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Post by crazy_asian_man on Dec 22, 2009 12:21:03 GMT -5
Found this at the Hollywood Reporter: www.heatvisionblog.com/2009/12/bryan-singer-xmen-first-class-jack-the-giant-killer-q-and-a.html The bit that stood out-
Heat Vision: So are you still looking for more projects?
Singer: From an event movie development position, it's a healthy slate for me, it's things that I'm passionate about. But you never know. In between two big movies, a smaller, more character-driven movie can fit. I'm never opposed that. "Valkyrie" was supposed to be that, and it turned out to be bigger than it was intended to be.
I enjoy these large canvas movies, I enjoy sci-fi and fantasy, and my company produces a lot of things that allow me to do smaller, character-driven projects.
Heat Vision: You took a breather after "Valkyrie," but over the past few months you have become attached to some big projects. What made you come out of your self-imposed exile, if you will?
Singer: Well I have been working a lot, on producorial stuff. When you have a company, you have five or six film projects in development, some TV, like the one I’m doing with Bryan Fuller called "SelleVision" for NBC, but when you’re shooting abroad, it's frustrating because you can't devote a lot of time for them.
So when I was through with "Valkyrie," I was able to devote eight or nine months to that and also take some personal time for my family. And then focus on these. These are big undertakings.I wasn't 100% sure when Maverick blamed Singer for going over on "Valkyrie" when the sequel for SR got greenlit--- wanted to wait to hear it from the horses' mouth & give Singer the benefit of the doubt--- but in reading this, it seems to confirm (for the most part) just what Mav was suggesting: Staying over on "Valkyrie" probably DID kill the small window of opportunity for MOS when the studio said 'yes' for that short time. AGH!  |
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Post by MAVERICK on Dec 22, 2009 16:54:34 GMT -5
God I hate being right on this one |
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Post by stargazer01 on Dec 23, 2009 15:42:31 GMT -5
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Dec 24, 2009 12:02:02 GMT -5
Who knew a movie studio could be so fickle so fast, though?
Soon as "Valkyrie" wrapped up, WB certainly could have waited for Singer, rather than go into a spiral of self-doubt over where to take Superman. How could all the conditions be 'right' for a sequel, then all of the sudden, it's not? Wonder if it's not more than a little political.
No wonder directors keep several projects in the pipeline.... maybe the fickleness of studios is more common than less.
*sigh*
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Dec 24, 2009 12:03:44 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this link--- interesting interview, odd how even producers that seem like they're in the mix to know the status of different things at studios- DON'T seem to know.
Hopefully WB/DC doesn't change their minds again and we'll hear what's really going on in January...
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Post by Scissorpuppy on Dec 26, 2009 16:41:12 GMT -5
Who knew a movie studio could be so fickle so fast, though? Soon as "Valkyrie" wrapped up, WB certainly could have waited for Singer, rather than go into a spiral of self-doubt over where to take Superman. How could all the conditions be 'right' for a sequel, then all of the sudden, it's not? Wonder if it's not more than a little political. No wonder directors keep several projects in the pipeline.... maybe the fickleness of studios is more common than less. *sigh* There was a small window to make it happen. Both side let it pass. WB was public is saying that if SR made atleast 200 million stateside they would move forward. And it did, but slower than expected. Then Singer took his time with Valkyrie, and WB probably while still interested started looking at other options. They probably read around on the net aswell, to see what those "posters" thought. Ya know, the ones that yelled over the years to get the S2 Donnar footage. And what did they read "Superman Returns Sucks". At this point they probably laid out a few rules they wanted followed by Singer to insure the next film would be more of a summer spectaculer. Singer was probably unsure he wanted that. Add in the current legal situation with Superman, and they probably feel like waiting awhile and restarting is the best option. WB is pretty fickle about Supes, but I'm sure Singer could have done more to convince them to make Man of Steel. But, it's probably not gonna happen now. |
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Dec 26, 2009 18:00:34 GMT -5
