Russell Crowe Is Jor-El!!!

Variety has reported that that the Academy Award-winning actor is already set to portray Superman's biological father - Jor-El - in the Zack Snyder directed "Man of Steel"  set to fly in 2012 (date yet to be specified). 

Jor-El was played by legendary actor Marlon Brando in the 1978 "Superman I" starring Christopher Reeve in the lead role.

Nobody saw this coming. Honestly, I never... ever... did. 

I'm not so sure about Crowe taking on this character as much as I love him for his acting chops. Furthermore, this casting further indicates that the movie could have... **wait for it**... another origin story.

And that's another BIG TIME actor hired for this film. Looks like they are really packing in the big guns for DC's mainstream hero, just like what they did for 2008's "The Dark Knight". Hopefully this pays off.

"Man of Steel"  will also star Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as Zod, Diane Lane as Ma Kent, and Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent.

What do you think of this news? Feel free to vote on the poll and let me know! 

Michael Shannon is 'General Zod' in Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' Supes Reboot

Zack Snyder has finally found an opponent for Henry Cavill's Superman- and it is long time arch nemesis and fellow kryptonian General Zod to be played by 37-year old actor Michael Shannon.  According from DCU blog The Source:

BURBANK, CA, April 10, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Michael 

Shannon will star in the role of General Zod in director Zack Snyder’s new Superman film, titled “Man of Steel.”

Snyder stated, “Zod is not only one of Superman’s most formidable enemies, but one of the most significant because he has insights into Superman that others don’t.  Michael is a powerful actor who can project both the intelligence and the malice of the character, making him perfect for the role.”

As General Zod, Shannon will go toe-to-toe with Henry Cavill, who plays the new Clark Kent/Superman in the film.  The main cast also includes Amy Adams as Lois Lane, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent.

Michael Shannon was honored with an Academy Award^® nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Sam Mendes’ “Revolutionary Road,” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.  Shannon was most recently seen in the award-winning HBO drama series “Boardwalk Empire,” from executive producer Martin Scorsese.  He will next be seen in Sony Pictures Classics’, “Take Shelter,” from director/writer Jeff Nichols.

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film.  The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan.  Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

“Man of Steel” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

General Zod was originally portrayed by Terrence Stamp in the 1980 film sequel Superman II starring Christopher Reeve in the lead role. Stamp was pretty bad-ass there.

I wonder what they've got up in their sleeves now to make sure that they will make this a pretty interesting antagonist because lets face it - we have seen Zod in the movies and in comics before. We know pretty much know the bitter history between him and Kal-El's (Superman's real name) father Jor-El and more importantly what his intentions are. It would be interesting on what Nolan and Goyer would have to offer in this newest version of the villain. Will it be influenced by the recent Superman: World of New Krypton and War of the Supermen comic book storylines?

But here's one thing that will happen for sure: we will get to hear that familiar "Kneel before Zod!" line again. Trust me. Zod is never Zod without that classic. 

The New 'Ma Kent': Diane Lane Will Star In Snyder's Superman Reboot

This is good news, Superman fans! The very beautiful and talented Academy-award winner Diane Lane was cast as good ol' Martha Kent for the Superman film reboot by director Zack Snyder to be released sometime in 2012.

I couldn't be any more pleased with this. She's got the acting chops, the wisdom and the charisma needed to become the only (adoptive) mother that Clark Kent has ever known - the one who shaped young Clark into the man and hero he is going to be, together with 'Pa Kent'. Just look at her credentials and if you've watched her movies (yeah including the sexy ones).. I mean, what more could you ask?

This is grade A casting right here . I hope they pick another good one for Jonathan Kent and General Zod.

Full news from SPINOFF .

Random Ramblings: More On 2012 Superman... British Actors... Lex Luthor.... Wrestling Re-Runs.... Work... etc

So there's a new Superman in town and his name is Henry Cavill. A little bit disappointed about Brandon Routh not getting the role again because he was a pretty good Big Blue, but we just have to wait and see about this new hairy-chested, heavily bearded guy has to offer.

Here's a recent Facebook post from my friend regarding Cavill being cast as Supes:

"A Brit actor playing an American hero? pfft."

and a comment from one ComicVine forumer:

"Truth, justice and the British way". 

