David Goyer In 2006 Explains Why He Wouldn't "Ever Be Good To Write Superman"
/Film reader Ian G noticed something funny in David Goyer's 2006 interview with the screenwriting-focused interview series The Dialogue. You may recall that we've featured The Dialogue Series in a previous edition of Cool Stuff (read more here). You probably also recall that David Goyer was hired to write a new Superman screenplay based on a story that Goyer dreamed up with producer Christopher Nolan. In the Dialogue Series interview clip embedded after the jump, Goyer admits that he doesn't think he'd "ever be good to write superman."
[flv:http://media2.slashfilm.com/slashfilm/trailers/goyersuperman.flv 500 284]
In the interview, Goyer states:
"In the case of Blade, he is acting heroically, but the rest of the world thinks he's a vigilante. As is the case with Batman. ... I don't think I'd ever be good to write Superman because it is the opposite... [the interviewer says "he's angst free"] Yeah. And I wouldn't know the angle because I'm so angst ridden so I wouldn't know what to do with a character like that."
Of course, this doesn't mean that Goyer could never figure out a take on Superman — he obviously has. Goyer pitched the Superman story to Nolan when they were stalled for ideas for Batman 3. Nolan previously stated:
It's very exciting, we have a fantastic story. And we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right...[it] is a way of approaching the story I've never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. ... "We're approaching it in a not dissimilar way [to the Batman films] in terms of trying to find an incredible story in a way that audiences can engage with it the way they engage with contemporary action films."
As funny as Goyer's statement may be, could it give us a glimpse of what to expect? What Goyer said four years ago about why he wouldn't be the right screenwriter to tackle the Man Of Steel might be the reasons why he is the right screenwriter today. Will Goyer/Nolan's vision of the superhero be a more angst-ridden Superman? Could he be unaccepted by the people of Metropolis? Any guesses?