Superman Reboot Writers Workshop

ouch the guard did u have it backed up somewhere. when ever i am doing anything on my laptop i like to email myself a copy of it in the rare case something would happen to my desktop and all that.

Anorexicbatman sounds like an interesting idea, if you develop it more i would love to take a gander at it.
 
I think so. It's just annoying. I'm taking the computer in this Saturday. Bah. It's a moot point. Two days of solid work and I can have an even better script worked up. I'm just, as I said, annoyed.
 
how far in are you venom's dad?
I'm about a third into it. I have been delayed by other priorities. I truely hope to have it complete soon. Hope you read, enjoy, and critique(good or bad)... it's very imaginable. :O
 
ok yea i was just wondering were you were at it, and we all know everyone has their own real life stuff to deal with it. be it work or family stuff that prevents you from doing other things u want to do and all that. Just keep us updated and you too guard.
 
I didn't complete my script because in part, I was bummed out on the status or lack there of on a new Superman movie.

The original script'ment I was working on, was my way to have a sequel that connects with SR but also put back some Krypton elements, and modernize Luthor.
Now I would probably use some of the same story ideas, but I would just go ahead and write it for a total reboot in mind.

I would need the spare time to do this, which I don't currently have. Considering I may be the only one to ever read it, dunno if it is worth the time lol.
 
just for fun probably lots of folks do that. Heck i have a few friends who are writers(just for fun) and dont ever do anything really with a script they make, unless they decide to shoot it on video like a short film deal.
 
So what's the likelihood of an amateur writer actually getting there script picked up by Hollywood? Just curious, like is there even a remote possibility or should you really just do it for fun?
 
So what's the likelihood of an amateur writer actually getting there script picked up by Hollywood? Just curious, like is there even a remote possibility or should you really just do it for fun?
It's all about who you know. Start small and network. A friend of mine who has no connections has been getting on-set gigs from Craigslist, then getting to know the director and producer, who keep her in mind for future projects. Right now she's working on a script for an actor who has a development deal with Lifetime. (Neither of us watch Lifetime, but it's a start. Hopefully it won't end up as cheesy as your typical Lifetime movie.) It helps that she's hardworking, creative, very intelligent, and hasn't been able to find a job after getting her JD. :funny:

If you truly want to get a script picked up by Hollywood, starting out with a well-known superhero franchise probably isn't the best option. That's because those movies are big studio products, and they'll require more connections (especially with the director/producer/big studio honcho) than anything else.
 
So what's the likelihood of an amateur writer actually getting there script picked up by Hollywood? Just curious, like is there even a remote possibility or should you really just do it for fun?

You won't even get your toe in the door starting out with an established property.
 
yea if u dont have connections its probably going to go no where fast.
 
To even pitch a movie like Superman you would have to have original screenplays that have been bought by a studio to produce. It would also help to have at least one of your scripts produced as a movie, but for a big project like Superman you most likely would need more than that. Sometimes writers can get away with no big credits to their name but they have done a lot of uncredited rewrites for films. A good example of this would be Alex Tse the man who wrote Watchmen. He only had Sucker Free City produced as a movie but had a lot of other scripts that he wrote before that. He also did a lot of uncredited rewrites on movies like House of Wax (2005 Film), Step Up and Step Up 2 the Streets. Another example of this would be Kieran and Michele Mulroney the couple who wrote Justice League: Mortal. Supposedly they had scripts written before but what got them the job to write the movie was because they did some good work on an uncredited rewrite for Mr. And Mrs. Smith. But again these things don’t happen all the time for big productions like Superman.
 
Ideally I would like a MOS Superman sequel and the a JL movie (minus Batman) with Brandon Routh been Superman in both. But I know now that won't happen so for the reboot I would do something along these lines (I made the titles what they are like MOS, LSOK, etc to fit the theme of the movie):

SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF STEEL

Villains: Lex Luthor, Mettallo (John Corben)

The movie starts off in Smallville with Clark Kent aged 17 saving the town from a tornado when he returns home his parents the Kent’s are in the storm cellar. The next day Jonathan Kent takes Clark back to the storm cellar and reveals under a trap door a rocket ship. Jonathan then explains to Clark that he’s not from around here and that he came here in the rocket ship. He the gives Clark the box that came with the ship and when he touches it he sees a vision of krypton his birth parents Jor-El and Lara appear and explain to him his origins. He storms off but returns when he discovers he can fly, he loves his parents and is no longer upset over the news.

