Thompson: Singerman Going Nowhere Fast

Howdy everyone, SSS popping in here just to say hello, and point out that our dear old friend Anne Thompson, Deputy Editor of Variety and enemy of Singerman apologists everywhere, is at it again just to let us know that a Singerman sequel ain't looking any better than when we last heard from her about a month ago. Not that it should come as a surprise to anyone considering they've been fielding relaunch ideas from just about anyone who has ever written any kind of successful Superman comic before, and it seems they've even talked to a few other directors about the project. Nonetheless it's always nice to hear that the suits at WB have noticed what went on with this whole mess. The article goes on to say:

"Fans have been clamoring all over the web--and on this blog--for a complete reboot. And within the halls of Warner Bros. the same debate rages on. They too believe that the last movie didn't break the mold and wound up in some kind of middle limbo. 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. There are no writers working on a Superman script now. The studio wants to figure it out. "It might be better to start from scratch," one exec admitted."

Gee, ya think? But let's look at this in detail. They want to take Superman in the "right direction" which obviously means they have a lot of doubts about what went down the first go around. They'll want something vastly different this time. Does anyone see Singer doing a complete about face on this and suddenly let the studio dictate to him what kind of movie to make? Remember, he thought the first Singerman could spawn sequels as it was. I just dont see him capitulating considering everything that would need to be done differently. I also don't see WB hiring on the Meltzer's and Waid's of the world as his new writers, since they've been vocal about how bad the first film was. Those guys also all clearly stated they were pitching a reboot too.

My best guess? Sometime before the end of the year they announce a completely new creative team and they'll be looking to do a revamped Superman franchise for 2010 or 2011, whichever year doesn't have the 3rd Nolan Batman film. Stay tuned.

Singerman II Going "Nowhere"

In today's Variety, Anne Thompson followed up her previous blog scoop with an interesting article that discusses the fate of any potential sequel to Singerman. While its not really anything we didnt already know, it does at least bring the point home for those who were whining about how" if she REALLY knew this why not put it in the magazine?" Well here you go. While she seems to be attributing a lot of things to the WGA strike, she brings up some interesting points in giving a run down of what we've been following for the past 6 months:

After "Superman Returns" delivered a disappointing box office take of $386 million worldwide, Warner Bros. and Singer debated how to proceed with the next "Superman" pic. The studio even considered rebooting the franchise with someone else.

But eventually WB execs Alan Horn and Jeff Robinov agreed to proceed with Singer at the helm of a $170 million "Man of Steel" packed with more action, a super-powered villain and less romantic melodrama.

We've heard this before, and it still makes absolutely no sense. How do you expect "more action and a super-powered villain" with $35+ million less in budget? From Singer of all people? If anyone still doubted his sense of fiscal responsibility, you need to look no further than his current project.

Before Singer started production on UA's "Valkyrie," WB and co-financier Legendary Pictures closed a deal for him to produce and direct "Superman: Man of Steel."

What she's talking about here is the development deal we heard about over the summer.

According to a spokesman for the director’s reps at William Morris, “ ‘Superman’ is moving forward with Bryan Singer attached.” But inside the studio, “Superman” is not on any fast track, and word is that Singer may wind up not directing it.
Nothing is happening. The WB supervising exec on the project, Dan Lin, has moved over to a studio production deal; exec Lynn Harris is taking over.

And there it is., right there in the pages of Variety for all who complained about it only being a blog posting.

So while Internet comic sites are rife with rumors about Warners replacing Routh with the new Superman from "The Justice League," the question of who plays Superman will depend on who directs Superman.

As we speculated, Routh's fate is tethered to that of Singer's apparently sinking ship. Don't be surprised if her remark about Singer looking for another project to direct is a subtle hint to a pending agreement with UA, especially since they've now cut a deal with the WGA.

The only thing I find odd about the article is that she seems to at times be attributing this all to the WGA strike. But a potential Singerman II was off the radar WELL before the strike happened. Otherwise they'd be in the position that the JLA film is now trying to make a Summer 2009 release. Obviously there are other factors at play here, and the change of leadership at WB may have more to do with it than you think.

