The Official Jimmy Olsen Casting & Discussion Thread

[Octoberist]

Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Duderino? A kid with a camera is too cartoonish in a movie about flying aliens that can shoot lasers from their eyes?

I think he meant a Jimmy who is a total square.

I'd say make him a Peter Parker type; awkward, knowlingly funny and smart, but isn't a total nerd.

 

[ElDuderino]

I think he meant a Jimmy who is a total square.

I'd say make him a Peter Parker type; awkward, knowlingly funny and smart, but isn't a total nerd.

Yeah, but the problem is that the name alone conjures up those images. It would be very hard to escape that, I think. What can he possibly add to the story?

 

[Project862006]

being clark's friend lol

 

[ElDuderino]

being clark's friend lol

That's not enough, I don't think.

What might be interesting is if the character were someone that was travelling with Clark in Africa and in doing so came to know Clark (and his powers) and the two became close. But he has to be a sort of social equal that helps convince Clark of his place in the world, not some goofy kid with a bow tie and a camera screaming "Looksie I got a photo of Supermans!!!!1111 Golly gee, Ms. Lane!!".

 

[Kurosawa]

Jimmy wasn't a square in his time, he's been stuck in that mode because of people deconstructing the Silver Age comics. In the time those comics were written, Jimmy was a pretty typical young career guy. That's how to update him-he doesn't have to have the bow tie, but he should be a good, upstanding, positive guy who is looked down on by his superiors due his youth but proves his value as a journalist. And along the way, befriends Superman and due to that friendship, has some of the most insane adventures of all time.

 

[Hypestyle]

ideally, Jimmy shouldn't be a peer of Clark, age-wise (I remember the 1st season Lois & Clark tried this.. and then it happened again in Smallville)

Jimmy should be updated like Peter Parker was in Ultimate Spider-Man, being part of the Internet-new media aspect of the Daily Planet.

 

[DrCosmic]

I don't think they should cast Jimmy yet. I think they should have someone who looks 16 when they make the sequel to MOS when the Daily Planet plays a big part in the story, and not when Perry White is cast at the 9th hour in an origin story full of military and Kryptonians.

I think Earth One did something smart by making him credible, but I don't think

I also think Jimmy has a tendency to be redundant. You have Clark for the wide eyed idealist, Lois for the biting sarcasm and Perry for the pragmatic yelling. Where does a teenager working on the Daily Planet's website fit in, exactly? He's comic relief. You can take Lois' sarcasm and give it to him, but then what is Lois doing other than whining about not getting her way?

There were good points raised about how he should be a modern kid, and I think that angle, someone who's always plugged in, who's never really listening to anything other than his iPhone, who's obsessed with tech and lives through it, even amidst all this craziness, I think that plays both for comedy as well as some deep thematic elments. When Jimmy takes off his headphones or drops his Droid, it can really put a button on an epic scene.

 

[ElDuderino]

ideally, Jimmy shouldn't be a peer of Clark, age-wise (I remember the 1st season Lois & Clark tried this.. and then it happened again in Smallville)

Jimmy should be updated like Peter Parker was in Ultimate Spider-Man, being part of the Internet-new media aspect of the Daily Planet.

Ideally he should not be in it at all. But if he is and he's Clark's friend, he should be his peer, not some goofy kid.

 

[Kurosawa]

He doesn't work as Clark's peer, not as a character on his own, and not as a supporting character for Superman or Clark. He needs to be a teenager. Part of what he does is he gives Superman and Clark someone to mentor. Superman works best when he is a patriarch.

Also, Clark is NOT a wide-eyed naive idealist, and if he IS written that way, and if Superman is portrayed that way, then the movie will fail and will deserve to do so. Superman is not a stupid hayseed who is ignorant to the evils of the world, and when he acts that way as Clark, well, that's part of the charade that is Clark Kent. Jimmy IS a wide-eyed idealist because he's still a kid and doesn't know any better. Superman believes in the best in people, but more than anything, he believes that common sense will make it clear to people that doing the right thing is in their own self-interest as well as being the right thing to do.