We are now in Metropolis 5 years later and we are in the bullpen with Perry White and Clark Kent, Lois Lane storms in and starts having a row with Perry on why she has to cover a Lex Luthor conference on his new creation a prototype suit (kind of like Iron Man’s costume). Perry introduces her to Clark and tells Lois she has to take Clark with her, she is reluctant, during this scene Lois will leave without Clark and we will also meet Jimmy Olsen. When Lois arrives at the conference Clark is already there, she asks him how he got there so fast and he states that he ran. Lois laughs it off and assumes it’s a joke, Clark smiles. A video is shown of the battlesuit in action when worn by a person i.e. firing weapons from the arms etc. The conference ensues along with a test of Lex’s new prototype battle suit which is been controlled via remote. The suit is shown flying next to army planes etc and keeps up with them easily. Then all of a sudden one of the planes latches onto the suit and attempts to steal this (also an electric charge is sent through the suit and this in turn makes the remote short circuit). Clark noticing this decides to sneak away and turn into Superman for the first time. Next we see Superman chasing after the plane but one of the other planes starts to shoot at him. He then has to fend off the attacking plane whilst the other is getting away with the battle-suit. He notices they are above water so he rips through the jet plane taking the pilot out and pushing the clip on his seat so that his parachute comes out. Then he chases back after the other plane which fires a rocket at him hurtling him backwards. He goes back after it again. The plane then swoops lower down into Metropolis and fires a rocket at a train track which then causes the train on the tracks to slip uncontrollably. Superman realizes he has to help the train and forget about the stolen suit so he then goes after the train. After a struggle Superman is able to land the train into the street. The public are amazed and suddenly Superman is all over the news. We then see Perry White wanting to know who he is, he wants headlines, stories, everything. He also wants a name and Lois Lane says what do you call a Superman and suddenly the headline reads Superman saves Train (something like that). Clark then goes back to see his parents to talk about what happens. When he returns to the planet Lois says they have a meeting with Lex Luthor. They go to talk to Luthor and Clark irritates him by claiming the suit stolen will probably work in his favour as the government would no doubt pay him to make a bigger and better version. Lex is irate and tells them to get out. He then receives a phone call and he is very happy with the outcome. We then are outside as Lois reveals that she hasn’t seen anyone annoy Lex like that since herself.

We are then back at the planet when Lois gets back to her desk there is a note to meet on the roof signed \S/. Clark watches from a distance with a smile as he sees the excitement in her face. Lois then goes to the rooftop, she hears a noise and as she looks up Superman lands on the roof. Superman reveals his origins (what he knows, he’s from another planet, etc) and that he’s not sure if he can live up to such a name as Superman. Lois tells him he’s stuck with it. Superman and Lois look at each other in such a way that you know they are attracted to one another, Superman asks Lois if she would like to see what the City looks like from his point of view. He gets closer to her and they look into each others eyes as though they are about to kiss, but he hears a noise with his Superhearing, he tells Lois he must go as there’s break in downtown at the Metropolis musem, she says some other time then (disappointed) and Superman promises her that he will take her when he can. Then in the blink of an eye he shoots off to the museum. When he enter two men in masks are stealing antiques etc, They have some heavy armory with them and begin to shoot at him, on of the men is still shooting as a third sneaks off into another section of the museum, Superman blasts his heat vision into the gun of the first thief as it overheats and explodes in his hand. He drops it in abit of pain and tries to run past Superman who flicks him with his finger knocking him out. He then goes into the second part of the museum and looks for the other thief who is hiding behind a rock display. As he gets closer he starts to feel weak and nauseous, Superman stumbles towards the thief who notices Superman doesn’t look right and whacks him with his bag of antiques. He then drops them and runs off. Two security guards show up and one of them helps Superman up and takes him away from the rock section. Superman starts to feel better and asks the guards if they caught the thieves. One of the guards says the other one got away but they got the one from the other room.

We then see Lex Luthor watching the break in on his monitors and he notices that Superman is weak when he is near the rocks. He shouts Mercy and tells her he wants those rocks retrieving from the museum now. She says consider them got as he smiles.

There is then more interaction between Clark and Lois, also more Jimmy Olsen, Perry White and the Kent’s. An introduction to John Corben who had stolen the suit for Lex so Lex could make more money. Lois Lane discovers Corben and the suit, Superman rescues her and has a small fight with Corben and the suit. Corben is arrested but Lex Luthor pays his bail. Lex has his labs testing the green rocks. He tells the team to work on a new robot. The team tells him it needs a human to control it as it would need to make independent decisions. Lex tells him he has just the man who would be his guinea pig. Corben goes to see Luthor and he wants revenge on Superman. He says he needs more power and that Lex’s suit wasn’t enough. Lex reveals to Corben that he has been working on something experimental but it if Corben wants in it will change his life forever. Corben tells Luthor he’ll do anything to destroy Superman Lex then turns Corben into Mettallo powering it with the Kryptonite. We then have an all out fight involving Superman and Mettallo, he is able to defeat Mettallo when he ends up encasing him in lead at a lead factory. Mettallo is taken away and his kryptonite heart removed by Dr Emil Hamilton at Star Labs. The next day Hamilton tells Superman that something has happened and that the green rocks has been stolen except only for a small piece that he had in testing. Superman asks why the green rock hurt him and that hed felt the same feeling once before at the Museum. Hamilton reveals this it is radioactive piece of rock probably from his home of Krypton and he dubs it Kryptonite. Hamilton tells Superman that he will help him with the Kryptonite and anything else he might need help with. Superman is very grateful and tells Hamilton he even thinks he knows who stole it.

