Vintage Jon Cryer & Margot Kidder interviews for Superman IV

[Metallo]

Jon Cryer is the new Lex Luthor. Yes you read that right.

variety.com/2018/tv/news/jon-cryer-set-as-lex-luthor-in-cws-supergirl-1203030755/

Jon Cryer Set as Lex Luthor in CW’s ‘Supergirl’

By DANIEL HOLLOWAY

Jon Cryer has been cast as Lex Luthor in the CW’s “Supergirl.”

The move marks a return to series television for Cryer, who won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the long-running CBS comedy “Two and a Half Men.”

Cryer will recur on the Warner Bros. Television superhero drama as Luthor, the classic villain from the Superman comics, television shows, and films. He will make his first “Supergirl” appearance in the upcoming 15th episode of the show’s current and fourth season.

The actor played Lenny Luthor, nephew to Gene Hackman’s Lex, in the 1987 feature “Superman IV: A Quest for Peace.”

“We are enormous fans of Jon Cryer, and he was instantly our dream actor to play the iconic role of Lex Luthor,” said “Supergirl” executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller. “Jon is a super-talent, and the fact that he played Lenny Luthor in Superman IV brings an added layer of legacy to his casting. We’re beyond thrilled to welcome Jon to the Supergirl family.”

Cryer recently completed production on the feature “Big Time Adolescence” with Pete Davidson. He is represented by Forward Entertainment, UTA, and attorney David Fox. He played Alan Harper on Warner Bros.-produced “Two and a Half Men” from 2003 to 2015. He has appeared sparingly in TV roles since the series ended, with guest roles on “Mom,” “The Ranch,” “NCIS,” and “Will & Grace.”

Well that came out of nowhere? He’s not new to the franchise but has Cryer ever played a truly villainous character? He certainly has the look these days and is age appropriate but he still strikes me as more Eisenberg than Classic Silver age or even post crisis Lex Luthor. I don’t expect him to go full Alan Harper but can he change his usual style of acting?

[booshman]

"You're just an experiment, freako!"

[Metallo]

A lot depends on if they go for a more smarmy comedic take or a colder more serious take. The latter would be different for Cryer. I think he’s always been a pretty good actor so I’m pulling for him. I actually think they can pull this off if they have the right take. There can be some humor in it but don’t go for a full on cheesy bad guy. I hope they know they really need to knock this out of the park. Sam Witwer has been great as Agent Liberty so it shows they can do a dark complex villain.

[crazy_asian_man]

Nov 18, 2018 20:25:53 GMT -5 Metallo said:

A lot depends on if they go for a more smarmy comedic take or a colder more serious take. The latter would be different for Cryer. I think he’s always been a pretty good actor so I’m pulling for him. I actually think they can pull this off if they have the right take. There can be some humor in it but don’t go for a full on cheesy bad guy. I hope they know they really need to knock this out of the park. Sam Witwer has been great as Agent Liberty so it shows they can do a dark complex villain.

I'm hoping Cryer goes for a 'Hannibal Lecter' type take on it....

[Metallo]

The Arrowverse is so hit and miss with bad guys it could go either way. They’ve got it in them but for every Reverse Flash, Zoom, Deathstroke, Agent Liberty, Prometheus, or Tobias Whale there’s a Vandal Savage, Thinker, Damien Darke, Non, Savitar, or Cicada.

Reya was as ok, Reign was ok, but I think Supergirl is just now giving us a great season long bad guy. As much as I enjoy Legends I don’t think it’s ever given us a great recurring big bad. It had to borrow Darke, Merlyn, and Thawne from other shows in season 2. Arrows season long villains have been up and down since season 2 imo. Flashs major foes have gotten worse with each and every season because they’re stuck between not being able to match or redo the speedster bad guys and doing something different but equally as exciting.

I agree with you I hope they go more ruthless and calculating with if. Maybe not a monster like Lecter but someone with a similar demeanor and intelligence.

[crazy_asian_man]

Nov 22, 2018 16:57:02 GMT -5 Metallo said:

The Arrowverse is so hit and miss with bad guys it could go either way. They’ve got it in them but for every Reverse Flash, Zoom, Deathstroke, Agent Liberty, Prometheus, or Tobias Whale there’s a Vandal Savage, Thinker, Damien Darke, Non, Savitar, or Cicada.

