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2006 Movie News Archives

June 28, 2006: Noel Neill & Jack Larson Talk “Superman Returns”

TV's Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, Noel Neill and Jack Larson spoke with the Associated Press about returning to the world of Superman for "Superman Returns". There are a few minor spoilers, but here's a part of the article...

"Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer grew up a fan of the TV show, which starred the late George Reeves as the Man of Steel. So when it came time to do his own take on Superman, Singer made sure to have Reeves' old comrades on hand.

"They said, 'Well, we can't have you as Lois Lane.' I said, 'I know, you want a younger one,'" Neill, 85, joked in an interview with The Associated Press.

"They said, 'But we have a part for you with Kevin Spacey, and your name is Gertrude," Neill continued, rolling her eyes at the name. "She's a rich widow, which is fine. Only she's dying."

Wearing a Superman lapel pin and a wide belt buckle with the Superman logo, Neill spoke over iced tea alongside Larson at Patrick's Roadhouse, a breakfast and lunch spot along the Santa Monica beaches that's the site of a hamburger joint the two used to hang out at in the 1950s. Both still live nearby.

In "Superman Returns," Larson, 73, was cast as a bartender in a scene opposite Brandon Routh, who plays Clark Kent and Superman, and the new Jimmy Olsen, Sam Huntington. It prefaces a pivotal moment in Superman's return to action after a mysterious five-year absence.

"It was a nice scene, and (Singer) promised me it couldn't be cut out of the film," said Larson, who went to Australia to shoot the segment. "I didn't want to go to Australia and end up on the cutting-room floor, but it was the scene where he decides to be Superman again."

Read the complete interview at the SFGate.com website.