Superman goes to see Luthor, he says he knows he was behind Mettallo and the Kryptonite. Luthor asks Superman to work for him saying that metropolis is his town. Superman tells Luthor he will be watching him, as he flies away Luthor pulls his hand out of his pocket to reveal a ring with a green glow made of kryptonite, he smiles.

We then go to the Daily Planet and Lois is on the roof, Superman arrives and asks her if she’s ready he then takes her by the hand and they fly off into the sky as the film ends.


SUPERMAN: THE LAST SON OF KRYPTON


Villains: Lex Luthor, Toyman (minor villain) General Hardcastle, Brainiac

Superman and Lois get romantic. The government doesn’t trust Superman and they are worried about his power. Toyman is only a minor villain in this, he kidnaps Lois after she writes a revealing article on him and is going to blow her up but Superman saves her. Brainiac comes to earth, Superman finds out that Brainiac was instrumental in the destruction of Krypton and in several flashbacks he sees Jor-El’s struggles to convince the planet that Krypton is doomed and Brainiac abandoning the planet. He is now on earth to do what he did on Krypton Destroy the planet and steal all knowledge. Superman creates his fortress of Solitude using his new Kryptonian knowledge.


SUPERMAN LIVES

Villains: Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Bizarro

Superman discovers what the Phantom Zone is and has the device to send anything there. He tests this device with Emil Hamilton of Star Labs. Superman faces his hardest foe yet Doomsday and is killed in the process. Doomsdays body is taken away by the government and Superman is buried in a very public funeral. Lex Luthor runs for presidency and is elected when Superman returns and says he has Lex Luthor to thank The thing is after a short while people start to realise that Superman doesn’t seem himself. It turns out Lex has cloned Superman. The real Superman is resurrected from his fortress and comes back to stop this Bizarro who has changed dramatically. Doomsday also resurrects and goes after Superman, who decides the only way to stop him is the phantom zone but he will also have to go there himself. Bizarro makes the ultimate sacrifice and takes Doomsday across the threshold into the Zone. Superman mourns Bizarro at the end and changes the Superman memorial into a memorial for Bizarro calling him his brother.


SUPERMAN APOKOLIPS


Villains: Lex Luthor, General Hardcastle, Darkseid and his minions

Darkseid unleashes an attack on earth, he first sends he first sends Steppenwolf to take out Superman but Superman defeats him. Then Darkseid arrives on earth with his minions and they defeat Superman. The new gods come to help earth out. Superman is badly hurt and the government take Superman. He is interrogated by Hardcastle and Luthor who blame him for bringing this onto earths doorstep, they are about to kill him but he escapes with help from Orion. Superman takes in the suns rays and leads a battle to take down Darkseid. At the end of the films Superman asks Lois to marry him.
 
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I wrote this using Adenjo's idea of Zod being Kal-El's real father in the Superman twist thread

The first movie could like one year into Superman's career, it wouldnt delve into the origin, and we could have Lex and Metallo as the villains. In the end we could be left on a cliffhanger of Zod returning to Earth.

In the second film, they could have Zod and Brainiac be the bad guys. Maybe like two thirds through it could be revealed that Jor-El made the rocket for himself and was going to send himself in it, and he used his leverage on the council to frame Zod for various crimes that were actually committed by Jor-El, before Zod is sent to the Phantom Zone, he tells Lara that Jor-El knows that Krypton will explode and he tells her to keep Kal-El safe, they kiss, and then he is sent to the Phantom Zone. Before Jor-El gets in the ship, Lara kills him and puts Kal-El in instead. In the third act, Zod and Clark fight together to save Earth from Brainiac. Towards the end of the fight though, Brainiac kills Zod, and in a rage, Clark destroys Brainiac. In the end Clark thinks everything is fine, and he ends up getting Lois. This film could be the end of the series or it could leave it open for another sequel.
 
BH some nice ideas there i would like to see what you have in mind if you expand on them a bit more.

