Superman Returns

[MacGuffin]

Source: AICN

Been getting some interesting confusing reports on SUPERMAN. Right now - it seems the story of SUPERMAN - the next Warner Brothers Effort - is in flux. They've got 4 candidates to be the big blue bird... Word is seeping around though that Brett Ratner has lost that loving feeeling for SUPERMAN and is heading into that - I shouldn't be doing this film area -- and Warners is beginning to think the same way. Meanwhile, Warners' first choice to direct SUPERMAN has always been Michael Bay - and the word is... He may, in fact, be ready to do it. Bay has been known for patriotic imagery and Norman Rockwell-ish sequences... and if there is a comic character that evokes that sort of feeling... It is SUPERMAN - although, I'm not gonna pretend for a second that you folks will be happy with that decision, if Warners makes it. And it'll take 2.1 seconds for some of you to put J. J. Abrams and Michael Bay together... draw the connecting dot to ARMAGEDDON and soon the foam will begin, and hatred will cause heat ripple effects from your brow...

Another speculating story here.

[life_boy]

Word is seeping around though that Brett Ratner has lost that loving feeeling for SUPERMAN and is heading into that - I shouldn't be doing this film area -- and Warners is beginning to think the same way.

Any news against Brett Ratner is good news!  This makes me want to do one of two things.

A)  Cream my pants!



B)  Praise the Lord!

[Duck Sauce]

Good, now I hope Ratner goes to make his own art house movie that he thinks will be a masterpiece, and I hope it fails both critically and at the box office. Then maybe he wont be so sure hes the next Kubrick.


Yes I am bitter.

[Jeremy Blackman]

Good, now I hope Ratner goes to make his own art house movie that he thinks will be a masterpiece, and I hope it fails both critically and at the box office

mmmmmm...    ...

[phil marlowe]

He wants to do Rush Hour 3, the studio wants him to shoot part 3 and 4 back to back. Has New Line gone Lord of the Rings mad?

Yes!

[Duck Sauce]

He wants to do Rush Hour 3, the studio wants him to shoot part 3 and 4 back to back. Has New Line gone Lord of the Rings mad?

I prefer Back to the Future II and III

[MacGuffin]

With all the news going on whether or not Brett Ratner is directing SUPERMAN, and that Michael Bay was going to be the new director, and what that website said, and of course the Studio denying all this because thats what they got to do. NOW more news [bad news] of what's going on, Dark Horizons is reporting the following:

As of today, the Superman project is shutting down. The desks are emptying, the archives filling, and Superman is limping away to fight another day. Budget projections were in excess of $280 Million american dollars, and needless to say, trimming a budget down to a respectable $160 million simply can't be done without a complete retooling (i.e. a 260 million turd of a script will always be a 260 million turd of a script). The project isn't dead...but will shift back into development, with a new team, from the UPMs on down. In any case, Summer 2004 seems an impossibility.

[Duck Sauce]

Budget projections were in excess of $280 Million american dollars.

WOW. I take it back, I say make it, I want to see how they will spend that much money. That is amazing, even if the movie is terrible at least it will be impressive in that sense. Its not like the studios would use it to fund anything good anyways.

[RegularKarate]

I hope they never make it... I'm relieved they're shutting it down.

It shouldn't be done.  There is no other Superman than Christopher Reeves for me (no, not even Steve Reeves).

[MacGuffin]

The Last Son of Krypton reports that pre-production on the film has been shut down indefinitely because there is "no director, cast or usable script; therefore they can't make any progress." Rumors of Brett Ratner's departure have been swirling for weeks and Michael Bay seemed to be the frontrunner to replace him. But now, the report says Bay has officially passed saying he couldn't leave BAD BOYS 2 early to start filming and WB seems to have given up on getting him because his cost was too high (Bay wanted a high percentage of the Box Office gross on top of his fee). So what now? Ratner seems to have moved on to RUSH HOUR 3 while his departure and Bay's passing seems to have sent both Joel Silver and Josh Hartnett (the rumored frontrunner for the Caped Crusader) walking as well. Now a search has begun for a "major director" to replace Ratner with Tarsem (THE CELL), Antoine Fuqua (TRAINING DAY) and Dominic Sena (SWORDFISH) being rumored candidates. One thing that has remained the same is writer JJ Abrams who continues to rewrite the script trying to cut down the budget.

[RegularKarate]

Yeah... great... that's just what we need... a very un-super actor and the director of Mr. Magoo.
That would be just fantastic.



Homer: "and in case you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic"

[Gold Trumpet]

Tarsem is very interesting as being a candidate for the director role. I know a lot of people hated The Cell here, but I thought it was a brilliant film that operated at a level of high visuals but setting the visuals at just the perfect touch. I actually put The Cell as the second best movie for that year, behind Traffic. I wonder though, what he could do with his focus on high visuals to dictate the story in telling that of Superman.

~rougerum

[Pwaybloe]

Tarsem is very interesting as being a candidate for the director role. I know a lot of people hated The Cell here, but I thought it was a brilliant film that operated at a level of high visuals but setting the visuals at just the perfect touch. I actually put The Cell as the second best movie for that year, behind Traffic. I wonder though, what he could do with his focus on high visuals to dictate the story in telling that of Superman.

~rougerum

Yeah, it would be neat to see what Tarsem does... but I can't really picture Superman to be an extremely visual movie.  The Cell was much more surrealistic and another one of those "style over substance" movies.  

Batman, I would see being a visually challenging movie to deal with.  Not Superman.  He's much more American Pie, Uncle Sam, Bald Eagle, Flag Waving kind of down-home superhero.  

I agree with RK that Christopher Reeves and those movies will always be Superman.

[Gold Trumpet]

Batman would be visually challenging to do because visuals of darkness have played very much into the personality of Batman. But, I'm more excited for what Tarsem could do with Superman instead because Superman is a character known for practicly being invincble so there is little room storywise. I think it would be the harder movie to do because I have always had the feeling, everything with Superman has been done and all they would do is just show him in action scenes and nonsense. I would love to see what Tarsem could bring in the way of imagination to one of the most unimaginative super hero.

~rougerum

[MacGuffin]

Variety spoke to both Ratner and Bay about the rumors:

Michael Bay on directing Superman: "This is 100% false," Bay said. "I haven't spoken to anybody at Warner Bros. about 'Superman.' I have no idea how this rumor got started. Isn't Brett doing 'Superman'?"

Ratner on the whole rumor: "This is the most ridiculous rumor I've ever heard, and it starts with Web sites that have gone from supportive cinefiles to (being) gossip mongers," Ratner said. "The studio is spending multiple millions of dollars making test deals with the actors I want. They're paying me, my DP, my AD, my editor, my props guy."

Ratner on Superman's budget of over $200 million and about the candidates to play the role of Superman: "North of $200 million is a lie, we won't have a budget for three weeks," said Ratner, who acknowledged his top choices for Man of Steel were reluctant to make long-term pacts. "No star wants to sign that, but as much as I've told Jude [Law] and Josh [Hartnett] my vision for the movie, I've warned them of the consequences of being Superman. They'll live this character for 10 years because I'm telling one story over three movies and plan to direct all three if the first is as successful as everyone suspects."