Superman Returns New Dougherty and Harris Interview

[Retroman]

From The Craft of Writing for Film and Television (June 30):

A God With Feelings

Written by Dylan Callaghan

Photo: Albert L. Ortega/
WireImage.com
Michael Dougherty Dan Harris

“We really tried to dig below the surface and get in this guy's head. We didn't want to just tackle the story from an action point of view, where he fights the biggest, baddest guy.”
- Michael Dougherty

It's hard to tell, but Superman Returns scripting partners Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris seem either a little weary or a little embarrassed at having to again explain how they first met. Either is somewhat understandable. “We were both living in New York,” begins Dougherty like a husband at his silver anniversary. “[Superman director] Bryan Singer was friends with both of us, but we didn't know each other. He called up with two individual tickets to the last performance of Cats that included a big cast party after the show.” Though neither was a huge fan of musical theater they attended separately and then hit the party.

“The crowd was essentially split into two camps: members of the production and real Cats superfans,” says Dougherty. “So naturally Dan and I eventually wound up in the middle…sort of making fun of everyone.” In a final romantic comedy-like twist, the two -- still not close friends despite the Broadway bonding -- moved separately to Los Angeles in 2001, inadvertently renting apartments only a block from one another.

Since partnered, the greenhorn duo has been busy, working on films such as Urban Legends 3 and X-Men 2 with Singer. They're already inked for a fistful of new projects, including a remake of Logan's Run and I Lucifer, which Harris will direct and Dougherty will script. During a recent press junket, the two spoke with the Writers Guild of America, west Web site about who's good at what on their team, their newfound aversion to water, and how they worked together to bring the Man of Steel back to Earth.



This film presents an interesting quandary right off the bat in that the story must explain Superman's absence and what's transpired on earth since. Was this your idea from the get-go?

Michael Dougherty: This project is really bizarre in terms of how it occurred.

I know it's been through so many machinations.

Michael Dougherty: The first time it was ever discussed was when Bryan [Singer] and I were in a sound mix for X-Men 2. There were rumors going around that another director was leaving the project, and I think Bryan had gotten a few calls for it. He pulled me aside and said, “I don't think I'm gonna do this Superman movie because they either want to do Batman versus Superman or a remake of the original. But wouldn't it be neat to do a sequel to Richard Donnor's movies, where Superman comes back and everything has changed?”

So it was Bryan's brainchild?

Dan Harris: Yeah, and it's an idea that solves a lot of problems because he's returning to Earth and to audiences at the same time, so it helps set you up to do that.

Michael Dougherty: [But] that was the extent of the [first] conversation. We didn't discuss it again for about a year until we all took a trip to Hawaii in '04.

Photo: 2006 Warner Bros
Brandon Routh in Superman Returns.

Dan Harris: Right before we left the trip we got a call from Warner Bros saying, “Think about Superman.”
Michael Dougherty: Which is a good problem to have, but we found ourselves talking about Superman more than any of the other projects we were actually working on.

Where there any really whacky ideas initially for the basic story?

Michael Dougherty: There were a couple. I think I brought up one that got shot down pretty quick where it would be more like a Peter Pan or Hook- type story, where Superman comes back and Lois is in her 40s or 50s, and he's still young, and that she has a teenage kid or something, but that didn't last very long. I still think it would be neat, but maybe for a comic book.

Taking on such archetypal material, how did you strike the balance between preserving its sacred core and expanding and updating the saga?

Michael Dougherty: Very carefully.

Dan Harris: The three of us agreed to look back at Richard Donner's films as kind of our bible for these characters and environments; what the film felt like and the tone. We were fans first and foremost, so we just asked, as fans, what would we want to see happen and how far do we want to go?

If you were to distill what makes this version distinctive, what would it be?

Michael Dougherty: I would say it's probably the emotional approach that we took to the material. We really tried to dig below the surface and get in this guy's head. We didn't want to just tackle the story from an action point of view, where he fights the biggest, baddest guy. The first thing we talked about was, what if he came back and the love of his life had moved on?

