J. J Abrams' SUPERMAN - Cancelled Movie

[Music] foreign i mean tim is a genius tim byrne he's a great artist and i'm sure he would have done something really magnificent with the story of superman and i knew i was going to go towards something quite unique and different than anything you've seen as superman having said that in a way it was a win-win for me that it didn't work out because the power of the imagination again you get to imagine what that might have been like that might be even more powerful than the finished product so i think it worked out there's an image that leaked online i'm not sure if it's real or not but if you wear in the costume there were two images and there's truth in both the problem is the first first of all the first image looked terrible the second image looked pretty good i think that was a pretty good suit i gotta say the the problem is it's unfairly judged and i don't know who got a hold of it who in wardrobe or who in the studio or whatever got a hold of it and leaked it i just don't understand that i thought there were laws against that sort of thing but it's not being judged fairly because you you don't have the lighting that tim does and you don't have the the the the set and the the shade and all of that to build it up you're just seeing just a stark wardrobe shot that's not given any affection so it's it's not a fair assessment of what it would have looked like and and i think that the you know tim can invent worlds you know with costume with we're talking about another planet i mean what would that planet have looked like and the the characters what what what would they have been about i mean he's he's a great artist and he draws these characters and he cr he's going into other dimensions and pulling things back for us to behold and that movie would have lent itself to that a small fortune had already been spent and seemingly squandered on the doomed pre-production of superman libs this meant that the investment had to be returned no matter what it took there was no tim burton no nicholas cage no crew no art department no production office and no real idea as to how to move forward the public and spectacular collapse of superman lives not to mention the critical and commercial failure of its replacement wild wild west didn't go unnoticed on the calculators and in july 1999 co-chairman bob daley and terry semel would announce their intention to quit and were to be replaced by incoming chairman alan horn and barry meyer one of the duo's first ports of call was to kick start the superman project it was decided that the death of superman story arc wasn't really working and the studio was now open to suggestions a speculative script titled superman man of steel made its way to warner brothers submitted by the agent of 22 year old alex ford ford would say i read the smith script and a synopsis of the gilroy script and they do nothing for me it's people tinkering with perfection of his own screenplay which would see superman do battle with the villain metallo ford would say we sent it to my agent and he liked it he called some people and told them he had a completed script if they were interested they paid me for the draft because it did have elements they liked and if they used any of them it clears them from a lawsuit in this case the script was written for kicks just to know it could be done and i was paid later for it they were very nice and told us they liked parts but as a whole it wasn't what they wanted i can tell you they don't know much about comics it's a business and what's more important the 150 million dollars at the box office or the 600 million dollars in merchandising william wisher credited his writer on terminator and terminator 2 was then hired to produce a script again based on the death and resurrection storyline and again titled superman lives wisher's well-written and enjoyable script would recycle story elements from the dan gilroy drafts in a familiar story that saw superman take on his arch-nemesis brainiac wisher had previously pitched his take on the material to nicolas cage prior to his departure and the script was received to positive coverage and was said to have interested director oliver stone the ever restless studio was unsure whether or not the projected budget for the screenplay was any different from the numerous drafts that got the project canceled in the first place and so warner brothers remained open to pitches from other writers keith giffen co-creator of dc comics anti-hero lobo was contacted by jeanette khan publisher of dc comics on behalf of lorenzo dibonaventura and alan horn giffen said that warner brothers was already keen on using lobo and so it seemed an ideal situation for him to submit a detailed story treatment again despite positive feedback giffen's story a sprawling epic world building space opera that was perhaps more ambitious than any of the previous stories was considered too expensive to realize on screen and it was back to the drawing board for round ten director robert rodriguez on the verge of prepping spy kids would again pass due to a schedule conflict and his deal with dimension films there was the touted possibility of simply recuing costs by releasing a cgi animated take on the material instead the talented ralph zondag director of disney's dinosaur was tapped for the project though nothing would materialize beyond the initial idea john peter's true desire was to see a big-budget live-action adaptation and the next writer brought in was paul adenacio the oscar-nominated writer of quiz show and donnie brasco was reported by variety to have signed a three and a half million dollar deal to adapt the joseph cannon novel the good german alongside a new take on superman the adenacious script apparently titled superman destruction is said to have received mixed reviews no copy of the screenplay or treatment has ever surfaced online and there's conflicting reports as to just how far into the process adenacio had gotten after the box office receipts of tim burton's rebooted planet of the apes the director was briefly reconsidered for a third time john peters however had become a big fan of the recently released charlie's angels big screen reboot and was eager to meet with its director joseph mcginty nichol known professionally as mcgee charlie's angels had gone on to have the biggest opening weekend for any first-time director at that time and mcgee was attached to the script in the january 2002 issue of premier magazine an article titled never say die confirmed that director mcgee will be in charge of bringing the new superman project to the screen the article also claimed that cameron diaz jennifer lopez and catherine zeta jones had asked about the role of lois lane the new york times printed an article on the 10th of february discussing warner brothers movie proposals for 2002 and 2003. amongst the movies listed as potential 2003 projects were superman and superman vs batman rather than adapt the death of superman the director would prefer to do something that fell more in line with his own frenetic colorful in your face style of cinematography and the director would suggest the up-and-coming talent j.j abrams abrams was approached about doing the movie and took a meeting abrams was a self-confessed fan of the property and would tell how his young son went to bed each night in superman pajamas and that the opportunity was too great to turn down it looked like john peter's long cherished pet project was finally gaining traction an abram's script to be titled superman the man of steel would be written under the secret code name title of flyby the news broke officially that abrams had signed on an article printed in variety would say that warner brothers production chief lorenzo dibonaventura had vowed to revive the superman saga as part of the studio's push to capitalize on its dc comics characters because not only did superman represent yet another potentially lucrative franchise but the studio had already sunk millions into the project and was yet to see a dime in return the mcg abrams incarnation of superman would throw out all the work done across the previous three years and start from scratch conceptually warner brothers was looking to move at breakneck speed to claw back some of the time wasted abrams was given a tight almost