Great points, and sounds very possible--- but on the other hand- another (sortof) similiar situation was X-men 3.... when Xmen 2 came out, it was a big hit--- AND fanboys were (justifiably imo) raving about it--- and yet, rather than that studio locking in Singer right away to do it--- they apparently sat on their hands (fickleness or indecision?) and let Singer get away. ((*Although in that case, they actually made a movie anyways, good or bad)) In other words- while your assessment sounds very plausible, there seems to be more than a few times when studios just seem.... well- INSANE in their decisions. (i.e.- A $100 million dollar Catwoman movie???) With George Lucas and his Star Wars empire--- at least he was smart (for himself) to have total control over that property, so things couldn't end up in development/restart heck. (Although ironically that's one franchise that might have benefitted from having control of that property taken away and put in other hands, but that's another story). With Supes? I have strong doubts that we'll see anything within 25 years as far as solo features with him, but hopefully I'm wrong. In any case..... I guess it's always good to remember that (as Tom Mankiewicz mentioned) DC had MANY years to put out Superman movies prior to the Salkinds, but it took producers like the Salkinds to actually get it started. (And Donner/Reeve to make it have a life of its own)- given that perspective, I guess it's a good indicator on how WB works in general anyways. |
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Post by Scissorpuppy on Dec 26, 2009 18:42:04 GMT -5
Yeah, you know someone with actual insider knowledge could write an amazing book on the Superman situation.
It's hard to tell why Studios have made the decisions they do. For the most part I feel WB has tried to make quality product over the past 6 years. I also think the success of Nolan's Batman films have raised expectations very high. Especially after TDK, I think WB started to really look down on a Superman Returns follow up. They also probably expected Returns to make 300 million easy.
As far as Catwoman goes, I think they just finally wanted to try and get some investment back. The project was started in 1993 and had several writers,directors and actors attached and paid over the years. Hally Berry was a big name star and wanted to do it, they figured it couldn't be that bad.... Could it? WRONG!
I think WB dropped the ball with Man of Steel, but I also feel Singer wasn't willing to compromise enough. That's just the feeling I get, I have no way to prove that. Fox is a studio that several talented directors have had horrible experiences with over the past 15 years Fincher, Singer, Scott ect. WB on the other hand seems to be more nurturing to their talent, they produce good product for the most part. That is why I think Singer is at Equal blame.
I still don't understand why WB won't atleast ask Singer to do an extended cut of Superman Returns for BLU/DVD. Easy money in the bank, with limited new investment.
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Post by crazy_asian_man on Dec 26, 2009 20:09:52 GMT -5
AMEN TO THAT! I could not agree more.
I hope I've always put out that whatever I've gleaned, it's speculation on SR: the fighting over 'definitely why or why not' MOS has been frustrating.... because in the end, we're all just trying to piece things together from bits on the net- Even the interview with JLA producer Dan Lin sounded pretty straightforward--- and if HE can't get into the pipeline of WB decisions, how can WE get a chance to know for sure? Though- I do wonder exactly how things are structured over there--- if it's all mainly a call by ONE exec or a vote of a committee (probably) that keeps things in "stall" mode.
Bottom line: it's good/bad to hear that the net has some influence. The influence of the net arguably stopped Abrams' bizzarro version of Superman from happening; pity if it also stopped MOS.
Agreed.... though I thought that the studio would have read TDK's success as: dark=ok for a superhero movie, let's go with MOS' rather than--- 'we need to start over'.
Plus.... it was SOOOO bad. If it was a low-budget straight-to-dvd, (under that low bar), I might have said the film wasn't that horrible. But it was just....bad. And EXPENSIVE.
It's possible.... although I wonder if the compromise was that the SR subplot with Jason/Richard was to be dropped. At the same time, I agree--- WB did give us "Blade Runner: the final cut" and both Nolan films, so for that alone, they DO deserve a big chunk of credit, despite the giant development heck they seem comfortable with in Superman's case.
TOTALLY agree. (Not to mention even--- at this point--- a simpler recut of the RDC. I just want a comprehensive RDC on blu ray, which would be dirt cheap, even if we're never going to get exactly what we want from it, in terms of CGI villains rule the world/etc.).
