Mark Millar's Many Thoughts On Superman

[dark_b]

EXACTLY. IMO, he is just trying to get the support of the SR haters.

if this is the case then he is acting like a child. like a little kid. how old is he? is he like a writter from yesterday? act more inteligent for christ sake.

 

[Showtime]

i htink if he ever had a chance then he destroyed it now.
whats this? is he 5? or what? he should never talk about this so open. i dont know how could WB take him serious.

you dont just come to WB with a script,director and a producer. i think its more complex then this.

Its hard to say.

Why not?

I like to mess with my buddy JC.

Bah, come on showtime search it for me. I couldn't find it :-/ It is your duty to serve the plebes with the position you hold here

..but I am so tired.

True it just really sucks wb has so much issues getting anything to happen were has marvel has atless had the balls to give some characters a chance like dd/blade/ghost rider were what have we got from wb/dc not much to nothing at all.

They are definately behind to put it mildly.

 

[Retroman]

Now before you all groan with the old news statement, I assure you this is quite new.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity-interviews/2008/06/26/exclusive-scots-comic-writer-mark-millar-is-toast-of-hollywood-after-wanted-86908-20621161/



Even if this falls through, I still find it very interesting that WB is so willing to accept new pitches. Then Millar posted this on his message board.

http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=82235

Interesting stuff. Thanks for posting it.

Don't know what to make of this since Millar is a bit of a big talker. Is this a reboot? Or some sort of semi sequel? And who the heck is this mystery guy?

Mark Millar worked on Iron Man right?

He did one day of consulting with a couple other comic book heavies i think.

I don't remember that. Interesting.

Here's what Ita-Kalel is referring to....

February 18, 2004

But comic book writer Mark Millar claims production on Superman is a no-go. He posted the following on his message board...

Trust me, McG is not getting anywhere NEAR this ****ing thing. He (and others) are talking about this as a means of rejigging their careers. No actress is being seriously considered for Lois and nobody is being auditioned for Supes because there is NO MOVIE, folks. Here's the scoop...

The movie is already something like 50 mill in debt because of all the false-starts. It's a HUGE problem because they want big stars, big effects and a big budget and this would push you to the 250, 300 million mark. This ain't gonna happen, especially with someone as choppy as McG and that ****ing awful script kicking around. A chum of mine, like I've said, has been making calls and taking meetings very quietly, has a few things he has to finish first and plans to get moving on this around 2006. Believe NONE of this bull**** you're reading because Beyonce, etc, etc, is just all pish. The real deal is still two years away from even seriously starting work on this so the flick isn't going to be seen until around 2007 at the earliest. There'll be possibly two Batman pics before the next Superman.

Source:http://www.superherohype.com/news/supermannews.php?id=869

 

[Showtime]

Yes, Showy, and I loved it, but I think that that was enough.......we need to move along with a more badass action driven flick for Supes, right?

t:

I want to see Superman, in what ever incarnation it is. I love the character of Superman. I just give info on what I hear.

I was actually refering to the Christ references, you said one of the reasons you didnt like Millar's ideas was for that reason. Superman Returns was overflowing with them.

 

[batman44]

Is this what you're looking for JcDC?

Spoiler

This is from Millarworld itself. (Don't have the link now). Mark Millar's views on Supermaan and how would *FIX* him....

On his connection to Batman: "[Superman and Batman are] both orphans. They absolutely understand each other and know that there's nobody else they can count on as much as they other. PS I know Superman isn't an orphan in this dreadful period he's been under seige (from 1986 until Hitchy and I fix him again), but the true understanding of the character is, like Bambi, he loses his Mum and Dad again. All the iconic heroes do whether it's Superman, Bambi or Batman."

On why Bryan Hitch is his ideal Superman collaborator: "Hitchy's even worse than me. Although he looks much older and has trouble sleeping through the night without a piss, Hitchy is only three weeks younger than me. Thus, we grew up on the same Cary Bates Superman comics aged 6-14. Exactly the same comics. We were also 8 years old when we saw Superman and Hitch, like me, can repeat the entire movie line for line. You should hear our daily phone chats. They're a hymn to Superman. Fixing this mess has been our destiny. It'll happen. Not for a while, but it'll happen."