impossible deadline to submit his first pass on an all-new original story to be developed alongside darren aronofsky's proposed batman year one screenplay the writer would speak early on of his approach to the material a potential first in an epic trilogy in an interview with media geek network abram said what's nice is that after a lot of years of trying to get this going and not succeeding everyone's coming at it with a very fresh open mind what's exciting for me is that we've got some incredible really big ideas that go beyond just the one story we're telling in this superman we're talking a lot about where he's come from and where he's going i can't talk about specifics but i can tell you that there are a lot of exciting big ideas i think it's superman for everyone and not just for people who already know the character it's for the uninitiated i think it's really a question of embracing what has come before it this in many ways is a retelling of superman they did four of those movies then they did supergirl you have to start fresh i don't think this should be looked at as the fifth sequel when asked if he was to include john peter's now famous rules no flying no cape etc abrams told comic flicks.com it's safe to say that if superman doesn't fly it would be a disappointment i do think that we're approaching this in a very fresh way but there are certain things that people have come to realize are important you have to have the costume and you want to do a superman movie that will be so satisfying what's so exciting for us is that we're approaching this thing knowing and feeling the kind of movie that is kids we used to see i feel that we're going to try as hard as we can to make this a satisfying experience news of mcgee's hiring didn't exactly spark celebration amongst the online comic book community superman fan jerry lance miller would put together a petition regarding the reported direction in which warner brothers planned to take the new superman movie jerry's mission statement would say as many of you may know warner brothers has hired the director of charlie's angels mcgee as director for the next superman film with the hopes of making it lighter and funnier this is a tragedy waiting to happen if you agree with me i've started the petition please sign let's get warner to do this thing right entertainment weekly would also chime in writing superman ain't charlie's angels warner brothers presumably wanted mcgee because of the comic book sheen he gave charlie's angels he created an unreal but stylish world of bright colors and improbable events exploiting every bit of camp value inherent in the tv show's dated premise but the director would be ill-advised to try the same trick with superman abrams would pound away and speed write his first draft adding to the urgency was the fact that in june information would leak from within warner brothers that a new proposed batman vs superman movie was in the works it was said that the batman vs superman movie has been given the green light and was set to go into production february 2003 codenamed asylum the movie had reportedly taken the place of batman year one which was also rumored to have been given the green light several months earlier on the 5th of july abrams would turn over the first 88 pages of the superman script which was instantly well received bob brassell a senior vice president for warner's would immediately contact peters with nothing but praise for abram's work urging him to read the work in progress these movies take a long time to get made and you sometimes have to go through many many writers before the one guy really knocks it out of the park hopefully sometimes you never get it done right jj abrams wrote maybe the best script of all of the movies that didn't get made right with the superman flyby and and he it was brilliant i mean jj abrams is a genius writer but warner brothers didn't want to make it because it was probably at those those days 300 million dollars which was a lot of money right jj had but he had like kind of written out like an overarching kind of uh like you know krypton hadn't blown up superman had to go back to krypton and fight this big war was kind of when i read about it it was my dream of the movie it was what i always wanted to do with batman and superman which get off the planet let's see like lucas did let's invent a new society new people new characters everything new when jj abrams wrote his script it was like i wrote it he he jj was we that was amazing peters would tell the new york times that the story was amazing and that in a world of chaos it's about hope and light abrams delivered the remaining 50 pages of the script 21 days later a supposed insider leak from warner brothers claimed that the movie was to be known as superman the man of steel the report also claimed that john peters was no longer connected and that warners were looking to calm the nerves of fans by hiring superman 78 director richard donner as an executive producer hindsight now tells us that the leak was inaccurate but at the time sounded pretty exciting there was good news for abram in august the proposed batman vs superman movie had now been postponed it was reported by coming attractions that the superman man of steel script impressed executives so much that they wanted to fast-track the movie ahead of anything else mcgee however was under pressure to start work on charlie's angels too abrams was reportedly set on having mcgee direct his script as they were in on the ideas together warner brothers then looked to mkg to give his blessing to allow another director to take on the movie as soon as possible a wish list was drawn up including david fincher the director of panic room fight club and seven michael mann director of heat and last of the mohicans rob bowman director of the x-files fight the future and reign of fire and steven soderbergh director of erin brockovich traffic and oceans 11. more leaked information would suggest that brendan fraser had supposedly signed on for the title role and the production was looking to reserve the largest sound stages at pinewood studios in london as an art department was assembled confusion reigned over whether or not mcgee was still attached on the 12th of september 2002 cinescape magazine would ask the director what was happening and mkg replied superman's looking good i've seen a draft of the script which i could not possibly be more enthusiastic about that is ideally the next picture right after charlie's angels 2 is to go right into superman and yet two days later in an interview with rush hour director brett ratner when asked what was next ratner replied superman ratner was asked really i thought mcgee was doing that ratner replied i don't know unless i got fired between yesterday and today jj abrams delivered an amazing script and that's why i'm doing it they talked to me about it when tim burton fell out of it the first time and i think it was kevin smith's script this movie script has heart it has soul and it's different enough you know it's got emotion it's real you care about the character kids today don't know those movies they were done 20 years ago 10 year old kids know superman but they don't know the mythology the signing of ratner was announced officially over a week later as variety reported that warner brothers wanted to have abram's man of steel movie in theaters for summer 2004 and that no amount of schedule juggling could keep mcgee in place negotiations for ratner to direct had begun a month earlier his commitment to superman would require more than 20 weeks of pre-production which meant a delay for new line cinema's third rush hour installment ratner would say it's been a dream since i was a child to do this movie i was born to make this movie it's the perfect time to make this movie as everyone is looking for someone to save the world and who better than superman ratner also singled out john peters for praise saying he looked forward to working with the notorious hothead because his experience and passion and energy remind me of myself as a form of celebration ratner would photoshop his own head onto an image of superman and used it as a season's greeting card which he mailed out to all of his friends throughout the month one story after another would break under the heading superman's excellent