JLA Confirmed, Singerman Taking a "Back Seat"

Well it looks like today the official word finally came down via Variety that George Miller will indeed be helming the JLA movie, and our old friend Singerman is being put on indefinite hiatus. Of course anyone who's read this blog over the last few weeks already knew that was the case anyway so this really isn't much of a surprise. Ok maybe to everybody except "Restart Mel" that is.

According to the article:

Warner Bros. is moving aggressively ahead with the bigscreen adaptation of DC Comics’ “Justice League of America,” with George Miller on board to direct.

Project, which is the initial phases of casting, is a pre-strike priority for the studio, which needs a superhero tentpole in 2009.

Still, making all the pieces fit has been complicated by overlapping superhero projects in the pipeline, since “Justice League” features a pantheon of superheroes, including Superman and Batman.

Batman and Superman are active properties for the studio, though the next installment in the Superman franchise has taken a backseat to “Justice League” in part because Warners is so keen on the “Justice League” script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney.

“Justice League” will likely feature the characters of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash and Aquaman.

Warners is in the preliminary phases of casting for “Justice League.” Several sources close to the project said that Christian Bale, star of the revived Batman film franchise, and Brandon Routh, star of Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns,” would probably not appear in the movie.

Again, obviously all things we've heard before, but still nice to hear it from one of the industry trades as opposed to websites who's credibility everyone is always calling into question. Exactly, what "taking a back seat" means for Singerman I can't say for sure, but I would think that if JLA is a big success and the guy who plays Superman nails it, I'd have a hard time believing WB would have any interest whatsoever in returning to Singer's mess.

Oh and for all of you guys who've been emailing me asking this, I'd be fine with Tom Welling taking up the mantle in this film. He seems to have all the prerequisites for the part in addition to 7 some odd years of training for it, literally. The key thing above any actor though will always be the script and the director's vision. If those two are in line with the Supes we know and love, then everything will be alright. If we get another Singerman situation where the characters are marginalized and the source material is ignored, then it doesn't matter who we've got in the title role.

Finally, although we may have been ragging on the guy for a while we are men of honor here and we will give credit where credit is do, "Dirty" Sanchez from IESB called this one almost a month ago.

UPDATE 9/21 - Well just when you give IESB some credit for getting a scoop right it seems they've served up a big "shit sandwich" on their "big scoop" from last month about Tom Welling being the JLA's Man of Steel. Nice job, go on TV to declare to the masses that this is going to happen and then a few weeks later back away from it with the infamous "I have no idea what happened." Like I said if they were wrong on this they're going to get fried regardless of the Miller thing. They've likely now succeeded in pissing off a seemingly overwhelming amount of fans of Welling/Smallville who because of this may now have some vitriol against the JLA film when before they probably would've cared very little. Add this to the half dozen girls left on BrandonRouth.com that still care about him and feel as if he's getting replaced, and it's going to be UGLY when the new guy is announced. Way to go IESB!

I'm Sorry Mr. Singer, You're Not on the List.

Just a quick update before I head out for the weekend. The fine folks over at Filmjerk have gotten a hold of a list that started circulating around the Hollywood talent agencies two weeks ago, listing the 300 projects in active development which have become pre-strike priorities for the major studios and a number of top production companies. Comingsoon.net has now also verified the authenticity of the list.

Curiously the Warner Brothers looks like so:

WARNER BROTHERS
1906 - Dir: Brad Bird
ALTERED CARBON - Dir: James McTeigue
ARRANGED - Dir: Gary Winick
CARPE DEMON - Dir: None attached
CLASH OF THE TITANS - Dir: None attached
THE DIRTY DOZEN - Dir: Guy Ritchie
FARRAGUT NORTH - Dir: None attached
GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLE - Dir: None attached
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - Dir: David Yates
HEART SHAPED BOX - Dir: Neil Jordan
HIMELFARB - Dir: Miguel Arteta
THE INCREDIBLE MR LIMPET - Dir: Chris Columbus
JUSTICE LEAGUE - Dir: None attached, but looking to George Miller
LOSERS - Dir:
MEN - Dir: Todd Phillips
MORTDECAI - Dir: None attached
NIGHTCRAWLERS - Dir: McG
PENETRATION - Dir: Ridley Scott
SHANTARAM - Dir: Mira Nair
SHERLOCK HOLMES - Dir: None attached
SPOOKS APPRENTICE - Dir: Tim Burton
THE TOWN - Dir: Adrian Lyne
YES MAN - Dir: Peyton Reed

Notice anyone missing from that list? Notice someone else who IS there? Didn't we hear things from certain places about a Singerman sequel film still being in development and a script was being "feverishly worked on" by Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum? Well those people dont seem so sure any more, and seem to have switched to the "it will be delayed" defense when they used to be SO sure it was coming in 2009. (You can run, but you can't hide!!)