On Clark Kent: "Clark is a pair of glasses. Superman doesn't need glasses. He puts on the glasses for no practical reason; just to dress up and pretend to be this mid-westwern guy he's not as a means of rubbing shoulders with the people on this planet. Superman would have thought he was human until puberty. Until maybe 12. The easiest way to understand it is to think of Jesus in the temple and the moment where his mother has to tell him the truth. He always knew he was different and alone. This is when it was all explained to him. He could still love his parents, but Clark is him trying to understand what humans are all about. As Elliot Maggin puts it, Clark Kent is a living, breathing work of art."

On Lois Lane: "Superman doesn't love Lois. Clark loves Lois and Superman tries HARD to love Lois, but he can't because she's the wrong species. But he tries. Again, Maggin sums it up beautifully. It doesn't have to be complicated... Clark loves Lois, Lois loves Superman, Superman loves Clark [...] Perfect. This is also one of the reasons Superman shouldn't be married to Lois. It's just stupid. It makes no sense and destroys the whole dynamic. Superman is God, Jor-El is the Holy Spirit and Clark Kent is Jesus. The Kents are Mary and Joseph and Lois is Mary Magdelene. She's the NYC girl who's ____ed her way around the city and found nobody who measures up. She's just had it with men and is focusing on her career... then Superman shows up. This is why Margot Kidder was perfect for the role and why Lois should be played by someone around 30 even if Supes is being played by a 25 year old. You'll see what I mean when we fix it."

On the current version of the character: "[Kingdom Come] is close to perfect. Waid gets it. None of the other American writers do, though Loeb comes close. His only weakness is getting caught up in the whole farmboy thing. The farm is where he grew up and knew he was NOTHING LIKE THESE PEOPLE. He affects it for the Clark persona, but that's it. He's as Kryptonian as Jesus is divine. Did Jesus shag Mary Mag? I don't think so. Superman should never shag Lois. It's insane and what happens when artists start touching tyoewriters. Jimmy is the reader-identification figure and the comedy relief. PS I'm saving everything else for the launch. No other ideas from me here, I'm afraid, in case some ____ nicks em."

On mixing metaphors: "No brimstone for Superman. He's interesting enough without it. He sees Earth the way immigrants saw America 100 years ago. He sees a chance for hope and a new life after losing his homeland as a kid. He loves people because he recognizes their great potential and, like Krypton, he wants to encourage them towards the Utopia his father sent him from. Forget Byrne. Read the Bible."

On the previous pitch Millar had made with Grant Morrison, Mark Waid and Tom Peyer: "The pitch we did was very late 90s and all the things I WOULDN'T do if Superman was being revamped now. It was nice, but it was the whole retro 60s thing that Grant's into as opposed to what I'd want to do myself. This thing was pretty good, but would be absolutely wrong for now. It still had Superman married to Lois and all that ____. There was another draft Mark Waid added with Earth getting a mind-wipe to forget that stuff and it had some nice touches, but I'd just start from scratch."

On how close Superman is to humanity: "Humans were apes less than 50 million years ago. Kryptonians are what we'd be like in 20 billion years. I have this all worked out as part of the proposal. In the last two years, I've filled two entire ring-binders with the plan. There's some AMAZING stuff in here. Hitch has also been doing little design doodles for the last five years. It's fate that we met."


This was Millar in an interview from 2004. I found this on newsarama which was originally from MILLARWORLD. It's a wizard interview.

 

[dark_b]

The WB should just sell part of their company, offer 20% of profit and another 60 million per film to bring on Spielberg

if we want spielberg then superman needs to go to dreamworks. ohhh and Shia needs to be a fan. if Shia is interested then spielberg is interested heheheheh .
shia needs to be interested in playing Jimmy. ehhhh who are we kidding .he is to big now for such a small role

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Is this what you're looking for JcDC?

Spoiler

This is from Millarworld itself. (Don't have the link now). Mark Millar's views on Supermaan and how would *FIX* him....

