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Superhero
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Okay, haven't seen a thread on this, so here goes. This is trivia gathered so far on Superman Returns. I knew about half of this before reading it here, so it left a lot of cool info to absorb. Got it from IMDB. If you have your own trivia to add, feel free.
- Bryan Singer was picked to direct after the studio was impressed with Christopher Nolan's naturalized version of Batman in Batman Begins (2005) and thought that Singer could bring the same gritty real world feel to Superman.
- Before Kate Bosworth was cast as Lois Lane, some other actresses being considered included Elisha Cuthbert, Claire Danes, and Keri Russell.
- After Brett Ratner's departure, and with the success of Charlie's Angels (2000), McG was tipped to direct the film in 2001. He left the project in 2002 to do Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and came back aboard the project in 2004, but left it again after disagreements over budget and filming location. Warner Bros. had wanted to move from New York City to Australia, but McG felt that "it was inappropriate to try to capture the heart of America on another continent."
- While the project was under Brett Ratner's supervision, actors Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, Matthew Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill and Jerry O'Connell were considered for the part of Superman. Brett Ratner left the project primarily because he and Warner Bros. executives could not agree on whom to cast as Superman.
- Anthony Hopkins was set to play Jor-El of Krypton, but after Ratner left, Hopkins did the same.
- Johnny Depp was considered for the roles of Lex Luthor and Jor-El.
- Actors McG was screening before his departure include Jason Behr and Jared Padalecki for the role of Superman, Scarlett Johansson for Lois Lane, and Shia LaBeouf for Jimmy Olsen.
- Kevin Smith's original script, to which Tim Burton was immediately attached, was based on D.C. Comics' 1993 series in which Superman was killed by a creature named Doomsday and then brought back to life more powerful than before. After a lengthy development process, Warner Bros. chose not to go with Smith's script and hired other writers, such as _Alias_ creator J.J. Abrams, to revive the series.
- It took ten years and three vastly different directors to finally get the project off the ground.
- Tim Burton's "Superman Lives" was far enough into pre-production at the time it was canceled that the studio had already designed a teaser poster to be displayed in theatres. It consisted of a stylized silver "S" shield set against a black background, with the phrase "Coming 1998" displayed across the bottom third of the poster. Finalized copies of the poster were printed up, but it's unclear how many were made before the movie was called off.
- "Alias" (2001) creator and writer J.J. Abrams wrote a complete shooting draft of the script, which both Brett Ratner and McG were planning to shoot when they both left the project for both creative and budget reasons. Abrams' script has now been rejected by the studio, which is opting to go with X-Men (2000) writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty for a new screenplay.
- Director Bryan Singer decided on using stock footage of Marlon Brando that was originally shot by Superman (1978) director Richard Donner for the Singer version. Brando and Christopher Reeve were once filmed interacting with one another to be used in Superman II (1980), but due to a lawsuit against the Salkinds for a percentage of the sequel, the scenes were deleted and re-shot using the mother instead.
- Jude Law was Bryan Singer's only choice to play General Zod. After Law turned down the role several times, Singer eliminated the character from the script.
- When Bryan Singer took over this project, he immediately brought over his production staff consisting of cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, composer/editor John Ottman, production designer Guy Dyas, and writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty from X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) to meet Warner Bros.' release date for the film.
- Actors including Eric Christian Olsen, Topher Grace, and Shawn Ashmore were being considered for the role of Jimmy Olson before Sam Huntington was cast.
- James Caviezel expressed great interest in the role of Superman, but director Bryan Singer refused to cast him because he felt that Caviezel was "too famous" after starring in The Passion of the Christ (2004).
- The crew in Tamworth grew their own corn. It took twelve weeks for them to get the corn just right.
- The Kent farm was originally built on a sound stage and was then disassembled, moved to Tamworth, Australia, and reconstructed and redressed.
- The movie was filmed in Sydney, Australia at Fox Studios. The Kent family home was filmed in Tamworth, Australia.
- Mischa Barton and Keira Knightley were considered for the role of Lois Lane.
- Hugh Laurie was cast first in the role of Perry White. However, the popularity of his TV show "House, M.D." (2004) caused schedule conflicts. Frank Langella was then cast.
- Eva Marie Saint (Martha Kent) made her theatrical debut in On the Waterfront (1954), coincidentally opposite the late Marlon Brando (Jor-El).
- This is the first film to use the Panavision Genesis HD camera. Developed jointly by Panavision and Sony, it was the latest of the specific 24p HD used by the likes of George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez, among others.
- Contains 1,400 VFX shots
- Brandon Routh put on 20 pounds of muscle for the movie.
- Both "Michael Bay" and "Robert Rodriguez" were offered the director's position.
- All previous scripts revolved, in one way or another, around the death and subsequent return of Superman. Jonathan Lemkin wrote a draft in which Superman impregnates Lois before he dies, she gives birth soon thereafter (also dying in the process), and a fully-grown new Superman emerges to save the world. Lemkin's work was quickly discarded.
- When Singer became interested in possibly hiring Routh, he arranged for them to meet in a coffee shop. When they met at their table, Routh stumbled and spilled hot coffee all over the table. Although he panicked, thinking he had just lost the part, Singer laughed and said it actually helped him get the part. The incident convinced Singer that Routh could pull of the clumsy, bumbling Clark Kent.
