Tom Welling as Superman

[Gmanofsteel]

this discussion has made me want to see Rosetta again...

I know, reading this post makes me want to see it too

*puts Season 2 disc 5 into dvd tray*

 

[Gmanofsteel]

You're right the character is more important than the actor playing him. But this is quite amusing, especially coming from the crowd that "wont see the new film unless "holdover actor X" is in it."

exactly. From what I've seen, you, I and many other Welling supporters have clearly said they'd still see a Supes movie if Welling wasn't in it. Several in the BR crowd have said they wouldn't see it if Routh wasn't in it.

 

[Mikelus]

Chew on this tidbit from 2003...

And chew on this one (I posted "the phrase" a while back)...

After four Superman movies in the '70s and '80s, the blockbuster film franchise got worn out. Hey, the first two flicks were fab. But Christopher Reeve trading one liners with Richard Pryor in Superman III? Oy. And Reeve's face off with Nuclear Man — a solar-powered Chippendale's dancer — in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace? 'Twas like kryptonite to Supes fans! In a promising turn of events, Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon) has been tapped to direct the newest installment, with Alias creator J.J. Abrams tackling sceenplay duties. Perhaps they can save the Man of Steel.

First off, how closely will the new film resemble its predecessors? "It's very much like the fourth," Abrams jokes to TV Guide Online, then explains, "It's sort of a slightly different telling of a familiar story. It's very much an origin story, and there are some great surprises in it. I'm such a huge fan of the character, the comics of it. I think it's something that if you love the character, you'll love the story. [But] I think you will not have to have seen [the previous films] to invest in it."

Casting is underway, but Abrams denies he wrote the film with any particular actor in mind. (According to reports, Josh Hartnett, Jude Law, Ashton Kutcher and Brendan Fraser are among the potential Clark Kents under consideration.) "I'm just convinced that there is someone out there who was born to do it," he says, "and whether his name is familiar or not remains to be seen." (We just thank heavens Nic Cage "snapped out of it" and bowed out.)

Who would Reeve choose to succeed him as Lois Lane's lover? "In my opinion," he says, "the character is more important than the actor who plays him, because it is an enduring mythology. I'm sure that they'll cast appropriately, and take their time and find the right person. But it definitely should be an unknown." That said, Reeve adds that "[Smallville's Tom Welling would] be an ideal candidate. I don't know if [he] can switch from one job to the other, but I'm sure they'd figure it out!"

Reeve says producer Jon Peters scrapped the original Superman vs. Batman idea after seeing his son Matthew's documentary, Christopher Reeve: Courageous Steps. "The positive message of that made him [think], 'Why should we have two superheroes against each other?'" Reeve explains. "So the movie that Warner Bros. is making now — which I will be doing some consulting on — will be a much more uplifting and spiritual story. I was really blown away that they completely decided to change the process."

http://www.tvguide.com/news/superman-ratner-brett-40691.aspx

 

[JackMercy]

...Does anyone else feel like they're stuck in a children's movie universe, where there's always some spoiled rich kids stomping up in front of the protagonists, making self-aggrandizing statements about how much better their toys are...?

 

[Gmanofsteel]

...Does anyone else feel like they're stuck in a children's movie universe, where there's always some spoiled rich kids stomping up in front of the protagonists, making self-aggrandizing statements about how much better their toys are...?

yeah, its a shame their "toys" are now on the "recall" list now

 

[Serene]

And chew on this one (I posted "the phrase" a while back)...

Well, that's interesting. I'm not sure that I've ever seen that article before, Mikelus. Thanks for posting it.

I think I'm getting a bit senile.

 

[Mike_D202]

Hulk Hogan as Zod FTW.

 

[Prison Mike]

why hatin on SR

after all according to ALMILES the airplane rescue scene in SR was THE best SFX action packed scene in this decade

we have to take their word for it

that scene was pretty good though...

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

to think about it Superman franchise never work at Big screen

other than 1st two superman movies rest of superman movies wrer failure both critical and box office wise

and wasn't SR suppsed to be "reboot" too and since that flopped they are rebooting the reboot

No it was a sequel to the first two movies not a reboot.

You're right the character is more important than the actor playing him. But this is quite amusing, especially coming from the crowd that "wont see the new film unless "holdover actor X" is in it."

exactly. From what I've seen, you, I and many other Welling supporters have clearly said they'd still see a Supes movie if Welling wasn't in it. Several in the BR crowd have said they wouldn't see it if Routh wasn't in it.

So let me get this straight. Say if Tom Welling is not Superman but they keep Brandon Routh as Superman (as some sites have stated) you guys would still see this movie even if it is a reboot? And this is a question to all SV and Welling fans. Because I have seen many say they wont see this movie with out him for a reboot or if Routh is still Superman.