On his connection to Batman: "[Superman and Batman are] both orphans. They absolutely understand each other and know that there's nobody else they can count on as much as they other. PS I know Superman isn't an orphan in this dreadful period he's been under seige (from 1986 until Hitchy and I fix him again), but the true understanding of the character is, like Bambi, he loses his Mum and Dad again. All the iconic heroes do whether it's Superman, Bambi or Batman."

On why Bryan Hitch is his ideal Superman collaborator: "Hitchy's even worse than me. Although he looks much older and has trouble sleeping through the night without a piss, Hitchy is only three weeks younger than me. Thus, we grew up on the same Cary Bates Superman comics aged 6-14. Exactly the same comics. We were also 8 years old when we saw Superman and Hitch, like me, can repeat the entire movie line for line. You should hear our daily phone chats. They're a hymn to Superman. Fixing this mess has been our destiny. It'll happen. Not for a while, but it'll happen."

On Clark Kent: "Clark is a pair of glasses. Superman doesn't need glasses. He puts on the glasses for no practical reason; just to dress up and pretend to be this mid-westwern guy he's not as a means of rubbing shoulders with the people on this planet. Superman would have thought he was human until puberty. Until maybe 12. The easiest way to understand it is to think of Jesus in the temple and the moment where his mother has to tell him the truth. He always knew he was different and alone. This is when it was all explained to him. He could still love his parents, but Clark is him trying to understand what humans are all about. As Elliot Maggin puts it, Clark Kent is a living, breathing work of art."

On Lois Lane: "Superman doesn't love Lois. Clark loves Lois and Superman tries HARD to love Lois, but he can't because she's the wrong species. But he tries. Again, Maggin sums it up beautifully. It doesn't have to be complicated... Clark loves Lois, Lois loves Superman, Superman loves Clark [...] Perfect. This is also one of the reasons Superman shouldn't be married to Lois. It's just stupid. It makes no sense and destroys the whole dynamic. Superman is God, Jor-El is the Holy Spirit and Clark Kent is Jesus. The Kents are Mary and Joseph and Lois is Mary Magdelene. She's the NYC girl who's ____ed her way around the city and found nobody who measures up. She's just had it with men and is focusing on her career... then Superman shows up. This is why Margot Kidder was perfect for the role and why Lois should be played by someone around 30 even if Supes is being played by a 25 year old. You'll see what I mean when we fix it."

On the current version of the character: "[Kingdom Come] is close to perfect. Waid gets it. None of the other American writers do, though Loeb comes close. His only weakness is getting caught up in the whole farmboy thing. The farm is where he grew up and knew he was NOTHING LIKE THESE PEOPLE. He affects it for the Clark persona, but that's it. He's as Kryptonian as Jesus is divine. Did Jesus shag Mary Mag? I don't think so. Superman should never shag Lois. It's insane and what happens when artists start touching tyoewriters. Jimmy is the reader-identification figure and the comedy relief. PS I'm saving everything else for the launch. No other ideas from me here, I'm afraid, in case some ____ nicks em."

On mixing metaphors: "No brimstone for Superman. He's interesting enough without it. He sees Earth the way immigrants saw America 100 years ago. He sees a chance for hope and a new life after losing his homeland as a kid. He loves people because he recognizes their great potential and, like Krypton, he wants to encourage them towards the Utopia his father sent him from. Forget Byrne. Read the Bible."

On the previous pitch Millar had made with Grant Morrison, Mark Waid and Tom Peyer: "The pitch we did was very late 90s and all the things I WOULDN'T do if Superman was being revamped now. It was nice, but it was the whole retro 60s thing that Grant's into as opposed to what I'd want to do myself. This thing was pretty good, but would be absolutely wrong for now. It still had Superman married to Lois and all that ____. There was another draft Mark Waid added with Earth getting a mind-wipe to forget that stuff and it had some nice touches, but I'd just start from scratch."

On how close Superman is to humanity: "Humans were apes less than 50 million years ago. Kryptonians are what we'd be like in 20 billion years. I have this all worked out as part of the proposal. In the last two years, I've filled two entire ring-binders with the plan. There's some AMAZING stuff in here. Hitch has also been doing little design doodles for the last five years. It's fate that we met."