Reya was as ok, Reign was ok, but I think Supergirl is just now giving us a great season long bad guy. As much as I enjoy Legends I don’t think it’s ever given us a great recurring big bad. It had to borrow Darke, Merlyn, and Thawne from other shows in season 2. Arrows season long villains have been up and down since season 2 imo. Flashs major foes have gotten worse with each and every season because they’re stuck between not being able to match or redo the speedster bad guys and doing something different but equally as exciting.

I agree with you I hope they go more ruthless and calculating with if. Maybe not a monster like Lecter but someone with a similar demeanor and intelligence.

I still think: there were SO MANY great writers on the Trek series.... they can't wrangle ANY of them to help out Berlianti move the quality of these shows to the next level? Or Buffy or Angel for that matter?

I hate that none of the Berlianti shows have been 'must watch' tv for me yet....

[Metallo]

Well most of those guys aren’t part of the same network. Networking is a big deal these days when getting hired for a lot of things. It’s always been that way but by the 90s how many TOS writers were TNG DS9 and Voyager using? Why weren’t Fontana or Black or Gerrold regulars for Berman? Not part of the same network. Or maybe some of those other Trek writers are busy with other things? Some of them might be retired or have health issues. That’s whats going on with Peter David. I just read that former Flash show runner Paul DeMeo DIED a few months ago. I didnt even know it. Can’t get people like Michael Piller for that reason. How many X-Files behind the scenes talents have passed on since then?

We want these people to continue contributing but the truth is they are getting older, CAM. TNG went off the air almost a quarter of a century ago. There’s other stuff we might not even know about. I looked up Tracy Torme and he hasn’t had anything released for tv or film since 2005!

[crazy_asian_man]

Nov 25, 2018 16:42:32 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Well most of those guys aren’t part of the same network. Networking is a big deal these days when getting hired for a lot of things. It’s always been that way but by the 90s how many TOS writers were TNG DS9 and Voyager using? Why weren’t Fontana or Black or Gerrold regulars for Berman? Not part of the same network. Or maybe some of those other Trek writers are busy with other things? Some of them might be retired or have health issues. That’s whats going on with Peter David. I just read that former Flash show runner Paul DeMeo DIED a few months ago. I didnt even know it. Can’t get people like Michael Piller for that reason. How many X-Files behind the scenes talents have passed on since then?

We want these people to continue contributing but the truth is they are getting older, CAM. TNG went off the air almost a quarter of a century ago. There’s other stuff we might not even know about. I looked up Tracy Torme and he hasn’t had anything released for tv or film since 2005!

I know Manny Coto sought out the Trek novelists for Enterprise Season 4 to write for him..... but I don't know enough about the industry to know how often something like that happens. Probably, as you mentioned, who you generally network with gets the job first.

[Metallo]

When I look at someone like Alex Kurtzman I wonder how he keeps on getting these top jobs despite being attached to a lot of recent films that have failed critically commercially or both. Then I realize most of that work is for Paramount and he probably has connections there as well as delivering what execs want instead of delivering the best product. He’s also heavily connected to Bad Robot and JJ Abrams which explains why he got the Mummy gig. Explains the Transfomers gigs and the Star Trek gigs. One big hit meant he kept on getting chances too.

[crazy_asian_man]

Nov 28, 2018 20:54:15 GMT -5 Metallo said:

When I look at someone like Alex Kurtzman I wonder how he keeps on getting these top jobs despite being attached to a lot of recent films that have failed critically commercially or both. Then I realize most of that work is for Paramount and he probably has connections there as well as delivering what execs want instead of delivering the best product. He’s also heavily connected to Bad Robot and JJ Abrams which explains why he got the Mummy gig. Explains the Transfomers gigs and the Star Trek gigs. One big hit meant he kept on getting chances too.

Good points...

I remember reading a blurb in that old movie magazine "Premiere" that quoted a director torn between casting Emma Thompson and another actress- but when talking to another director, he told him that Emma's behavior made it an easier shoot for everyone--- and that keyed me into why some actors/actresses who don't seem all that magnetic get the leads- the work ethic and how comfortable they make the people they work with. I shouldn't be suprised, but I guess that can explain a lot for front and behind the scenes choices.