Obviously not all of those films on that list will develop before the strike as things can and do change in Hollywood, but those are what is in the potential pipeline at the development stage and you'd have thought from everything we'd been hearing Singerman 2 would've shown up on that list. And yes, sequels do show up on this list as evidenced by the Harry Potter listing.

Sorry Restart, it doesn't look like Singerman will fly again in 2009, and God willing, if JLA is done well and is a big hit, we won't ever have to see him again.

Now Where Have We Heard This Before???

Remember back a couple months ago when we told you that Warner Bros. was fast-tracking a Justice League of America film that would either take the place of or delay a possible Singerman sequel? And certain "Pro-Singer websites" then ran around screaming "All is well!"? Well it appears one of those sites, IESB, is starting to see the light, now that the train is right on top of them. Better late than never I guess.

Take it for what it's worth, well because it's IESB, but their "sources" who don't have the best track record on these things are now finally acknowledging that the proposed Justice League of America film is now more of a reality than they first thought. The self-serving carnage is below.

"When the news broke that JLA (Justice League of America) was moving forward with a script written by Kiernan and Michele Mulroney, speculations began that the follow-up to Superman Returns, The Man of Steel, would be delayed or even completely scrapped.

WB studio sources quickly said that was just mere speculation and The Man of Steel was still planned for a first quarter 2008 start date. Even recently, Brandon Routh told us the same thing during a quick red carpet interview at the premiere for Transformers."

I think Routh would've said anything at that point to get a way from you. He didn't exactly look comfortable with you dropping the "F bomb" in front of him repeatedly.

"At the same time, we are hearing some execs over WB were not happy with the way Superman Returns performed regardless of the $390 million plus worldwide box office take and that’s why Justice League is being pushed through the studio at a record pace."

At the same time? We've been hearing that for almost a year. Where have you guys been?

"The JLA script has been received with open arms by Warners and the goal is for the film to be the launching point for The Flash, Wonder Woman, The Green Lantern and Aquaman as well as rejuvenate Superman.

When do the powers-that-be want to start production on Justice League? Apparently, as soon as the first quarter of 2008, that’s right, WB sources have informed the IESB that execs behind the Justice League of America want it to be in production as early as February/March 2008 to be ready for a summer of 2009 release."

Now would these be the same sources who just a month ago said any talk of a delay in a Singerman sequel was "horse shit?"

"Some questions arise. What will happen to The Man of Steel film that Bryan Singer has already signed on to do?"

I'll give you 3 guesses.

"Would Warner Brothers be willing to lose the money they would have to pay to Singer regardless if he directs the film or not? Will Christian Bale and Brandon Routh reprise their roles as Batman and Superman?

Some rumors indicate that studio execs have considered recasting Superman and a few names have popped up. But the honest truth is that the studio just does not know at this time whether Routh will return or not. We’ll just have to wait and see."

It wouldn't be the first time WB has lost money on a pay or play deal with a director on a Superman movie. Something tells me based on their past experiences with Tim Burton, Bret Ratner, Michael Bay, and McG that WB covered themselves a bit more when they negotiated with Singer.

As for Routh returning: sorry Brandon, you seem like a nice guy, but you bare the mark of the beast, the scarlet letter "S" of Singerman, and with you comes all the continuity and issues of Singer's film. Even if you completely ignore the events of Singerman, the general public will identify you with it, and that could condemn this movie. Your performance, while not a huge issue in the film, was nothing that a hundred other actors off the streets of L.A. couldn't have done.

"I want to be very clear about this, I want to see a JLA film very badly and I am pretty certain that George Miller will direct. The problem that I have is I can’t foresee the Nolan camp, including producer Charles Roven, to lose the third stand-alone Batman film by allowing Bale to JLA instead. Maybe Warners should bring a few of the Batman/TDK producers on board the JLA production to keep that camp happy."