This was Millar in an interview from 2004. I found this on newsarama which was originally from MILLARWORLD. It's a wizard interview.

That is it, thanks!

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

if we want spielberg then superman needs to go to dreamworks. ohhh and Shia needs to be a fan. if Shia is interested then spielberg is interested heheheheh .
shia needs to be interested in playing Jimmy. ehhhh who are we kidding .he is to big now for such a small role

Can you imagine how well a Spielberg directed Superman would do

 

[SatEL]

Now before you all groan with the old news statement, I assure you this is quite new.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entert...ast-of-hollywood-after-wanted-86908-20621161/



Even if this falls through, I still find it very interesting that WB is so willing to accept new pitches. Then Millar posted this on his message board.

http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=82235

Just reading his statements I can detect he has a lot of passion for Superman and would put his soul into making one hell of a film. Isnt this his second pitch, hopefully with a decent director behind him WB will pay attention. I say we give him a chance reboot all the way.

 

[bunk]

Ratner???!

Hahaha! Can you imagine how pissed Singer would be? Ratner would be to Singer, the way Kenny Bania is to Seinfeld.

I wonder this Christmas deadline is coming from. I feel like if the sequel isn't greenlit by then, it won't be happening. They should be into production by then if they're filming early in '09, right?

 

[dark_b]

Can you imagine how well a Spielberg directed Superman would do

it would be a dream IMO.
but SB only needs to be the producer. spielberg would never allow to produce a movie to bomb. he will make sure that it is for the masses and that it makes money.
i still think spielberg made sure that bay was on the right track

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Just reading his statements I can detect he has a lot of passion for Superman and would put his soul into making one hell of a film. Isnt this his second pitch, hopefully with a decent director behind him WB will pay attention. I say we give him a chance reboot all the way.

I'm all for a reboot, but not with Millar writing. A lot of his view I don't agree with.



On Clark Kent: "Clark is a pair of glasses. Superman doesn't need glasses. He puts on the glasses for no practical reason; just to dress up and pretend to be this mid-westwern guy he's not as a means of rubbing shoulders with the people on this planet. Superman would have thought he was human until puberty. Until maybe 12. The easiest way to understand it is to think of Jesus in the temple and the moment where his mother has to tell him the truth. He always knew he was different and alone. This is when it was all explained to him. He could still love his parents, but Clark is him trying to understand what humans are all about. As Elliot Maggin puts it, Clark Kent is a living, breathing work of art."

On Lois Lane: "Superman doesn't love Lois. Clark loves Lois and Superman tries HARD to love Lois, but he can't because she's the wrong species. But he tries. Again, Maggin sums it up beautifully. It doesn't have to be complicated... Clark loves Lois, Lois loves Superman, Superman loves Clark [...] Perfect. This is also one of the reasons Superman shouldn't be married to Lois. It's just stupid. It makes no sense and destroys the whole dynamic. Superman is God, Jor-El is the Holy Spirit and Clark Kent is Jesus. The Kents are Mary and Joseph and Lois is Mary Magdelene. She's the NYC girl who's ____ed her way around the city and found nobody who measures up. She's just had it with men and is focusing on her career... then Superman shows up. This is why Margot Kidder was perfect for the role and why Lois should be played by someone around 30 even if Supes is being played by a 25 year old. You'll see what I mean when we fix it."

On the current version of the character: "[Kingdom Come] is close to perfect. Waid gets it. None of the other American writers do, though Loeb comes close. His only weakness is getting caught up in the whole farmboy thing. The farm is where he grew up and knew he was NOTHING LIKE THESE PEOPLE. He affects it for the Clark persona, but that's it. He's as Kryptonian as Jesus is divine. Did Jesus shag Mary Mag? I don't think so. Superman should never shag Lois. It's insane and what happens when artists start touching tyoewriters. Jimmy is the reader-identification figure and the comedy relief. PS I'm saving everything else for the launch. No other ideas from me here, I'm afraid, in case some ____ nicks em."

 

[SatEL]

Eh, from what I can remember I wasn't all that agreeable with his vision of Superman. Can someone post the info where Mark goes in depth on his view of the man in blue?