Even though it's high on our list--- it's highly likely that Superman is nowhere close to being seen as one of the studio's main assets--- unlike how Star Trek is valued for Paramont. (I had no doubt that they weren't going to let Trek sit there forever).
Maybe it's because WB has so many characters under their stable, they just figure they're more or less interchangeable. (WRONG!) Green Lantern is just as good as Superman, in their opinion, perhaps. *sigh*
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Post by stargazer01 on Dec 30, 2009 12:56:28 GMT -5
Saw this post today at SHH. I think this guy gets it,
"But once again people have to understand despite what the fans felt towards Superman Returns; a sequel was happening and should have happened last year had Bryan Singer not taken on a large film (Valkyire) and stuck to a smaller film as stated before. Remember even though the comic book fan base was split on the movie; the general public pretty much liked it and the WB viewed the movie in the same category as Batman Begins. Where they saw it made some money and felt it could do better with a sequel. However when Singer went on to do Valkyrie (which did in turn piss the WB off) things changed and we got to see all that play out. But before hand and even during Valkyrie there was suppose to be a sequel. But then that movie took longer then expect and you had the writers strike and then the lawsuit that is pretty much why we are at this point right now. Not because SR failed. That's why I have to laugh when fans say there is no sequel because Superman Returns sucked and failed when that is far from the case. Ask anyone who had inside info on the movie the problem was not the fans reaction the problem was Singer took on a another huge project when he said he wasn't going to then having little to no contact with the WB. He was suppose to do a movie like Nolan's The Prestige. In which Nolan during filming stayed in contact with the WB and was doing pre-production work for the Dark Knight. Singer did neither which started off a chain reaction of events that lead us to this state."
And of course Singer is an stablished director so he'll continue getting work, right? The real victim here was Brandon and the character.
As a SR and Brandon fan, I really, really wanted to see him in the role again because to me he makes a fantastic Superman and Clark. The best one since Chris Reeve easily. But that's not going to happen. Thank you, Bryan Singer and WB....................
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Legsy
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Post by Legsy on Dec 30, 2009 13:10:22 GMT -5
Well, I wouldn't say the character is a victim. Statistically speaking, Supes is still #1. And I wouldn't say that Brandon is losing out. It's opened the door of opportunity really. Small roles here and there, nothing he would have now if he never played Supes. If he never wears the suit again, he won't have the problem Reeves, Reeve and Cain have/had with being typecast. That's probably why Welling decided to start his own production company.
That said, I still blame WB. heck, they haven't even announced a sequel to TDK. Something they should have done last year!
I guess I've actually gotten over this entire ordeal. I've accepted the facts and have moved on.
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Post by stargazer01 on Dec 30, 2009 14:00:02 GMT -5
Yes he is. He got a good movie in SR that did solid all around. Many people liked it, but it got no sequel. It totally deserved it. Most people wanted to see an action-packed one where he could finally FIGHT and kick some supervillain butt. Plus it took what like 20 YEARS for WB to finally get the ball rolling on another Supes film. LOTS of wasted time, don't you think? NOT in many, many people's minds anymore, sadly. I know he is #1 for us die hards, but TDK and Iron Man changed all that. It's a perception thing. We know he has the most potential, but he is not being allowed to show it ON live action and on the BIG screen. An action-packed sequel featuring an awesome supervillain for Supes to fight would only have solidified his place as the best superhero ever... but... Yes he lost tremendously because a sequel would have solidified his role as The Superman of this generation on most people's minds, just like with Chris Reeve. He should be doing a lot better than that by now IF a sequel would have happened. But WB and yes Singer killed that rise. Because he was a hit in the role. No doubt about that, no matter what the Wellingnites tell ya. I've accepted the facts too but it still hurts. Oh, and Welling has been playing the Clark character for almost 10 years now but hasn't gotten good acting offers in good movies yet. Weird, no? He should be doing a lot better by now, I think. Wonder why, not that I really care. ;D |
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Dec 30, 2009 14:36:53 GMT -5
god forgives....
fanboys don't.
