-
Director Christopher Nolan attended the LA Times' Hero Complex Film Festival over the weekend and sat down to be interviewed about his upcoming projects. Nolan's next directorial effort, the thriller Inception, is a movie that Nolan has previously admitted he conceived of when he was 16, but at the Festival, Nolan revealed that it took him 10 years to finish the script.
More From Nolan on Inception, Superman, and Batman 3 Posted 06.18.10 by Ryan -
At a recent investor's meeting, Warner Brothers chairman and CEO Barry Meyer announced the release dates of the studio's upcoming 2011 movies, which included plans for several comic book movies, according to THR. Since creating a DC Entertainment division, Warners has been quiet about how it plans to compete with the recent success of Marvel Entertainment. This announcement is the first sign of what comic book fans have to look forward to in the next few years.
See the list of movies and release dates >> Posted 05.29.10 by Ryan -
Before Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer were announced as the men who would be guiding the reinvention of the Superman franchise, comic book writer Mark Millar's name kept popping up as the one who might be writing the next chapter of the big-screen adventures of "The Man of Steel." Millar, the creator of the comic books that inspired the Wanted and Kick-Ass movie adaptations, spoke frequently about his passion for the character and his discussions with Warner Bros. about an epic trilogy of Superman movies with Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn at the helm.
Just prior to the official Nolan-Goyer announcement, when their involvement was rumored but not confirmed, LatinoReview published an article dismissing Millar's supposed discussions with Warner Bros. as "bullsh*t" and saying that he was "never even discussed to write" the reboot.Millar immediately countered the LatinoReview article, saying that "WB had direct and serious talks with Vaughn and Vaughn was only doing it if we did it together." In a recent interview with MTV, Vaughn finally weighs in on the controversy, clarifying his involvement with the reboot.
That sort of all got blown out of proportion. I had a very brief chat with them and that's all it was. From a 30-second chat, it's become this huge thing. It hadn't gone [that far], we just had an idea for a story for Superman — that was it.
Vaughn calls Bryan Singer's Superman Returns "a mess" and says that he hopes that Nolan doesn't make the new Superman "too serious" like The Dark Knight. Watch the video below for more.
Posted 03.27.10 by BrentJS -
One of the biggest movie news items of the week is the report from LatinoReview that David S. Goyer, co-writer of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, has been hired by Thomas Tull, president & CEO of Legendary Pictures, the production company behind both the Batman and Superman franchises, to write the screenplay for a new Superman movie. It is also one of the most controversial.
Almost immediately after the story broke, it was picked up by dozens of movie news sites, most of which took the story as completely factual. However, Harry Knowles, AICN's infamous Hollywood insider, claimed that he had spoken with Tull personally and that LatinoReview's story wasn't entirely true. Now, there is at least one more detractor to the story, though he's not taking issue with Goyer's attachment as screenwriter.
Writer Mark Millar, creator of the comic books that inspired the movies Wanted and Kick-Ass, has been publicly lobbying for the job of writing a reboot of Superman since 2007. Millar envisioned an epic trilogy of Superman movies showing Superman's entire life story, "like Michael Corleone in the Godfather films." Millar said that, because of his exclusive contract with Marvel at the time, DC Comics and Warner Bros. showed "no interest" in him, but said that they were interested in Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn. Recently, he said that he wouldn't be interested in writing a Superman reboot even if he was asked because he doesn't care for studio oversight and he feels the franchise is "a little bit toxic."
Having put his dreams of writing the exploits of Superman for the silver screen behind him, what really made Millar mad about the LatinoReview article was not Goyer's involvement, or even that the supposed title of Goyer's movie, The Man of Steel, is nearly identical to his title, Superman: The Man of Steel, but the fact that the article claimed that his story was "bullsh*t" and that Millar "was never even discussed to write it." Millar responded to the allegations in his personal forum.
Awesome for Goyer. He's a brilliant writer and a mate of mine so feel this could not be in better hands.
But I must stress that the "inside info" on my relationship to the movie is nonsense. I've said on record that WB had direct and serious talks with Vaughn and Vaughn was only doing it if we did it together. This didn't work out and we're doing something else, but the notion that it's fiction is insane. I can say on record that Vaughn had meetings with them about our ideas over a year ago.
I can't stand these massive declarations coming from "unknown sources."
Posted 02.26.10 by BrentJS -
The news that Batman Begins and The Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan was being brought in by Warner Bros. to "godfather" the development of a revamped Superman was met with great enthusiasm by comic book movie fans when it was first announced. Unfortunately, the news turned out to be nothing more than a rumor, leaving many wondering what, if anything, was being done to bring Superman back to the big screen.
