Ok....what is REALLY canon in the eyes of Zack Snyder?

[Mr. Thing]

Yeah, pretty clear he was joking there.

 

[Wheels]

I would rather the film not be too dark, but as long as Superman himself is not dark, I'm cool.

 

[tomoe]

I hope you guys are right, but I don't take 'but seriously' as meaning his previous statement was a joke; he may be emphasizing his current statement. Here is the link to the original article. It is not in English, so I wouldn't know if there had been a translation issue.

http://postimage.org/image/2v0seslg

 

[Mr. Thing]

I think it was a joke. Anytime anyone says "But seriously..." it's after saying something that's a joke.

Hence the comedic cliche'd line "But seriously, folks..."

 

[Kal-El.9859]

and what's to say that's an accurate translation??

 

[KRIM]

I hope you guys are right, but I don't take 'but seriously' as meaning his previous statement was a joke; he may be emphasizing his current statement. Here is the link to the original article. It is not in English, so I wouldn't know if there had been a translation issue.

http://postimage.org/image/2v0seslg

Thanks for the link. Verified with my friend who knows a little bit of Polish. A bit more tidbits:

- Zack said that Chris raised the bar for the genre, and he hopes to match that same level of quality with this film
- They are in the process of working out if 3D is right for the movie. Experiments are being done at the moment. (my friend couldn't make out if this referred to shooting in 3D or post-converting)

 

[DorkyFresh]

if they end up going 3D, i hope to god it's not post-coverting

 

[Wheels]

I just don't like Snyder using the word dark. I hope we don't see Superman brooding in the film.

 

[Sabaoth]

Someone on IMDB posted a translation of a Polish Newsweek Snyder interview. It is extremely disturbing to me, especially this bit:

I: Sound promising, but what about story? Do you want "Superman" in an old Richard Donner convention, the comedic Richard Lester version or maybe in this kiddish version, presented by Bryan Singer in "Superman Returns"?

Z: "Superman: Man of Steel" will be a whole new take on that superhero, and it will definitely not resemble Singer's movie, which I find extremely overstylized. My film is gonna be dark and realistic. There even was a moment, when we considered to give up all superpowers. But seriously, it's gonna be a solid, real action movie. Superman will be a real guy, evil will be tangible and Clark Kent will be working in an actual editorial office. These days nobody wants to see stories about plastic superheroes. Besides, why make them when somebody already did a long time ago. Comic book movies have entered a new era: they are unpredictable, epic and often realistic. My "Superman" will fit into these categories.

Realistic is fine, but dark? That's Batman not Superman. They considered giving up all his powers? I'm worried what other outlandish 'considerations' made it through. I also don't see how Singer's Superman was overstylized. Snyder's films are overstylized. Although he may not be talking about the look of the film. Sorry if this has been posted elsewhere already.

Thanks for posting this tomoe, this is real news!

Yes, Snyder is joking about the no powers thing, but everything else is obviously not intended in jest.
It is common for Americans to be more up front with non-English language foreign journalists, assuming no one back home will learn of the story.
Bye, bye traditional costume with trunks...
Farewell Superman who does not kill.....
I think we have something as radical as the much maligned Abram script
in store....
Keep in mind, Superman Returns (which I love) besides sticking to Donnerverse, also stuck with fanboy canon (Jason not withstanding) using the Williams theme, the suit had trunks, etc. but it did not perform as WB wanted it to.
We may not get Nicholas Cage Halloween Superman, but I think they have something in store that does not resemble what we have seen before, yet is instantly recognizable... for example, when someone sees Tom Welling with a black trench coat and a white 'S' scrawled on his chest, no one confused him with Green Lantern or Batman..
Sure, fanboys will be pissed but fanboys don't make a movie a success any more than all the Smallville fans can (and I watch Smallville religiously)...look at Kick Ass...fanboy word of mouth is not very significant!

 

[KRIM]

Turns out someone already did the full translation, it just wasn't fully copied from IMDB:

[N]ewsweek: You are about to shoot new Superman with Christopher Nolan and his screenwriting collaborator David Goyer. Add your name and you've got our times hollywood dream team, much like Lucas, Spielberg and Kasdan were back in the 80's.

nyder: I have to admit it is a project of my dreams and we have great expectations for it. Moreover, studio's and people's expectations are even higher. What Chris and David did to Batman was quite a revelation, so the bar is set pretty high.

N: I imagine you envision this bar in three dimensions...?

Z: Will "Superman: Man of Steel" be shot in 3D is a subject soon to be revealed. We are conducting certain experiment, which will determine the technology we'll be using.

N: Now you have to tell me more about this technology experiment! You just have to!

Z: Ok, but remember it's all in a testing phase. If it works, our "Superman" will blew Hollywood away. 3D is not James Cameron's invention, even though I'm sure he thinks otherwise. 3D movies were massively produced back in the 50's. However, visual effects were kinda modest at the time. So I came up with an idea, that Chris has found very interesting. I want to improve this old 3D technique and shoot our movie in 3D, but on a regular film reel. My visit to London interrupted this experiment for a while, but we are close to achieve what Cameron did in "Avatar" but without computers and digital cameras. I want my movie to look natural, to have this organic tape graininess. I don't want every shot to be color-corrected, digital cameras tend to lose focus. If we succeed, it will be the first professional 3D movie shot on regular cameras. And that will be total revolution.