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Post by Jimbo on Dec 30, 2009 14:51:55 GMT -5
god forgives.... fanboys don't. Truer words were never spoken. |
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Post by Bobby M on Dec 30, 2009 14:54:53 GMT -5
Well, Jesus forgives. That much is true. I think God himself can be quite vengeful if you go by the Old Testament. But I guess that if Jesus really is in actuality an aspect of God then it all works out in the end. Unlike the Superman franchise.
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Post by Jimbo on Dec 30, 2009 15:05:45 GMT -5
Wow Bobby, this is one of the few times you post in the Superman forum. ;D
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matt
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Post by matt on Dec 30, 2009 15:10:54 GMT -5
god forgives.... fanboys don't.    |
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Legsy
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Post by Legsy on Dec 30, 2009 15:36:11 GMT -5
god forgives.... fanboys don't. John Lennon |
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Post by Bobby M on Dec 30, 2009 17:51:24 GMT -5
Wow Bobby, this is one of the few times you post in the Superman forum. ;D I do pop in here every now and again, so as to make it look like I actually know something about Superman (when really I don't). Although that last post was about religion, so I don't suppose it counts. I do think Superman II is great, though. Really I do. "Kneel before Zod!" and all that. Quality. |
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Dec 31, 2009 0:33:41 GMT -5
on this one, halfway between 'legs and 'gazer is Jor.
see, superman will always be a mythic icon. not even WB is pwoerful enough to do him in. so, yeah he's HUGE. he is so important.
and i DO believe WB sees him as a perrenial cash-cow.
however- right now superman is most-widely seen as smallville, and that is not superman's finest hour. frankly a great deal of superman material has been unworthy, but he prevails.
as to singer, i love him- but he is a fickle fruity bitch eh?
and routh- classy guy, deserved that epic-event sequel. wish him the best.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2009 5:10:22 GMT -5
Superman is as recognizable as Jesus Christ in other places on Earth.
He's far from finished.
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ye5man
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Post by ye5man on Dec 31, 2009 5:12:41 GMT -5
He'll live long after Singer and Jon Peters are dead and buried
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Legsy
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Post by Legsy on Dec 31, 2009 11:39:22 GMT -5
EXAAACTLY!
Superman is American's version of Greek Mythology. He'll be alive as long as us humans are running the show.
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Post by stargazer01 on Dec 31, 2009 12:13:40 GMT -5
on this one, halfway between 'legs and 'gazer is Jor. see, superman will always be a mythic icon. not even WB is pwoerful enough to do him in. so, yeah he's HUGE. he is so important. and i DO believe WB sees him as a perrenial cash-cow. however- right now superman is most-widely seen as smallville, and that is not superman's finest hour. frankly a great deal of superman material has been unworthy, but he prevails. as to singer, i love him- but he is a fickle fruity bitch eh? and routh- classy guy, deserved that epic-event sequel. wish him the best. I never said he wasn't big. He is. He is still the most recognizable superhero in the world and one of the most loved fictional figures ever. He is iconic. I know that. But that doesn't mean that right now he is being viewed as the most popular among the superheroes. That title belongs to Spiderman and Batman. Iron Man is getting there too. Sorry guys, but it's true. And like Jor said, Smallville is not helping the cause at all. But not enough people watch that show anymore so I guess it doesn't matter much. |
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Post by Jor-L5150 on Dec 31, 2009 19:46:32 GMT -5
Superman is as recognizable as Jesus Christ in other places on Earth. He's far from finished. ...reminds me of another john lennon quote.... He'll live long after Singer and Jon Peters are dead and buried singer i'll keep, jon peters on the other hand.... who's gonna miss him? (btw- i may be calling a few of you. just , y'know on the phooooonnne. just chatting. maybe around 10:30 EST... no reason. probably be talking a good 45 minutes or so. no reason at all. i'll be on the phone. you'll be on the phone. the record will show i was on the phone...with you. so how could i possibly have been anywhere NEAR the jon peters estate? its ludicris. i was no where near the place. i dont even HAVE a shovel like that. and those boot-prints are not even my size.) |
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