Dan Harris: He's an indestructible man. I mean, bullets bounce off his chest. He's always going to win, no matter what, so there's not gonna be much doubt or excitement for audiences in just that. We wanted to put some obstacles in his way that he couldn't necessarily overcome with his brawn.

Michael Dougherty: We also treated him from a nearly mythological point of view, treating him almost like this god who's come to Earth.

Dan Harris: We treated him as a god with feelings.

Who's good at what on your team?

Michael Dougherty: When we first started working together it was more defined. I'm more the sci-fi, action, horror nut. Dan loves black comedies and great dramas. But I think what's happened over time, as we've learned from each other, is that it's more interchangeable.

Dan Harris: We've kind of learned to appreciate each other's taste. By now, if you look at Superman Returns and pick out a scene or a line of dialogue and tried to guess whose it was, you'd be wrong most of the time.

Did any unexpected lessons come from completing this project?

Michael Dougherty: It's interesting, from a technical point of view, I never realized how long it would take to shoot a scene that involves flying or water. I mean, you're a writer, you write this stuff and try and make it as good as possible. But then we found ourselves on set in Sydney, and it would take six hours just to get two shots.

Dan Harris: The scene where Superman's lifting Richard and Lois out of a boat underwater was probably written in two or three lines and took two or three weeks to shoot.

Is this going to affect what you do on the next one?

Dan Harris: I think we're done with water.

Source: http://www.wga.org/subpage.aspx?id=2059

 

[Superman \S/]

Thanks Retroman, great interview.

 

[nogster]

and a great job they did with the story too.....
NOT.

 

[Galactical]

I knew they went in a mythological direction. so thekid's like hercules afterall. I like that because it might mean jason's only going to have piano throwing powers perhaps... we'll see.

Well get help with writing action for next time, guys. You'll need it. Those things called Action comics might be helpful too.

 

[Boiiinng]

I've always thought they sounded too immature to be writing feature-length films, especially of the comic adaptation genre.

 

[Showtime]

The writers seem like class acts, from the small amount of correspondence I have had with Mike D. he has a good head on his shoulders.

Did you just say the writers were to immature to be writing COMIC BOOK MOVIES? Something is wrong about that remark.

 

[J.Howlett]

From X2 to Returns, these guys are class acts. They do the best they can, considering fanboy demands these days.

First and foremost, they have to be respectful to the source material and to themselves. If they're not, whatever they write won't really work.

 

[Showtime]

From X2 to Returns, these guys are class acts. They do the best they can, considering fanboy demands these days.

First and foremost, they have to be respectful to the source material and to themselves. If they're not, whatever they write won't really work.

I thought that the script for X2 was a good read, I am looking forward to checking out the Returns script. I know it inludes the Krypton scene that opens the movie, more Smallville scenes, and I think a scene where Superman saves mountain climbers?

I also thought Imaginary Heroes from Dan Harris was a good read as well.

 

[J.Howlett]

I really want to read the Returns script as well. I've read the novel but that's a whole different animal.

I wonder when it will be available?

 

[Showtime]

I really want to read the Returns script as well. I've read the novel but that's a whole different animal.

I wonder when it will be available?

I haven't started the novel yet but I bought it when it came out. The script is due out this month. I checked Barnes already and was greeted by the script for Da Vinci Code instead.

 

[Steelsheen]

A God With Feelings

Written by Dylan Callaghan


Photo: Albert L. Ortega/
WireImage.com
Michael Dougherty Dan Harris

“We really tried to dig below the surface and get in this guy's head. We didn't want to just tackle the story from an action point of view, where he fights the biggest, baddest guy.”
- Michael Dougherty

It's hard to tell, but Superman Returns scripting partners Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris seem either a little weary or a little embarrassed at having to again explain how they first met. Either is somewhat understandable. “We were both living in New York,” begins Dougherty like a husband at his silver anniversary. “[Superman director] Bryan Singer was friends with both of us, but we didn't know each other. He called up with two individual tickets to the last performance of Cats that included a big cast party after the show.” Though neither was a huge fan of musical theater they attended separately and then hit the party.