 

[Mikelus]

My decision to watch the next Superman movie will be based on the quality of the story, the cast and the director. If any of these elements is not right for me, I will wait for a proper torrent.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

My decision to watch the next Superman movie will be based on the quality of the story, the cast and the director. If any of these elements is not right for me, I will wait for a proper torrent.

Okay Mike lets go another way would you see another Superman film staring Brandon Routh. Lets say it has a good story and a cast you like but Brandon Routh is Superman instead of named actor here. Would you see the movie. Thats my question.

 

[Syncos]

If they can sell me on a good story i'll likely see it. I don't see Routh as Superman. But I think it is possible to make a good movie despite his lack of dramatic acting chops or physical likeness to the character.

It would take a lot to sell me on that hypothetical movie, though.
A Superman movie with Welling however, would have me in a seat. At least once. I've seen him play the role for 8 years, and know that given proper direction and proper story he'd nail it.

If they show me a trailer for another Lex Luthor goofy shenanigan scheme to steal land. You can count me out. Regardless of actor.

 

[Prison Mike]

Okay Mike lets go another way would you see another Superman film staring Brandon Routh. Lets say it has a good story and a cast you like but Brandon Routh is Superman instead of named actor here. Would you see the movie. Thats my question.

I would say yes. Most people here are Superman fans first. So if the story is good and cast is good, I don't see why anyone would not want to see the movie just because of Routh. If you are just a Welling fan, then I can understand but if you are a superman fan first, then the movie is a MUST!!

 

[LL2K2]

And chew on this one (I posted "the phrase" a while back)...

With no disrespect intended towards Reeve, then, he did a complete 180 on his previous statement.

 

[Gmanofsteel]

No it was a sequel to the first two movies not a reboot.

So let me get this straight. Say if Tom Welling is not Superman but they keep Brandon Routh as Superman (as some sites have stated) you guys would still see this movie even if it is a reboot? And this is a question to all SV and Welling fans. Because I have seen many say they wont see this movie with out him for a reboot or if Routh is still Superman.

I'd still see it, even if (ugh) Routh was in it. As others have said, if the story is good then that's the most important element. I am considering however, to not watch the new film in theaters *if* warners decides to prevent smallville from having the ending it deserves. My money can be better well spent elsewhere than to waste it on a movie created by those responsible for robbing my show of something it deserved. I'm still a Superman fan at heart, but I won't give them any kind of satisfaction for their stupidity.

 

[Webhead2006]

really whats the point if the film ends up being a total and complete reboot like robinov wants, if routh returns that makes no sense. Since SR failed and wb has come out and said now the film didnt work out the way they hoped for. So doing a complete and total reboot with new cast/crew and getting away from donnor/singer setting and story would greatly help out new film to be able to distance it self as far away as it could be from donnor/singer.

 

[Captain Kirk]

right now SV is the only sucessfull live action franchise on superman but maybe because they made clark more human and reletable unlike in movies

No, Superman Returns was just a boring sappy Love story instead of an exciting event film that it should have been. I'm telling you if WB would just make a film that was faithful to the comics and bring in more of the mythology from the books then this would turn into a blockbuster franchaise!

 

[Webhead2006]

the biggest problem with WB is they dont know what to do with with their dc characters on film, they got very lucky with nolan/batman.

 

[Captain Kirk]

the biggest problem with WB is they dont know what to do with with their dc characters on film, they got very lucky with nolan/batman.

You nailed it! It sucks that DC doesn't have their own studio like Marvel does!

 

[blksuperman2]

So let me get this straight. Say if Tom Welling is not Superman but they keep Brandon Routh as Superman (as some sites have stated) you guys would still see this movie even if it is a reboot? And this is a question to all SV and Welling fans. Because I have seen many say they wont see this movie with out him for a reboot or if Routh is still Superman.

Tom Welling is the definitive Supes for me but if Routh is cast on the next big budget movie I'd still go see it opening night. I am just too much of Superman fan not to. However there's probably no way I can convince the 20+ family/friends that I forced to go with me to see SR to go and see Routh again. All of them were disappointed w/ it. I still defend it but I think WB/DC need to move on and just go forward w/ either a Superman vs Batman movie or a JLA movie. I doubt a reboot will be much of a success now regardless of who's playing the man of steel.

 

[M.E.H.Z.E.B]

Tom Welling is the definitive Supes for me but if Routh is cast on the next big budget movie I'd still go see it opening night. I am just too much of Superman fan not to. However there's probably no way I can convince the 20+ family/friends that I forced to go with me to see SR to go and see Routh again. All of them were disappointed w/ it. I still defend it but I think WB/DC need to move on and just go forward w/ either a Superman vs Batman movie or a JLA movie. I doubt a reboot will be much of a success now regardless of who's playing the man of steel.

Agreed.

 

[Serene]

So let me get this straight. Say if Tom Welling is not Superman but they keep Brandon Routh as Superman (as some sites have stated) you guys would still see this movie even if it is a reboot? And this is a question to all SV and Welling fans. Because I have seen many say they wont see this movie with out him for a reboot or if Routh is still Superman.