I understand the sarcasm, but don't forget folks that Christian "Batman" Bale is also British. And you gotta admit, UK has produced some of the finest actors and actresses in recent memory.

By the way a little bit of factoid: Andrew "The New Spiderman" Garfield is also part Brit. You gotta love this little "British invasion" that we got here - if we can call it like that.

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Still on Superman 2012. I just realized that Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman Returns didn't have a single scene where the Man of Steel actually punches something. Don't believe me? Watch the whole movie again. I have seen it multiple times already and there is definitely none.  Probably one of the biggest reasons why the movie wasn't that big of a deal. Hopefully Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder would change that and give us the chance to finally see our hero beat the hell out of something/someone with rapid-fast punching. That would be AWESOME.

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And please, NO LEX LUTHOR.  We have seen the bald guy as the villain since 1978 and aren't we tired already? I know I am. I really think that this is the time for them to pick a different character in Superman's rogues gallery. It could be a robot, one of the Fourth World Gods, or even an alien. Doesn't matter as long as its not Luthor. Trust me, it will work wonders.

Its one of  the main reasons why the most recent Superman: Earth One comic book clicked. It had an all original alien villain that looked like The Crow/Sting (the wrestler) flying all over the place destroying Earth as our hesitant Man of Steel watches in horror. And it was just a refreshing thing to see! It may not have been the best villain in Superman lore, but trust me, that helped the comic book sell to the new audience in more ways than one. Team Nolan can take a thing or two from that.

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Been watching wrestling (mainly WWF and WCW) re runs on Youtube since last year. Why? Because all the stuff that I see on TV now are all crap. Crappy storylines and horrible promos. Boring shows. Hell, it had fallen into disgrace already in my opinion. 

I miss the good ol days of pro wrestling during the early 90's to the beginning of the 2000s. It was a great time to be a wrestling fan. Everything was worth your every dime. Now, you pay for crap. 

Thank God that we have the internet and YT to relieve all the great memories.

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Batman XXX: A Porn Parody is fantastic! Cool costumes, good production values and great sex. Lexi Belle and Tori Black had amazing performances as always and man, I won't tell you any of the tawdry details but you should definitely pick this one up and watch it with your girlfriend (or boyfriend if you are a girl)! Woohoo!!!

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The month of January is closing, February is quickly dawning on us, and it was a very very slow start for the computer business. In turn, I've got nothing to do at the office except to watch videos, surf the internet and update my blog. Yep, that's right. I'm being paid to do almost nothing at work. Hah, how do you like that?

The New Superman: Henry Cavill

The search is finally over. And sorry for me and Routh fans out there,, Brandon Routh is NOT reprising the role of Superman in the upcoming 2012 film reboot  (reported to be titled Superman: Man of Steel) to be directed by Zack Snyder. 

The lucky guy chosen is Henry Cavill, who has apparently auditioned before multiple times for the same role only to be rejected. He was once called the "unluckiest man in Hollywood" because of that, but I think that's all going to change now as he finally got the opportunity to play the role of the most iconic character in comic book history and the chance to revive the whole Superman film franchise. I certainly haven't watched this guy on TV, but from the looks of this photoshopped pic, he sure looks ok for the role:

Image courtesy of Hollywood.com

Here is the official statement from WB courtesy of ComicBookMovie:

HENRY CAVILL WILL TAKE ON THE DUAL ROLE OF CLARK KENT / SUPERMAN IN THE NEW FILM FROM

WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES

BURBANK, CA, January 30, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced today that Henry Cavill has won the coveted role of Superman, the iconic superhero.

The film will be directed by Zack Snyder, who stated, “In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen. I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder are the producers of the film. The screenplay is being written by David S. Goyer based on a story by Goyer and Nolan. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Cavill recently wrapped production on “The Cold Light of Day” and stars in the upcoming “Immortals,” opening this fall.

Targeted for release in December 2012, the new Superman movie will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

  

What do you think guys?  

Super Talk: My Take On The 2012 Superman Film, Wishing For A Supes' Costume Tweak and More....

Image courtesy of DC Direct

Alright, let's go down to some Superman shall we? Haven't created a single Superman entry since my comic book review about All-Star Superman and its direct to DVD animation (which is going to come out in February) so I think this article is just in time (and my friend Marj is asking me a lot of questions so I attempt to answer all of them here).