The concept of something like the JLA is pretty much absurd in the gritty, realistic world that Nolan and Co. have created in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. That was the whole reason they took on the project in the first place. I can't see them wanting to have anything to do with a JLA film. Honestly, if I can only have Bale as Batman 3 times, I'd rather see a Batman film trilogy.

"I have to wonder if they are willing to pay the huge amount of money to Bale to keep him for possible future JLA and Batman films. I definitely think he’s worth it but it’s not my checkbook.

Routh’s price tag is no where near Bale’s and I’d bet he’d be willing to do possible future JLA and Superman films."

Routh would most likely wash your car at this point if you were going to give him $10 to do it. The "next big star" burned out before he ever had a chance to shine.

"Finally, what about Singer’s The Man of Steel? At this stage in the game, yes, it appears that the Man of Steel will be pushed back to accommodate Justice League.

Does that mean that Singer is out and the sequel to Superman Returns scrapped? Not likely.

As I mentioned earlier, Bryan Singer has already signed on to do The Man of Steel and his team is reportedly already working on the film. I find it hard to believe that the studio would be willing to lose the money that will have to be paid to Singer if they decide to drop the project. I just can’t see that happening."

Yes, you keep saying these things but yet the evidence keeps mounting against it. You said a lot of things were "reportedly happening" that weren't. And what's riskier for WB? Coughing up a couple million max to pay off Singer for good? Or missing the mark by $100 million again on another Singerman film?

"It would be a mistake on Warner Bros. part to recast Superman, Brandon did a fine job and under Miller’s direction he could do great, besides I hear that Warner Bros. really dug Bryan Singer’s take for the sequel and Michael Dougherty is already working on the new script."

I knew I could count on you guys to get that one little last barb of unabashed fanboyism in there so you dont have to completely eat crow. Of course, you heard WB "really dug" Singer's take on a sequel and that they're working on a script. I wouldn't have expected any less.

Horn Doesn't Sound So Sure of a Singerman Sequel

Say that title 5 times fast....

An interesting report from today's Hollywood Reporter was just brought to our attention. In the piece they talk about how the movie studios are in search of the next big property to turn into a successful film franchise. In it they also give updates on the more recent big time franchises like Spider-man, Shrek, Ice Age, etc. and their plans for the future. At one point in the article they get to talking about Warner Bros.' properties. and Singerman comes up with a quote from studio head Alan Horn:

"The future of the studio's recent comic book adaptation, 2006's "Superman Returns," is somewhat more dubious. That film cost $209 million (even after various tax rebates) and marketing costs sent expenses upward of $300 million, but director Bryan Singer's Man of Steel picture made only $201 million domestically. While insiders say the movie was profitable, the studio mandated major cost cuts before proceeding with a sequel."IF we do a sequel to 'Superman,' we want it to be less expensive," Horn acknowledges. "I have to see a screenplay before I say yes to anything. But the studio would be willing to spend as much as $175 million if the screenplay and other factors warranted it."Still, Singer has announced that he plans to direct a second "Superman" project."

Interesting. Not exactly a vote of confidence for the continuation of the franchise when the studio head is using terms like "IF we do one" or "we'd need to see a screenplay before we say yes." You'd think he'd have a little more confidence in a director in an already established franchise if it was doing as well as some would have you believe. Obviously a script must be turned in before any film is greenlit, but you would think he'd be talking in a lot less uncertain terms about one their alleged big movie franchises

Even if it does get approved that's gonna be a REAL tight budget for a director like Singer who allegedley wants to up the action in a sequel. It also seems that Singer and his cronies (and his worshippers over at IESB) may have gotten a little ahead of themselves with talk of doing a sequel because the "money man" doesn't seem so sure right now.

Speaking of money, Michael Bay did quite a nice job updating an iconic character franchise from the 1980's, no? And for the cost of only $150 million (and that's with heavy CGI). Now there's a guy who gets the most bang for his buck. Just pair him a decent writing team and script supervisor to keep him in check and you're good to go apparently.

Another Superman Film is "Way Off"

For those of you who've been wondering what the status was of the Superman franchise, after Singer got done screwing it's corpse, the outlook doesn't look too rosey. It appears that if they do choose to do another Singerman film for some ungodly reason, it won't be for a good long while.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, Singer's producers, Neil Meron and Craid Zadan, are moving forward with Singer directing their pet project, a biopic of slain gay right activist Harvey Milk called The Mayor of Castro Street, as soon as Singer finishes with his current film -- the WWII story Valkyrie.