adventure it was reported that keanu reeves was a potential to portray the last son of krypton finally on september the 25th warner brothers president of domestic production issued an official press release stating superman is an american icon and a timeless hero who shares a rich history with warner brothers said alan horn president warner brothers we are very happy to be working with brett john and jj on this important new chapter in the superman legacy j.j abrams and john peters were given the daunting task of re-imagining the superman epic and jj met the challenge delivering a terrific script with emotion depth and scale that brings new dimension to this legendary character we couldn't be more pleased to entrust the next chapter in the superman mythology to brett ratner a dynamic director whose skillful blend of action comedy and drama has captured the imaginations of audiences worldwide abram's storyline would leak onto the internet and receive a critical smashing that would alert studios to the power of the internet to potentially make or break a film on word of mouth before a single frame of film had ever been shot the plot to abram's rough draft has since been recited on the web a million times over and much was made of abram's deviations from the source material and the fundamentals of superman's origins the fact krypton doesn't explode at the start and that lex luthor is secretly a kryptonian supervillain were particular plot points that were savaged as the story of mcgee and abram's sacrilege traveled far and wide according to the superman cinema website warner brothers executives were going crazy over the script leak the report stated that a reliable source within warner brothers had told them that the studio was in complete turmoil over the review that ain't cool news had published supposedly the whole project was now in doubt as the warners tried to deal with the fact that the script was leaked to the public and that the script received such negative reviews it appeared the script was leaked to the fan site by someone within the studio someone who was opposed to the script was alleged to have leaked the rough draft in an effort to undermine the project's progress once the story had gone public to be discussed in chat rooms and fan communities on message boards and blogs the backlash and mockery didn't go unnoticed the studio urged abrams to make contact with ain't it cool to explain his side and why an early draft wasn't ever really intended for public dissection the petitions and protests were one thing but the death threats in particular had unnerved abrams who would go beyond the usual public relations damage limitation statements and would talk of his love for the character and his passion in bringing a great superman movie to the screen abrams would then throw himself into a second draft addressing the points raised by chairman alan horn horn would tell the hollywood reporter that i think it's very interesting i don't think it's annoying i find it annoying if an embryonic draft of a screenplay gets printed on the web that only reflects the beginning part of the process dealing with the response to that a lot of the letters and emails is frustrating because i know that's not the movie we're making in many cases the very things that the letter writers were objecting to or concerned about were the very same things that we're concerned about we don't think lex luthor should be an alien either and my answer is and it's all over the web we agree with you he won't be but i have to shake my head in wonderment that the fan base for these properties is so very large that people take the time to send a six page email on superman that means to me only good things i can't imagine that the person who sends the six page email won't go to see the movie sir anthony hopkins told the howard stern show that he'd be receiving his copy of jj abram's new superman movie script that weekend and that he's agreed to take on the role of jorel bratner would confirm hopkins casting saying he did such a good brando impression for me i said i gotta get this guy to play the father of superman and in regards to the online reaction to the leaked plot story ratner added i trust my instincts a script is a script it's not a movie it's my interpretation of it and i think they're reading old drafts or something i just got the new draft yesterday that was hand delivered by like a guy with a gun ratner was told he had until new year 2003 to cast his leading man warners would hope for a marquee name a-lister and was said to fancy an unknown casting agents published ads saying they were working on the blockbuster the death of superman the first project in a new three film franchise and we're looking to audition 40 british drama students and young actors in the hunt for the new man of steel with less than four months before filming was scheduled to start at pinewood studios casting agents were dispatched to sydney and new york to screen test aspiring young actors while back in london over 40 british drama students were tested in the hopes of unearthing the next christopher reeve the website superhero hype posted a fresh casting rumor according to their source australian home and away actor ryan clanton had been approached by ratner to play the leading role in the film in the meantime the director would speak of actor charlie sheen's suitability saying sheen would be fantastic but that we'd have to wait and see robert downey jr's name would also be linked to luke thor as an all-star supporting cast was hypothesized to feature carrie russell or scarlett johansson as lois lane christopher walken is perry white and shia labeouf confirmed he'd been spoken to about the role of jimmy olsen screen tests would continue back in hollywood warner's approved of ashton kutcher the actor was looking to make the leap from television to big screen and is reported to have impressed during his audition although kutcher would later remember it slightly differently i wore the superman suit you did oh yeah i did a screen test was that the mcgee or brett ratner or one of those incarnations yeah one of those was it brett i think no is it brett i forget who it was well what matters is there's footage of you in a superman costume somewhere there is with carrie russell no kidding who is doing who is uh who's your lowest reading lois yeah was it i think it was ratner there's me and a clark kent or clark kent outfit and then there's me and a superman outfit it was interesting man it does feel right did it feel weird no it did not feel right but like i the suit i really i didn't feel like i was pulling out i mean granted they're like all right come in an audition for this thing and i hadn't worked out done anything right so i was like i look like george reeves probably guy with a little punch i like built like this i was like a rail and like with fake muscles and it was like it was weird it was it looked funny right and also my legs are kind of not performed i don't think i could be a superhero that was in tights i could play he-man wow given given the time to get myself in shape i could play he-man kip pardue was screen tested also the actor had appeared in remember the titans and rules of attraction and warner's considered him a big star in the making barry watson the star of wbtv's 7th heaven would impress also warner brothers executives would say he tested very well and they liked the idea of using someone in-house the late paul walker would also speak in 2003 of his opportunity to star in the planned movie he revealed he turned down the role but says he did talk to the original superman director richard donner about it walker said we had conversations and by the end of it the closing thing i said do you think i need it should i do it he said for what's sake i said financially he said now kid you do it if you want to do it i said well i don't think i want to die as superman and he said well there's your answer don't do it and that was it it wasn't that hard the real pressure came from my representatives in thinking about my family i want everyone to live sweet my mom and dad especially they don't have a lot of money i want one day to have the family compound maybe one day in the big island of hawaii and having a jet to fly everyone out for christmas is pretty sweet i think in