[Metallo]

Exactly. Great actors with great talents have had their careers killed because of difficulty on sets. So many examples of that. Even with writers and directors. It’s why I try to tell people who get mad that a certain actor isn’t being used that maybe it’s because of behind the scenes issues. Some people wanted Rosenbaum back as Luthor or Welling back as Superman but they have zero interest in doing it on tv.

[crazy_asian_man]

Dec 1, 2018 13:17:02 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Exactly. Great actors with great talents have had their careers killed because of difficulty on sets. So many examples of that. Even with writers and directors. It’s why I try to tell people who get mad that a certain actor isn’t being used that maybe it’s because of behind the scenes issues. Some people wanted Rosenbaum back as Luthor or Welling back as Superman but they have zero interest in doing it on tv.

Funny thing is, reading more and more how much that also applies to the behind the scenes on pro comics.... hmn...

[Metallo]

Eventually it catches up to them because no one wants to work with someone who holds up the hold process being a prima donna. If that person is producing results they’ll let it slide. Same in Hollywood. Once they start to slip all bets are off. On the other side someone can be easy to work with on the job with most people but then they break the rules doing other things but the company covers for them. They aren’t creatively difficult but let’s just say they think because of all that they get away with other stuff.

[crazy_asian_man]

Dec 1, 2018 17:45:18 GMT -5 Metallo said:

Eventually it catches up to them because no one wants to work with someone who holds up the hold process being a prima donna. If that person is producing results they’ll let it slide. Same in Hollywood. Once they start to slip all bets are off. On the other side someone can be easy to work with on the job with most people but then they break the rules doing other things but the company covers for them. They aren’t creatively difficult but let’s just say they think because of all that they get away with other stuff.

Interesting... hmn...

With Hollywood, I took a pretty fun film history class and did some readings on early scandals behind the scenes that suggested some pretty unpleasant behind the scenes stuff in Hollywood. I do wonder now and then about how much ISN'T really different back then.

On the flip side, I was thrillled in watching a documentary on Chris Claremont's X-men where they talked with Claremont, Ann Nocenti, and Louise Simonson that talked about working at Marvel being just this wonderful fun, creative place.... if it was as fun and good spirited as that without a dark underbelly at Marvel at the time- I'm thrilled that SOME childhood dreams didnt' have a sour or ugly inside. (In some ways- the Kirby and Ditko treatment still stucks).

[Metallo]

Looks about how I was expecting since Cryer shaves his head these days. Looks good. What they’re saying about the character sounds good. Here’s hoping. Supergirl is hit and miss but I’ve loved what they’ve done with Agent Liberty. Some others not so much.

[crazy_asian_man]

So glad he's not wearing a toupee....!

[Metallo]

The sprinkle on hair always looked odd to me.

Now he’s embraced his inner (and outer) Lex. The joy of Lex if you will.

[Metallo]

Not bad Cryer not bad. Wish Superman was around so they’d have some scenes.

[Metallo]

ew.com/tv/2019/03/15/supergirl-jon-cryer-lex-luthor-spoilers-superman-iv/

Jon Cryer reveals why he said yes to playing Lex Luthor on Supergirl

March 15, 2019 at 08:47 PM EDT

Jon Cryer‘s past as a member of the Luthor family was one of the reasons he agreed to play Lex Luthor on Supergirl.

This Sunday, the Two and a Half Men alum will make his debut as Superman’s greatest foe on the CW superhero drama; however, this isn’t the first time he’s played a Luthor. As most fans know, he played comedic relief Lenny Luthor in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which is widely regarded as the most disappointing entry of the original Christopher Reeve-led series (EW’s own Darren Franich ranked it as the worst Superman movie ever). Given both of the film’s less than sterling reputation and Cryer’s love of the first Superman movie and the comics, he wanted the opportunity to do the Luthor name justice.

“Part of the reason I did Superman IV was because [Superman] changed my life,” Cryer told reporters at a screening of Sunday’s episode “O Brother, Where Are Thou,” on Friday. “I was like 14-years-old and [Superman‘s] tagline was, ‘You will believe a man can fly,’ and boy, I bought it! I totally bought it. Superman IV had really high hopes, but unfortunately, it was very disappointing for people and that had always sort of hurt me in a very 14-year-old boy way. And so I thought, you know, this is my chance to do it right.”