Now, it's being reported that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are moving forward with plans for a new Superman movie, and that it will have a connection, if only tangential, to Nolan after all. LatinoReview has reported that David S. Goyer, co-writer of both of the Batman movies that Nolan directed, has been hired to write the new Superman movie, titled The Man of Steel. Goyer's script is said to be more action-packed than its predecessor, Superman Returns, and will see Superman squaring off against two villains — Lex Luthor and Brainiac.Returns' director, Bryan Singer, and title actor, Brandon Routh, are not expected to return.
The LatinoReview article also claims that Goyer's screenplay is at least partially based on the comic book mini-series of the same name written and illustrated by John Byrne in the mid-'80s. Byrne revamped the Superman mythologies, which had become campy and convoluted over the years, depowering Superman considerably and altering his origin and childhood to make the story more realistic. The article goes on to state that The Man of Steel will not be an origin story, but that Krypton will be more fully developed, which is in keeping with the changes Byrne instituted in his mini-series and the Superman series that followed it.
Subsequent to the LatinoReview article, Harry Knowles of AICN posted an update on the story in which he claims to have spoken with Thomas Tull, the president & CEO of Legendary Pictures, the production company behind both the Batman and Superman movies, who apparently told Knowles that the LatinoReview article had a few holes in it.
Tull has not unilaterally hired Goyer to come in and write the new Superman. He loves Goyer, but frankly — the project isn't at the Script stage yet. Seems Nolan is still hatching some ideas. But he just wanted me to pass on that they have the highest enthusiasm for this project, but the story on Latino just isn't accurate. I'll see what more I can find out, but as of right now, there really isn't anything else to tell.
AICN is known for its consistently good insider movie news, but the fact that Nolan is mentioned in connection with the Superman reboot when Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment, said that his involvement was a "rumor" and nothing more, calls into question the validity of the update. And, following the AICN report, IGN posted its own update claiming "reliable sources" had confirmed that Goyer is involved with The Man of Steel, but that "Tull is downplaying" the news.
Whatever the truth may be, time is of the essence for the Superman franchise. After the heirs of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the original creators of Superman, sued DC Comics and Warner Bros. over the rights to the character, a judge ruled that Warner Bros. needed to begin development of another Superman movie by 2011 or risk becoming vulnerable to another lawsuit from the families. Furthermore, all rights to Superman and portions of his supporting cast, origin and powers will revert to the families in 2013 and neither DC Comics nor Warner Bros. will be able to create Superman-based works without a license from them.
Posted 02.25.10 by BrentJS -
Comic book movie fans everywhere were practically jumping for joy after Deadline Hollywood announced the news that director Christopher Nolan, the man responsible for revitalizing the Batman movie franchise by stripping away the neon glitz and bat-nipples of the Joel Schumacher era, had been tapped by Warner Bros. to "Godfather" the reboot of the Superman franchise.
Nolan's leadership of the project can set it in the right direction with the critics and the fans, not to mention at the box office.
The only problem? It turns out that the "news" wasn't actually news after all. In a recent MTV interview, Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, the comic book division of Warner Bros., discussed the recent restructuring of DC Comics' executive team and said that Nolan's participation in any future Superman movie is only a rumor.
We don't have any plans about that, and as I've mentioned, in the coming months we'll be making a lot of announcements about what our content plans will be. But right now, that's nothing but rumor — and we frankly don't say a whole lot more about rumor than that, so...
Posted 02.19.10 by BrentJS -
Warner Brothers is officially in love with director Christopher Nolan. The Batman Begins and The Dark Knight writer and director is hard at work finishing his mysterious thriller Inception, but Warner Brothers wants even more of his help. Deadline Hollywood reports that Warners is asking Nolan to become a "Godfather" to its Superman reboot project and help shepherd it in the right direction — not a sequel to Superman Returns.
Warners is likely trying to get Nolan's input as to how they can make a "darker" Superman reboot, much like Nolan achieved with Batman Begins. A Superman reboot is a priority for Warners, which is feeling pressure to match Marvel Entertainment's upcoming slate of comic book movies. Not only did the studio start DC Entertainment to help it compete, but if Warners doesn't get a Superman project going by 2011, the families of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster can sue for lost revenue. Even so, an insider at Warners claims that the studio has no idea where to go with the franchise.
We know what we don't want to do. But we don't know what we want to do. We learned a lot from the last movie, and we want to get it right this time.
Hence, enter Nolan to help salvage the franchise. Nolan likely won't direct, as he will be preparing for a third Batman movie that has finally begun. A separate Deadline Hollywood report claims that David Goyer has left his TV show Flash Forward and "is now writing the third Batman installment with Chris Nolan's brother Jonah [Nolan]."
