Short From Krypton...

Zach Snyder is teaming with the incredibly talented Bruce Timm to honor Kal-El's beginning...

Superman's Seventy-fifth anniversary is marked by the new "Man of Steel" film, and Warner Bros. has teamed the director of that film with the producer of "Superman: The Animated Series" for a short that will pay tribute to the character and his history in film and comics.

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision reports that Snyder envisions the short as one continuous take that explores the character's history and impact on comics.  Snyder and Timm will be joined on the project by Jay Oliva (storyboard artist on MOS), Geoff Johns (DC creative head), Mike Carlin (DC writer), and Peter Girardi (WB Animation).  The finished product is supposed to debut at Comic-Con this year.

The short is one of many events that will coincide the anniversary of the first superhero...

You Are Not Alone...

A new trailer for "Man of Steel" is out...

Warner Bros. has delivered an action packed trailer filled with the kind of action we'd expect from a man that can fly, has super human strength and can shoot lasers out of his eyes.  Take a look and buy that ticket right now.  It really does present a much better looking film than what Bryan Singer gave us.  Really excited to see this.  Hopefully, they'll tease the much bigger DC Cinematic Universe in this.

A reference to Brainiac conquering worlds during the final scenes of this would be the icing on the cake...

Up...

Posters are an art...

For most of the last decade or more, they've been boring - mostly.  Every now and then you'll have a break in the throngs of mediocrity  but mostly it's just a big picture of the star and the logo.  Unimaginative.  Now if you look around, there are a few oasis of creativity in the world.  Mondo comes to mind.

Once in a blue sky, errr, I mean blue moon, a studio does the right thing and creates art.  Such is the case with this latest "Man of Steel" poster.  Simple, elegant and straightforward.  That's how to do it.  I have a feeling that this film is going to stir a fire under the Bunny Suits.  For darn good reason: they've got a universe to build.

This poster shows that maybe, just maybe, they've got a map to get there...

The Sandbox...

Making sand castles in the magic kingdom...

And so the universe expands...

I'm sure many of you saw Ain't It Cool News broke a story yesterday that the first standalone Star Wars film would be about Yoda (the DCA Star Wars Land stuff is bogus, though.  Not happening.  Trust me, as Han Solo would say).  Earlier today, Bob Iger in an interview with CNBC confirmed what has been speculated for months, when he admitted that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg were working on stories for standalone films.  He didn't say what they were, and said Kathleen Kennedy would have to be the one to announce that.

But this added fuel to the fire that the story about Zack Snyder was true.  Well, Snyder wasn't exactly truthful.  He wasn't lying when he/his agent mentioned that he wasn't doing a Seven Jedi film in his future.  There is no signed deal.  Only pitches.  You see that is what is happening right now.  See I got an e-mail from a Bothan this morning.  And she said that Kennedy's office has been rather busy for the past couple of months since she became head of Lucasfilm.  Many writers and directors have been getting phone calls.  Not just about Episode VII, but about Star Wars in general.

As in, what is their dream project to do with Star Wars.  Kathleen Kennedy has had many secret meetings with the talent in Hollywood with some of the towns most gifted people telling her what they'd like to do.  Some have received a "thank you, we'll be in touch", while others have been given the chance to develop their pitch into something more substantive.  Kasdan and Kingerg, as well as working on their own stories will be advising on these.  And now, with Abrams moving forward with the new tentpole film, he will advise as well.

The Bearded One's sandbox was a big one and we always wanted him to allow others to play in it.  Now it turns out we will have a lot of people playing in that sand over the next few years.  Not all of these projects will make it to filming of course.  Some will make it, while others languish and die in development hell.  But dream that many young film makers has of making a film in the Star Wars universe is more than a possibility.  It's now a pitch waiting to be told.  All they have to do is get/make that call from/to Kathleen Kennedy.

And it might happen...

Men Of Steel...

I give to you, my only son...


The trailer(s) for the new "Man of Steel" film is out...

It's actually two trailers. Each one is pretty much the same thing, but near the end there are a couple scenes different, not much and the voice-overs are different.

They're playing randomly with "The Dark Knight Rises," so there is no pattern as which you will see. Again, they're basically the same other than who you hear for the most part.

