2006 Movie News Archives

WonderCon 2006

February 12, 2006: Brandon Routh and Bryan Singer at WonderCon

We reported last week that Bryan Singer would attend WonderCon (in San Francisco) and that he'd have a surprise for the fans attending... the surprise was that he was joined by Superman himself, Brandon Routh.

Bryan Singer re-showed the ComicCon footage, and then he and Brandon Routh held a press conference during day 2 of WonderCon. Here are various online reports about what was said during the question and answer session...

IESB.net has an online video of both portions of the Press Conference.

IGN FilmForce:

    "We also had a lot of discussions about the physics of Superman," Singer added. "What is hard for him to lift? What's effortless? In theory his strength can be infinite, but an actor still has to embody that."

    "You don't want everything you lift to look the same," Routh said, noting that special care was made to ensure Superman had the right posture on take-off, landing and during turns while in flight.

ComicsContinuum:
    Routh was asked about the inevitable comparisons to Christopher Reeve.

    "I'll say this about Chris and what he means to this film and how he's a part of this film," Routh said. "In my opinion as me as an actor portraying this role -- and I get asked questions like this a lot -- Superman is a really good character and here are these different people, not only actors, but artists who have drawn him and writers who have written for him in all these different incarnations, he's grown and he grows.

    "Each artist puts their own twist on it, but they take what everybody else did. They go, 'Ok, that's what Superman is, but there's this that I want to add to.' So, it's people slapping on layers of paint, right?

    "Chris, to me, is my biggest influence. So, of course, there's that presence there because he did it so well and he was the guy. I guess he is part of, because my portrayal is based on him as much as his was based on everybody else's."

    Asked about the smaller 'S' on the costume, Routh said: "If you make the 'S' too large, the 'S' sort of takes over the chest and the whole front of the suit. The shape of the 'S' is to maximize the shape of my chest. With the suit restricting and not showing definition the way we would love it do, this is another way to show that sense of strength back to the suit."

    Singer said many sizes were tested. "When you see the movie, it fits his body, it fits his chest size," he said.

    Singer said the decision was not made lightly. "I don't like to mess with history, although it has gone through many changes over the years," he said.

The Pulse:
    Q: How do you deal with the huge expectations for a movie like this?

    SINGER: I just try to make a good film. If it's good people will come to watch and hopefully enjoy it. I recognize that there's an internet presence out there and the core fans are very important to me. There's also the original Richard Donner films which people are going to compare this to. I just try to make a good film and not compete with anything, and that includes the originals.

    Q: What was the overriding core you were going for with the movie?

    SINGER: The time felt right to re-experience the character and to sort of celebrate the collective memory of the character as he's evolved. We've made little changes, some of this will be new, but there's elements of Superman from his evolution as a character from the ;30s to the Donner films, to now.

    ROUTH: There's always times for change, and that's not a bad thing. There's a lot of people who are expecting a remake of the Christopher Reeves movies, but we're not out to recreate those movies, but to put Superman back into the public.

    Q: Do you serve the studio interests or the comic book community interests more?

    SINGER: Well, I feel more pressure from the comic community.[laughs] So I serve them, and the studio understands.

ComicBookResources:
    The central relationship in "Superman Returns" is, of course, between Superman and Lois Lane. A female fan complained about Lois sometimes looking and seeming "too fragile" and hoped that Singer's version would be stronger. Singer assured the fan that "Kate [Bosworth] plays her more mature. She has a boyfriend and child; she's at the peak of her career [having just been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize], and she's achieved a lot." Routh added that Lois has "always been strong and tenacious. She still gets into trouble, because Lois gets into trouble, it's just not as easy to get out of it." Asked why Lois has a child in the film, Singer explained that "very few things other than Kryptonite can pose a threat to Superman; he's that powerful. Giving Lois a fiancé and a baby poses a genuine threat, an obstacle, a conundrum to Superman." Routh expanded on this point: "Superman has a huge emotional quandary at the beginning of the film: 'How do I get around this?' and he realizes, 'You can't;' he has to live his life and be patient."


2006 Movie News

Listed below are all the Movie News items archived for 2006 organized into various categories:

“Superman Returns” Movie News:

Christopher Reeve Movie News: Hollywoodland (George Reeves) Movie News: Direct-to-DVD Animated Movie News: Other Movie News:

Back to the News Archive Contents page.

Back to the Latest News page.