those terms i feel like i don't know if i'd be letting them down or letting myself down if i didn't one day see it that was the hardest part because that was it potentially the production was now said to be moving to canada to save money once studio space had been secured as producers feared the movie was on course to become the most expensive film ever made along with john peters as executive producer ratner would put together a team of regular collaborators consisting of andrew davies terry natham and james m freytag it was reported that tony burrow whose credits included a knight's tale and the santa claus 2 would be the production designer on the movie with regular rattner contributor steve saklad operating as art director the cinematographer would be adam greenberg who had worked on terminator 3 rise of the machines for warner's although oscar-nominated italian cinematographer dante spinodi told a festival in poland that he had been hired to shoot the film we would later see designs produced by renowned artist harold belker belker designed all the alien crafts for ratner superman when talking about his inspiration belker would say i think the production designer made me look at some shells he'd found other than that i just tried to do things different especially for the pod that he flies in the talented concept artist phil saunders was then also brought in to work on the film saunders first job was to create designs for the pod that carried kal-el as a baby and they crash landed on the kent farm phil also worked on the rouser a giant battlemech used by superman's cousin katazor saunders would later write on his blog this is work i did for brett ratner and j.j abrams version of superman i was brought on when owen patterson brought in a new art department after the previous production led by arthur max went down so ultimately i was tasked with designing the vehicles taking over where my friend harold belker left off the first job was to design the pod that baby kal-el crash lands at the kent farm with mark messenger and clint wallace would also create various designs along with artist jim martin fresh off the burton cage superman lives experience and the talented peter ramsey would storyboard and sequence the entire script as a production bible was assembled karen tanaki would get the job of designing fonts logos and signage for lex corp and the daily planet headquarters as well as the designs of various kryptonian alphabet glyphs and numbers kim barrett costume designer on the matrix was hired as a consultant in helping create the look of the iconic suit barrett would speak to the la times saying a lot of people would get fixated on what to do with the red underpants my theory is first of all find your actor and then you work out what looks good everyone knows who superman is and if they see the movie they'll be dying for him to get his clothes off and go pick up a train or whatever my job is to enhance that anticipation every job has these whole other worlds that you get to learn about special effects maestro stan winston would also be hired to design a prototype of superman's suit the industry titan would serve the project in the capacity of practical effects consultant the super talented conceptual designer eddie yang would later reveal designs from this period concepts for superman's traditional red and blue costume and designs for superman's cousin the villain taizor harrison ellenshaw who was the visual effects supervisor on both tron and superman 4 would give an interview saying i imagine the sequel remake would be pretty good it's easy to see what not to do by looking at some parts of the earlier sequels my only hope is that they return to the real essence of what superman is he is an icon not just another comic book hero superman is very american very unique you have to be very true to his origins and understand what makes him different than all the other superheroes not an easy task for any scriptwriter i wish them good luck as brett ratner's movie red dragon opened to mixed reviews the rumors were generated that the studio was looking to replace him with michael bay and that action producer joel silver was hired to co-produce alongside peters still without any cast members signed up the audition process would spill into a second month lara flynn boyle was said to be the first choice to play lois lane interestingly there was discussion of gene hackman to reprise his role as lex luthor with ratner turning down the idea because while he deeply respected hackman as an actor he felt that the film needed some fresh blood in order to rejuvenate the long dead franchise another idea was to go with an unknown for luthor but ratner was hesitant to face the same backlash george lucas had faced when he cast hayden christensen as the future darth vader in attack of the clones of the previous year according to the hollywood reporter josh hartnett would emerge as the leading contender to star in the title role josh hartnett had reportedly screen tested for the role and the report indicated that warner's president and chief operating officer alan horn production president jeff robinov and director brett ratner reacted positively to what hartnett would bring to the role the following week they followed up the story by saying hartnett has decided not to accept the lead role and that it was back to the drawing board for warner brothers a new pair of actors would emerge as top choices brendan fraser and newcomer matthew bomer whose only credits include the daytime drama's guiding light and all my children warner's was reportedly trying to make test deals for the actors with hopes of putting them in front of the camera sometime the following week a casting website then placed the following open call on their website superman seeking all types to fill remaining cast roles in this upcoming movie based on the book collection british press would report that angel star david borianis had already been signed to play superman in the upcoming movie official word direct from warner brothers would say that nobody has been cast and boreanas himself admitted that it would be tricky for him to play both superman and a vampire and talk of how he beat jude law for the role which was set to pay him a salary of 30 million dollars for a three picture deal actor victor webster star of mutant x would tell of his delight to have been asked to test for the role the self-confessed superhero fan would say it's a personal accomplishment for me no matter what happens describing his audition he said it was a case of dress up in the suit dress up as clark count stand in front of the camera it's spandex and tight i probably shouldn't say anything else i wasn't told not to say anything but i imagine they want their concept to be different concept and for me to spoil somebody else's thing that's disrespectful it was very cool no question about that at all the script is excellent obviously i can't go over the details of the script but it's really well written it's a great character movie with tons of action but you really feel for the characters there's no campiness in this movie whatsoever no campy humor no goofy humor this is a very serious action drama meanwhile jerry o'connell star of sliders and scream 2 would say yeah i'm definitely right in there there's some stiff competition but i guarantee you i can do more push-ups than all those other guys in march the new york times printed a story that claimed ratner and john peters had come to blows over the casting process the article said that the troubled man of steel film was weighed down with pre-production problems and that ratner and peters had a screaming match over the snail's pace casting of the picture it was a closed door meeting but you could hear them screaming at each other inside the office reported the warner brothers spy at one point peter started belittling ratner he said oh you think you're a big man now it got so bad that someone had to separate them the source of contention seemed to be a disagreement over ratner's first choice of matt bomer brett ratner liked him plain and simple said boehmer's manager he thought he was a terrific actor and told him if warner started testing unknowns he'd be considered the actor in question would reveal that there was a whole month during which he believed he was