Public Enemies - What Did You Think?
Bryan Singer Fancies Another Go At The X-Men And Superman
Posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Total Film has an interview with Bryan Singer in their latest issue to promote the UK release of Valkyrie on DVD and Blu-Ray. Inevitably, the conversation turned to the two big superhero franchise he’s already contributed to - Superman and X-Men. His quotes on both are after the break.
Bryan Singer Circling Prisoners With Mark Wahlberg
Posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 by Brendon Connelly
Entertainment Weekly are reporting that Bryan Singer has become interested in directing Prisoners. The project first made news when Aaron Guzikowski’s hot spec script started doing the rounds with Mark Wahlberg attached to star. There’s been a whole hive-load of buzz about this one, and I can see why Singer would at least give it careful consideration, but is it really a package he should attach to? Even the least of his past projects - Superman Returns and X-Men - had some real high points in their screenplays, and more than their fair share of rock-steady solid pages too. Can Prisoners compare?
Much of the basic set up of Prisoners is reminiscent of The Lovely Bones, quite oddly. Wahlberg’s role in each film would be the rough equivalent too - the father of an abducted young girl who sets off on her trail ahead of the police and seems set upon exacting some vigilante justice. In most respects, however, the screenplays couldn’t be more different…
The Wachowski Brothers to Direct Superman Reboot?
Posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 by Peter Sciretta
Could The Wachowski Brothers be in line to direct a reboot of Superman for Warner Bros? A scooper over at AICN caught an interview with V For Vendetta director James McTeigue on Berlin television where the filmmaker admitted that Plastic Man was originally scheduled to be the brothers’ next project, but the film has been delayed indefinitely due to a major shake-up of projects at Warner Bros. McTeigue was even signed on to direct second unit, as he has done on past Wachowski Brothers productions.
Bryan Singer Not Involved in Superman Sequel Talks
Posted on Thursday, December 4th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
UGO got a chance to grill Bryan Singer about his involvement with a new Superman film. Unfourtunately, his answer is somewhat cryptic.
UGO: Are you officially involved in this talk of the new film?
BS: I am not officially involved in the talk, no.
UGO: But when talk happens they’ll call you.
BS: Well it’s, you know, I have relationships with Warner Brothers and with the character and, and, and, and it’s just the way things work out.
UGO: But you are not divorced from Superman at this point.
BS: No.
From what I can gather, Warner Bros/Legendary Pictures/DC Comics are having preliminary discussions about a new Superman film, but Singer is not involved in those talks. I know the consensus behind the scenes is that Singer shouldn’t direct the next film, and there has even been talk of a complete reboot. I have heard rumors that Singer has a stipulation in his Superman Returns contract that forces Warner Bros to go to him first before seeking other directors. I’ve never been able to confirm this. I am actually one of the few who actually dug Singer’s Superman, and would be very interested to see him go all “Wrath of Kahn” with Man of Steel (as Singer once put it). But I just don’t think its going to happen. I think Warner Bros will eventually talk Singer into an producer role so that both sides don’t loose face. But we’ll see…
Valkryie Featurette: Through Bryan Singer’s Eyes
Posted on Friday, November 7th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
MSN has a new featurette for Valkyrie focusing on director Bryan Singer. Click on the image above to watch it.
United Artists has released the last and final movie trailer for Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie. Gone is the overly stylish split screen editing, Added, the SAW theme leads to the climax. It’s amazing how well that theme fits other movies, even though its the key theme song of a five film franchise. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m really starting to look forward to this film. Complain about the lack of accents all you want. Bash Tom Cruise if you will, but this looks like a solid thriller. Share your thought in the comments below!
Four New Photos From Valkyrie, New Trailer on Thursday
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
United Artists has provided /Film with four new production photos from Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie. Apparently, a new trailer will premiere tomorrow night around 8:00pm PT, so check back then. As always, click on the stills to enlarge.
Official Plot Synopsis: In a country in the grips of evil, in a police state where every move is being watched, in a world where justice and honor have been subverted, a group of men hidden inside the highest reaches of power decide to take action. Tom Cruise stars in the suspense film, VALKYRIE, based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (CRUISE) and the daring and ingenious plot to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known. Director Bryan Singer (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, X-MEN, SUPERMAN RETURNS) re-teams with Academy Award®-winning USUAL SUSPECTS screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to bring to life the story of the men who led the operation to assassinate Hitler. The film also stars an acclaimed cast including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Eddie Izzard, Christian Berkel and Terence Stamp.
A proud military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is a loyal officer who serves his country all the while hoping that someone will find a way to stop Hitler before Europe and Germany are destroyed. Realizing that time is running out, he decides that he must take action himself and joins the German resistance. Armed with a cunning strategy to use Hitler’s own emergency plan – known as Operation Valkyrie – these men plot to assassinate the dictator and overthrow his Nazi government from the inside. With everything in place, with the future of the world, the fate of millions and the lives of his wife and children hanging in the balance, von Stauffenberg is thrust from being one of many who oppose Hitler to the one who must kill Hitler himself.
Valkyrie is scheduled to hit theaters on December 26th 2008.
United Artists have released a new movie trailer for Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie. The new desert war footage and the addition of the tick-tock time-bomb score leads me to believe that the film might be a little more intense than I had first believed. The use of split screens seems forced, however, I doubt they are used in the actual film. I do love the way Singer frames his movies. And who doesn’t love the shot of the cigarette burning the fly? Watch the trailer below. As always, please tell me what you think in the comments!