It cant be as bad as Singers can it?

 

[dark_b]

Just reading his statements I can detect he has a lot of passion for Superman and would put his soul into making one hell of a film. Isnt this his second pitch, hopefully with a decent director behind him WB will pay attention. I say we give him a chance reboot all the way.

he is iMO acting like a 13 yr old comoicbook superman fan.

 

[stargazer]

You don't think Singer can deliver a badass sequel? Me, I just want him back on the big screen whether it's a reboot or sequel

Uh? Of course I WANT Singer back; I think he has it in him to deliver a badass sequel. I have no doubt. And more importantly, he has a real passion for the character, which is very important to me. What I meant is that although I loved the Christ comparison to Supes in SR, I think he (Singer) shouldn't go as heavy on that for the sequel. I think Superman definitely fills the role of a saviour, but the comparisons should be more subtle in the sequel.

 

[SatEL]

I'm all for a reboot, but not with Millar writing. A lot of his view I don't agree with.



On Clark Kent: "Clark is a pair of glasses. Superman doesn't need glasses. He puts on the glasses for no practical reason; just to dress up and pretend to be this mid-westwern guy he's not as a means of rubbing shoulders with the people on this planet. Superman would have thought he was human until puberty. Until maybe 12. The easiest way to understand it is to think of Jesus in the temple and the moment where his mother has to tell him the truth. He always knew he was different and alone. This is when it was all explained to him. He could still love his parents, but Clark is him trying to understand what humans are all about. As Elliot Maggin puts it, Clark Kent is a living, breathing work of art."

On Lois Lane: "Superman doesn't love Lois. Clark loves Lois and Superman tries HARD to love Lois, but he can't because she's the wrong species. But he tries. Again, Maggin sums it up beautifully. It doesn't have to be complicated... Clark loves Lois, Lois loves Superman, Superman loves Clark [...] Perfect. This is also one of the reasons Superman shouldn't be married to Lois. It's just stupid. It makes no sense and destroys the whole dynamic. Superman is God, Jor-El is the Holy Spirit and Clark Kent is Jesus. The Kents are Mary and Joseph and Lois is Mary Magdelene. She's the NYC girl who's ____ed her way around the city and found nobody who measures up. She's just had it with men and is focusing on her career... then Superman shows up. This is why Margot Kidder was perfect for the role and why Lois should be played by someone around 30 even if Supes is being played by a 25 year old. You'll see what I mean when we fix it."

On the current version of the character: "[Kingdom Come] is close to perfect. Waid gets it. None of the other American writers do, though Loeb comes close. His only weakness is getting caught up in the whole farmboy thing. The farm is where he grew up and knew he was NOTHING LIKE THESE PEOPLE. He affects it for the Clark persona, but that's it. He's as Kryptonian as Jesus is divine. Did Jesus shag Mary Mag? I don't think so. Superman should never shag Lois. It's insane and what happens when artists start touching tyoewriters. Jimmy is the reader-identification figure and the comedy relief. PS I'm saving everything else for the launch. No other ideas from me here, I'm afraid, in case some ____ nicks em."

Oh ****..........................perhaps I was to quick to jump the gun. His got clark and Superman wrong and his Lois sounds horrible, ****ed her way around the city? WTF Gawdddddddd dammmmmmm.

 

[bunk]

Wtf? Alright, I've lost my interest in Millar writing a Superman movie...

Oh, and I bet Jesus did shag Mary Magdelene.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

It cant be as bad as Singers can it?

I think Singer should have separated from Donner more, but overall gets the character of Superman (cast him well too). His L&C dynamic was off, and he should have went with corporate Lex as that is the preferred interpretation by most fans these days.

Also it is fair to say, by not having a physical villain it certainly created issues with the pacing of the film.

These issues could be resolved in a sequel. He didn't give us a great Superman film, but it was still decent enough to build on imo.

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

Uh? Of course I WANT Singer back; I think he has it in him to deliver a badass sequel. I have no doubt. And more importantly, he has a real passion for the character, which is very important to me. What I meant is that although I loved the Christ comparison to Supes in SR, I think he (Singer) shouldn't go as heavy on that for the sequel. I think Superman definitely fills the role of a saviour, but the comparisons should be more subtle in the sequel.