Changling an interesting idea there but i and i sure alot of fans would want to see a crazy change in things like that.
 
BH some nice ideas there i would like to see what you have in mind if you expand on them a bit more.

Thank you, I will expand more at somepoint I sort of put a fair bit into the first one and decided to just do brief ideas for the sequels until I finished writing up what I had for the MOS. I just decided to post what I had for now.
 
no problem bh when u do just post away i am sure everyone would like to take a gander.
 
I posted this on another thread but here a basic outline of major events in my trilogy:

Superman

Introduce clark to Lois and the planet. He is Superman already and is considered to be a fake. Nobody believes he exists. Brianiac is introduced and basically decesives Clark by telling him about Krypton. He makes clark tell the government about his peace treaty as Superman. Clark becomes a friend of Brianiac.

But ultimatly He finds out the truth about him when the discovers the Fortess of Solitude from Jor-El. Brainiac takes about all of the world weapons and computers letting him know everything. Superman has to stop him before its too late. Lex Luthor is then found out to be evil in the end as a cliffhanger.

Superman Man Of Steel

The world now knows the existence of Superman. Lex tries to find a way to kill Superman. He takes some of his DNA and creates a clone. The clone soon betrays Lex as his skin is breaking offf and turning White(Bizzaro). He knows everything about Clark Kent so he pretends to be him and ruins Clark's life with all of his friends.

Bizzaro goes on a rampage and tries to kill Lex but Superman stops him (Superman does not Know Lex is a enemy). Bizzaro dies . As a cliffhanger Lex gets communicated by Brainica who has took over LexCorps computers and everything. Lex agrees to help Brainiac.

Superman Doomsday

Brainiac tells Lex about a weapon that was created long ago by a old alien race. It is hidden deep underground of the place called Doomsday. Lex goes on a search for Doomsday that can kill Superman. Meanwhile in order to recliam his life he tells Lois about him being Superman. Jor-El warns Clark about a upcoming danger," Doomsday is Coming."

After years of being Superman and experience Clark decides not to be worried and says he can handle it like all the rest. Lex finds Doomsday and frees him. Doomsday goes on a rampage and Superman tries to stop him. Doomsday dies and Superman is taken to the Fortess of Solitude(by the government) where he recovers from power of the sunlight.. He returns and sees the world run by Lex.

Now knowing he is evil he goes to stop him. But he discovers that Brainiac is still alive. Brainiac betrays Lex by making him his perfect Human vessel. Superman and him fight and brings Justice back to Metropolis. In the end Clark marries Lois.
 
Hi Guys, here's something i've been working on. Not a full script of anything but primarily my thoughts and characterizations on the cast, tone of movie, and what i'd like to see for certain scenes. Please let me know what you think.

Scenes:

The movie begins in Smallville Kansas. Some sporting event is just finishing up. We get our first look at Clark Kent and Lana Lang. They are both in their freshmen or sophomore year in high school. Clark is a star athlete, excelling in the classroom and on the field. The interaction we see is brief but establishes that these two are close, best friends, much more akin to Clark’s relationship with Chloe rather than Lana, from smallville the tv show. There may even be a budding romance between the two, but it hasn’t come to fruition b/c they both think it might jeopardize their friendship (although neither one knows what the other is thinking). Lana asks Clark why he’s recently begun wearing glasses. He says he’s been having headaches from eye strain recently and thinks the glasses will help. [Here we’re establishing why clark kent would be wearing glasses, also that his powers have been growing gradually up to this point and haven’t fully emerged yet.]

Clark hears an ear-piercing sound, lana asks what’s wrong, he’s like, “what is that? Can you hear that”. Lana has no idea what he’s talking about. Then the sound goes away and clark feels fine. He dismisses it and heads for home.

Pulling up to the farm in his dad’s pickup truck, clark hears the piercing sound again. He realizes it’s coming from the barn. Slowly making his way to the barn he notices that the cellar in the barn is open, the underground location of the ship that brought him to earth. “Dad is that you?” he asks as he cautiously approaches. A medium built man stands over the ship as it glows as the sounds continue emanating from it. The man turns around to acknowledge Clark. His eyes glow a greenish color. We begin seeing things from his perspective. It looks like a display screen of some sort and after cycling through trying to identity what clark is, it matches his dna signature as a potential kryptonian (30%). “What are you doing in here?” clark demands.

The scenes switches to inside the Kent home. Jonathan and Martha are preparing for dinner. You see them as a real family, good character stuff here. They’re talking about Clark, their life, maybe doubts or concerns they have. They are startled by the sound of a loud crash outside and are horrored to see Johnathan’s truck in flames, even more shocked as they watch Clark emerge from the ruble.