on course to wear the cape in the final film after ratner had repeatedly told him you're my guy due to the inability to put a cast in place the release date was now pushed back to summer 2005. and in mid-march ashton kutcher would speak to yahoo movies revealing how he turned the chance down for several reasons i was approached about doing it and it seems like a really interesting affair the scheduling of that film got moved back so now even if i were to do it it would be a conflict with my television show and i would end up ultimately having to commit to more time than the television show to do it it would just make things really complicated i think there's a bit of a curse behind the role just in what's happened to the past people who played it i don't want to be involved in that coming attractions then reported claims they've received inside information that a third actor alongside brendan fraser and matthew bomer was now being considered by warner brothers as a possible candidate for the lead role british actor henry cavill speaking under the provision of anonymity a source by the name mr glass informed them that keville had already flown to los angeles to meet with warner brothers executives and director ratner soon after it was reported that brendan fraser had lost interest in the role and had dropped out you uh auditioned to play superman and you put on the superman suit at one point for a j.j version of that i got that stripe i did it what was that experience like very cool yeah very cool i mean i don't know all the versions of the different suits but it was um like the script was paint printed on locating like crimson paper with black ink so it couldn't be photocopy you had to sign it in and out i was allowed to sit in an office and read it for an hour it was uh it was like a covert operation shooting uh you know a scene um on uh on a studio lot at warner brothers everyone in town it seems like went up for that part every time you know the role becomes available it's you know it's big news and i think like you know whoever any contenders are fan favorites or maybe you know the dark horse or wild card actors have have traditionally gone through the same process it's not really um just handed out it's almost like from what i could tell it was almost like a you were getting made or was part of a you know you're at a club you know you really i didn't know if i get the role or not but i really did love jj abram's script although that was not the one that was produced so i mean it just goes to show that it doesn't matter the size of the movie they all go through some sort of development process when you put on the suit and look at yourself in the mirror what did you think when you saw yourself in the supervans it was the first thought that went through you feel kind of invincible i can fly you know they said you want to take a run down the hallway yeah it's um the cape actually makes you think that you have the power of play no you know you don't logically bulmer was now also out of the running as the studio got cold feet over the bankability of a relative newcomer the hollywood reporter claimed that the project could be starting over from scratch director brett ratner only had a week left on his deal before it expired and the entire project now threatened to return the square one actually screen tested for superman there was a time when brett and i were going to work brett ratner the director and i were going to work together on it and then that particular um incarnation of that franchise sort of fell apart and then it became a whole different beast so when you screen tested did they actually put you in they did i was in full tights really i was rocking the tights the speedo all of it and how did that feel um it was really surreal i mean i think as a kid you grow up you know idolizing superheroes and and soda to be in that garb was really um fun and surreal and um humbling i guess i feel like you could fly did i feel like i could fly and tights in a cape um maybe in my imagination but i think life is life is uh has brought me down to earth enough that i knew i was just playing pretend but it was it was a really great experience and one that i'm really thankful for and i got to live out childhood fantasy if only for that period of the screen test variety then reported that brett ratner was no longer the director of the upcoming movie with ratner issuing a statement that said i have chosen to withdraw as director of superman the difficulty of casting the role of superman has contributed to my decision i appreciate the efforts of warner brothers and the entire production team during this process warner's production president jeff robinov commented we have tremendous regard for brett's creativity and passion for this project and we understand that this was a very tough choice for him we are disappointed but wish him the best in his future pursuits warner brothers vowed to continue the development of the man of steel project with a new director while ratner would move on to direct rush hour 3. a day before announcing his departure radnor had told mtv he'd approached christopher walken about playing perry white anthony hopkins to play lex luthor rather than jor-el and ralph fiends to play jor-el there was no word on whether any of these actors were still interested now that ratner had left the building meanwhile australian actor joel edgarton whose credits included ned kelly and star wars episode 2 would tell moviehold.com that he was up for a role in the movie but not one of the main parts edgarton was asked to test for a villainous role on the planet krypton with the actor saying they're going back in time to observe a bit of life on krypton which is weird because when superman was sent off in the pod krypton blew up so i think they're rewriting history a bit plans to shoot the proposed trilogy in london would then switch as indoor sound stages were reserved and deposits paid for space in australia fox studios lot in sydney confirmed the news and all that was left to do was find a new director and finally cast the lead role paul walker would again speak of his involvement in the process about why he turned down the role saying i met with brett i liked bread a lot actually which made it a hard decision but he decided he didn't want any more to do with it either eventually and there were budgetary problems too they needed 225 million dollars walker would also give praise to the screenplay saying it's really good it's awesome it's one of those things you read and go wow jj abrams who did joyride wrote it and he's really good joyride was an awesome script too but when i heard they were making superman i was like who's going to want to be superman and then i read the script and it was really good they've kept it pretty much under wraps people that tell you they didn't really like it probably haven't seen it it's so hush-hush live screenwriter kevin smith would rule himself out of the job when asked about the job saying it was too big and too many people in the audience were like you're doing it wrong you're doing it wrong and i'd be that guy in the audience going you're doing it wrong i don't want to be subjected to that as we entered june 2003 initial director mcgee would tell the bbc that he was back to talks to pick up where he left off on the project now that his charlie's angel sequel had wrapped production mcgee was unconcerned with ratner's struggle to cast the man of tomorrow saying i have three choices for the role but i can't share them yet i feel like we're living in a time where a big movie like that you've gotta service the movie first the movie is the star when it's a character like that and it's important to get the right character with mcgee's return it was reported that drew barrymore was all but cast as lois laying waste to claims from other sources that suggested the director was in contact with the singer beyonce knowles for the part singer and actor justin timberlake was said to have been told the jimmy olsen role was his if he wanted it actor josh hartnett was still publicly linked to the tie dealer role but would put those rumors to bed with some straight talk saying it just wasn't the kind of movie that i wanted to do they offered me the role while i was shooting hollywood homicide i said no they offered it to