“The crowd was essentially split into two camps: members of the production and real Cats superfans,” says Dougherty. “So naturally Dan and I eventually wound up in the middle…sort of making fun of everyone.” In a final romantic comedy-like twist, the two -- still not close friends despite the Broadway bonding -- moved separately to Los Angeles in 2001, inadvertently renting apartments only a block from one another.

Since partnered, the greenhorn duo has been busy, working on films such as Urban Legends 3 and X-Men 2 with Singer. They're already inked for a fistful of new projects, including a remake of Logan's Run and I Lucifer, which Harris will direct and Dougherty will script. During a recent press junket, the two spoke with the Writers Guild of America, west Web site about who's good at what on their team, their newfound aversion to water, and how they worked together to bring the Man of Steel back to Earth.



This film presents an interesting quandary right off the bat in that the story must explain Superman's absence and what's transpired on earth since. Was this your idea from the get-go?

Michael Dougherty: This project is really bizarre in terms of how it occurred.

I know it's been through so many machinations.

Michael Dougherty: The first time it was ever discussed was when Bryan [Singer] and I were in a sound mix for X-Men 2. There were rumors going around that another director was leaving the project, and I think Bryan had gotten a few calls for it. He pulled me aside and said, “I don't think I'm gonna do this Superman movie because they either want to do Batman versus Superman or a remake of the original. But wouldn't it be neat to do a sequel to Richard Donnor's movies, where Superman comes back and everything has changed?”

So it was Bryan's brainchild?

Dan Harris: Yeah, and it's an idea that solves a lot of problems because he's returning to Earth and to audiences at the same time, so it helps set you up to do that.

Michael Dougherty: [But] that was the extent of the [first] conversation. We didn't discuss it again for about a year until we all took a trip to Hawaii in '04.


Photo: 2006 Warner Bros
Brandon Routh in Superman Returns.

Dan Harris: Right before we left the trip we got a call from Warner Bros saying, “Think about Superman.”
Michael Dougherty: Which is a good problem to have, but we found ourselves talking about Superman more than any of the other projects we were actually working on.

Where there any really whacky ideas initially for the basic story?

Michael Dougherty: There were a couple. I think I brought up one that got shot down pretty quick where it would be more like a Peter Pan or Hook- type story, where Superman comes back and Lois is in her 40s or 50s, and he's still young, and that she has a teenage kid or something, but that didn't last very long. I still think it would be neat, but maybe for a comic book.

Taking on such archetypal material, how did you strike the balance between preserving its sacred core and expanding and updating the saga?

Michael Dougherty: Very carefully.

Dan Harris: The three of us agreed to look back at Richard Donner's films as kind of our bible for these characters and environments; what the film felt like and the tone. We were fans first and foremost, so we just asked, as fans, what would we want to see happen and how far do we want to go?

If you were to distill what makes this version distinctive, what would it be?

Michael Dougherty: I would say it's probably the emotional approach that we took to the material. We really tried to dig below the surface and get in this guy's head. We didn't want to just tackle the story from an action point of view, where he fights the biggest, baddest guy. The first thing we talked about was, what if he came back and the love of his life had moved on?

Dan Harris: He's an indestructible man. I mean, bullets bounce off his chest. He's always going to win, no matter what, so there's not gonna be much doubt or excitement for audiences in just that. We wanted to put some obstacles in his way that he couldn't necessarily overcome with his brawn.

Michael Dougherty: We also treated him from a nearly mythological point of view, treating him almost like this god who's come to Earth.

Dan Harris: We treated him as a god with feelings.

Who's good at what on your team?

Michael Dougherty: When we first started working together it was more defined. I'm more the sci-fi, action, horror nut. Dan loves black comedies and great dramas. But I think what's happened over time, as we've learned from each other, is that it's more interchangeable.

Dan Harris: We've kind of learned to appreciate each other's taste. By now, if you look at Superman Returns and pick out a scene or a line of dialogue and tried to guess whose it was, you'd be wrong most of the time.

Did any unexpected lessons come from completing this project?