 

[blah]

I like how Grant Morrison showed him as an eccentric young man, who is capable in his own right. Maybe leave the cross-dressing part out of the equation

 

[ElDuderino]

He doesn't work as Clark's peer, not as a character on his own

Sure he does. He works better that way.

See how opinions work?

Jimmy IS a wide-eyed idealist because he's still a kid and doesn't know any better.

Lame, boring character that adds nothing to the story. I hope this isn't a kid's movie.

 

[Keyser Soze]

I like how Grant Morrison showed him as an eccentric young man, who is capable in his own right. Maybe leave the cross-dressing part out of the equation

But that's the best part!

 

[KayTang999]

I said this back in January and I am still sticking with my choice for Jimmy Olsen.

I still truly believe that Chris Colfer would be well fit for this part. Aesthetic wise, he has the young innocent doe-eyed appeal. At the same he is the nerdy and geeky boy who get excited over anything and everything.

We don't really know a whole lot about this movie. The fact that they haven't even cast this part yet make me think Man of Steel's Jimmy Olsen is to Dick Grayson of Nolan's Batman trilogy. As in they are not even born yet. Mr. Nolan's word, not mine.

If we do get sequels, there is no worry about Chris Colfer aging because even until today at the age of 21, he still looks like 15.

Also, however you feel about Glee or Chris Colfer himself, one thing is a guarantee is the amount of Glee's fans who will watch the movie if he is in it. Gleeks are insane and he is probably the most popular cast of the show.

If you think he is too effeminate because of who he is, then I would like to point out Neil Patrick Harris and Sir Ian McKellen. The bottom line he is an actor and his job is to act the part and be the part. If he can do it and is the best candidate then he should get the equal opportunity at it like the rest of other actors out there.

 

[TheIncredibleSk]

I don't know how to say this without sounding like a bigot but unless they make Jimmy camp gay then he shouldn't play the part. I haven't seen him anything except Glee and he's very effeminate in that/

 

[batman44]

I don't know anything about Chris Colfer or Glee, so I dunno.

 

[KayTang999]

Chris Colfer was in a short film about 2-3 years ago. A high school kid who must pass Presidential Physical Fitness Test or else he would get an F and lose his spot at Harvard. The movie is only about 8 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKwEfDyopaw

 

[Majik1387]

I'd like Colfer if Jimmy is gay. If not, no thanks. Call me small minded or whatever, but his role on Glee was literally created and written based on him and how he is(of course with some Hollywood creativity), but I just don't see him playing a straight character role ever.

 

[I Am The Knight]

I don't know how to say this without sounding like a bigot but unless they make Jimmy camp gay then he shouldn't play the part. I haven't seen him anything except Glee and he's very effeminate in that/

What you're trying to say is that he's too ghey, yes?

 

[TheIncredibleSk]

What you're trying to say is that he's too ghey, yes?

To play a straight Jimmy? Yes.

 

[KayTang999]

Would Darren Criss be good for this part? He is also on Glee and his character is the boyfriend of Chris Colfer's character. I guess the question is whether the concern is the previous work of the actor or the actor himself.

In term of acting, we should be more critical about their work experience than who they are as person, right?

 

[I Am The Knight]

To play a straight Jimmy? Yes.

I am joking, my friend. Anyway, it is obvious this production is willing to shake characters up a little bit, so they could make Jimmy vaguely gay...I wouldn't be terribly shocked if that happened. It almost happened at one point with Superman Lives if I remember correctly.

 

[Majik1387]

Darren Criss is not how I really envision Jimmy, and to me he looks too close in age to Cavill for my taste, but if he were up for the part I wouldn't complain. Though odds are he'll be busy on Broadway, what with replacing Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

 

[batman44]

I am joking, my friend. Anyway, it is obvious this production is willing to shake characters up a little bit, so they could make Jimmy vaguely gay...I wouldn't be terribly shocked if that happened. It almost happened at one point with Superman Lives if I remember correctly.

That was the first draft of Superman: Flyby by J.J Abrams.

 

[I Am The Knight]

That was the first draft of Superman: Flyby by J.J Abrams.

Ah, thanks.

 

[SuperDaniel]

I have a feeling Jimmy is not in this movie.