Posts Tagged ‘Bryan Singer’

Short Take: Action packed and emotionally arresting. Rivals "X2" for best of the series.

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Screenwriters: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn – Sheldon Turner and Bryan Singer (story)

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, January Jones

Length: 2h 12m

Synopsis: It is 1963 and the world is still largely unaware of the presence of mutants. This is not to say that they are few in number, but most are still very much in the closet. There are a few, however, that are not shy about their abilities. Sebastian Shaw (Bacon), an ex-Nazi who ran the concentration camp where Erik Lehnsherr (Fassbender) was separated from his family, is a mutant who is trying to manipulate the American and Soviet governments into nuclear war. Meanwhile, mutants Charles Xavier (McAvoy) and Lehnsherr are attempting to recruit a special team of fellow gifted individuals to stop Shaw before it’s too late. But while Xavier is determined to avoid violent methods whenever possible, Erik is looking to get revenge on his former captor by any means necessary. How their battle concludes will not only affect how mutants will be looked at for years to come – as friends or foes – but whether humans will continue to outnumber mutants across the world.

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"Superman Returns," although successful, was not nearly successful enough to please Warner Bros.

David Goyer, who helped write Batman Begins and The Dark Knight with Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, is in negotiations with Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures to pen the script to the next Superman movie. Goyer’s help in making the Batman brand so financially valuable is no doubt the reason behind the studios’ decision, but he is also recognized for his efforts with the Blade series.

Actor Brandon Routh and director Bryan Singer will not return due to Warner Bros.’ dissatisfaction with how much Superman Returns earned at the box office (costing about $270 million and grossing $391 million worldwide according to BoxOfficeMojo.com). Despite the film’s respectable totals they apparently thought that a character as iconic as Superman should have earned much better numbers.

Goyer’s pitch regarding the Superman script dealt with lots of action and battles with arch-nemesis Lex Luthor and super villain Brainiac, which must have appealed to both studios.

Warner Bros. is in kind of a hurry, as they must create a finished Superman film by 2013 because that is when their copyright on the character of Superman expires and all rights go to the heirs of co-creator Joe Shuster.

Source: Variety

Quick Opinion: I’ve said this before with regards to Warner Bros. beef with Bryan Singer and I’ll say it again – the problem with Superman Returns‘ returns was not Singer’s fault. The character and brand, while certainly still iconic in the United States, is not nearly as popular outside of the U.S. because he was birthed from WWII patriotism. People around the world got behind Superman because what he stood for – in essence – was the might of the U.S. army and allying forces against the Nazi regime. Superman was pro-American justice and anti-tyranny. Such a character does not fit with modern America, who loves to root for the little guy (Spider-Man) and tortured soul (Batman). Anymore, Superman is thought of as being too powerful to like. Batman and Spider-Man, though special, are viewed to be more on the level of the everyman, which is a position that has been the most popular with superhero audiences since before 2006′s Superman Returns and continues to this day. The next Superman movie might earn more money because it will supposedly be more action-packed (attracting the large Transformers-type crowds), but if they invest the same amount that they did for Bryan Singer’s film they’ll be whining about returns again in 2014.

(For more elaboration on this topic, see Movie-Thoughts’ Deep Thoughts “A Different Look at ‘The Dark Knight.’” Comments on Superman being unfitting with modern times are near the end.)

Director Bryan Singer

Director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2) said Sunday that he is speaking with 20th Century Fox about doing another X-Men movie.

“I’m still looking to possibly returning to the X-Men franchise. I’ve been talking to Fox about it,” Singer said at a talk at South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival. “I love Hugh Jackman. I love the cast,” he said, referring to the Australian actor who plays Wolverine. - Hollywood Reporter

Singer added that directing sci-fi or fantasy films was particularly interesting to him because they allow for certain commentaries about social issues and the human condition to shine through.

Singer would have directed the third X-Men film (X-Men: The Last Stand) instead of Brett Ratner but opted to direct Superman Returns for Warner Brothers.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Quick Opinion: It will be interesting to see if 20th Century Fox wants Singer back to direct another X-Men chapter, because although the first two X-Men films were very successful Superman Returns was considered a financial flop by Warner Brothers (grossing just over $200 million but also costing $200 million). Singer’s newest release, Valkyrie (2008), was only slightly more successful, grossing just over $83 million while costing $75 million. Given this recent history 20th Century Fox might be less inclined to hand the reigns back over to Singer, even though this past summer’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine didn’t fare much better than his last two films (grossing $180 million while costing $150 million) and was less than well-received by critics.

Scheduling will no doubt be an issue as well, as Singer is currently working on pre-production for Excalibur (set to release 2012) and is also attached to Jack the Giant Killer (set to release 2011). Fox may not want to wait for Singer to be available.

What do you all think?