Michael Dougherty: It's interesting, from a technical point of view, I never realized how long it would take to shoot a scene that involves flying or water. I mean, you're a writer, you write this stuff and try and make it as good as possible. But then we found ourselves on set in Sydney, and it would take six hours just to get two shots.

Dan Harris: The scene where Superman's lifting Richard and Lois out of a boat underwater was probably written in two or three lines and took two or three weeks to shoot.

Is this going to affect what you do on the next one?

Dan Harris: I think we're done with water.

well that explains a great deal.

ok i take back what i said. i dont want to strangle these two guys anymore. they were just doing a task that was set before them.\

i want to strangle Singer

 

[Whack Arnolds]

well that explains a great deal.

ok i take back what i said. i dont want to strangle these two guys anymore. they were just doing a task that was set before them.\

i want to strangle Singer

Yes, exactly. God forbid if Singer had gotten ahold of Superman v.s. Batman and actually butchered my favorite character of all time, AS WELL as superman. He probably would have wrote an extra special sensitive story, where the climax is batman making out with superman.

 

[lazur]

well that explains a great deal.

ok i take back what i said. i dont want to strangle these two guys anymore. they were just doing a task that was set before them.\

i want to strangle Singer

Most of us actually liked the movie. Those of you who didn't seem to keep forgetting that.

 

[Steelsheen]

Most of us actually liked the movie. Those of you who didn't seem to keep forgetting that.

hey i liked the movie. i've seen it 4x already. but just because i like something doesnt mean i'm blind to its faults.

and dont worry, i dont ask any of you guys to strangle Singer, like the movie or not. i will take the sordid task right by my lonesome.

 

[Steelsheen]

Yes, exactly. God forbid if Singer had gotten ahold of Superman v.s. Batman and actually butchered my favorite character of all time, AS WELL as superman. He probably would have wrote an extra special sensitive story,

that's part of the reason why i'm a little ambivalent for Singer handling the WF movie. sure he couild give the movie the gravitas it needs, but it may be a little way over his head. he cant get one superhero right, let alone two, and spcially on a movie like this where you need to get each character as accurately as they are yet strike a balance where they complement each other and not one overpowering the other (case in point: The Riddler and Two-Face in Batman Forever)

 

[charl_huntress]

well that explains a great deal.

ok i take back what i said. i dont want to strangle these two guys anymore. they were just doing a task that was set before them.\

i want to strangle Singer

 

[Robin91939]

This may seem like a stupid question....but are Dan and Mike like "together"? I've never heard if they were out, or straight...so I was just wondering.

-R

 

[Whack Arnolds]

This may seem like a stupid question....but are Dan and Mike like "together"? I've never heard if they were out, or straight...so I was just wondering.

-R

Just look at their pictures up there at the top of the page, and you tell me.

 

[nosebleed.]

Just look at their pictures up there at the top of the page, and you tell me.

bigot much?

 

[Whack Arnolds]

bigot much?

Where would you get that from my statement? lol

I didn't say I hate people of the homosexual persuasion. I said it is obvious they are homosexuals. Projecting much?

 

[Thunder Emperor]

man singer needs to be strangled and should never touch worlds finest.

 

[charl_huntress]

man singer needs to be strangled and should never touch worlds finest.

Yeah, I'm dying to see an EMO Batman...that's going to be the awesome Perhaps him and Supes will shed a tear together...

 

[DorkyFresh]

Yeah, I'm dying to see an EMO Batman...

but...i thought Batman IS emo...

 

[charl_huntress]

but...i thought Batman IS emo...

Let Singer get ahold of him and he'll be crying like a ***** thoughout WF (WB please don't let Singer near that) for sure. He'll shed a tear before every grapple swing...guaranteed

 

[Whack Arnolds]

Let Singer get ahold of him and he'll be crying like a ***** thoughout WF (WB please don't let Singer near that) for sure. He'll shed a tear before every grapple swing...guaranteed

Seriously. People get confused with Batman being a dark soul, for being a idiotic, gothic, hot topic shipping, wrist slitting, emo punk.