Plot Synopsis: In a country in the grips of evil, in a police state where every move is being watched, in a world where justice and honor have been subverted, a group of men hidden inside the highest reaches of power decide to take action. Tom Cruise stars in the suspense film, VALKYRIE, based on the true story of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) and the daring and ingenious plot to eliminate one of the most evil tyrants the world has ever known. Director Bryan Singer (THE USUAL SUSPECTS, X-MEN, SUPERMAN RETURNS) re-teams with Academy Award®-winning USUAL SUSPECTS screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to bring to life the story of the men who led the operation to assassinate Hitler. The film also stars an acclaimed cast including Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten, Thomas Kretschmann, Eddie Izzard, Christian Berkel and Terence Stamp.
A proud military man, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg is a loyal officer who serves his country all the while hoping that someone will find a way to stop Hitler before Europe and Germany are destroyed. Realizing that time is running out, he decides that he must take action himself and joins the German resistance. Armed with a cunning strategy to use Hitler’s own emergency plan – known as Operation Valkyrie – these men plot to assassinate the dictator and overthrow his Nazi government from the inside.
With everything in place, with the future of the world, the fate of millions and the lives of his wife and children hanging in the balance, von Stauffenberg is thrust from being one of many who oppose Hitler to the one who must kill Hitler himself.
Valkyrie hits theaters on December 26th 2008. Watch the trailer in High Definition on Yahoo.
The /Filmcast: After Dark is a recording of what happens right after The /Filmcast is over, when the kids have gone to bed and the guys feel free to speak whatever is on their minds. In other words, it’s the leftover and disorganized ramblings, mindfarts, and brain diarrhea from The /Filmcast, all in one convenient audio file. In this episode, Dave, Peter, Devindra, and Adam, discuss the possibility of another Superman film with Bryan Singer, find even more things to debate about The Dark Knight, and discuss some geeky tidbits about the making of Back to the Future. Also, Dave laments the thrashing that was “The Yamato Affair.”
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Jeff Robinov confirmed to the Wall Street Journal, that Warner Bros will reboot the Superman franchise.
“Superman [Returns] didn’t quite work as a film in the way that we wanted it to,” said Robinov. “It didn’t position the character the way he needed to be positioned. Had Superman worked in 2006, we would have had a movie for Christmas of this year or 2009. But now the plan is just to reintroduce Superman without regard to a Batman and Superman movie at all.”
No word on if Bryan Singer will still be involved or not. Lets just hope George Miller isn’t involved.
Warner Bros will begin to refocus on bigger tentpole movies, hoping to release as many as eight big movies a year by 2011. Robinov hopes that two out of those eight films will be DC comic book adaptations. This basically mimics the move made by Marvel Studios. Warner Bros is expected to announce their upcoming line-up of DC movies in the next month. But for now the plan is to produce four comic book films in the next three years. This would likely include a third Batman film and the Superman reboot. The success of The Dark Knight has convinced Robinov thatt building more realistic superheroes with darker stories may be the key to box office gold.
“We’re going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it,” he said.
This is a good move for some films, but I hope they take the time to assess each comic property on its own. I can certainly see a darker Superman. One of the many lessons learned from Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns is that the audiences want something different. I feel that his fan-boy like faithfulness to the Richard Donner films prevented the series from creating it’s own identity.
I suggested in my last post the possibility of hiring Jonathan Nolan to give a new spin on the character. Most comments were critical of this idea, but I still think it’s the best way to go. Superman doesn’t need to be set in the Nolanverse, but he needs a new take, and a screenwriter who will treat the character with respect, but at the same time won’t feel afraid to stray from the source material or ideas set up in the previous film adaptations. I think it might also be fun to eventually create one-off films, possibly something like Mark Millar’s Red Son.
Warner Bros Still Unsure About Superman Sequel
Posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta
Variety’s Anne Thompson posted another update on the status of the next Superman film. Basically, no one knows. Warner Bros wants to make another movie, but weren’t happy with the last film. Bryan Singer is still technically attached, and has promised to go “Wrath of Khan” with the sequel, but I don’t think Warner wants a sequel. And a unnamed executive admitted that “it might be better to start from scratch.” It seems to me that we’re looking at the equivalent of a game of chicken, with neither the studio or Singer willing to move out of the way. The interesting sentence in Thompson’s update is this one: “Today I was told that it is a priority at the studio to find the right direction and if Bryan Singer is willing to do that, fine, but if he gets in the way, he may not stay on the project.”
Some have told me that Singer’s deal is that if he wasn’t brought back for the sequel, he would be paid for the work he would have done. I’m not sure if that is the case or not, and even if so, I’m not sure why Warner Bros is hesitating. Comic Book movies are hot right now, and they need to strike before the inevitable downward turn hits. I was one of the few who liked Singer’s Superman Returns despite the flaws. However, It seems clear to me that people don’t want a sequel to Superman Returns, but they do want a Superman movie. It seems to me like the best thing to do is to hire a new director, and let Singer save face by bringing him on board as a producer. The new director can’t be George Miller, but someone young who will have a new take on the classic superhero. Hire Jonathan Nolan to write a script. Try to recapture the magic of The Dark Knight. After all, what would Superman look like in the Nolanverse?
When Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie was moved back to 2009, everyone interpreted the move to mean the film was not good enough for Academy Award consideration. Well MGM has announced that they are moving the Tom Cruise Hitler Assassination thriller up to December 26th, a prime date at the close of Awards season. But the studio claims they made the move not because of award consideration, but instead because they believe the film will play better to audiences in the holiday release, instead of in mid February.
I find it a bit strange that the film is being released on the 26th, when a boat load of films are being released one day earlier for Christmas. That line-up includes Frank Miller’s The Spirit, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Bedtime Stories, Marley & Me, and the limited release of Gran Torino. Also, David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button hits theaters one week earlier. Seems like a crowded week to release the film, and if MGM isn’t doing it for award consideration, then why did they make the move at all?