The next Superman, that's a ways off," claimed Meron, with Zadan adding. "Don't worry about it. Trust me. We may even start preproduction on Harvey Milk while he's on post production on the Tom Cruise movie."These boys are determined to make their movie, comic books be damned. "We've been working on that for 15 years," said Meron. "It started off with Oliver Stone and Robin Williams. Now it's Bryan Singer directing, Chris McQuarrie writing the script."

Now in addition to this is appears that Valkyrie is having a lot of issues on their own, as Germany didn't want batshit crazy Tom Cruise to make a movie there because he's a scientologist. Although now it seems they've backtracked on that, although they're still denying the production crew access to some key sites they planned on using which is still going to cause delays.

Could this be the opening for the potential JLA movie that just had a script turned in? Or could WB plow ahead with this franchise without Singer at the helm? (They did after all, boot him off of the Logan's Run remake he wanted to do so badly.) Either one would be an improvement. We also predicted this might happen back in April.

Perhaps someone should relay this news to Brandon Routh? (and all of the suck-ups over at IESB. ). He seems pretty confused about a lot of things. The fine folks over at C.H.U.D. have an amusing take on that "interview."

If You Can't Beat Them, Hire Them??

Well here's another rumor to add to the fire, and since there's been next to nothing of relevance lately (other than the Singer slappies at IESB personally attacking people who write letters to WB) we're going to talk about it. A recent report on JustJared.com says that POTC star and former Kate Bosworth boyfriend, Orlando Bloom was seen in Hollywood with Singerman producers Mindy and Jon Peters and the movie’s "director," Bryan Singer. (there's no word if Peters showed him his junk.)

What can you take from this? Well if I was a a betting man, I'd say that it has something to do with a supporting role, not that they'd actually be getting him to play Singerman himself. I'd say it's most likely for a bigger role as some kind of villain. While Bloom is a talented actor, he's about as masculine as a bouquet of daisies, so the thought of him playing any serious kind of super-villain is a bit laughable to me. Do we really want to see a pretty boy General Zod or Metallo? Not that we want to see another Singerman film to begin with mind you. I just cant help but laughing at the thought of Brandon Routh fighting Orlando Bloom in an "epic" hero/villain battle. It's going to look like something out of Zoolander.

And say didnt Alan Horn fess up to the fact that the first Singerman missed the mark especially with young male audiences due to an overall lack of action? Well hey, everything should be "A-OK" now, because you know that NOBODY screams action and brings in the young male demographic like ummm... Orlando Bloom? Last I checked, he was female eye candy. Then again, Singer does like him some chick flicks. Seriously, are they even trying anymore?

Singerman 2 to be Shelved in Favor of the JLA Movie?

Take this one with a BIG grain of salt, but Moviehole has an article up today quoting "inside sources" close to W.B. Studios saying that they may be shelving any plans for Singerman 2 to move ahead with the Justice League of America movie featuring Superman as a lead character.

"I heard from a pretty reliable source this weekend – who, has some top contacts himself – who essentially confirmed that the WB are thinking of putting the next “Superman” movie into turnaround, and instead will just use the character in the new “Justice League” movie. (Funnily enough, Batman would not be involved in the new film – he’s too big to waste on a film like this, apparently).

Having now heard the same from about half-a-dozen reliable insiders, I checked in with a couple of sources near the Water Tower itself, who wouldn’t confirm nor deny the reports, but definitely haven’t dismissed that it’s a possibility. One of them would only say that there “could be something in [that]”

If true, that's quite interesting. The evidence would also seemingly be starting to mount against Singer getting the chance to have another go at the rotting corpse of Superman he left us or at the very least delaying it.

It seems they'd be taking Superman for the JLA film as a way to help try to drum up support for the Superman character after the lackluster box office from the first Singerman film. If the JLA film was a monster hit, the article muses, they might then go ahead with a Singerman 2. But does that make much sense? If someone is able to make the JLA a monster hit using Superman (hopefully, correctly this time) why would W.B. then want to turn around and hand him back to the guy who screwed it up the 1st time? Unless of course they mean, they'll go ahead with another Superman film perhaps not with Singer attached to direct again, but that's not really clear.