me again i said no they offered it to me again i said no they offered it to me again i said no i just didn't want to play superman and i've turned down all of the other superhero movies too anthony hopkins would also distance himself from taking part without ratner in the director's chair hopkins had no further interest in the project future superman henry cavill and brandon routh were also screen tested a second time with warner's now looking to enter production before december of 03 once a new budget had been allocated with cavill said to be the front runner as the actor ticked every box the casting people were looking for vin diesel after a meeting with john peters was said to be leaving a year in his schedule free with the possibility of playing a beefed-up lex luthor a role that was now also linked to bruce willis as location scouting took place in australia it was reported that natalie portman had been approached for the role of lois lane as the search for a cast continued brett ratner would later speak of his time prepping the movie with the director saying the original movie i was going to be a part of was much more otherworldly and much darker because there was a civil war on krypton you get more of the history that wasn't just darker but cooler in my mind that was what we were going to model the visuals after i was going to surround superman with known actors but it's important to get an unknown i love tom cruise but to have someone like him who you see as tom cruise would be a mistake small screen smallville superman actor tom welling then revealed he too had been considered telling carson daly that i actually went to brett's house in los angeles and we sat down and talked about it a little bit both knowing the scheduling would always be an issue basically if that movie were to happen the show would pretty much have to go away i don't think that's what anybody wants it was now october 2003 and j.j abrams would turn in his second draft of the script a revision on the previously eviscerated draft abram's new draft was considered a solid template on which a proposed trilogy could be planned around dated october 24th 2003 abram's second draft opens with an emergency television broadcast urging all residents of metropolis to find immediate shelter underground as the earth is being used as a battleground then there's an explosion and the screen cuts to static outside a blur of red and blue slams into the street like a meteor blowing a crater into the street we watch as superman is in the middle of a deathly battle with a kryptonian being a sleek powerful well-trained alien warrior by the name of tyzor he's dressed in dark unearthly clothing superman isn't doing well his iconic suit is torn and shredded his cape is slashed superman appears bloody winded beaten he's exhausted as tyzor is strong confident cocky superman hears the distant cries of lois and he speeds off through the sky exceeding the speed of sound as sonic boom shake the world superman arrives alone at his destination he weakly falls onto his knees and his skin blisters as he encounters kryptonite we cut back in time to the destruction of the planet krypton explosions are tearing holes in the sky and the ground is a war zone as the majestic kingdom of king jorel is under siege and ambush from a flying army of tank-like battle machine warbirds that fire plasma beams destroying towers and the palace krypton's defenses are destroyed as their overwhelmed military attempt to launch retaliation the king and his wife the queen laura since the battle is already lost as they bundle their child into a transport pod this child the baby kal-el looks up hopefully at the parents who are about to send him light years away and they look down at their son for a last moment jorel touches his son gently and we see just how devastating this is for him he tells him look at us now kell so that one day you might remember us then there's the oncoming sound of distant thundering the enemy is getting closer the pod capsules portal closes and fills with protective oxygenated gel and blasts out into space with the exiled child as jor-el battles an advancing army of alien troops we meet katazor the king's brother katazor takes jordal captive and he lays waste to the landscape in an act of brutal warfare he tells his beaten brother i know you've sent the boy off planet but i will find him one of katazor's lieutenants informed him that the pod could be headed for any one of a thousand planets to which a quietly raging catazo replies then send a thousand men as chunks of the planet explode the hundred strong army of invaders lift off from krypton and disperse into space all headed away from the red sun as they proceed under order to hunt down the child a child who couldn't possibly know of the journey that lies ahead we then cut to earth smallville we meet jonathan and martha kent as the pod crash lands on their farm half buried in the dirt its shell retracts and liquid spills out revealing the eleven-month-old cal-el the kents raised the child as their own despite the fact this baby clearly isn't from around these parts this toddler can easily lift up the sofa with one hand and toss it into the garden just to retrieve a lost toy during a game of catch the boy starts to fly the bemused kent's vow to teach him restraint and self-control and no flying in the house to teach him how to act normal as it's the only way to keep him safe they named the kid after the actor clark gable the boy's name is now clark kent we follow clark as he deals with school and college learns to curtail his strange abilities and remains unaware of the intergalactic horde of warriors who are searching space hunting him down back on the remnants of krypton katazor continues to reign as jorel has spent decades locked in a prison katazor now has a grown-up son tyzor tyzor's intensity and bloodlust makes even his own father a little afraid taizor kills lara without hesitation when she refuses to give up the location of her son meanwhile on earth clark leaves college meets lois lane and gets his job as a reporter for the daily planet we encounter lex luthor the owner of lexcorp and presidential wannabe who speaks to his corporate shareholders of his aim to roll out spyware technology called luthanium across the world's technologies under the guise of global security reporter lois lane is instantly put on lex's people who need to go list as she refuses to back down on her investigation into his unethical practices lex decides the time to strike down miss lane is during her interview with the president on board of air force one as lex says two birds one stone as the pilots fly air force one the instruments go dead and the plane plummets in an extreme hard dive the pilot's frantic attempts to correct the altitude are useless an engine blows out as black smoke pours from the rapidly descending plane the president his family the secret service agents all cling on desperately in the mayhem of alarms and emergency radio signals lois holds on terrified lex is smug as he hits a sequence of detonation codes he tells his men hey let's watch the news the news reports the breaking story that the president's plane has lost power and is plunging toward the earth clark also watches the report his mind spins at the horrific implications is today the day he reveals himself to the world suddenly superman leaps and blasts into the sky air force one spin dives piercing the clouds a human bullet blurring through the sky superman blasts across the horizon then he stops steadying himself still new to flight since his alert he scrutinizes the sky he hears the whistle whine of the dropping plane he approaches as fast as he can he grabs onto the wing straining to stop the spiral when suddenly the wing breaks off as superman tumbles back as the plane dives faster hoisting the entire aircraft on his back superman labors he begins to lift the plane as he restores its normal altitude news spreads everywhere of the superman who saved the day and lives amongst us lex luthor for one isn't as enthralled by the news as the rest of metropolis seems to be clark's mom tells him the secret of his origin on earth and the choice he now faces clark looks out onto the crimson horizon then he closes his eyes listening listening to the world's cries for help distant