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http://www.mediablvd.com/magazine/Magazine-Home/MBMag_20060420237.html
By Christina Radish
Courtesy of Media Blvd.
MediaBlvd. Magazine> Can you talk about the next Superman film? Do you have a title or anything?
Bryan Singer> No, I have nothing. I only have ideas.
MB> Can you share any of those?
BS> I cant.
MB> Just a little hint?
BS> Just that I know that there were certain things that were established in Superman Returns, like certain aspects of the characters, the relationships of the characters, certain reveals, and a great sense of unresolve in the romantic dilemma that Superman faces. And, now that the character is established, Id like to take an opportunity to bring in, perhaps, a more threatening, foreboding, terrible element to the story.
MB> Someone from Krypton perhaps?
BS> Perhaps.
MB> Is it hard to walk the line between pleasing the fans of the old Superman and pleasing the new fans?
BS> I would probably take the characters, as they are established now, in Superman Returns and move from there. Having things that are referential and nostalgic are very special and very important to those of us who grew up with the Richard Donner film, as well as George Reeves interpretation of it, and the comic book. There will always be a place in my heart for that. But, this will be the starting place. Like with the first X-Men, I had to find a place to begin to educate people who werent familiar with that universe. Here, theres a whole generation not familiar with Superman, and there was a lot of value in having him return to a version of the Donner universe, but yet still continue it forward. Its always a delicate balance, particularly with a character this steeped in history and this ubiquitous. He means something to so many people, all over the world.
MB> Why did you end up cutting out the great James Karen?
BS> Because, in the final moments, I looked at those sequences, as they were in the picture, between he and Martha Kent and, although they were a wonderful concept -- the notion that Martha Kent, Supermans mother, had moved on, like Lois Lane. It was just too much happening on the Kent farm, and I wasnt getting to the Daily Planet fast enough for my taste. And so, what I ended up doing, in the final weeks before the opening, was removing three key scenes that existed on the farm between Martha Kent, Clark and, ultimately, James Karen, and adding that scene thats in the movie and doing a different transition than I had planned. Originally, I was going to transition from a baseball to the Daily Planet and just cut to the city.
MB> Were you surprised at the grief you picked up over the Truth and justice line that Clark says in the film?
BS> No, not at all. Particularly now, because were at war and the United States is under a lot of scrutiny, people said, Oh, wow, you had him say Truth and justice, but you didnt have him say The American way. I had him say the lead in, so I felt that was very patriotic. Im fiercely patriotic. And, I also have to remind people that, even in 1978, when Superman said, Im here to fight for truth, justice and the American way, they did make humor of it. Lois said, Youre going to end up fighting every politician in Washington, and he said, You dont really mean that, Lois. I think hes a global superhero. Weve opened the picture in various countries and its been extraordinary. If you just say, Truth, justice and the American way, its going to sound strange to people in other parts of the world.
MB> How is the film being received overseas?
BS> Its playing huge, unexpectedly. Weve only opened in 65% of our territories outside of the United States, and weve already crossed the $100 million mark. We had one of the largest openings in China. Its a phenomenon in countries in Europe and Asia. We did not expect that, and thats been exciting. It broke records and made history with $19,000 at the IMAX theater in China, in one day. They ran it around the clock.
MB> Why do you think the characters resonate so well outside of the United States, particularly in China?
BS> Because Superman is the first super hero and he is the ultimate immigrant and because hes, ultimately, a really cool character with great powers, who flies and is very virtuous, and hes been around for 70 years. Something about his iconography has grown. Id like to say theres some Judeo-Christian allegory that also is in play, but that wouldnt explain the success in Asia, as much as it has in Europe. Hes just gotten more famous, over the years.
MB> With all of these super hero characters, like Spider-Man and Batman, back in films at the same time, is there any chance that their worlds might collide?
BS> Eventually, but not now. Not yet. Youre not ready to do that yet. The worlds are so distinct and so different. Sam Raimi has created such a distinct world with Spider-Man, Chris Nolan has re-created such a distinct world with Batman, and we tried to do the same here with Superman, and also, with X-Men. Right now, I wouldnt want to mush those universes together. I think youd dilute them.
MB> Were you told to cut the scene where Clark Kent returns to his home world of Krypton?
BS> I was never forced to cut out anything. Everything I cut and added was my own choice, in terms of editing. Im afforded that kind of freedom now, for better or worse. I had the sequence where Clark returns to the shattered remains of his home world. There were some symbolic moments in it. Its a very majestic sequence that somehow, in stepping back from it and seeing it in the context of the whole film, as wonderful and neat as it was, it felt like it belonged in some kind of 3-D IMAX incarnation of the movie. I didnt feel that it served the central story and thrust of the movie that you saw, so I cut it, very late in the game. I just pulled it out.
MB> Will it be on the DVD?
