The new edgy generation also comes in PG-13 films, but now Superman, like a Midwest candidate lauding family values, is expected to arrive at theaters as proudly PG. That rating gives it the rare "movie for all ages" status, but it also risks the dreaded eye-roll from teenagers, the constituency that clearly rules the summer movies.
So as strange as it is, the question that greets this ambitious $200-million revival of the 68-year-old champion of truth, justice and the American way is not "What took so long?" The question is: "Will this still fly?"
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday January 19, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 28 words Type of Material: Correction
Comic book convention -- An article in Sunday Calendar about the coming movie "Superman Returns" said the San Diego Comic-Con was held in August. It was in July.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Sunday January 22, 2006 Home Edition Sunday Calendar Part E Page 2 Calendar Desk 0 inches; 28 words Type of Material: Correction
Comic book convention -- An article last Sunday about the coming movie "Superman Returns" said that the San Diego Comic-Con was held in August. It was in July.
OH, FOR A FRANCHISE PLAYER
THE return of Superman has been building for 11 years -- or more precisely, it's been collapsing during that span. At one point, Nicolas Cage was set to wear the cape and Johnny Depp was tapped as Lex Luthor. Directors came and went -- Tim Burton, Wolfgang Petersen, McG and Brett Ratner among them. Scripts churned too, with wildly different plots (Superman dies, Superman turns evil, Superman fights Batman) and varying degrees of separation from the familiar mythology (Superman's home planet never really blew up, Superman wears a different costume, Superman can't fly).
All of it was a stab at securing the most powerful profit engine known to Hollywood: a magnetic, multiple-movie franchise that spans summer seasons. Warner Bros. could not let Superman languish. The problem was in the details of his return. Everybody wanted the old war horse to ride in new fashion.
"I don't want to sound critical, but some of the changes were, in a way, quite dangerous," said Guy Hendrix Dyas, production designer for "Superman Returns." "To ignore or explode the folklore may feel rewarding or bold for the person doing it, but you really risk treading on what's been done before. Bryan didn't want to do that."
Bryan is Bryan Singer, the man who finally ended up with the director's job for Superman's 21st century revival. His presence has been cheered by comic book fans, and with good reason. Singer directed the two "X-Men" movies that -- along with Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" films -- are credited with ushering in the modern maturity of superhero movies. Unlike Raimi, Singer was never a comics fan. But he passionately loved the 1978 "Superman" with Reeve. And his version is a valentine to that Richard Donner film.
