Superman

Curses! Superman Movie Foiled Again?

by Joal Ryan
Mar 18, 2003, 3:05 PM PT




Another man who won't be Superman: Brendan Fraser.

a d v e r t i s e m e n t

The Mummy star, once in talks to be the big-screen's next Man of Steel, has "parted amicably" with Warner Bros. over the star-crossed superhero flick, Tuesday's Hollywood Reporter says.

Also now out of contention, according to the trade paper: Matthew Bomer, a soap star who garnered buzz when he screen-tested earlier this month for director Brett Ratner.

Speaking of Ratner...

The Rush Hour helmer could be off the project as soon as Tuesday, the trade paper says.

Ratner, hired last fall to revive the Supes franchise, was working under an option with Warner Bros. that expired on Saturday.

On Monday, Ratner's publicist was not prepared to comment on the director's status. At Warners, the studio issued a blanket "no comment." A rep would say only that the movie is "still casting."

It sure is.

Since the revived and retooled Superman project, called Superman, was announced last September, the CIA has located dozens of al Qaeda operatives, and Warners has found exactly zero Supermen.

The studio's lack of success is not for lack of effort. Its net has encompassed both known (Brendan Fraser) and the unknown (soap actor Matthew Bomer), both now out.

Other never-was Supermen: Josh Hartnett and Paul Walker. Hartnett, Ratner's first choice, dropped out of the sweepstakes in February; Walker, just last week.

According to Variety, Walker, like Hartnett before him, balked at committing to the movie on account of it's not one movie--it's the first of a planned trilogy.

Warners has been trying to make a Superman movie for about a decade now. At one time, Tim Burton was on board to direct Nicolas Cage. Then Wolfgang Petersen was on board to direct a couple of famous somebodies in a team-up flick, Superman vs. Batman. Neither project made it before cameras.

The studio's fitful attempt to get the Superman franchise flying again has talk of the so-called "Superman curse" soaring again.

Last week, Ashton Kutcher, another caped-crusader candidate, said, according to the World Entertainment News Network, that he, too, was going to pass--in part because of the "curse."

True, Kutcher's main objection was purely practical. The That '70s Show star said he worried he'd have to commit another year to the Fox sitcom in order to be given the time off to make the movies, the news agency reported. But then there was the matter of the you-know-what.

Said Kutcher: "I think there's a bit of a curse behind that role, the things that have happened to people."

Per Superman lore, the "things" are:


Christopher Reeve, star of four Superman features, from 1978-1987, suffering a paralyzing horse-riding accident in 1995, at age 43;
George Reeves, high-flying hero of the 1950s Superman TV show, being found dead of a gunshot in 1959, at age 45. The shooting was ruled a suicide, although speculation says it was murder;
Bud Collyer, Supes' voice in cartoons of the 1940s, and, later, the 1960s, dying of a circulatory ailment in 1969, at age 61.

Curse believers also point to the bad breaks suffered by members of the Superman family, chiefly Margot Kidder. Kidder, who played intrepid reporter Lois Lane opposite Reeve, made headlines in 1996 when she was found "frightened and paranoid," in the words of police, in a backyard in Glendale, California, following a three-day odyssey on the streets.

Curse non-believers, including Kidder's own daughter, say nonsense.

"It was not some kind of 'curse of Superman,' " Maggie Kim told Canada's Sun Media after Kidder broke her pelvis in a single-car crash in Maine last August.

Rather, said Kim, "It was a classic SUV rollover."

Writer and comic historian Mark Evanier calls the Superman curse an "over-hyped observation."

If actors such as Hartnett, Walker and Kutcher aren't jumping to leap tall buildings in a single bound, it's not because they fear for their lives, Evanier says.

"I think they're afraid of the fact that dressing up as a copyrighted character who flies around is not necessarily a great career move, simply because the costume tends to overshadow the actor," Evanier says.

Another apparent "curse" non-believer: Henry Cavill.

The movie Website Coming Attractions reported Monday that the 19-year-old British actor (The Count of Monte Cristo) was flown into Los Angeles to meet with Ratner 10 days ago.

No word on the outcome of the confab, but we believe all his body parts are accounted for.
 
I'm sure you have heard that Singer has jumped ship from X-Men (sigh) to direct Superman. I've also seen a rumor that he's spoken to Tom Welling (!) of Smallville regarding the big-screen role. However, Welling appears to be reluctant (per the rumor). Perhaps he doesn't want to become too closely associated to the one role (understandably). ;)
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Okay guys...below is a link to my 2nd favorite website...(do I need to mention the first?!?:lol:smiley: Movies.com

They are always giving updates on what's happening with upcoming movies. There they talk about Bryan Singer who has offically been named the director of the new superman movie(which sadly means that he probably won't be directing X-Men3)...plus some names being thrown around for potentional Clark Kents...Jason Behr (Roswell) and Henry Cavill (The Count of Monte Cristo) Check it out!!

Bryan Singer of X-Man fame set to direct new Superman
 
The Welling rumor, passed along by SciFi.com, appeared at superman-v.com on Aug 4:

With the search for Superman stepping up S-V have heard that Bryan Singer has offered the role of Superman to Tom Welling! This will please many fans as he is BY FAR the most requested for the role (I have the emails to prove it!) and whether you like it or not he is the fan-favourite for the role and the subject of endless debates in Superforums all over the net.

Before you start getting too excited (or angry) bear in mind that Welling has shown a reluctancy towards playing SuperMAN and from what we hear from our source that is still the case and it is unlikely that he will accept.With Singer and the Donners on board and rumours of Christopher Reeve being involved Welling MIGHT change his mind but we haven't heard anything to indicate that is the case.

The offer is on the table and we believe it is a two picture deal. With Singer wanting to get his Superman soon he wants an answer within the next 2 - 3 weeks. Singer has already had meetings with other actors to discuss the role with Eddie Cibrian (Third Watch) and Christopher Douglas (Passions) being mentioned but has only offered the role to Welling.

Check out the Tom Welling 4 Superman fansite for more info including how YOU can let Welling know how you feel.
;)
 
Spike said:
Batman was always better than Superman anyway.
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He's certainly a more interesting character. I always seem to find Superman so self-righteous that I end up cheering for the bad guys--they're so out-matched it's hard not to cheer for them. :lol:

(And in Superman II [I think] when Superman lost his powers and got beaten up he had to come back and trounce the guys who beat him up when he got his powers back? Oh, that proved a lot! :P )
 
That's what makes Batman cool. He's just a regular guy, granted a billionaire with a gigantic arsenal of high tech weapons and one damn cool car.
 
Why do they even feel that it time for another Superman movie? It will be very tough to replace Christpher Reeve. He was a great Superman.

I do know that they could sure improve Lois Lane.
 
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