So far, the experience of both playing Lex and returning to the Luthor family has been pretty “lovely,” he said. “I had a certain amount of familiarity. I was very excited about working with Katie McGrath and I love the whole story that they’ve set up for this season. Yeah, I felt like Lenny [was] a branch on the family tree that fell off pretty early and was rotting on the ground basically for a long while…So I feel like this was my chance to sort of reclaim it and do it a little more justice, or injustice, as it were.”

Supergirl showrunners and executive producers Robert Rovner and Jessica Queller have also been very pleased with Cryer’s performance so far.

“I am in awe of Mr. Cryer. I don’t think we could have possibly done better in our casting, and I mean, we’re just thrilled,” said Queller. “We were so excited when DC gave us permission to use Lex Luthor. It’s something the show has wanted to do since the onset and it’s always been a very emphatic ‘no’… This was a huge gift to get to create our Lex, and we really wanted to have a singular Lex Luthor that paid homage to the other famous iconic Lexes.”

The duo revealed that Cryer was their first choice. “We were thinking about who could play Lex Luthor, and then I saw Jon’s picture and then it struck me, ‘Lenny Luthor!’ Then, it seemed like what we really needed in a Lex Luthor was a villain that you love to hate and a brilliant actor, and so it was like, ‘Oh my god!’ It felt very serendipitous at the time.” said Rovner.

In Sunday’s episode, Lex is secretly furloughed from prison because he’s dying from an illness and needs his sister Lena’s (McGrath) help to find a cure. From there, the episode dives into the sibling’s dynamic.

“I think Lex is a sociopath. He’s an actual sociopath, but he does have a link he can’t break with her. And also to some degree, he gets that she’s got an incredible gift as an intellect and as a scientist. So, his narcissism, I think, kicks in and he can find that to love about her,” said Cryer. “She’s like me, that’s why I love her. So he understands that she’s a formidable person and I do think that his really twisted family history does come into play. Although, by the way, I don’t know the entirety of the entire twisted family history because there have been hints, but I don’t yet know it all. I think that’s for the best because I’m on Twitter too much.”

He continued, “As anybody who has lived with an entirely toxic human being in their life understands, you keep them at arm’s length, and that is what Katie’s character Lena has done beautifully is just, ‘I get that you’re there, I get that I have to deal with you, but I’m not going to let you hurt me.'”

Looking ahead, you can expect the supervillain to have an impact on the rest of the fourth season. “I think [Lex’s introduction] energizes the second half of the season because his presence in the show and in the story that we’re telling really creates a singular villain that drives everybody’s agenda moving forward.”

Supergirl airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on The CW.

[Metallo]

www.darkhorizons.com/cryer-supergirl-atones-for-superman-iv/

Cryer: “Supergirl” Atones For “Superman IV”

By Garth Franklin
Saturday, March 16th 2019 6:04 pm

The casting of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor in The CW’s “Supergirl” raised some eyebrows. It’s an odd choice within the context of the show’s narrative given the actor’s age, but in the context of the franchise itself it’s an enjoyable in-joke.

Cryer famously played Lenny Luthor, the snivelling nephew of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) in the widely disparaged 80s film “Superman IV: A Quest For Peace” which almost killed the superhero genre. “Supergirl” in the past has had no issues acknowledging old DC adaptations with actors like Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Helen Slater and Lynda Carter all popping up.

So how in on the fun is Cryer? Turns out it’s one of the central reasons he’s taking on the role. He tells The Live Feed:

“Part of the reason I did Superman IV was because [Superman] changed my life. I was like 14-years-old and [Superman’s] tagline was, ‘You will believe a man can fly,’ and boy, I bought it! I totally bought it. Superman IV had really high hopes, but unfortunately, it was very disappointing for people and that had always sort of hurt me in a very 14-year-old boy way. And so I thought, you know, this is my chance to do it right.

I had a certain amount of familiarity [with the show]. I was very excited about working with Katie McGrath and I love the whole story that they’ve set up for this season. Yeah, I felt like Lenny [was] a branch on the family tree that fell off pretty early and was rotting on the ground basically for a long while…So I feel like this was my chance to sort of reclaim it and do it a little more justice, or injustice, as it were.”