N: Sound promising, but what about story? Do you want "Superman" in an old Richard Donner convention, the comedic Richard Lester version or maybe in this kiddish version, presented by Bryan Singer in "Superman Returns"?

Z: "Superman: Man of Steel" will be a whole new take on that superhero, and it will definitely not resemble Singer's movie, which I find extremely overstylized. My film is gonna be dark and realistic. There even was a moment, when we considered to give up all superpowers. But seriously, it's gonna be a solid, real action movie. Superman will be a real guy, evil will be tangible and Clark Kent will be working in an actual editorial office. These days nobody wants to see stories about plastic superheroes. Besides, why make them when somebody already did a long time ago. Comic book movies have entered a new era: they are unpredictable, epic and often realistic. My "Superman" will fit into these categories.

__________________________


Very interesting what Snyder is proposing for the 3D. It's a new approach to the tech and it seems to take advantage of the superior look of film as opposed to digital. Hope it works out. Even though I'd still prefer IMAX, I'm intrigued at new prospects of 3D evolving.

 

[Wheels]

I hope they don't make the Superman character dark. I don't want to see Batman with superpowers.

 

[Spaz]

Honestly, the "dark" reads to me like he's referring to the world in which Supes will exist and not Superman himself. As well as the "evil will be tangible" comment.

 

[redhawk23]

Worlds a dark place, superman can be the light. Fits with Jor-El's classic speech.

 

[sf2]

Honestly, the "dark" reads to me like he's referring to the world in which Supes will exist and not Superman himself. As well as the "evil will be tangible" comment.

that's the right thing to do!

 

[Wheels]

Honestly, the "dark" reads to me like he's referring to the world in which Supes will exist and not Superman himself. As well as the "evil will be tangible" comment.

That's what I'm hoping for, taking Superman and putting him in a modern context.

 

[Spaz]

that's the right thing to do!

That's what I'm hoping for, taking Superman and putting him in a modern context.

Agreed.

"Real", "Realistic", "Reality" all seem to be a reoccuring theme in Snyder's comments, that's why I get the impression this is what he's referring to when he mentions "dark". He doesn't mean Supes or even so much the look and feel of the film, but the overall reality Supes exists in. If this movie will be set in our reality, let's face it, our world is not stylized and it's not peaches & cream. It's some real ****ed up things going on and real tangible evils. So it only makes sense that this be incorporated into Supes existence in a modern Superman film.

 

[Wheels]

Agreed.

"Real", "Realistic", "Reality" all seem to be a reoccuring theme in Snyder's comments, that's why I get the impression this is what he's referring to when he mentions "dark". He doesn't mean Supes or even so much the look and feel of the film, but the overall reality Supes exists in. If this movie will be set in our reality, let's face it, our world is not stylized and it's not peaches & cream. It's some real ****ed up things going on and real tangible evils. So it only makes since that this be incorporated into Supes existence in a modern Superman film.

Great post.

 

[Astrodust]

if they end up going 3D, i hope to god it's not post-coverting

There is nothing really wrong with post conversion 3D as far as I know if they have the time to do it right. They also need the right people. Time is something they don't have though.

 

[ElDuderino]

Thanks for posting this tomoe, this is real news!

Yes, Snyder is joking about the no powers thing, but everything else is obviously not intended in jest.
It is common for Americans to be more up front with non-English language foreign journalists, assuming no one back home will learn of the story.
Bye, bye traditional costume with trunks...
Farewell Superman who does not kill.....
I think we have something as radical as the much maligned Abram script
in store....
Keep in mind, Superman Returns (which I love) besides sticking to Donnerverse, also stuck with fanboy canon (Jason not withstanding) using the Williams theme, the suit had trunks, etc. but it did not perform as WB wanted it to.
We may not get Nicholas Cage Halloween Superman, but I think they have something in store that does not resemble what we have seen before, yet is instantly recognizable... for example, when someone sees Tom Welling with a black trench coat and a white 'S' scrawled on his chest, no one confused him with Green Lantern or Batman..
Sure, fanboys will be pissed but fanboys don't make a movie a success any more than all the Smallville fans can (and I watch Smallville religiously)...look at Kick Ass...fanboy word of mouth is not very significant!

That's a real leap of logic there.

I think he just meant it won't be hyper-stylized like SR was. The characters were almost cartoon-like in SR. You couldn't meet that group of people in real life. Reality is much darker, less cartoon-like.

I think what Snyder is saying is you're more likely to see something like Superman dealing with war/genocide in Africa rather than a runaway car with no brakes.

 

[Mr. Thing]

Anyone find his comments about how he's going to film the movie interesting?

I love the sound of that. Not a digital looking film but that kind of real film graininess? Yes please!

 

[ElDuderino]

There is nothing really wrong with post conversion 3D as far as I know if they have the time to do it right. They also need the right people. Time is something they don't have though.

It all looks like crap, post-conversion or not, so it doesn't really matter.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

and it will definitely not resemble Singer's movie, which I find extremely overstylized

Heh. Snyder finding someone else overstylized.

 

[Zack Snyder]

Snyder's personality lends himself to jokes, that in a textual reading could confuse someone who doesn't understand his almost sarcastic additions to statements.

 

[El Payaso]

Heh. Snyder finding someone else overstylized.

I know. I thought the same.