The article also states that they think Brandon Routh would most likely be donning the tights again in the JLA film, but I'm not too sure about that. If you believe some of the rumored script ideas for the JLA movie Routh's Superman wouldn't exactly be in continuity with it, although let's face it his Superman wasn't in continuity with ANYTHING. Another thing to consider is that he might have the stigma of being part of Singerman attached to him, and if WB's unhappy enough with the Singerman franchise to bale on it, or at the very least delay it for a while, why would they want to risk the public associating the two films by having the same star in the same role?

UPDATE: IGN has admitted hearing the same rumor over the weekend.

Singerman's Next Flight Could Be Delayed.

Just one day after Brandon Routh did an interview to remind the general public that he had not been sucked into a black hole and was still in fact here on the planet Earth, comes a report in today's Variety that the next installment of the Singerman travesty errr trilogy could be delayed due to Singer agreeing to make another film with United Artists and one of the few people with an ego bigger than himself, Tom Cruise. Some interesting bits from the article:

"United Artists toppers Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner have
greenlit their second film, an original thriller that Bryan Singer will direct
as his next feature...

The film will delay Warner Bros.' hope of mounting a
sequel to "Superman Returns" in the near future."

Hmmm... this is quite interesting on two fronts. First and most obivous, if Singer is directing this World War II film as his next project and they haven't even gotten to the pre-production phase yet, there's no way in hell it's completed in time that they start doing a Singerman sequel early next year for a 2009 release as has been speculated. As Variety says, it has to delay any kind of Singerman sequel, unless of course now that W.B. has cleaned it's "superhero house" with the exception of the Batman franchise, perhaps plans have changed?

Which leads me into the second front. Could this be the first sign that Singer is possibly on the way out of the Superman franchise? While it may be just wishful thinking on our part, seeing him taking on a film like this at this point in time does raise some eyebrows. Are Singer's "principles" somehow compromised by WB's mandate for a more action-oriented film with a scaled down budget? Or could the studio, who had a rough go of it in 2006, be looking for a new creative direction with a director who can do more with less? Too bad Zach Snyder is already signed on to do The Watchman next year. Now there's a guy who can do a comicbook justice. At one time, Singer was supposed to do a film in between Singerman and a potential sequel, but that was supposed to be part of his deal with WB and the project would be a WB project. This film has nothing to do with WB.

Some Superman "fan" sites have claimed this report is false, but offer no clue as to how they would know this? Given this report is from a credible industry source like Variety, I'm inclined to believe it for now. WB has made no official statement as of yet.

Brandon Routh Clings to Fleeting Career with Super Strength

Our Canadian friends over at DOSE.ca have a humorous look at some recent comments made by Singerman star Brandon Routh at the recent Singerman videogame/DVD (i.e. "Hope and Pray") launch party. It's good to know he's still around.

"With plans for a sequel to Superman Returns in the works, and with director Bryan Singer reportedly on board, Brandon Routh wants everyone to know he’s still around and will, like, totally play Superman again.

Routh told website E! Online, “They've publicized that Bryan had finalized his deal, which was the lynchpin in the whole talk about a sequel. So, everything looks to be heading that way.”

The actor, who made his much-publicized film debut in Superman Returns, also revealed some details of the sequel — tentatively titled The Man of Steel — including its possible villain

“There’s a lot of talk about Braniac; everyone wants to see [him]. But in the Superman Returns video game, you get to play as Bizzaro [the imperfect Superman clone], and Bizzaro’s pretty fun — you could have some fun with that [too],” says the actor. “So, I’m leaning towards one of those.'”

You tell em Brandon! Your ideas already sound more original than anything Singer's coughed up.

Singer and the Sequel: What Could be Changing?

We're back after being away on a business for a few days, and unless you've been living under a rock (or throwing a giant one that contains a material that should kill you) you've heard the news that WB and Singer have a preliminary agreement for him to direct a sequel to Singerman.

At first I thought to myself, "great! he just got done raping Superman's corpse, and will now be coming back for seconds." Upon further reflection however, I think there's a few interesting tidbits to be gleened from the article that show things are still from rosey.

"Pic is tentatively intended for release in summer 2009, although the studio stressed that there's not even a script or budget yet.