- Bryan Singer was picked to direct after the studio was impressed with Christopher Nolan's naturalized version of Batman in Batman Begins (2005) and thought that Singer could bring the same gritty real world feel to Superman.
- Before Kate Bosworth was cast as Lois Lane, some other actresses being considered included Elisha Cuthbert, Claire Danes, and Keri Russell.
- After Brett Ratner's departure, and with the success of Charlie's Angels (2000), McG was tipped to direct the film in 2001. He left the project in 2002 to do Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003), and came back aboard the project in 2004, but left it again after disagreements over budget and filming location. Warner Bros. had wanted to move from New York City to Australia, but McG felt that "it was inappropriate to try to capture the heart of America on another continent."
- While the project was under Brett Ratner's supervision, actors Josh Hartnett, Paul Walker, Matthew Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Ashton Kutcher, David Boreanaz, Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill and Jerry O'Connell were considered for the part of Superman. Brett Ratner left the project primarily because he and Warner Bros. executives could not agree on whom to cast as Superman.
- Anthony Hopkins was set to play Jor-El of Krypton, but after Ratner left, Hopkins did the same.
- Johnny Depp was considered for the roles of Lex Luthor and Jor-El.
- Actors McG was screening before his departure include Jason Behr and Jared Padalecki for the role of Superman, Scarlett Johansson for Lois Lane, and Shia LaBeouf for Jimmy Olsen.
- Kevin Smith's original script, to which Tim Burton was immediately attached, was based on D.C. Comics' 1993 series in which Superman was killed by a creature named Doomsday and then brought back to life more powerful than before. After a lengthy development process, Warner Bros. chose not to go with Smith's script and hired other writers, such as _Alias_ creator J.J. Abrams, to revive the series.
- It took ten years and three vastly different directors to finally get the project off the ground.
- Tim Burton's "Superman Lives" was far enough into pre-production at the time it was canceled that the studio had already designed a teaser poster to be displayed in theatres. It consisted of a stylized silver "S" shield set against a black background, with the phrase "Coming 1998" displayed across the bottom third of the poster. Finalized copies of the poster were printed up, but it's unclear how many were made before the movie was called off.
- "Alias" (2001) creator and writer J.J. Abrams wrote a complete shooting draft of the script, which both Brett Ratner and McG were planning to shoot when they both left the project for both creative and budget reasons. Abrams' script has now been rejected by the studio, which is opting to go with X-Men (2000) writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty for a new screenplay.
- Director Bryan Singer decided on using stock footage of Marlon Brando that was originally shot by Superman (1978) director Richard Donner for the Singer version. Brando and Christopher Reeve were once filmed interacting with one another to be used in Superman II (1980), but due to a lawsuit against the Salkinds for a percentage of the sequel, the scenes were deleted and re-shot using the mother instead.
- Jude Law was Bryan Singer's only choice to play General Zod. After Law turned down the role several times, Singer eliminated the character from the script.
- When Bryan Singer took over this project, he immediately brought over his production staff consisting of cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, composer/editor John Ottman, production designer Guy Dyas, and writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty from X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) to meet Warner Bros.' release date for the film.
- Actors including Eric Christian Olsen, Topher Grace, and Shawn Ashmore were being considered for the role of Jimmy Olson before Sam Huntington was cast.
- James Caviezel expressed great interest in the role of Superman, but director Bryan Singer refused to cast him because he felt that Caviezel was "too famous" after starring in The Passion of the Christ (2004).
- The crew in Tamworth grew their own corn. It took twelve weeks for them to get the corn just right.
- The Kent farm was originally built on a sound stage and was then disassembled, moved to Tamworth, Australia, and reconstructed and redressed.
- The movie was filmed in Sydney, Australia at Fox Studios. The Kent family home was filmed in Tamworth, Australia.
- Mischa Barton and Keira Knightley were considered for the role of Lois Lane.
- Hugh Laurie was cast first in the role of Perry White. However, the popularity of his TV show "House, M.D." (2004) caused schedule conflicts. Frank Langella was then cast.
- Eva Marie Saint (Martha Kent) made her theatrical debut in On the Waterfront (1954), coincidentally opposite the late Marlon Brando (Jor-El).
- This is the first film to use the Panavision Genesis HD camera. Developed jointly by Panavision and Sony, it was the latest of the specific 24p HD used by the likes of George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez, among others.
- Contains 1,400 VFX shots
- Brandon Routh put on 20 pounds of muscle for the movie.
- Both "Michael Bay" and "Robert Rodriguez" were offered the director's position.
- All previous scripts revolved, in one way or another, around the death and subsequent return of Superman. Jonathan Lemkin wrote a draft in which Superman impregnates Lois before he dies, she gives birth soon thereafter (also dying in the process), and a fully-grown new Superman emerges to save the world. Lemkin's work was quickly discarded.
- When Singer became interested in possibly hiring Routh, he arranged for them to meet in a coffee shop. When they met at their table, Routh stumbled and spilled hot coffee all over the table. Although he panicked, thinking he had just lost the part, Singer laughed and said it actually helped him get the part. The incident convinced Singer that Routh could pull of the clumsy, bumbling Clark Kent.
