Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman Page #13

and TV and a multiple of series. . .

. . .that will exist long after I'm gone.

So at some point you have to

just choose the things. . .

. . .that meant something to you.

He came in with the way

he wanted to make the movie.

It was so unbelievably

reliant and perfect.

It was like,

''I've been wrong for 12 years. ''

This is the right way to go.

To shape the story

under the codename Red Sun...

...Singer worked closely

with X-Men screenwriters...

...Michael Dougherty

and Dan Harris.

We want to contemporize

the character, at the same time. . .

. . .there's a gee-whiz quality

about Clark and about Superman. . .

. . .that you've got to maintain.

We feet like Donner did something

really, really right in the first one.

He created, essentially,

the superhero genre of films.

And so I think it is a matter

of us trying to kind of put. . .

. . .the Superman franchise back on track

and bringing it back. . .

. . .you know, to a new generation.

But one important question remained:

Who would play Superman?

Superman has to feel, Look

and sound as though. . .

. . .he has stepped out of your coercive

consciousness of who that character is.

Just as Richard Donner had done

three decades before...

...Bryan Singer decided

to cast a relative unknown:

camera, action.

Taxi.

well, maybe, you know,

saying goodbye was hard. . .

. . .because he wasn't sure

whether he was going to be gone. . .

. . .for a Little while or forever.

And maybe he had to go

and he wanted to say goodbye. . .

. . .but he could find

the guts to do it. . .

. . .because if he saw you

even for one East time. . . .

Or maybe he was afraid that

if he saw you just once. . .

. . .he would never be able to go.

He had height and breadth.

Then we almost knocked

into each other going out the front door.

Then I thought, ''Okay,

he's got Clark. '' And then I said:

''Are you afraid of the Superman curse?''

And he said, ''well, it could be worse.

I could not get the role

something terrible could happen to me. ''

I think I found my Superman.

With the fact that I came

from the small town in the Midwest--

Much like Clark actually did.

--makes a lot of difference

to my portrayal and who I am.

Bryan liked that I had Midwestern values,

you know, everybody has values. . .

. . .but the Midwest gets

a good rap for it.

And action.

He has to be able to embody

Clark Kent on the farm.

Clark Kent in the newsroom,

the bumbling Clark.

And then finally, Kal-El,

the last son the Krypton. . .

. . .with all the majesty and honesty and

virtue that you expect from Superman.

Brandon has those qualities

rather inherently.

It's great to wear the suit

when people bring their kids to set. . .

. . .and you just see, you know,

a kind of sparkle in their eye.

Not because of me,

but it's because it's Superman.

-Look in the sky, chief.

-It's a bird.

-It's a plane.

-No, Look it's--

You wanted to see me?

Joining Brandon Routh

would be an ensemble of actors...

... who seemed tailor-made

for their legendary roles.

Kate Bosworth would be the new

Lois Lane, now a working mom...

... whose career ambitions

and engagement to another man...

...are challenged by her love

for Superman.

I knew it was going to be

a tremendous chaining for me. . .

. . .because there's

a very fine balance. . .

. . .with playing somebody

who is a comic-book character.

You can either be much more

of a caricature. . .

. . .or you can be very, very realistic.

I wanted to stir have

that fun spunk that Lois Lane has.

But I also wanted to bring a heart to it

that everybody could relate to.

can I ask you something?

Have you ever met someone

and it's almost like. . .

. . .you were from totally different worlds,

but shared such a strong connection. . .

. . .you knew you were destined

to be with each other?

Then he just takes off, without explaining

why or without even saying goodbye.

Sounds cheesy, I know.

Taxi. Hey.

Thanks.

Frank Langella would bring

a new clarity...

... to the role of Daily planet

editor, Perry White.

I want to know it all, everything.

I want to see photos of him everywhere.

Does he still stand for truth? Justice?

All that stuff.

Sam Huntington would play

the ever eager Jimmy Olsen.

Jimmy is just a happy-go-lucky guy.

He's goofy and wants to make

people smile but I think he--

He wants to take a good picture

and do his job well.

Clark has been doing a Little

soul-searching. . .

. . .for the last coupe of years.

Must be tough coming back.

well, you know. Things change.

Kevin Spacey was cast as Superman's

diabolical arch nemesis Lex Luthor.

tell me everything.

And utilizing footage shot

for Superman:
The Movie...

... the late Marlon Brando would return

as Superman's father, Jor-El.

Even though you've been raised as a

human being, you are not one of them.

They can be a great people, Kal-El.

They wish to be.

They only lack the Eight

to show the way.

In the film, Superman is forced

to find his place again...

...in a world that?

almost forgotten him.

It was a conflict

that resonated not only in the script...

...it also mirrored the many years

the caped superhero...

...had been out

of the pop-culture mainstream.

Superman has been off the Earth

for five years.

He returns and finds

that Lois Lane has moved on.

She has a fianc and they have a child.

And he's taken a bit off guard by this.

I see you've already met the munchkin.

Clark, Richard. Richard, Clark.

-Richard White.

-Hi.

well, it's great to finally meet you.

I've heard so much.

Oh, you have?

Yeah, Jimmy just won't

shut up about you.

The struggle of Superman is he wants

to have that semblance of real life. . .

. . .and of having Lois Lane,

of having a family, all those things.

They haven't seen each other

for five years. . .

. . .and she has moved on

with her Life.

She has everything you feel

when you have. . .

. . .a great love in your Life

come back. . .

. . .and everybody can relate to that.

-Were you in love with him?

-He was Superman.

Everyone was in love with him.

But were you?

Filmed at Fox Studios Australia...

. . .Superman Returns boasted a budget

of nearly $200 million...

...but for Bryan Singer,

more crucial than lavish sets or CGI...

... was making sure audiences...

...emotionally connected

with his characters.

Bryan's always quick to say

that he's not a comic-book fan.

That it's not the universe he grew up in.

He didn't read comic books as a child.

But what I think he recognizes is that

they deal with issues and emotions. . .

. . .that resonate with people in sort

of a very highly entertaining fashion.

well, you're back, and everyone

seems to be pretty happy about it.

Not everyone.

You can no longer get away with

just great CGs or great special effects.

You really need to have story.

You really need to have character,

relationship, emotion.

And it was very, very exciting

for me. . .

. . .to feel like we're on to

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