So, it has been announced way back last month that Zack Snyder (director of Watchmen, 300 and the upcoming Sucker Punch) will direct the new 2012 Superman film under the production and writing of Christopher Nolan (Batman Begins, Inception, The Dark Knight) and David Goyer respectively.  according to an interview with Hero Complex, Nolan stated that they've got brilliant ideas for the new flick which will be a complete reboot of the whole franchise - after Brian Singer's 2006 Superman Returns failed to meet expectations.

I've got no problem with Nolan and Snyder teaming up to do this for I think that Nolan is a great director, and the same can be said for the latter. I have watched all of their films and I loved them all. David Goyer's script writing is also a thing of beauty and it worked obviously on both of Nolan's Batman films so I can't complain anything at all with this team that WB put up. I really think it was the most logical thing to do. and makes me wish nothing but the best for the revival of the greatest superhero with these men on the forefront.

I have also read somewhere that an idea was pitched about doing a trilogy just like the Godfather films, chronicling the life of Superman right from his birth and escape from the doomed Planet Krypton, up to his final years and death as the Earth's sun begins to supernova. Unfortunately, this idea was eventually scrapped.

They were also thinking of making Superman almost "an angry god" at one point in the film, possibly an attempt to show the Man of Steel's other side that we don't usually see. A brooding, dark, angry Superman.

Let us see how would a bad-ass Superman would look like... hmmm... maybe this very cool cinematic trailer from DC Universe Online would do it for you (Bad-ass Supes starts on the 3:30 mark):

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Now let's talk costume. I really believe that Superman's red tights should be removed and that creators should design a slightly updated version of it. One good reason is to enable Superman to be "relatable" to the new generation of fans, because in these day and age, wearing your briefs outside your pants is not a good thing anymore. Second, because of the sole reason that the Man of Steel would rock without the tights on. Seriously.

Check out these costume designs from the cancelled Superman film titled Superman: Flyby (supposed to be directed by JJ Abrams) - which was supposed to be the film that would revive the franchise more than 5 years ago, before they scratched it, only to eventually ask Singer to create Superman Returns. The concept art by Steve Johnson could make great ideas for Kal-El's new costume... if they would ever decide to tweak it:

[Thanks to Comics Alliance for these photos]

 

 

I have to say these are pretty easy on the eyes and they are familiar - meaning, they don't stray too far away from the iconic red and blue costume. Maybe except for the beaded belt, every single art is a good candidate for a new Supes garb.

Then there is another one that I particularly liked from an artist from deviantArt that totally reeks of coolness( I totally forgot his name so please if you know his name or deviant handle, feel free to let me know):

I love the Kryptonese-designed belt and how his cape is no longer tucked under his shoulders. And again, no tights. Now imagine that being in the movie and we've got a complete Superman film revival that we should be all looking forward to.

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Finally, there's the hunt for the actor to play Superman. Who is going to be the lucky guy? I bet they are going to stick with the time honored tradition of choosing an unknown actor just like what WB did with casting Christopher Reeve n the first ever Superman flick that started the whole superhero film genre. It worked out again in 2006 by casting another unknown in Brandon Routh and so I think the magic could work again.

Personally, I would like Routh to give it a shot once more. He played Clark/Superman in Superman Returns just fine and I believe he can do better the 2nd time around with a great production team. He's going to be a perfect fit. But then again, its not for me or the fans to decide. 

And of course, a superhuman being needs a super-opponent. There had been rumors about putting Doomsday (the Kryptonian monster who killed Superman in the highly publicized 1992 comic book storyline "The Death of Superman") against Big Blue, as well as the uber-intelligent Brainiac. I would like to see Braniac in the future film only because the Doomsday thing is just getting old already,  and plus, the green skinned alien is the only one who could give Superman a hard time without ever getting into an Earth-pounding slugfest, which makes for a more interesting story as far as im concerned.

What do you think? Should they remove the tights? And should Routh be casted again to play Clark Kent and Superman? If you think otherwise, who should be chosen to portray our favorite Kryptonian?

[Thanks to Comic Vine and DC Wikia for the image of Brainiac and Doomsday]