Sequel is apparently at the very beginning of the development process and, as with any other project, there are any number of factors that must be addressed before it is greenlit."

Even though Singer is signed to some form of an agreement, there still appears to be a WAYS to go before this thing moves forward. Once the final take for Singerman can be determined, they'll set a budget for a proposed sequel, which will most likely be less since Singerman performed far below expectations. A script will then be submitted and then pruned to fit that budget.

"Insiders say Warners and Legendary are sure to insist that the sequel's production budget comes in under $200 million.

"Superman Returns" fell under endless scrutiny for its production budget, which the studio puts at $209 million after tax rebates and incentives. The number is much higher when factoring in more than $40 million in development costs -- "Superman Returns" was in the works for years --even though those costs were previously absorbed.

Critically, "Superman Returns" was disparaged for lacking in action. Singer has said he would address this concern in the follow-up."

And here's where things get a bit iffy. Singer's production budget is going to be cut to somewhere in the $140 - $175 million range we'd assume. Assuming it's the high end for argument's sake that's a minimum of $35 million minimum less he's got at his disposal. He's also claiming to remedy the action deficiency of the first film. Everyone knows that more action = more special effects work = more budget. Now granted some sets are already built and some of the CGI modeling is already done from the first go around, but we'd assume (hope) there will still need to be various new set pieces built and the CG work will have to be done extensively again, unless of course Singer plans on reusing his few action sequences from the first film. On top of all that, you have these rumors floating around about Singer introducing a super villain (please NOT Zod) this time. What effect do you think something like that has for the FX budget?
Granted I'm a bit shocked that the action criticism is actually being addressed, but how is it going to get done for less? And how many big budget sequels do you know that cost LESS than thier predecessors to produce? And how many of those were actually successful? None that I can think of. Sequels up the ante, which means you need to up the investment. Singer had free reign with over $200 million to play with and couldn't deliver the goods. Why should anyone assume he'll put out a better film for less?

"In terms of casting, Warners has an option on "Superman Returns" star Brandon Routh."

Interesting note there. We've said before we didn't think Routh was really a problem in this film, although his exposure seemed to be limited, and he didn't have the greatest PR at times. But is it still possible WB may want to tweak the casting of the franchise? (If they should scrap anyone it should be Bosworth!) However, how happy can they be to see things like this on the website of a magazine they own? And don't get all pissy on us, we wouldn't have liked this movie any better with Welling or Christopher Reeve in the lead role. We just thought that result was a tad shocking since one of them hasn't even thought about the suit yet.

"Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris penned the script for "Superman Returns" based on a story they created with Singer. It's not clear whether Dougherty and Harris will return for the sequel."

One can only hope WB forces Singer out of his "comfort zone" and hires some decent writers that have a decent knowledge of who Superman is. However I'm not sure what difference that's going to make since the issues with the first film are so far engrained into the universe that was created that to ignore them now would be an even bigger joke than the first film.

Singerman blows, yet WB still ruminates a sequel?

Singerman is dropping theaters like prom dresses, yet Warner Bros. is still mulling sequel options?

variety.com
Posted: Sun., Aug. 13, 2006, 6:00am PT

WB mulls 'Superman' redux
Word is studio trying to lock down Singer for a sequel
By Pamela McClintock

Will "Superman Returns" return?

Warner Bros. Pictures execs are mulling whether to go ahead with a planned sequel and ink another deal with director Bryan Singer.

The film is not such a blockbuster that a follow-up is inevitable -- but not such a disappointment that a sequel would be ludicrous. After all, the first "Austin Powers" pic was a modest hit that begat two huge grossers.

Word on the Warners lot is that the studio is trying to lock down a deal with Singer for a sequel.

Many speculate that WB has invested too much time and money to walk away. What's more, the film fuels a number of Time Warner outlets, including homevid, ancillaries and merchandising -- even subsid DC Comics.

Warners and co-financing partner Legendary Pictures have a shot at breaking even (?!!!) on "Superman" once all the revenue streams are accounted for, but it's going to be a long, tough haul.

Warners and Legendary -- which splits all profits with the studio down the middle -- are counting on strong home entertainment sales to make up for slower-than-expected box office. (WB's 2005 "Batman Begins," whose B.O. was comparable to that of "Superman," earned $167 million in DVD sales, according to estimates by Variety sister pub Video Business.) Then there are the various TV windows.