Clark tells them to run as the robot leaps out of the barn and lands on the remains of the truck, then lunges at Clark. Martha screams. Just as the robot has Clark pinned and is about to initiate a probe of some sort, a shotgun blasts it back. Jonathan tells Clark to stay down and keeps firing at the robot. After taking a few direct shots to the head and chest the robot identifies Jonathan as a threat that must be terminated. As it prepares to leap toward Jonathan, Clark grabs it and punches it several times, showing an increase in strength and further damaging the robot. Clark hears the robot’s reading of “60% Kryptonian”, it startles him enough to hesitate in his assault. The robot knocks him a good 30 feet away landing in the cornfield, and turns to resume its attack on Jonathan. The handle of the shot gun shatters as it hits the robot’s head. Unhindered by Jonathans’ attack the robot prepares to kill him with its razor sharp talons.

Everything slows down as we begin seeing the situation from Clark perspective. He’s starting to pick himself up in the cornfield but can see the danger his father is in. He starts to run as fast as he can and just before impact with the robot he takes flight for the first time, with the robot in tow.

The robot struggles to break Clark’s grip and even slashes him with is talons, which have no effect on Clark. From its viewport the reading rapidly increases from 60% to 70%, 80%, 90% then as Clark’s eyes begin to glow with his anger, the reading displays %100 Kryptonian as it is incinerated by Clark’s heat vision.

(The idea is that Clark’s body has been super-charging for years as a teenager but nothing has triggered his abilities to “ignite” until now they have been running in a “passive” mode thus the peak human performance. If he was an adult when he landed his body would have displayed abilities much sooner, although perhaps in a weaker state b/c of absorbing less sunlight)

Clark remains hovering with the lifeless robot in his arms until he hears Martha scream “JOHNATHAN!!!” Clark turns to look back at the farm with shock. We see a full frame of his face wearing a worried expression. He wakes up in the present, visibly startled by the dream/memory from his past.

Plot Synopsis:

We begin with a ten to twelve min scene re-establishing the status quo. It shows clark as a teenager in smallivlle Kansas. We have a brief glimpse into his relationship with lana and his popularity. It is established that while clark is aware of his unusual arrival he has yet to display any real abilities other than being in peak human shape without much effort. He is a gifted and talented athlete at this point. Everything changes for Clark when he gets home that evening.

He discovers someone in the barn examining and activating his ship. After a brief confrontation it is revealed that the visitor isn’t human but some form of Artificial Intelligence using a hologram as a cloaking device to appear human (underneath the display the robot looks like a mix between the braniac bots from the comic and robots from the movie I-Robt.) Clark has a brief but intense battle with the robot. His various powers begin to display themselves all at once turning the tide of the battle in clark’s favor. During the fight he displays feats of strength and durability unknown to him until now. He uses heat vision and towards the end of the battle superspeed and flight, in a very chaotic manner (it’s obvious he doesn’t know what he’s doing but the control comes more naturally as he continues).

At some point his parents get involved, his father Jonathan using his shotgun on the robot. During this time he exerts himself more than he should. To end the battle (after perhaps being tossed a great distance) clark runs as fast as possible to save his parents from the robot. Right before impacting with the robot clark takes flight for the first time. As clark flies off, Jonathan collapses. In the air clark battles the robot until he unleashes his heat vision at point blank range incinerating the robot’s opic nerves and causing it to stop functioning. Just as clark defeats the robot he hears the scream of his mother “Jonathan!!!!” He wakes up suddenly. The entire first act is a dream sequence in which he remembers the first time his powers really flared up.

It is revealed that the past events took place when clark was around 16 years old. After the death of his father and the emergence of his powers he became more removed from the social scene, he quits all of the varsity teams (most people including his buddy Pete Ross believe its b/c of Jonathan’s death and clark’s increased responsibilities around the farm). While he was a freshmen (or sophmore in high school; the first scene in the movie) he had an all-star record from the JV team and was already a starter on the varsity level for several sports. Clark became heavily involved in journalism, being keenly interested in uncovering the truth about his origin, the world around him, and his mysterious attacker, clark also develops a love for writing. Even though he can’t always talk to other people about his experiences or feelings, his journal gives him a new since of freedom. During his final few years in high school clark spends an increasing amount of time studying astronomy and has a keen mind for science. He also tries to continue to develop and learn control over his abilities. He has on occasion used his abilities in a discreet way to help others, whether it was a fire, natural disaster or accident. This is a Clark Kent very different from the smallville tv show version, he doesn’t hate being different or his abilities, he’s fascinated by them, he loves flying and trying new things, his only regret is that his father never got to see him do any of these things. His dad always said he was special, he thinks, he didn’t know how right he was. After graduation clark left smallville behind and has been traveling the world, trying to find his place in it. He has been studying journalism abroad and reporting for various papers around the world as a freelance journalist. His true motivation however is to discover the truth about his heritage, where did he come from? Who sent him here? What was that mysterious robot that he battled at the barn? Why hadn’t his ship activated until then and never again afterward?