Internet rumors have the Riddler as the primary villain who discovers Batman's identity in a story where Arkham Asylum will figure prominently. Mr. Freeze, Robin, and Barbara Gordon will appear in the movie as well, though in their civilian identities, not as their costumed counterparts. Commissioner Gordon will also likely mention Metropolis and Lex Luthor, which could be likely considering Nolan's involvement with Superman. The rumors, unconfirmed at this time, are pretty intriguing possibilities.
Posted 02.10.10 by Ryan -
Director Matthew Vaughn is a huge comic book fan, as his upcoming Kick-Ass adaptation hopes to prove. However, Vaughn has left more superhero movies than he's made, having abandoned both Thor and X-Men: The Last Stand.
But that doesn't mean that Vaughn isn't ready for more. Vaughn told MTV about two projects he's hoping to direct:
I grew up watching superhero films, so I want to make superhero films. I was desperate to do Iron Man about 8 years ago, and everyone was like, "Iron Man, no one will go watch that." Cut to now, and it's a huge hit. [I'd] love to do The Avengers. And Superman ... I think it would be great to reinvent Superman.
Of course, Jon Favreau directed Iron Man, and he's also been discussed as the potential director for The Avengers. In fact, Favreau feels that The Avengers might keep the Iron Man series from falling into predictability:
...The Avengers might be the thing that helps rescue us from the inevitable sequel slump that you get into, because you're throwing everything on its ear. It might be a failed experiment or it might be something wonderful, but it allows you to add complexity in an organic way where you're culminating with something bigger, as opposed to trying to play out and not repeat the same story over and over again.
Vaughn might have a better chance at the next Superman, though James McTeigue has been strongly rumored to be directing the project.
Posted 08.31.09 by Ryan -
Director James McTeigue won't say whether he'll direct the next Superman movie, but that hasn't stopped him from telling how he thinks the franchise should continue post-Superman Returns:
I think that the culture has sort of changed a little bit around Superman now as well. If you're going to do something with Superman, I think people would probably like something a little darker. I know that sounds like a bit of a cliche. You just to need to take it and...retool it, I guess. Like make it something that appeals to audiences now a little more.
Does McTeigue mean a Superman movie should be made that doesn't turn off fans? He may be onto something.
McTeigue certainly talks like he would like to direct Superman. He's not even put off by the recent court ruling that gave the family of Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel exclusive rights to Superman's origin story.
I think it's good that they just had a court case where, basically, if you make another Superman movie, you can't touch Superman growing up — that's part of the story that you can't touch any more. That wouldn't be a bad thing. I think everybody's a bit sick of seeing the origin story.
Of course, some could argue that the death of Superman's parents and his exile to earth is one of the darker aspects of the straight-laced hero's life. Perhaps McTeigue could elaborate on what darker aspects he would explore. That is, if he would just admit he's directing the next Superman.
Posted 08.26.09 by Ryan -
Last week, IESB reported that Warner Bros. had closed the door on Bryan Singer's involvement with Superman and were looking to reboot the franchise, possibly with James McTeigue as director and Andy and Larry Wachowski producing.
Warner was supposedly hoping for a more action-oriented director, which McTeigue may prove to be with his upcoming Ninja Assassin. However, when SlashFilm asked McTeigue about the possibility of directing Superman, his answer was decidely vague:
You know ... I ... I would say. .. I'll keep you guessing, actually. It's good not to dispel every rumor, right?
McTeigue's answer was surprising considering he was the one to announce Warner's interest in having the Wachowskis take over the Superman franchise in February. At the time, McTeigue thought the Wachowskis may be too busy should their pet project Plastic Man get off the ground, though McTeigue says the movie, at this point, is dead:
Obviously, Larry and Andy, did a script for Plastic Man back in the day. I'll be very surprised if that movie gets made. We haven't ever really talked about it. But I know it's still a Joel [Silver] property or a Warner property...
After directing V For Vendetta, McTeigue has been no stranger to comic book adaptation speculation. At one point he was in talks to direct X-Men Origins: Magneto, though he dismissed those rumors:
[Magneto] was just one of those rumors that started out and I don't know where it came from or how it came up. I think that David Goyer would be surprised about that actually.
I mean, you know, it's not a bad idea.
So no Plastic Man, Magneto's "not a bad idea," and maybe to Superman? McTeigue could potentially have a full slate is any of these rumors become substantiated. Until then, fanboys will have to wait on Ninja Assassin's November 25 release to see if McTeigue's got the goods.
Posted 08.07.09 by Ryan