'Superman' torch is passed By Guy Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Midway through the filming of Superman Returns, star Brandon Routh received an envelope in the mail.
Brandon Routh got Dana Reeve's blessing as he plays Superman in Superman Returns, out June 30.
Warner Bros. Pictures
It contained two pendants and a letter. The pendants, each emblazoned with a red S, said simply, "Go Forward."
The note from Dana Reeve, the widow of Superman Christopher Reeve, said much the same thing.
"She said she thought I'd be a good Superman," says Routh, 26, best known for a guest role on Gilmore Girls. "She wished me luck. I can't tell you what that was like to get her blessing. I was nervous, because I had never heard from the family, and it's frightening trying to fill Christopher Reeve's shoes."
But Routh will attempt just that as Superman swoops into theaters June 30 with more than just a $180 million budget on its shoulders.
The film, which is enjoying one of the most pronounced marketing campaigns at the ShoWest convention of theater owners in Las Vegas, carries the hope of a lucrative summer at the box office — and expectations that people will get excited about going to the movies again.
For Routh and director Bryan Singer, there's also a personal stake in the film doing well.
"From comic books to radio to TV to the movies, everyone knows this character," says Singer, who also is doing a documentary on the history of Superman. "And they have an idea of who he should be. Those can be big expectations."
Routh realized just how awesome when he received the Superman tags from the Christopher Reeve Foundation, an organization that promotes research on paralysis.
Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horseback-riding accident in 1995 and died in 2004. His widow, Dana, died of lung cancer last week.
"I wrote her back but never got to speak with her," Routh says. "Still, it was such an honor. And it made me realize how important it is to respect not just the characters in this movie, but the people who were a part of it."
Indeed, the new Superman abounds with legacies.
Singer says he plans to use the late Marlon Brando in the new film. Brando, who played Superman's father, Jor-El, in the 1978 Superman and died in 2004, will return in the same role.
Singer says he found stock footage of Brando shot by director Richard Donner in 1978, which will provide Brando's voice. Special-effects crews will digitally re-create Brando's image, Singer says.
The new film will revisit the origins of the Man of Steel. Singer is well aware he's treading on hallowed ground.
"This isn't just any comic book character. Superman is America. He's as iconic as it gets. That's a pretty awesome responsibility."
3 comments:
It's nice that Dana Reeve gave her stamp of approval, but that's kind of silly isn't it? I like Christopher as well as George Reeves portrayal of The Man of Steel, but their "approval" would have been unnecessary. They played the character, they didn't invent it. The ultimate approval would be from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, but I think they may both be dead.
I recall hearing once that their widows get a six-figure amount each year, although that isn't quite the same thing. Their getting ripped off is one of the classic comic book industry stories (leading to one of the few reasons I'll ever give Todd McFarlane props for anything).
But I agree, this is a bit silly. It's good publicity, though.
"The film...carries the hope of a lucrative summer at the box office — and expectations that people will get excited about going to the movies again."
Isn't this all a perfect example of expecting different results from the same actions taken over and over? Clearly the film industry has some big, generalized problems, but all they seem to do about it is hope that the movies are really, really popular.
"Hope" includes all the marketing they do to push that into being, but that hasn't been working either.
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