There's no doubt that with Legendary as a partner, Warners has a far easier time justifying big-budget efforts like "Superman." At the same time, Legendary has investors to answer to.

Officially, Warners says it's premature to talk about any sequel, since "Superman" has yet to open in certain key international territories.

Last month at the fanboy gathering Comic-Con in San Diego, Singer enthusiastically predicted the second film would bow in 2009. He promised fans more action, saying he used the first pic to "lay the foundation" for the relaunch of the franchise.

Singer said he'll "go all 'Wrath of Kahn'" on the next installment -- a reference to the fact that Paramount's long-running "Star Trek" film franchise really kicked in with its second installment, which was tighter, faster and better received than the original "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."

Negotiations between Singer and the studio would get delicate if Warners wants to include over-budget penalties. Warners certainly can't wrest control away from a director like Singer, but it can try to make sure the budget stays under a certain level.

Word is that WB and Legendary will want to keep the budget of the next one at $200 million or below, but the studio denies any such cap.

Sequels are generally costlier than the original pics, since they need more action and more special effects to tempt auds. In theory, a "Superman" follow-up could be cheaper, since expensive sets are already built, and some CGI experimentation is out of the way (e.g., how does his cape look when he flies?).

On the other hand, Universal threw in the towel with the Hulk after the first pic in the potential franchise failed to wow.

But is the character too retro? While "Superman Returns" received better notices than nearly all of the other 2006 summer tentpoles, some reviewers questioned whether the superhero is too stolid for modern-day fans, who favor darker, more complicated characters, such as Batman or Spider-Man.

Warners had believed that Superman, because of his good-beats-evil mythology, would appeal to a broader audience than Batman.

WB's "Batman Begins" grossed $203.5 million domestically and $166.5 million overseas. "Superman Returns" could edge past its predecessor. It has grossed $190.5 million in the U.S. and $146.5 million overseas, where it has yet to open in several key territories. Conservative estimates are that the pic will gross at least $170 million overseas, bringing its worldwide total to about $360 million.

But "Superman" was far more expensive than "Batman," whose sequel, "The Dark Knight," was just announced by Warners. Pricetag for "Superman" included a production budget of at least $223 million, offset by $20 million in Australian tax breaks. The P&A budget was well north of $100 million.

There is an added $40 million in previous development costs for earlier aborted attempts to resurrect the superhero. The studio wrote off those costs in previous years.

Top studio execs, along with Legendary, insist they will make money on the pic when all is said and done.

But some have speculated that -- based on box office alone and just counting the production budget -- Warners and Legendary could each be out more than $20 million. Those losses could rise sharply when factoring in marketing costs.

Strong DVD sales could lessen the gap. In it deal with Legendary, Warners also gets a theatrical and home entertainment distribution fee.

In "Superman Returns," the question is posed: Does the world still need Superman?

The answer isn't clear, at least in the real world. But the world -- along with Warners, Legendary and Singer -- may have another chance to find out.

They're mad. MAD, I tell ya! Any company silly enough to think "sequel" and "profit" belong in the same sentence as applied to Singerman must be nuts. Somebody throw them one of those neoprene Singerman costumes before they drown in their own stupidity. We hear they make decent personal flotation devices.

$200 Million or Else?

TMZ.com is reporting that WB executives arent so sure that Superman will fly again.

"Talent agency insiders with ties to the film tell TMZ that Warner Bros. Pictures president and COO Alan Horn has informed agents that a sequel hinges on whether grosses of "Superman Returns" can crest the $200 million mark domestically. What's more, the studio plans to shave millions - many millions - off any "Superman" sequel's budget.

Talent agency insiders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, insist that Horn is so concerned about being burned financially by ionospheric "Superman" special effects costs that any sequel's budget would cost far less than Bryan Singer's quarter billion dollar baby: a meager $150 million. That's a whopping $35 million less than its predecessor was green lit at, and roughly $55 million less than "Superman Returns" alleged final negative cost."

Now dont get us wrong, we're Superman fans first and foremost, we just dislike (understatement) what Singer has done to our proud icon. Rather than seeing the cancellation of any further Superman films, we would hope that WB would address the real problem, which isnt the character, it's the guys writing and directing him, and send them packing while bringing in a more qualified staff.