[After his father’s funeral he tries to dispose of the robot’s body and he re-examines his ship. Some sort of artifact had been removed from the ship by the robot and clark now possesses it, even though he has no idea what it is. Perhaps the markings on the artifact matched those of some discovered elsewhere in the world and that’s what sparked clark’s globetrotting. ]
 
Here's some of my thoughts on the main characters. This will probably come of as rampling but take a look if you're interested. One day i'd like to do some concept art for some of these ideas, but alas not much time. Anyway take a look. Gotta say i love being able to share this sort of stuff with other fans of the character :)

Superman: Fresh Start


Tone:

Somewhere between Iron Man and Star Trek. It’s a very character driven story focusing on Clark Kent’s discovery of who he is and what he stands for. He discovers his Kryptonian heritage, and finds a way to inspire the good in people as superman.

The character of Clark Kent really is the centerpiece of the whole movie, similar to Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins or Tony Stark in Iron Man. We really get to see who exactly this guy is, what drives him and why. He has an outlet which has a dual purpose, (1) he writes in a journal addressing it to his father (who passes away from a heart attack when Clark is still in high school), at first it’s just therapeutic for Clark but later it really helps him picture what his dad would say, so he feels like his dad is still a participant in his life some way. (2) Its a way for the audience to get into his head, and get to know the character better. It also would be a contrast to Clark’s interaction with jor-el once he discovers the Fortress. One thing that made superman returns so irritating was its treatment of Clark Kent/ superman, he hardly said anything, we get little to no glimpse into his personality, all he does is stare a lot and try to look like superman. This would be the exact opposite, the highlight, star of the movie, would be Clark Kent as he discovers Ka-el and emerges and embraces his place in the world as superman.


Clark Kent:

The character of clark kent is very similar to his portrayal in Birthright. He’s outgoing, curious and driven. He has a good sense of humor and is an excellent journalist, altogether a very likeable and enjoyable character to watch ( more akin to James Marsden’s character in Superman Returns than Superman himself). His days in smallville before the events at the beginning of the movie were rather normal. He knew how his parents found him but other than being in excellent shape and a star athlete he hadn’t been in stressful enough circumstances to cause his powers to emerge fully.

After they emerge, he becomes a much more focused young man. A very driven character, trying to discover his heritage and his place in the world. Rather than be a tormented person like bruce wayne or guilt-ridden like peter parker, clark, while upset that his father died, deals with it through the use of his journal. Ever since the day he died, clark’s written in a journal addressed to his father. It allows him to feel close to his dad, imagine what he would say and helps him deal with his grief.

Once he begins working at the daily Planet his personality may change a bit. Not sure exactly how. I really like the version of clark from the animated series and from Lois and Clark. The only problem is how does he hide the fact that he’s superman if clark kent is that outgoing rather than shy/reserved. Not sure how to handle it. Though I do like how he is portrayed in the Alex Ross / Paul Dini comic in which he is very low key, no one knows he’s around or misses him when he’s gone.

Another thought is that he can be kind of a geek but in a non-traditional way, like chuck from “chuck”, a very likable but kinda goofy guy, maybe.

I did like the way Brandon routh played clark in superman returns. While not imitating the Christopher Reeve bumbling Clark, he plays him with a quiet dignity while still being a little clumsy.

The main thing I want to be able to do with his portrayal is still give him lots of personality, make him likable to the extent that there can be realistic chemistry between him and a firecracker like Lois Lane.

Superman:

Superman is fast, powerful, and durable. His power level is something like what was seen on the animated series. He can definitely get knocked around by strong enough equipment (tank maybe) or if he’s caught off guard. He reminds you of the Hulk (in both films) in that he knows how to take punishment and keep going. You see him exerting himself physically when performing inhuman feats, like the plane scene in Superman Returns. Not everything comes easy for him and he definitely has to think his way through situations.

His movements are similar to the fight scene in Superman: Doomsday. He was fast and forceful, he didn’t stand there and slug it out with Doomsday but was constantly moving, he jumped kneed him then flip him. It was great stuff. He also used all of his abilities in battle. This is something I’ve always advocated about Superman, he’s spent his entire life harnessing these abilities he would definitely know how and when to use them to his advantage.

