comment #1

Nicol D says ...

Good article! So Singer wants to go ahead with the kid storyline, eh?

I have to believe some of Warner's comments in this article are a lot about saving face in front of the other studios/shareholders after a rough summer.

Are they really that sure about a sequel? Before DVD sales.

Not that I am in the position to, but if I was a cynical studio exec and all I cared about was money, I'd greenlight a Ratner/Jackman Wolverine movie well before a Singer helmed sequel to Superman Returns.

More of the kid storyline means Singer is still not ready to face up to his mistakes. He's very talented but he seems to be living on another planet.

Or maybe he should go all 'Search for Spocky' instead: "You Luthorian bastards have killed my son!"

comment #2

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

From the piece:

"The bloom is [definitely] off the 'X-Men' rose."

Too fucking right. If Tom Rothman keeps having his way at 20th Century Fox, the X-MEN franchise will be in DTV-land within five years, with Rutger Hauer stepping in as Magneto.

comment #3

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Rutger Hauer. That reminds me of a X-Men casting call from a Wizard mag in the 90s that had Glenn Danzig as Wolverine, Michael Bien as Cyclops, Nicole Kidman as Jean Grey, Big Van Vader as Juggernaut and Iman as Storm. And - yep - Hauer as Magneto.

For the most part, I thought it was spot on. Especially Bein (am I even spelling that right?).

comment #4

The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

Biehn.

Speaking of Michael Biehn, I enjoyed him in THE ART OF WAR -- it was a decent Snipes flick; Archer and Sutherland were great, but it unfortunately continued Biehn's decline into a more cynical "stock-ops" character. I see Biehn's character as the guy who just got too fed up with the bs in ART OF WAR, a road his characters seemed to start down in DEAD MEN CAN'T DANCE.

Put Michael Biehn in a *GOOD* movie, people. Dammit.

He's gonna be in Tarantino and Rodriguez's GRIND HOUSE, though. Thank you, Tarantino and Rodriguez. I hope he plays a Navy SEAL.

Now, like I've said before, I almost idolize Michael Biehn. And he's never been bad, and has been in some really cool stuff like THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN series, and more obscure stuff like DEADFALL and BREACH OF TRUST.

But if he had embraced being a *hero* more, things *would* have been different. I keep hoping Friedkin will give him better work. I mean, cast David Caruso as the lead in JADE, and have Biehn as the second-banana? Jesus! He was great in RAMPAGE, Bill!

Still, he'll be in everything I ever make in the future, along with his soulmate Rossovich...

comment #5

Dan Revill says ...

I was beating the Biehn drum a couple of years ago, but no one was listening at the time. But Hauer got another shot, so there's still hope.

As for the story, I really do think Warners will profit in the long run by keeping the Superman franchise going. Personally, I haven't met many that hated the film. I think given the right approach come DVD time, plus network showings etc, the movie will gain more of a following.
I wish Singer could have done both X3 and Supes, but whatever, not a big deal.
I'd like to see him do something smaller in scale before another go around with the last boy scout. I hope he does get to go all sci-fi in the next one. Brainiac or Doomsday. No Zod please.

comment #6

Dixon Steele says ...

Thompson is an excellent writer, but I have to agree with Nicol D. (!). Financially, I'd put my chips on Ratner before Singer, no matter which director is more a visionary.

Knowing how much SR cost and its disappointing returns, how can you get excited about diving in again with Singer?

Ratner may be a bit of a hack, but he seems to deliver the good$...

comment #7

therealshell says ...

Singer -- a proven tentpole director ??

The words "Singer" and "tentpole" in the same (run-on) sentence seems a propos.

comment #8

Jon says ...

Dude, Singer made the X-Men franchise. X3 made the money it did because of what Singer did in the first 2 movies. Ratner didn't add anything to the series(lots of people really didn't like the thrid one). I mean, look how quickly it dropped off after opening weekend.

