Superman Movie

Sydney, Australia IN a secret corner of a warehouse here, the biggest star of one of the biggest movies of 2006 was hidden away all of last summer. Outside eyes were not welcome and sunlight was blocked out to avoid its aging effects. But on one rainy day in June, the star's keeper allowed a rare visit. "Not a lot of people get to see this," she said with a conspiratorial whisper as her key clicked open the lock.

Passing through southern Illinois on their way to Nashville, Diana Brown and her son Colin saw the signs pointing the way to this town's Superman Square and its colorful bronze statue of the Man of Steel. Thanks to the media buildup for "Superman Returns," Clark Kent's alter ego was already on Brown's mind. So last week, mother and son got off the highway and visited this Mayberry-meets-Disney town on the Ohio River. "I wasn't sure what to expect," says Brown, 59, of St. Charles, Ill.

FOR once, Superman failed to save the day -- Lois Lane was dead, killed by the machinations of Lex Luthor, and the Man of Steel was left wailing in grief. But then the hero launched himself into the stratosphere and furiously circled the Earth until time itself reversed and he was given a second chance to make things right.

The Warner Bros. corporate jet was ready three weeks ago to fly from the Burbank airport to Hawaii, then on to Australia. The passenger list was headed by the director who calls himself McG, tapped to turn a long-delayed "Superman" movie into a multiplex reality. To save $30 million from the film's already steep budget, the studio wanted "Superman" shot in Australia. A summer 2006 "Superman" premiere seemed possible.