Cryer will appear in three episodes this season – he’ll make his debut in the role on this Sunday’s episode. Next Sunday’s will be a long flashback episode showing what he’s been up to in the last few years, and then he’ll appear again in the season finale.

So he’s doing three episodes with one flashback. I doubt it but I hope they got Hoechlin for that since I’d love to see a scene with Superman and Luthor.

[crazy_asian_man]

Mar 16, 2019 21:44:59 GMT -5 Metallo said:

www.darkhorizons.com/cryer-supergirl-atones-for-superman-iv/

Cryer: “Supergirl” Atones For “Superman IV”

By Garth Franklin
Saturday, March 16th 2019 6:04 pm

The casting of Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor in The CW’s “Supergirl” raised some eyebrows. It’s an odd choice within the context of the show’s narrative given the actor’s age, but in the context of the franchise itself it’s an enjoyable in-joke.

Cryer famously played Lenny Luthor, the snivelling nephew of Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) in the widely disparaged 80s film “Superman IV: A Quest For Peace” which almost killed the superhero genre. “Supergirl” in the past has had no issues acknowledging old DC adaptations with actors like Dean Cain, Teri Hatcher, Helen Slater and Lynda Carter all popping up.

So how in on the fun is Cryer? Turns out it’s one of the central reasons he’s taking on the role. He tells The Live Feed:

“Part of the reason I did Superman IV was because [Superman] changed my life. I was like 14-years-old and [Superman’s] tagline was, ‘You will believe a man can fly,’ and boy, I bought it! I totally bought it. Superman IV had really high hopes, but unfortunately, it was very disappointing for people and that had always sort of hurt me in a very 14-year-old boy way. And so I thought, you know, this is my chance to do it right.

I had a certain amount of familiarity [with the show]. I was very excited about working with Katie McGrath and I love the whole story that they’ve set up for this season. Yeah, I felt like Lenny [was] a branch on the family tree that fell off pretty early and was rotting on the ground basically for a long while…So I feel like this was my chance to sort of reclaim it and do it a little more justice, or injustice, as it were.”

Cryer will appear in three episodes this season – he’ll make his debut in the role on this Sunday’s episode. Next Sunday’s will be a long flashback episode showing what he’s been up to in the last few years, and then he’ll appear again in the season finale.

So he’s doing three episodes with one flashback. I doubt it but I hope they got Hoechlin for that since I’d love to see a scene with Superman and Luthor.

It would feel odd if they didn't at least do that.... but then again, I'm still irritated that they didn't have Routh for tv Superman, too...

[Metallo]

I get not using Routh. He’d be too tied to SR continuity for what they wanted to do. The good thing with the multiverse is they could bring back his Superman the way they brought back Shipps Barry Allen.

With Hoechlin his availability may be a factor. It would be a missed opportunity if they didn’t at least shoot something to use for the Lex episodes when they had him. They did start Lexs first episode with a flashback to how he got caught.

[Metallo]

I really enjoyed the finale. A lot of stuff happened. A lot of it predictable a lot of it not. One things for sure: Crisis is going to be VERY interesting.

[crazy_asian_man]

Cool interview!

Wish I could keep up- I'd rather that the Berliantiverse had one or two FANTASTIC shows instead of five uneven ones. Too much to keep up with, still want to wait for blu-rays/dvds.

[Metallo]

I don’t necessarily think it’s the number of shows. Sure that’s a factor since they can be stretched thin. But I think it’s the amount of content they’re producing that’s the big problem. They’re still on that 18-22 episodes a season model while the whole tv model is changing. Filling those kinds of orders leads to a lot of filler and not a lot of good ideas. I think black lighting season one was better with 13 episodes. legends also has shorter seasons and I think it’s one of the better shows.

Another issue with the same people working on all these shows is they share the same formulas. This season had at least 3 of the Arrowverse shows do the same twist with the big bad guy. Then again the MCU also has that problem. Thor, Black Panther, and even Aquaman all had very similar setups with the whole family feud for the throne. There was also the six Marvel Netflix shows which ended up with fewer than episodes but a couple of those were duds too so there’s also the question of decision making at the top.