BS> I dont know if I want to put that on the DVD. I may want to try to re-release the film, possibly in IMAX, in a year, and maybe have them do a more elaborate 3-D process on other aspects that they didnt have time to make 3-D, and then 3-D that sequence as well. That would be a personal fantasy. Whether the numbers make sense or not, well see. Its very expensive to create those IMAX prints. Theyre complicated. But, if we can pull it off, what I would do is create more 3-D material and add that sequence. If you saw the sequence, its just crying out to be 3-D IMAX. Its got fragments of planets and things and a crystal ship and Brandon Routh in a different outfit. Also, it wasnt the first way I wanted to show Superman, either. I stepped back from it and thought it was troublesome enough to have him be so weak and to fall into his mothers arms, but for us to see him in this way first was weakening to me and I didnt want to do that. I wanted to hold you out there, have you get to know Clark, and then have that happen.
MB> It seems like you made a lot of last minute changes to the film.
BS> Very often, I do make radical changes. I believe a film is written three times, once on the page, once on the set, and a third time in the editing room. This film, frankly, was very much together, in the cutting room. I spent about the last three months of shooting, every night, going into the cutting room, and I had a pretty solid version of it. It was just this beginning part of it, with the return to Krypton and too much at the farm. And, there was a subplot that I removed, which was very small, throughout the rest of the picture. But, the picture was moving pretty well. I had a two hour and 45 minute version that I screened for a bunch of friends and family, and that was when I stepped back and said, This movie is front heavy.
MB> What was that subplot?
BS> The subplot was that Lex Luthor was somehow responsible for Superman leaving the Earth, and it involved Kal Penns character a lot more. It broke my heart to cut it because Kal Penn was great, and I had to remove some elements of Kal. These were tiny pieces, but once you removed them all, it kept the story cleaner. There was a different discovery on the farm. And, originally, he didnt read the article in the Daily Planet about why the world doesnt need Superman. Originally, he read it in the basement. So, I think that scene might be on the DVD.
MB> Will you have time to make another film before the Superman sequel, or is your entire focus on that now?
BS> Im going to try to make a small film before that. I did the TV series House. Not only did I direct the pilot for House, but Im an executive producer on it and I directed the first episode, to break in the L.A. crew. House was not a full feature, but it was like a small feature undertaking.
MB> Would you like to return to TV at all?
BS> Yeah, I absolutely would love to. I might make a deal to develop some television, and Id like to go back and direct some House episodes.
MB> And idea when Superman 2 might come out?
BS> It will be released sometime in 2009.
MB> What did Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz think of Superman Returns?
BS> They were very moved, and felt like the torch had been past.
By Christina Radish
Courtesy of Media Blvd.
MediaBlvd. Magazine> Can you talk about the next Superman film? Do you have a title or anything?
Bryan Singer> No, I have nothing. I only have ideas.
MB> Can you share any of those?
BS> I cant.
MB> Just a little hint?
BS> Just that I know that there were certain things that were established in Superman Returns, like certain aspects of the characters, the relationships of the characters, certain reveals, and a great sense of unresolve in the romantic dilemma that Superman faces. And, now that the character is established, Id like to take an opportunity to bring in, perhaps, a more threatening, foreboding, terrible element to the story.
MB> Someone from Krypton perhaps?
BS> Perhaps.
MB> Is it hard to walk the line between pleasing the fans of the old Superman and pleasing the new fans?
BS> I would probably take the characters, as they are established now, in Superman Returns and move from there. Having things that are referential and nostalgic are very special and very important to those of us who grew up with the Richard Donner film, as well as George Reeves interpretation of it, and the comic book. There will always be a place in my heart for that. But, this will be the starting place. Like with the first X-Men, I had to find a place to begin to educate people who werent familiar with that universe. Here, theres a whole generation not familiar with Superman, and there was a lot of value in having him return to a version of the Donner universe, but yet still continue it forward. Its always a delicate balance, particularly with a character this steeped in history and this ubiquitous. He means something to so many people, all over the world.
MB> Why did you end up cutting out the great James Karen?
BS> Because, in the final moments, I looked at those sequences, as they were in the picture, between he and Martha Kent and, although they were a wonderful concept -- the notion that Martha Kent, Supermans mother, had moved on, like Lois Lane. It was just too much happening on the Kent farm, and I wasnt getting to the Daily Planet fast enough for my taste. And so, what I ended up doing, in the final weeks before the opening, was removing three key scenes that existed on the farm between Martha Kent, Clark and, ultimately, James Karen, and adding that scene thats in the movie and doing a different transition than I had planned. Originally, I was going to transition from a baseball to the Daily Planet and just cut to the city.
MB> Were you surprised at the grief you picked up over the Truth and justice line that Clark says in the film?