I agree that I don't want in on such a biblical level, but we will need deeper mythos for his Kryptonian side. Bringing in Brainiac (the always rumored villain) could certainly setup a nice back story.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I hate Millars view of Superman. He should never be let near a Superman film.

IMHO, Spielberg has long since lost his magic when it comes to fantasy films. I think it started with Jurrassic Park for me, a movie, I for the life of me can't understand, why people like so much.

His latest fantasy films:

Jurassic Park: It's good when the dino's are on screen.

The Lost World : Same thing.

Minority Report: Close but no potatos.

War of the Worlds: Decent but the ending is beyond awful.

Indy 4: He wasn't even trying.

To be fair his crappy movies are still better than most directors and (this is really a comentary on how bad things in hollywood are) he still is one of the better directors working.

I've never had an overly high opinion of him anyway.

Er I don't want him for a Superman movie. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to do it anyway as he has turned down other projects of it's ilk.

 

[Ita-KalEl]

Here's what Ita-Kalel is referring to....
---
February 18, 2004

But comic book writer Mark Millar claims production on Superman is a no-go. He posted the following on his message board...

Trust me, McG is not getting anywhere NEAR this ****ing thing. He (and others) are talking about this as a means of rejigging their careers. No actress is being seriously considered for Lois and nobody is being auditioned for Supes because there is NO MOVIE, folks. Here's the scoop...

The movie is already something like 50 mill in debt because of all the false-starts. It's a HUGE problem because they want big stars, big effects and a big budget and this would push you to the 250, 300 million mark. This ain't gonna happen, especially with someone as choppy as McG and that ****ing awful script kicking around. A chum of mine, like I've said, has been making calls and taking meetings very quietly, has a few things he has to finish first and plans to get moving on this around 2006. Believe NONE of this bull**** you're reading because Beyonce, etc, etc, is just all pish. The real deal is still two years away from even seriously starting work on this so the flick isn't going to be seen until around 2007 at the earliest. There'll be possibly two Batman pics before the next Superman.

Source:http://www.superherohype.com/news/supermannews.php?id=869

Good job Retroman!
This is what we needed to understand the words of Millar.
IMO it's clear that the director is the same, and that he was probably refused by the WB.

Nevertheless he is not a good prophet.

 

[Sam]

Now before you all groan with the old news statement, I assure you this is quite new.

Really, ppl. I dont mind a bit on Millar Take on Superman. Actually, i would LOVE to see his take on the character.

I believe he can do a good work on this. At least, Warner should listen the proposal. I think a lot of ppl would be surprised (ina good way) by this.

 

[Retroman]

I'm not really excited about Millar writing a Superman movie especially after reading that.

In an recent interview he even said that Superman's time has passed. Now he wants to make a movie?

‘Producers buy a project on a title, a blurb and an image’
‘The film side is just a hobby. the comic is the real job’
Mark Millar Interview

Comment | Read Comments (1)
TIME MAY slow, stretch and even rewind in the world of comic-book superheroes, but in ours its passage is measured and boringly linear. So not even Kryptonite can stop Superman clocking up 70 of our earth years this month, or prevent Batman reaching the same milestone next May. Even their younger, sassier cohorts are now well into their 40s. Age shall not wither them on the page - nor even fray their Spandex suits - but in the real world they no longer have the appeal they once did. All of which raises the question: when does it come time to retire a superhero?

For Glasgow-based comic book writer Mark Millar, who has worked with these and many other characters over the years, the answer is: now. The older superheroes are reaching the end of their useful life, he thinks, and need to make way for a younger generation which is less two-dimensional and more human.

"It's sad, because I love those characters, but it's over really. Batman's hanging on - just - because they've got a brilliant team of people working on it. But the last Batman film Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins didn't do even a third of the business that Tim Burton's 1989 one did. It just didn't have the same cultural impact."

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The characters created by New York-based Marvel Comics in the 1960s - titles such as Spider‑Man, The Fantastic Four, Hulk and The X‑Men - are all still doing well in print, and some of them, Spider-Man in particular, have succesfully made the transition from page to screen. But, adds Millar, when it comes to making that all-important leap: "Marvel know they're down to the B-list characters now, and so do the film studios."