screams desperate pleas it's almost overpowering save the world where would one even begin broadcasts around the world begin reporting news of this new hero a foiled robbery in london an avalanche in australia is reversed after the hero was spotted taking a deep breath and blowing the snow back up the mountain there's reports from honduras hong kong egypt lex luthor has long harbored the crash kryptonian pod from 30 years earlier now after superman's refusal to work alongside him on his global manifesto for a one world government lex sends a beacon into outer space the transmission is eventually received on krypton where taizor decodes the signal and instantly recognizes that the son of jorel has been tracked he now leaves to go and kill him and to destroy the place that gave him a safe haven on earth lex kidnaps lois at gunpoint and they travel to the new crash site where another kryptonian craft has landed tizor emerges from the craft the murderer of superman's mother has finally arrived to fulfill his own twisted destiny luthor instantly bows and gets down on one knee luthor says i am as loyal to you as your fellow soldier i will neither harm you nor waste your time i know you want to kill kal-el here they call him superman they idolize him they consider him their savior where is he asks an impatient tizer i can give him to you replies a smirking luther and then maybe you can do a little favor for me i'm looking to give this planet a little facelift back in metropolis clark hears about lois going missing he rips off his clothes and transforms into superman he takes off in a blur of speed and urgency superman locates lex lois and ty's or who are you he asked taizor taizo replies you look just like her cal-el your mother she cried you know helpless as she was in that moment just before i ended her life superman begins to understand the horror that is tizor tyzor looks superman up and down and says let's see if you cry like her too superman taizor pulls out a kryptonian hand cannon and fires the energy blast hits superman hard lois screams as superman is slammed back landing hard dazed tyzor leaps over to him smiles looks down upon him with contempt and fires again and again superman takes the blast and the two go to war tizor tackles superman with a flurry of furious brutal unforgiving blows that echo as loud and intense as a full speed car crash superman struggles like a promising prize fighter overwhelmed by a more experienced opponent taizor drags superman through the skies and slams him down into the metropolis pavement the meteor like impact sends pedestrians screaming superman is hurled back up through buildings and taizor swings a crane and connects with superman like a baseball bat hitting the ball superman gathers his strength lex has lois held captive next to a huge chunk of kryptonite and it's back to the opening scene as superman arrives but is rendered powerless by the deadly green rock as lex taunts him placing the kryptonite on his chest superman exhales long and final his head goes limp and he dies one down one to go says lex as tizor lands a mammoth kryptonian battleship down in the middle of the metropolis it blasts holes into the ground as people flee the ship blares out your superman has been killed this is the price you will pay for sheltering him witness the end of your planet on krypton jorel remains in his cell he senses the death of his son he raises his arms and begins deep meditative prayer his eyes turn white superman's eyes open in darkness he steps into a pure blue white light in a timeless afterlife where his suit is restored to pristine condition and his skin and hair are unscathed by battle or kryptonite superman encounters his father and is told a fabled prophecy that spoke of krypton a war waged by and against a single family it told of two princes and the battle they were destined to fight and that of the two only one prince would return jarrell embraces his son and exhales superman inhales reborn there's a magical transference and jor-el falls down spent superman awakes back on earth as lois weeps over him superman stands stronger healthier than ever he flies lois to safety before attacking tyzor's ship superman battles the giant machine in the canyons of metropolis it's cat and mouse with the man of steel flying around the giant tank monster counter-maneuvering the weapon blast that tear the city apart superman is angry and determined he flies up and toward the stars as fast as he can and then u-turns and bullets back to earth zooming into metropolis and straight into the heart of taizor's tank ship in a wild multi-colored blast that rocks the city tyzor emerges from the wreckage dazed and broken scanning the urban war zone for his nemesis when he's tackled hard by superman as the final battle begins until now tizor has always had the advantage but no longer as much as tyzor tries to fight in his elegantly brutal well-trained way superman is the stronger and more determined of the two superman beats down his opponent hurls him into rubble a potent combination of speed and might superman dominates tyzor slamming him with his fists cracking him hard with his boots deflecting every defense and shocking taizor with his fierce skill taizor has planted a spike bomb that is detonated to level the entire planet as his father attempted on krypton and superman instantly speeds away to locate the device tizor sees superman's desire to save humans as his weakness and starts to lift vehicles and hurl them around the city superman saves the people and finds the bomb taizor also reaches for the bomb they both grasp it and fly upward at speed into the sky explodes and fills the sky with light tizor and superman fall to earth tyzor begs for mercy and offers to work alongside superman superman knows this is a trick and as tizor attempts to stab him with kryptonite superman dodges the attack and flips tizor toward the skylight of the metropolis museum where taizor lands upon an enormous razor-sharp sample of kryptonite the huge phosphorus green rock impales him and blisters up before dying luther runs into the hall goes to the impaled dying ties or grabs him saying you idiot i gave him to you taizor grips luther's neck hard and you think for a moment that he's going to crush luthor and kill him as he himself dies but instead something else happens another transference something that overwhelms luthor when tyzor finally dies luthor falls back shaking weak now recovering and as we reach the end superman tells lois that rather than remain on earth he is needed back on his dying home planet superman takes off into the heavens the end the studio yet again would push back the start date by another year and one person who wasn't so enthused about the news was the writer of superman red son mark millar not one to sugarcoat his opinion milar would post the following message at comicstofilm.com trust me mcgee is not getting anywhere near this freaking thing he and others are talking about this as a means of rejigging their careers no actress is being seriously considered for lois and nobody's being auditioned for soups because there's no movie folks here's the scoop the movie's already something like 50 mil in debt because of all the false starts it's a huge problem because they want big stars big effects and a big budget and this would push you to the 250 300 million mark this ain't gonna happen especially with someone as choppy as mcgee and that awful script kicking around a chum of mine like i've said has been making calls and taking meetings very quietly there's a few things he has to finish first and plans to get moving on this around 2006 believe none of this bullcrap you're reading because beyonce etc etc it's just all fish the real deal is still two years away from even seriously starting work on this so the flick isn't going to be seen until around 2007 at the earliest there'll be possibly two batman picks before the next superman and i'm pleased about that because it's going to be done right and be something we can watch for another 25 years instead of some pop charlie's angels crap as we entered 2004 martin henderson known for his role in grey's anatomy would be invited for audition and beyonce knowles would speak about her desire to be lois lane saying everyone pray that happens for me actress selma blair would