cheered enough and convinced Bryan to “put it on the DVD.”
11:41AM - Bryan Singer comes to the stage with numerous applause and a massive Q&A line.
1 - Having directed stuff that is both all optical and something that is all CGI, how are they different?
Fortunately having experience with the first two X-Men films… *cheers* Spending half a year in pre-vis and storyboard and then being on set, there is a lot of time between shots and so on. Then in post-production, after 5 months of shooting, you go back and have to continue working after shooting [with CGI films].
2 - Question about Superman dropping back to his father role?
This child is the product of these parents (Lois and Richard). It’s different because the child has the upbringing of those parents but still from Superman. As in, that his upbringing between Richard and Lois makes him unique and different than Superman (and if Superman were fathering him).
3 - A kid claims that there were different cuts of the film that he saw in theatres.
Bryan says “uh no that’s not possible.” Bryan keeps saying that’s impossible.
4 - Touching on Superman’s fathering again. She thought that was a compromise with his character.
He has deep love for Lois and many different types of families can live now (in the real world). It was a choice to have the child, pregnancies happen unwanted sometimes, and Lois is an independent woman and makes independent choices. It’s hard to write for Superman and he’s a tough character to create obstacles for that are insurmountable and this was one of them.
5 - Tell us a personal experience from your life that you put in it that “no one else would know about.”
Bryan thinks… “if you told me X-Men 2 I could give you a good one.” “I don’t know…” One of his crew, the night before they shot the bedroom scene, had just had a frustrating day. The member of the crew and Bryan sat together and he had a child and the lady who had the child didn’t let him see the child. He eventually got to see the child by the time he was 1 and a half. “He told me this sitting in this set in the bedroom.” Suddenly it occured to him how to shoot this scene (the ending scene) in his bedroom, and he shot it with that guy’s story in his mind.
6 - Are you making an extended edition?
Bryan says he is always hesitant because it confuses people when there is an extended version. At the Kent farm with Martha Kent there were some wonderful scenes that he will put on the DVD. He mentions the scene on Krypton in the beginning that he cut and that it would be a beautiful piece that he had to cut but it would just be underwhelming on the DVD. There were also some scenes between Martha and Clark Kent that he had to cut. At the very last minute he had to cut a lot.
7 - Would you let them include Superman Returns in a set of all the Superman movies?
It’ll all come out at the same time if they do, but Bryan doesn’t know. They’re still “compiling” that.
8 - Question about sequels.
His intention is to do it for 2009. This movie introduces everyone to the characters, and this next one allows him to get all “wrath of khan” on it.
11:58AM - Richard Donner comes on stage to join Bryan Singer.
Bryan says the only reason he put Frank in the role is because he knew him from Skeletor!
9 - He said the Superman he saw in DC comics isn’t the Superman he sees on film.
Everything in the past has inspired him, and he isn’t going to retell what Dick (Donner) has done, but he would tell a return story. He had to pick a universe in which to return to, and picked one that was most classic and respectful. If Richard hadn’t come on and done the Superman movies, there would be no template for comic-book movies ever. And now for the comic book fans who know the character. There are many different designs… in the original comic book he didn’t fly. You have to start “mining” the pieces that you can. You got to start from some place. You just have to find a place to begin. Dick’s are the classics and that is what he used for a starting point.
12:06PM - Richard Donner is showing a special clip from Superman II that he brought exclusively for Comic-Con. There was a scene in II that was never filmed, and he used it as a screen test for Christopher Reeve. This is a scene where Lois tests Clark on whether he is Superman or not.
Description: Lois is in the Daily Planet office. And to test if its Clark Kent, she colors in a Superman picture with a black marker to show his suit that he is wearing standing nearby. Then Lois accuses him when they’re meeting with Mr. White. Lois keeps poking Clark with all these Superman puns like “we can fly up there” and jabs him in the stomach. She claims she’s nobody’s fool. To proove that he is Superman, she jumps out the window saying “you wouldn’t let me die Superman!” He rushes out and saves her then rushes back up before she can figure anything out. A pretty classic clip.
12:15PM - Donner proclaims that Bryan Singer deserves a standing ovation for his new film Superman Returns - and receives one.
12:16PM - Back to some more audience Q&A.
10 - Have both of you (Donner and Singer) thought about Brainiac?
Donner: I’m involved in something behind Singer’s back that involves Brainiac, but Bryan Singer “can’t say.” (As in, has nothing.)
11 - As a Superhero film, this has done what others haven’t with its epic scope with the savior. In order to do that, a certain amount of time (length of the movie) was required. Was there pressure from the studio to make it shorter?
Bryan: To embrace and uplift iconic imagery, it’s great. Bryan is fascinated by our myths and states that comic books will become our mythology. Bryan said he loved embracing that in the movie.
12 - What did Bryan have in mind for X-Men 3?
He wrote a 3rd of a treatment for it… It has certain things to what it became. It did have Phoenix, there was another villain from the X-Men universe. He isn’t involved, but he is writing the Ultimate X-Men series.
13 - What made you (Bryan) decide to focus so much on the love story?
In the 70 year history of Superman, he’s always had a love affair with Lois Lane. He’s never really made a romantic story, and he wanted to challenge himself. He wanted to make a movie that “romantics” (aka women) could relate to. It was about that relationship and reestablishing that. This movie had to do a lot of catch-up with the relationship.
14 - Asked why Clark needed glasses?
He was an awkward kid when growing up and couldn’t handle certain Kryptonian biological elements and so on. A bit of a confusing question/answer, sorry.
Bryan: It occurs to me that if you don’t care about who the action and adventure is happening to in an action adventure movie, [then] it means nothing.
15 - Are you (Bryan) going to do anything else in comic book world?
“Like Aquaman?” X-Men and Superman are huge characters, they mean so much to so many people. He wants to make a smaller film before he goes back into these big ones. “Comedies are the hardest things to do in the world,” (from an audience yell to do a comedy.)
He held a vote for “Charles Zod.” Not that many cheers for Zod