A film version of Iron Man has just been released starring Robert Downey Jr, and is doing well at the box office, but few people had even heard of the character a month ago. Meanwhile Thor, another relatively minor Marvel character, is also being prepared for the screen. Trainspotting's Kevin McKidd is one of the names rumoured to be in the frame for the title role.

This glut of comic book-based films will continue for some years, with Spider-Man 4 due out in 2009 and Iron Man 2 the year after. But Millar, who worked as executive producer on Iron Man, sees the wave peaking around 2013. After that, the 1960s creations will have had their day and Hollywood film producers will be bringing new characters to the screen. Given the four-to-five-year gestation period of a blockbuster movie, that means they are already vying for the next big thing.

Ready to give it to them are people like Mark Millar, with such characters as The Killer, Kick-Ass and - wait for it - ****head.

"What producers do now is snap up material before others can get their hands on it," says the 38-year-old. "They'll buy a project based on just a title, a blurb and an image." And if they smell what the business calls "high concept", they will go into a feeding frenzy.

Millar should know, having sold the film rights to his comic book series Wanted before the first edition was even in the shops. That was in 2004. The screen version is released this week and stars Scottish actor James McAvoy alongside Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. McAvoy plays Wesley Gibson, a downtrodden twentysomething who is first horrified and then delighted to learn that the father he never knew was actually a member of a supervillain fraternity with the alter-ego of The Killer. ****head is the sidekick of rival villain Dr Rictus, though sadly he doesn't make the screen version.

Then there's Kick-Ass, another Millar creation. It was only published in April but it too is being turned into a film, with Matthew Vaughn directing. Millar is keeping tight-lipped about the film's casting - "It's two huge names, though. One's an old actor from the 1970s and one's a cool, young one" - but says filming begins in New York in a couple of months.

Finally there's War Heroes, a new comic to be published later this month. Millar describes it as Full Metal Jacket meets The X-Men and says he's already had two offers to buy the film rights.

"It's set a couple of years in the future. John McCain has just won the election and the war in the Gulf is getting bigger, so they give the troops superpower pills. That gets all the young American kids signing up to fight the Iraqis."

Millar's friend Frank Miller is another whose characters have been propelled into our cinemas. His comic series Sin City was filmed in 2005 and starred Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson and Benicio del Toro among others. In 2007 his comic 300, which told the story of the Battle of Thermopylae from the point of view of the Spartans, came to the screen with Gerard Butler, another Scottish actor, playing the Spartan king Leonidas. As fast as they can write them, Hollywood seems ready to devour them "Everything gets optioned, even the absolute rubbish," says Millar. "There are hundreds of books out every month, and a lot of them are new books, but anything gets optioned just in case it looks any good. Of course, that means it can lie for years with nothing being done to it."

The great boon for creators like Mark Millar is that he owns the rights to his characters under his own company, Millarworld. Given the kudos attached to his name and the hunger in Hollywood for good new material, he stands to make a considerable amount of money over the next few years as producers fight over his work. But, he warns, there are dangers in trying to second-guess the market.

"You lose the things that made you different in the first place. Any time I write something I do it primarily for myself. If something entertains me, then hopefully it will entertain other people.

"I know my stuff probably will be bought as a film and that's a lovely position to be in, but I see the film side as just a hobby, not the real job. A film is something that's done with 300 other people. The comic is just me and the artist. It's more personal."

Millar is currently writing The Fantastic Four and Wolverine for Marvel and the company have asked him to re-vamp The X-Men next year. Naturally they want to hang on to one of their star writers, even as he issues warnings about their stable's long-term health. Will he stay?

"I had been planning to drift off from them because of these opportunities that are happening now with my own characters. To me that seems like the future now. The idea of doing the characters I loved as a kid is incredibly satisfying, but I also think it would be nice to add some new stuff to the pot."

In the immediate future the lure of the old stuff is too strong, however, and Millar has signed up for another two years' work. After that, the new stuff is where his heart is.

