First off, thanks to AP for getting the news of WB's plan to reboot the Superman franchise up as soon as he did this weekend. I was away traveling for business, and wasn't able to access the site. Although I was able to access my email, and imagine my surprise when I logged into it on Friday Night in my crappy hotel room to see that I had almost 150 congratulatory emails in my account without a clue as to why?
As for my thoughts on Singer's ouster, I don't think I really need to explain them, as most of you who've read this little blog with any regularity know where I stand on things. I also think most of us who weren't
living in denial knew that this was just a matter of "when" as opposed to "if" ever since WB saw the lackluster public response to Singer's failed effort. I always wondered just how my initial reaction to the official news would go. Would I be ecstatic? over-joyed? urinate my pants? etc. The truth is, it was none of the those. It was more along this lines of someone who knew something they wanted was coming, and had the satisfied feeling of seeing something they believed in come to fruition. Sort of like acing a big exam that you studied your ass off for and knew you nailed it when you took it.
Now I'm not egotistical enough to believe that this blog was a deciding factor in WB's choice to reboot Superman. But I am confident in saying that I know we were seen and heard by some pretty important people. (and YES, even some who's name appears in the site's URL.) But that was never my purpose in starting this blog. I was just one fan who waited for a movie about a character he loved and was horrified to see what had been done to him. I wanted to pierce through all the fluff and BS spewed by the people in charge of this abomination, and show them for what they really were, even if it was initially unpopular to do. After that I just wanted to be a place where people who were of the same mindset could come together and express our views without the shackles of some Draconian web masters who were more interested in kissing the asses of the people making the films so they could get "favors" regardless of what they were actually doing to the characters they claimed to love. In all of those regards I think we succeeded.
And don't just congratulate me, congratulate yourselves. I merely provided the medium, you all stood up for something you believed in and called a spade a spade. You're all a testament to the character of Superman, who'd stand up and fight for something he believed in until he gave his last breath, even if it was initially unpopular.
Now, not to completely kill your buzz, but there is something that came out in the
Wall Street Journal article that just ain't sitting well with me. And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it now.
"Like the recent Batman sequel -- which has become the highest-grossing film of the year thus far -- Mr. Robinov wants his next pack of superhero movies to be bathed in the same brooding tone as "The Dark Knight." Creatively, he sees exploring the evil side to characters as the key to unlocking some of Warner Bros.' DC properties. "We're going to try to go dark to the extent that the characters allow it," he says. That goes for the company's Superman franchise as well."
Robinov, you STUPID BASTARD, you still don't get it, do you? Apparently you do get now finally that Singer's approach to Superman sucked. However, you obviously have not a fucking clue why. Please someone print this next part of the post out and stick it on this man's desk. Neigh, staple this fucking post to his forehead.
Superman Returns didn't fail because it wasn't dark enough. Hell, it was plenty "dark" and "emo." It failed because Singer didn't have a fucking clue about who Superman is and what makes him tick. One of the problems with his film in the first place was that it was too god damn dark because Superman is a character of light, and of hope. He's the inspiration to rise above the darkness that threatens to consume us all. He's us at our peak as humans, not us sinking to depths to deal with those even deeper. That's fucking Batman. THAT is why Nolan's films work; because he captures who the character is and flushes that out. That mindset doesn't work for every character. It's not some fucking magic formula that you can apply to Superman, the Flash, Wonder Woman, and fucking Plastic Man. You need to boil those characters down to who they are and use that for the tone of the film.
The Dark Knight didn't succeed because it found some magic formulaic approach that applies to all character's plotlines. It did however find the magic formula for developing comic properties: get a visionary director who respects the source material, update the character for a modern audience, and get a competent cast to portray the iconic characters. It's pretty god damn simple. How are you now missing this?
Needless to say we need to keep an eye on this, and just hope that Robinov was suffering from diarrhea of the mouth and speaking about details he doesn't understand. Otherwise, we could be looking at Tim Burton's
Superman Lives all over again. Christ, apparently a hero's work is never done. It doesn't look like we're going anywhere soon here folks. Keep checking in for updates on what's next for Superman.
Forever Vigilant,
S.S.S.
Evening everyone,