Singer has proved that he can create a franchise. WB sees SR as a slight misstep. It's going to gross 400 million worldwide, which yeah, is 100 million than they wanted, but still.... they're not giving up on Singer just yet. They know it needs to be shorter and have more action (even Singer has said this). It's nice to see a studio sticking with somebody and not automatically dumping them after one underperforming movie.

Hey, it's still going to make WB money, apparently.

comment #9

le corbeau says ...

It's all well and good to talk about "tentpole" directors, but what happens when the world runs out of comic book characters? All of Hollywood will collapse.

comment #10

D.Z. says ...

If Singer wanted to do another teen superhero movie, he should have stayed with FOX. Otherwise, he should have just done Teen Titans instead of Superman Returns.

comment #11

corey3rd says ...

i find it interesting that Singer wants to make Mayor of Castro Street - especially how sensitive his people are. It'll be great when the studio tries to claim that the film isn't really gay characters.

comment #12

D.Z. says ...

I doubt movies with gay leads are as taboo as they once were, thanks to Brokeback Mountain. Look at Chuck and Larry.

comment #13

AH says ...

The article reads like something written to justify WB's year as opposed to an analysis of WB's year.

comment #14

JTag says ...

I'm so upset about how the rushed schedule damaged X3, and more importantly, the choices Fox made if Penn/Kinberg are to be believed. They pushed for Phoenix and Fox said no because it was too dark and Famke is famous person #7 in the movie. I so wish Famke had gotten an EVIL role like she had on Nip/Tuck.

Jon - X2 dropped just as fast as X3. I think there is a ceiling for the X-Men audience.

Bandsaw Vigilante - I have a total crush on you now. Biehn and my love, Rick Rossovich? Too much.

comment #15

caslab says ...

JTag:

Actually, X3 had a MUCH steeper drop than X2 and did not have to compete with one of the most anticipated sequels ever (Matrix Reloaded) . . .

I don't think there is a ceiling for X-Men, as long as it's good. We went to see X3 opening weekend and there was a huge line-up full of different sorts of people. These people were there because they enjoyed the first two films. If X3 had been as good as X2, Fox would be sitting on one of the biggest franchises ever rather than discussing a Magneto spinoff.

comment #16

Dixon Steele says ...

Singer is openly gay.

He loves comic book movies.

Brokeback Mountain made a LOT of money.

So let him make the first gay super hero movie, keeping the budget manageable, if possible.

Some might say he just made that movie, I guess, but it cost too much.

Just a thought...

comment #17

JTag says ...

caslab - I was actually basing my comment on Dave Poland's research on the gross of the two movies. X3 apparently is "the only film with an opening of more than $65 million for which that opening represents more than 40% of the final domestic gross. The number currently is 44.7%. Number 2 of the "worst" list? X2: X-Men United."

I completely agree with you on the quality (or lack thereof) of X3. I was very disappointed with its execution, moreso because I am a fan of Famke Janssen's and was hoping to see her unleashed as Dark Phoenix, not standing on a trash heap silently for the last half of the movie. From the same Poland research, X3 is only the second $100 million opener to not reach $300 million. I do think that X3 would have come closer to $300mil, but I still think it never had that breakout potential of a Spiderman or a Pirates. It's so much darker thematically.

comment #18

D.Z. says ...

caslab: FOX was going to do a Magneto spin-off anyway. And X3 would have probably had a bigger drop than X2, even if Singer directed, because the second sequel to a franchise rarely does as well as the first sequel.

comment #19

Hallick says ...

"If Warners goes ahead with the 'Superman Returns' sequel," says producer Don Murphy ("From Hell"), "then they've ended up well because they've gone from having a wannabe franchise to a real franchise."

Say huh?!? Okay, by that logic, then its high time to get crackin' on the long-awaited "Howard the Duck" sequel. Yeah, that one bombed, and so would any sequel, but dontcha want a real franchise and "end up well"?