He very seldom stands there with his arms folded or in any sort of pose. He is fast and agile and moves constantly. Especially at first (before he gives an interview of any kind) perhaps even being refered to as the reb-blue blur (smallville shout-out).


Technology:

Technology is an important part of this film. It will highlight and contrast cutting edge human technology, similar to iron man, in the hands of lex luthor and star labs and/or Cadmus verses extraterrestrial tech in the form of Kryptonian tech and brainiac tech.

A big departure would be the portrayal of all things Kryptonian as ice and crystals. While iconic, it is unnecessary. I don’t believe this was anywhere in the comics until after the movie. It reflected the popular view at the time of what alien tech may have been like. The comics however, especially current comics, give Kryptonian tech more personality and identity. It is something that might be seen in a Sci-Fi movie like star wars or star trek on an alien world. Everything from the fortress of solitude to Clark’s ship, and weapons should reflect more of a mix of the comic book and how modern Sci-Fi might depict alien tech.

Brainiac’s robot, seen in the first large battle towards the beginning of the film, would be similar to sonny from I-Robot. The level of agility and facial expression would be interesting when contrasted with the realistic setting of the movie. Again it needs to look alien, maybe an influence from the Borg of Star Trek? Not sure. But they should feel complex to the extent that someone like Lex Luthor could reverse engineer it and create space age technology of his own, including Metallo, weapons, and other hi-tech gadgets. Also Transformers is a huge influence in the overall appearance and complexity of brainiac and his robots. It should feel complex and menacing.


The Supporting Cast:

The supporting cast should be just as instantly recognizable as the cast of star trek was in the new movie; they each had spot-on characterizations. Between the actors and the writers each member of the crew stood out and was easy to identify, and none of the performances seemed like imitations or homage’s, just a new and honest interpretation of the character for a modern audience/setting. That is the same approach I would take with Superman’s supporting cast.

Similar to Lois and Clark, the heart of the show was the relationships between Clark, Jimmy, Perry and Lois. It drove the show, made us care, and kept us laughing. Additional supporting cast at the daily planet could potentially include, Steve Lumbar, Ron Troupe, and Cat Grant.

The cast should come across as real people, with personality and a certain charm. We should be able to recognize their personalities as these iconic individuals but without it coming across as heavy handed or re-treading what’s already been done.


Jonathan and Martha Kent:

I’ve always liked the idea of his parents being a little bit younger when they found Clark. It gives more credibility to them actually being his parents rather than grandparents and it contrast with Peter Parker being raised by the older uncle ben and aunt may. The only issue that potentially arises is if Pa Kent dies while Clark is young (teenager) how do you justify it? He could potentially have a heart condition in his family that is alluded to in the beginning of the movie, so the audience can believe he has a heart attack. Another option is to imitate what the comic has done recently in having Jonathan die as a result of Brainiacs attack. Perhaps he lives through the first movie but dies in the secound or third. It would allow us to revisit Clark’s youth again via flashbacks while not re-telling the origin story again. Also it would allow for some real character exploration with Clark/Superman, Martha, maybe lana, and pete ross.

Martha’s portrayal would be a younger version of Kay Callahan (I think that’s her name) the woman who played martha on Lois and Clark. She nailed the character and crafted a truly unique look at the woman who raised superman. I think a younger version of that character would add a lot of heart and humor to the movie without looking like a copy of aunt may.

As for Jonathan, I like the dad from Lois and Clark as well. The wise, but quiet/nurturing father. We have to keep in mind what makes Clark eventually choose to become superman, and that really is his upbringing. His father needs to evoke the kind of inner strength that superman will later embody. I don’t think his dad in smallville ever reached that level or inner strength. It all depends on how long he sticks around in the movie but care should be taken so the portrayal is accurate.

Lois Lane:

Lois has a very dynamic personality. She’s also perhaps the most easily recognizable (personality wise) of all the supporting characters. One big problem with Superman Returns was its treatment of Lois. She lost most if not all of what made her special, her attitude, spunk and wittiness. Those qualities along with a softer side that she doesn’t show to everyone are what make Lois so endearing and relatable.

Terri Hatcher, Erica Durrance and the animated lois, in addition to the comic would be the primary models that this version of Lois would be based on. Each of the aforementioned incarnations of the character successfully captured the essence of what makes Lois, Lois, while additionally adding their individual twist to the character.

Lois should be an attractive women but not in a drop-dead-gorgeous way. As I believe has been the case in these previous incarnations, Lois’ most stunning attribute is her personality not her looks. So while her attractiveness is obvious and most men would be interested, Clark/Superman is more so fascinated by who she is as a person, not just her looks.

She has a strong dynamic personality, is stubborn, and is constantly willing to put herself in harm’s way for the sake of a good story (not just a good story but exposing the truth, that’s her top priority). She is a top-notched investigative journalist.