remain a rumored first choice for lois lane while out helping to promote her upcoming film hellboy blair would tell fans at a horror convention that she was this close to signing a deal mcgee would now give abram's second draft to writer josh schwartz and ask the creator of the oc to give it a full rewrite and make alterations lex luthor obtaining kryptonian technology was a major storyline in the script lex takes the ship figures out how to adapt the kryptonian technology and then uses his endless wealth to turn the metropolis corporation into a billion dollar company known as lexcorp which specializes in military arms development sonar technology and new forms of stealth flight lex then uses the kryptonian technology to call upon the surviving kryptonians to come to earth and defeat superman the events on krypton would be changed with jor-el now the main villain as the characters of katazor and tyzor are removed completely and consolidated into jor-el in a dynamic reminiscent of luke skywalker and darth vader jorel is the one who blows up krypton as lara and her father predius send the baby kal-el to earth superman has a half-brother that was born to jor-el and another kryptonian woman clark tries on a variety of suits including the traditional red blue and yellow suit the black suit and a red white and blue suit which clark puts back as he doesn't want to rip off captain america captain america is referenced as a comic book as young clark grows up reading marvel comics the iconic s emblem comes from the blanket the kents find him wrapped in as a baby the prophecy has changed around so that it isn't about superman but a form of intergalactic evil in the universe that turns out to be lex luthor superman returns to the remnants of krypton because he believes this ultimate evil is his father superman aims to liberate his own planet and shield earth from attack before finding out the truth right before the final showdown reflects if superman is a metaphor for jesus then lex is written into a metaphoric satan in june that year however the flames of development hell looked set to incinerate the latest attempts to put together a superman movie as director mcgee was officially now off the project the director and crew were due to finalize a cast and travel to australia for the next stage of prep work when it was reported that the director and warner brothers alan horn could not agree on budget casting or location mcgee apparently reacted negatively to the biggest cost-saving decision to shoot in australia instead of on location in new york city mcgee would issue a statement saying when i flew to new york to scout i became enamored with our greatest american city it was clear to me that this was metropolis as a filmmaker i felt it was inappropriate to try to capture the heart of america on another continent i look at superman as a character that embodies all that is beautiful about america and so for the second time mcgee would leave the project warner brothers looked to immediately replace him with michael bay and x-men director brian singer now said to be the studio's top choices the real reason for mcgee's departure would be revealed years later here's mcgee speaking in an interview with collider.com i got thrown off superman because you know my whole life i've really had a problem with being agoraphobic and afraid to fly which is ironic and i remember at that time i was telling the heads of warner brothers which at the time was alan horn and barry meyer i'm like guys i can't go to australia i can't fly to australia oh you'll be fine you're a big g you'll be come on oh my god and um you know literally right up to the point of of the day i'm supposed to go i'm like i can't go they obviously had to throw me off the picture singer came in and did the movie yeah i mean that was like a real low point for me as a human being but it drove me to go in there and uh you know meet with two women at ucla who specialized in such things and then i got better you know it was really hard and i i just slowly started putting one foot in front of the other and started flying and that would be the end of that the studio had been aware of mkg's crippling fear of flying and offered to buy out the entire first class cabin of a commercial jet to help him feel more at ease when mcgee declined he was offered the corporate jet all to himself mcgee's agent would contact studio exec jeff robinov telling him that mcgee was unwilling to travel by air the studio assumed mkg would change his mind then in the final week of june with studio and crew ready to leave warner brothers own jet was sitting on a runway in burbank scheduled to depart for australia via hawaii everybody waited in the seats for the director to show up and as the agent had already warned them mcgee didn't turn up and everybody had to get off the plane jeff robinov would then tell the new york times that mcgee had previously told them that flying to australia wouldn't be an issue and based on this promise the costume designers and special effects team down under were already in place robinoff would say to the la times that when you go down the road with movies that are this expensive you have to believe in the people in the process and in the direction you are taking and honestly we have not been comfortable [Music] executives were clearly rattled by the perceived snub perhaps not taking mcgee's phobia seriously but more by the fact that producers writers and actors would receive payouts for a project that wasn't going to shoot robinoff says that if mkg had gotten on the plane they would have made the movie but once he didn't decisions had to be made warner brothers boss alan horn agreed to meet mkg one last time as the director pitched an idea that would see the movie shot in canada instead he showed them a portfolio of images illustrating how canada could easily double up as an american farmland but horn said no the movie would be shot in australia with or without him the superman man of steel screenplay written by abrams and re-written by schwartz would seemingly amount to nothing abrams would later write a piece for wired magazine titled the magic of mystery attempting to address the adverse knee-jerk overreaction to his work abrams would state i had spent close to two years working on a version of a superman script for warner brothers then an early draft was leaked reviewed and spectacularly decimated on a website that i still adore and read daily it wasn't just that the review was bad which it was i mean like crap-tastically bad and probably deserved as i'm the idiot who made lex luthor a kryptonian what was so depressing wasn't just that the thing being reviewed was an old version of a work in progress what killed me was that the reviewer and then readers of that reviewer weren't just judging my writing they were judging the movie a movie that was barely in pre-production and many drafts away from final a film that ultimately never got made in small part because that review and subsequent posts made studio decision makers nervous the fact is that superman film might have been awful or it could have been something else we'll never know over the summer brian singer would stay in contact with warner brothers to pitch his idea for superman returns as he was preparing to leave for hawaii on a short vacation with his x-men two screenwriters singer began to outline an all-new film treatment in july 2004 singers signed on to direct and develop superman returns which would open after two decades of development and over 350 million dollars spent to mixed reviews on june the 21st 2006. and so concludes the tale of why jj abrams superman the man of steel failed to take flight next up we'll find out why the proposed batman vs superman world's finest would also never see a frame of film being shot thanks for watching

Channel: Supervoid Cinema

Views: 173,340

Keywords: Superman, superman movies, cancelled superman movies, superman flyby, superman lives, j.j. abrams, jj, abrams, jj abrams superman, superman reboot, superman vs, dc comics, dc comics superman, lois lane, clark kent, superman explained, dc movies, comic book movies, cancelled dc movies, henry cavill, supervoid cinema, batman v superman

Id: nuAfeGV7zIs

Length: 69min 32sec (4172 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 27 2021