I'd see it eventually, just like SR. Curiosity and hope are strong motivators.

Even if they do make a better movie than SR was, I'd still have a very hard time seeing BR in those tights again. I can't fathom anyone making the choice to put him in them again.

With no disrespect intended towards Reeve, then, he did a complete 180 on his previous statement.

I did find my copy of that press conference with Welling and Reeve, not all of it, but at least 7 or so minutes of it. Both of them were joking around and laughing at various times, and I think it's very easy for people to see what they want when they read the text alone.

It's really quite moving to watch now.

 

[RakuMon]

You nailed it! It sucks that DC doesn't have their own studio like Marvel does!

Which is ironic if you think about it. One of the advantages DC always had was that they had a sister company (Warner Bros.) who could conceivably produce all their superheroes into films. Whereas Marvel had individually licensed all their characters to competing studios like Fox and Sony.

Funny how the tables have turned, eh?

Seems that WB's alleged corporate synergy turned into a vice grip on DC properties. Instead of utilizing all the tools at their disposal (Features, TV production, Home Video, etc.) the corporate culture at Time Warner was to divide everything in-house into competing projects. Plus, WB's role as sister company (what was thought of as an advantage in the 80s) also meant the studio had first refusal rights, which basically means projects remain in development hell because WB isn't going to greenlight them, nor are they going to pass on them so the movie can move on to a different studio.

Meanwhile, Marvel started gathering the rights back to a lot of their major properties (Iron Man was at New Line and Fox for forever) and are now a major player in H-wood. SO much so that folks are looking at WB like, you guys totally dropped the ball.

And the most eff-ed up part about it is that WB really should have taken their DC properties seriously. I think years of neglect, or acquiescence to ego-driven directors, has really hampered their ability to put out quality flicks based on superheroes. They lucked out with Chris Nolan, but even then, as great as the Nolan flicks are, he's a guy who's unwilling to play ball when it comes to making a "cohesive" DC movie universe.

Personally, I don't really mind if the DC movies don't all exist in the same universe. What bothers me is DC/WB's insistence to seperate everything from a corporate standpoint. Features is using this so TV can't and so forth. It's an insane strategy (and is actually the opposite of corporate synergy).

My biggest argument for a Smallville based movie in the past was a simple economic one.

Just from a marketing angle alone, announcing that the cast of Smallville was graduating to being the face of the movie franchise would've created a ton of buzz for:

1) the final season of the show--ratings would increase, resulting in more eyeballs for Warner's fledgling network

2) DVD sales--Smallville DVD sets already sell like hotcakes. An announcement that SV would be branching off into films would increase sales in past season DVDs, already a cash cow

3) the movie franchise--instant buzz. Even if SV has its share of haters on the internets, such an announcement would automatically be the biggest story on the web. (Just look at how announcing a rumor about TW on G4 made the net explode last summer. Now multiply that by a thousand.)

So, with one stroke, Time Warner could have positively affected three seperate divisions (TV, WHV, Features), not to mention the movie year spike in comic sales.

Instead, you get infighting ("Welling will never wear the tights because Features says so"), embargoes ("Smallville can't use Kryptonians because Krypton is in McG's script" nonsense), and overall disfunction from a string of high-priced, high-ego directors (Burton, Ratner, McG, Peterson, Singer, Miller, et. al.).

You know what would ail the Superman movie franchise? ME. Give ME the damn thing, and I'll make you a $1 billion. Seriously.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

I wouldnt see a sequel with Routh in it no matter who wrote it or directed it. He's just too tied into SR at this point, and the audience is already reminded of that going in and it pulls you completely out of the story.

Another actor like Cavill or Bomer or someone, sure put me down for opening night. If they bring Routh back it might as well be with Singer, Spacey, Bosworth, and the Kid. You'd have thought WB would've learned their lessons about pseudo-sequels from the last go around.

 

[Ultimate_Superman]

I wouldnt see a sequel with Routh in it no matter who wrote it or directed it. He's just too tied into SR at this point, and the audience is already reminded of that going in and it pulls you completely out of the story.

Another actor like Cavill or Bomer or someone, sure put me down for opening night. If they bring Routh back it might as well be with Singer, Spacey, Bosworth, and the Kid. You'd have thought WB would've learned their lessons about pseudo-sequels from the last go around.

And thats where you got to understand where people are coming from with Welling. It doesn't matter if he has put on the suit or not the history of SV has rubbed a lot of people (fanboys) the wrong way. But it is silly to laugh at a certian group for not wanting to see the movie if their Superman is not in it while some of you will not see the movie if Welling does not become Superman at the end of Smallville or some of you will not see it if Routh is still Superman. I however think all actors Welling, Routh, Cavill, etc could pull it off either way and no matter who is in the tights I will still see it because it is a Superman movie.