The one problem I foresee is that if she’s so good at uncovering the truth then why doesn’t she know that Clark is superman (once he appears). Perhaps she figures it out right away, or at least notices how much they look alike – maybe that could be a running gag in the film, something about a celebrity look-a-like contest and how jimmy thinks Clark should post his pic since he looks so much like superman (maybe). But Clark using some Kryptonian technology or maybe from star labs is able to create a hologram of superman so they both can be in the same place at once. Example: if he and Lois are walking around metropolis, they see superman fly overhead, something like that. Lois doesn’t know what to think, her gut is telling her one thing but her eyes are telling her something else.

On the other hand perhaps she knows his secret early on and has to decide whether to publish it or not. It complicates their relationship but could add another dimension to it. If not in the first movie then in the 2nd or 3rd. It allows Lois to get to know the real Clark Kent, and although he may not tell her everything he does confirm that he is superman. Not sure, just some ideas. A lot depends on the metropolis version of Clark. Is he the geeky Clark many recognize and is the disguise or is he more like the animated series and Dean Cain’s version, and now also the Smallville (season 8 & 9) version an all around great guy who just seems normal. I believe Lois would react very differently depending on which version is ultimately used.



Lana Lang:

Lana was Clark’s best friend growing up other than Pete Ross. Even though Clark was a star athlete in high school he never really got close to the other players, he was always deeper, and studious. Pete, Lana and Clark were always close, but especially as they got older, Lana and Clark grew closer. Even though they were close they never dated, each choosing to date other people rather than risk their friendship. It always bothered Lana, but she would just brush it off and keep going. Shortly before the events surrounding Jonathan’s death, a romance was starting to bud between the two. Lana is almost ready to tell Clark how she feels and she’s pretty sure he feels the same way. However on that day she decided to follow Clark home and caught the tail end of the battle seeing Clark fly back down to care for his father. She is in shock, doesn’t know what to think or what it means. She is more distant from Clark after this, as he has already withdrawn from a lot of people. She wants to be there for him but is so confused she doesn’t know what to do. After graduation Clark leaves Smallville, only leaving a letter for Lana to read. It tells her how much she’s meant to him and that he’ll always care for her, he apologizes for being so distant but that her friendship has been really important to him. He encourages her to follow her dreams wherever they take her. She takes Clark’s advice and studies clothing design in college. After graduation she works for a few companies making a name for herself. Recently she’s moved to metropolis to further her career by starting her own business. It’s here when she discovers that Clark is also in metropolis.

Lana is also very attractive in a girl-next-door kind of way. Think of Stacy Hadiuk from the superboy tv show. This is not smallville’s lana, she isn’t angst ridden, or upset with clark for lying to her for years (which is also why the idea of her seeing him fly may get tossed out – we’ll see it does open the way of using some elements from Superman For All Seasons). This Lana, has a very quirky but fun personality, she loves life, has fun; she taught Clark to love and embrace life. She’s a poet and artist. I think Isla Fisher would be my top choice.

A possible love triangle could involve Lana, Lois and Clark/Superman. Lana is in love with Clark and can’t believe she let him go without ever telling him how much he meant to her. She hasn’t seen him in 7 years, since he left smallville. Now she lives in metropolis and sees an article he wrote and tries to re-establish contact. (This may all function better in a second movie, it might get lost or bog down the story in the first film.) She has already figured out that he’s superman and is incredibly proud of him using his abilities to help people. She even suspects that back in Smallville he may have been using his power discreetly (it explains so many odd occurrences from their youth).

Her friendship has been very meaningful to Clark over the years and he hopes to continue it, however his focus is very different now. His new outlook is more about responsibility and he’s very professional, so Lois’ professional nature, strong personality that sometimes challenges his own viewpoint is more appealing than the free spirited artistic nature of Lana. If we go down this path (of her seeing him fly years earlier) while Lana was a little shocked and taken back, Lois is enthralled by superman, what he can do and what he stands for. Lana is a successful woman but at her heart a country girl who wants to settle down with a good guy, and according to her, “they don’t come any better than Clark Kent”. As far as the love triangle goes it should actually make sense. It shouldn’t be obvious at first that Clark will choose Lois, their relationship should grow as the movies progress, maybe by the third movie their feelings come to fruition, similar to Lois and Clark (though Clark shouldn’t be too infatuated with Lois even if he does have feelings for her) and Smallville (they’ve done a good job showing a gradual progression to their relationship rather than a “love at first sight” situation.) These are not teenagers, they are not angst ridden, these are fully functioning, intelligent adults. They should come across that way.
 

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