BS> No, not at all. Particularly now, because were at war and the United States is under a lot of scrutiny, people said, Oh, wow, you had him say Truth and justice, but you didnt have him say The American way. I had him say the lead in, so I felt that was very patriotic. Im fiercely patriotic. And, I also have to remind people that, even in 1978, when Superman said, Im here to fight for truth, justice and the American way, they did make humor of it. Lois said, Youre going to end up fighting every politician in Washington, and he said, You dont really mean that, Lois. I think hes a global superhero. Weve opened the picture in various countries and its been extraordinary. If you just say, Truth, justice and the American way, its going to sound strange to people in other parts of the world.
MB> How is the film being received overseas?
BS> Its playing huge, unexpectedly. Weve only opened in 65% of our territories outside of the United States, and weve already crossed the $100 million mark. We had one of the largest openings in China. Its a phenomenon in countries in Europe and Asia. We did not expect that, and thats been exciting. It broke records and made history with $19,000 at the IMAX theater in China, in one day. They ran it around the clock.
MB> Why do you think the characters resonate so well outside of the United States, particularly in China?
BS> Because Superman is the first super hero and he is the ultimate immigrant and because hes, ultimately, a really cool character with great powers, who flies and is very virtuous, and hes been around for 70 years. Something about his iconography has grown. Id like to say theres some Judeo-Christian allegory that also is in play, but that wouldnt explain the success in Asia, as much as it has in Europe. Hes just gotten more famous, over the years.
MB> With all of these super hero characters, like Spider-Man and Batman, back in films at the same time, is there any chance that their worlds might collide?
BS> Eventually, but not now. Not yet. Youre not ready to do that yet. The worlds are so distinct and so different. Sam Raimi has created such a distinct world with Spider-Man, Chris Nolan has re-created such a distinct world with Batman, and we tried to do the same here with Superman, and also, with X-Men. Right now, I wouldnt want to mush those universes together. I think youd dilute them.
MB> Were you told to cut the scene where Clark Kent returns to his home world of Krypton?
BS> I was never forced to cut out anything. Everything I cut and added was my own choice, in terms of editing. Im afforded that kind of freedom now, for better or worse. I had the sequence where Clark returns to the shattered remains of his home world. There were some symbolic moments in it. Its a very majestic sequence that somehow, in stepping back from it and seeing it in the context of the whole film, as wonderful and neat as it was, it felt like it belonged in some kind of 3-D IMAX incarnation of the movie. I didnt feel that it served the central story and thrust of the movie that you saw, so I cut it, very late in the game. I just pulled it out.
MB> Will it be on the DVD?
BS> I dont know if I want to put that on the DVD. I may want to try to re-release the film, possibly in IMAX, in a year, and maybe have them do a more elaborate 3-D process on other aspects that they didnt have time to make 3-D, and then 3-D that sequence as well. That would be a personal fantasy. Whether the numbers make sense or not, well see. Its very expensive to create those IMAX prints. Theyre complicated. But, if we can pull it off, what I would do is create more 3-D material and add that sequence. If you saw the sequence, its just crying out to be 3-D IMAX. Its got fragments of planets and things and a crystal ship and Brandon Routh in a different outfit. Also, it wasnt the first way I wanted to show Superman, either. I stepped back from it and thought it was troublesome enough to have him be so weak and to fall into his mothers arms, but for us to see him in this way first was weakening to me and I didnt want to do that. I wanted to hold you out there, have you get to know Clark, and then have that happen.
MB> It seems like you made a lot of last minute changes to the film.
BS> Very often, I do make radical changes. I believe a film is written three times, once on the page, once on the set, and a third time in the editing room. This film, frankly, was very much together, in the cutting room. I spent about the last three months of shooting, every night, going into the cutting room, and I had a pretty solid version of it. It was just this beginning part of it, with the return to Krypton and too much at the farm. And, there was a subplot that I removed, which was very small, throughout the rest of the picture. But, the picture was moving pretty well. I had a two hour and 45 minute version that I screened for a bunch of friends and family, and that was when I stepped back and said, This movie is front heavy.
MB> What was that subplot?
BS> The subplot was that Lex Luthor was somehow responsible for Superman leaving the Earth, and it involved Kal Penns character a lot more. It broke my heart to cut it because Kal Penn was great, and I had to remove some elements of Kal. These were tiny pieces, but once you removed them all, it kept the story cleaner. There was a different discovery on the farm. And, originally, he didnt read the article in the Daily Planet about why the world doesnt need Superman. Originally, he read it in the basement. So, I think that scene might be on the DVD.
MB> Will you have time to make another film before the Superman sequel, or is your entire focus on that now?
BS> Im going to try to make a small film before that. I did the TV series House. Not only did I direct the pilot for House, but Im an executive producer on it and I directed the first episode, to break in the L.A. crew. House was not a full feature, but it was like a small feature undertaking.
MB> Would you like to return to TV at all?
BS> Yeah, I absolutely would love to. I might make a deal to develop some television, and Id like to go back and direct some House episodes.
MB> And idea when Superman 2 might come out?
BS> It will be released sometime in 2009.
MB> What did Richard Donner and Tom Mankiewicz think of Superman Returns?
BS> They were very moved, and felt like the torch had been past.
