Superheroes
It may sound obsurd,
But don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed ...
If you could have any one superpower, what would you choose? It really is a cliché question, I suppose. Last night I watched Unbreakable (which I think is a great movie, btw) and today I read about a whole bunch of upcoming superhero flicks - Batman Begins, Superman Reborn, X3, etc ...
When I was 10 years old, DC Comics killed off Superman. I cried. The day the issue came out, I read it and I cried. When you're a kid, you don't grasp marketing tactics or anything like that. The notion that, in an industry that was growing darker and more mature, a company like DC Comics might be having trouble selling the old Boyscout just doesn't have any meaning to a 10 year-old. All I knew was that one of my heroes had been killed. And Lex Luthor wasn't responsible. Of all the villains he had ever faced, the strongest being on the planet was killed by a crag-faced, grey rock monster.
Why does this matter?
It doesn't really ... but I suppose that my choice of a career path has made me more aware of the horrible truth of Superman's short-term death. The Man of Steel was not killed by Doomsday. He was killed by DC Comics ... more specifically, he was killed by a bunch of guys in suits who believed that the fictitious city of Metropolis needed to be turned upside down big time to boost sales of Superman comics. I cried because some people who probably didn't even read the comics voted to kill the Last Son of Krypton.
Nowadays, it's the executives in the production department of DC's parent company, Warner Bros., that have done the killing. For about a decade now (probably longer), Warner Bros. has been having immense difficulty getting the Big Blue back on the Big Screen. The can't keep a director attached, they can't pick a suitable actor, they can't agree on a budget, they can't agree on a shooting location ... the problems go on and on. If you watch An Evening With Kevin Smith, you'll learn of the horrible guidelines set by producer Jon Peters for the story that Smith was hired to write. I've read the script ... it's bad. Not in a "wow, that sucks," kind of way ... the dialogue is great ... but more in a "wow, Kevin Smith listened to Jon Peters' guidelines?!" sort of way.
The fact is, if you get someone who can physically and emotionally act two different roles - strong and confident, and reserved and humble - you will probably have found your Man of Steel. The Rumor Mill has been circulating many supposed "first choice" actors for the role of Supes, but to me, they all seem a bit young. A fresh new face is one thing, but if that face still suffers from acne every now and then, I think the actor is probably just a bit too young for the role. Superman should be someone in their late 20's-to-mid 30's. He has to be a proper adult, but not exactly old enough to be my father. Someone who can connect to the world of being both young and old - because that is his eternal story; he is the Last Son of Krypton, not the Last Man of Krypton. He is a child of Fate - destined to be a protector of all that is good in our world. The Man of Steel is the last bastion of hope for a generation of wannabe gangsters, reality-TV junkies and video game zombies.
If Bryan Singer stays on the project - unlike Tim Burton, McG, and Brett Ratner - perhaps children born in the last decade can believe a man can fly ... all over again.
I don't think I could ever choose one single superpower to have ... I'd rather be like Superman.
But don't be naive
Even heroes have the right to bleed ...
If you could have any one superpower, what would you choose? It really is a cliché question, I suppose. Last night I watched Unbreakable (which I think is a great movie, btw) and today I read about a whole bunch of upcoming superhero flicks - Batman Begins, Superman Reborn, X3, etc ...
When I was 10 years old, DC Comics killed off Superman. I cried. The day the issue came out, I read it and I cried. When you're a kid, you don't grasp marketing tactics or anything like that. The notion that, in an industry that was growing darker and more mature, a company like DC Comics might be having trouble selling the old Boyscout just doesn't have any meaning to a 10 year-old. All I knew was that one of my heroes had been killed. And Lex Luthor wasn't responsible. Of all the villains he had ever faced, the strongest being on the planet was killed by a crag-faced, grey rock monster.
Why does this matter?
It doesn't really ... but I suppose that my choice of a career path has made me more aware of the horrible truth of Superman's short-term death. The Man of Steel was not killed by Doomsday. He was killed by DC Comics ... more specifically, he was killed by a bunch of guys in suits who believed that the fictitious city of Metropolis needed to be turned upside down big time to boost sales of Superman comics. I cried because some people who probably didn't even read the comics voted to kill the Last Son of Krypton.
Nowadays, it's the executives in the production department of DC's parent company, Warner Bros., that have done the killing. For about a decade now (probably longer), Warner Bros. has been having immense difficulty getting the Big Blue back on the Big Screen. The can't keep a director attached, they can't pick a suitable actor, they can't agree on a budget, they can't agree on a shooting location ... the problems go on and on. If you watch An Evening With Kevin Smith, you'll learn of the horrible guidelines set by producer Jon Peters for the story that Smith was hired to write. I've read the script ... it's bad. Not in a "wow, that sucks," kind of way ... the dialogue is great ... but more in a "wow, Kevin Smith listened to Jon Peters' guidelines?!" sort of way.
The fact is, if you get someone who can physically and emotionally act two different roles - strong and confident, and reserved and humble - you will probably have found your Man of Steel. The Rumor Mill has been circulating many supposed "first choice" actors for the role of Supes, but to me, they all seem a bit young. A fresh new face is one thing, but if that face still suffers from acne every now and then, I think the actor is probably just a bit too young for the role. Superman should be someone in their late 20's-to-mid 30's. He has to be a proper adult, but not exactly old enough to be my father. Someone who can connect to the world of being both young and old - because that is his eternal story; he is the Last Son of Krypton, not the Last Man of Krypton. He is a child of Fate - destined to be a protector of all that is good in our world. The Man of Steel is the last bastion of hope for a generation of wannabe gangsters, reality-TV junkies and video game zombies.
If Bryan Singer stays on the project - unlike Tim Burton, McG, and Brett Ratner - perhaps children born in the last decade can believe a man can fly ... all over again.
I don't think I could ever choose one single superpower to have ... I'd rather be like Superman.
posted by Dave at 12:24:00 AM
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