One has Jor-El (Russell Crowe) narration.

One has Jonathan Kent (Kevin Coster) narration.

Both are equally good, but focus on different points of view. Jor-El offers a look at human's acceptance of a person of Kal-El's powers, while Kent offers a look at who he is as a human and what he should/will become with those powers.

Not much is shown, but that's expected till we get an actual trailer in the fall...

Kal-El Begins...

Look up in the sky... it's a bird, a plane, a reboot...








We've finally got a look at what the Last Son of Krypton looks like in the 21st Century...

And it looks both very impressive and a bit worrisome. You would expect the action from Zach Snyder to look good, but I've been worried that the version they're making would try to be dark and edgy. And after seeing this, I'm still slightly worried about that.

There was a quick montage of action shown. A really cool shot of Superman and Zod hurtling toward one another for a massive battle, carnage and destruction. It all looks cool. I expect that from Snyder. He's great at visual action. I worry about the script. After "Sucker Punch," how could you not? The saving grace for this is that Christopher Nolan guided it through the process.

I have no doubt it will look great, but what worries me is the director's quotes on the subject. When he says things along the lines of: "out is the boy scout, in is kicking people's @ss!" I get worried. Superman isn't Batman and doesn't need to be edgy. In fact, he's not Clark Kent if he is that way. He's raised with midwestern, American values that plant within him the moral compass that directs his life. He doesn't have the angst of Bruce Wayne because he had a more normal past. One with a father and mother there to guide him and love him. His foundation is built so that he's not looking for answers in this world, he's trying to help it just like his mother and father would have done.

The production values look great and the actors are perfectly cast. I just want to make sure that the script is right there with the rest of the film. And right now I'm just not sure. I want to be. But I am cautiously optimistic that this will reboot Kal-El. And hopefully DC will have the start of a DC Cinematic Universe. And it would be kind of cool that the hero that started it all, will be the one that starts this universe. I can't wait to see the trailer for this that will be in front of a little film that opens up next Friday.

If the film is a darker take on the story, I hope that the bright spot in the film is Superman himself...

Last Son Of Krypton Found...

Up, up and away...

Well, I get back from a nice leisurely weekend to find this interesting news from The Daily Planet...


Ok, it's really from Deadline Hollywood.  Warner Bros. and Zach Snyder have found their Man of Steel.

Henry Cavill.

He's a very good actor and seems to fit the role with his all-American looks, which is strange since he's British.  I like the look though of him more than Brandon Routh, who, although good in "Superman Returns" seemed a bit too pretty boyish.  I can't wait to see the look that Snyder gives this film.  If anything, it'll be a lot more action than the last film.  The last film didn't seem to show Superman being super enough for me.  Too much talk, too much of a retread of old material from the original film.  I await each morsel of news that Nolan, Snyder and Warner release as the days tick down to the shooting, which begins in four months for a December 2012 release.

Here's the official press release:

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Now if Warner can just secure the rights to the characters before they revert back to the families in 2013...

Man Of Steal...

Up in the sky, it's a bird, a plane...


No, it's a sloooooooooow mo shot!



Wow, this was unexpected news...

Zach Snyder to Direct "Superman: The Man of Steel." Just when you think Darren Aronofsky was going to get it, someone else steals the job. And I'm not saddened by it, but I am surprised. A couple of years ago Snyder revealed that he was offered the directing gig on "Superman Returns" and he turned it down. So I thought that there was no way he'd accept this gig. I was wrong.

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Snyder has indeed accepted the offer to turn around the Granddaddy of all Super Heroes and make him a twenty-first century property. I personally think that this is a good move. Snyder has a definite eye for the camera and I don't think the major complaint everyone had about the last one will be a problem with this one (that it was boring and not enough action). I tend to agree and feel that Singer's film was an attempt to make a "chick-flick" out of Superman. With Nolan producing, Goyer writing and Snyder directing this could turn out to be an intense film. Now all they have to do is deliver it by the holidays of 2012. And this isn't all to think about when it comes to Marvel's competition.

Expect to hear more about this and other DC franchises in a few weeks at a major Warner Bros. announcement...

UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter says that the villain will be General Zod. Kneel before me!