The world has turned, then, and the superheroes of the 20th century find their powers diminishing. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man and the rest will soon cede the field to newcomers who are already swirling around in the popular consciousness. Which of them will become the defining superheroes of the 21st century? It's too early to tell. But whoever it is, let's hope they wear their pants inside their trousers.

Wanted, based on Mark Millar's comic book series, is out on Wednesday

THE MIGHTY THOR
Real name: Thor, son of Odin, brother of Loki etc
First sighting: 1962
Backstory: Blond Norse god wearing special belt cracks heads with war hammer called Mjolnir
Marvel nearly went bankrupt in the late 1990s, so you could say they had nothing to lose when they trusted me to reinvent Thor along with Iron Man, Captain America and The Hulk.

Thor has worked out now, but he was always one of those characters who was never A-list, like the Fantastic Four or Spiderman. He was always one of those characters who never quite hit the 
big time.

What was obvious to me when they asked me to reinvent him was that nobody had any identification with him, because he was clearly a god and spoke in that faux-Shakespearean voice. So I tried to humanise him. I made him a guy who is a real person, living in the real world, who has a nervous breakdown and then thinks he's the son of Odin.

"From then on he becomes an environmental campaigner and a conspiracy theorist, and we as the readers don't even know if he's the real deal or not. I based him on David Icke.

I put Thor and the other characters in one book called The Ultimates, and that's formed the basis of the movies. Captain America, Ironman and Hulk have all come from that. Now there's a Thor movie in the works which will probably be out in early 2010. It will be interesting to see how it does in the wake of Lord Of The Rings and all those fantasy films."


SUPERMAN
Real name: Kal-El, also known as Clark Kent
First sighting: 1938
Back story: Infant from planet Krypton lands in Kansas, is adopted and raised as Earth boy, then dons cape to defend humanity and fight evil.

"I grew up wanting to write Superman more than anything in the world. It was my biggest influence and I love it. I have Christopher Reeve's cape hanging in my hall, I'm so into it.

"The Superman story I wrote a few years ago was called Superman: Red Son. The premise was: what if Superman's rocket had landed in the Soviet Union instead of America when he was a baby? What if, instead of growing up believing in truth, justice and the American way, he grew up believing in Stalin and the Five-Year Plan?

"That what if?' theme is one that runs through all my work.

"We think of characters like Superman having always been there, because we grew up with them, but fashions do change. Today, though, I can just see kids' eyes glazing over when they look at Superman. There's nothing there except nostalgia.

"The way these things tend to go is like a parabolic curve. Something starts in print, then it goes on to television, then it reaches its zenith with merchandising and movies and reaches a mass mainsteam audience. Then it starts to go down again. I think Superman has gone through that in terms of its popular appeal.

"I was in Tesco with my family one day and all the kids were playing with these Pirates Of The Caribbean toys. Nobody was even looking at the Superman stuff. Even that costume seems to belong to another era. That was when it really struck me that Superman's time has passed."

Source:http://www.sundayherald.com/arts/arts/display.var.2356200.0.0.php

Hahaha! Can you imagine how pissed Singer would be? Ratner would be to Singer, the way Kenny Bania is to Seinfeld.

up:

 

[\S/JcDc\S/]

I told you guys, Millar may be passionate in loving Superman but make no mistake... His characterization sounds more polarizing than what Singer delivered.

 

[SatEL]

I think Singer should have separated from Donner more, but overall gets the character of Superman (cast him well too). His L&C dynamic was off, and he should have went with corporate Lex as that is the preferred interpretation by most fans these days.

Also it is fair to say, by not having a physical villain it certainly created issues with the pacing of the film.

These issues could be resolved in a sequel. He didn't give us a great Superman film, but it was still decent enough to build on imo.

The whole kid issue IMO is unfixable there isnt a way to get rid of him without changing the tone of the film, Routh was ok in his role. Kate Bosworth sucked hard (I hated her Lois), Lex Luthor is to old I would prefer it if he was closer to Clark and Lois age. I could go on and on on how to improve on any sequels but sadly somethings are set in stone now, and thats why I want a reboot so badly. Singer droped the ball and its rolled on for a few miles and gone.