JUSTICE LEAGUE and MAN OF STEEL Updates

Posted by Will Reynolds. Last modified on October 18th, 2007 at 07:01pm

JUSTICE LEAGUE and MAN OF STEEL Updates

Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Avi Arad. Now do the same if you know of Gregory Noveck. Thought as much. Noveck is Senior VP of Creative Affairs for DC Comics, a position somewhat similar to the one Arad held at Marvel.

Noveck perhaps lacks the bluster and hubris of Arad because I rarely see or hear anything of him. Despite being so low-key, the website Voices From Krypton have managed to track Noveck down and get a very good interview out of him.

According to Noveck, Bryan Singer’s Man of Steel is still in the works, despite rumours stating it’s on indefinite hold:-

“That’s not true. The reason that Justice League is powering forward first is because the script came in and it was phenomenal.”

He expands a little more on the Justice League/Man of Steel switcheroo:-

“It (the Justice League script) is [really that good], and that very rarely happens in Hollywood on a movie of this scale, and when it does you have no choice but to say, “We’d better catch lightning in a bottle and go!” All of a sudden, six months later, who knows what’s going to happen? You want to hold on to those writers, you’ve got massive interest from directors, you land someone like George Miller, so you go. And in the middle of it all, you’ve got Bryan going off to make another movie, which was a passion project of his. When he comes back, we’ll dive right in to Man of Steel. We’re scripting and it’s going to happen. We’re not going to make it until the script is great, but we’ll get there one way or the other and it’s not going to take nine years.”

My excitement for Justice League has been dampened somewhat since the announcement of the “Teen Titans cast off”, but the proof will be in the pudding. And we won’t be able to sample that until 2009. I will say one thing in this movie’s defence: it isn’t being rushed anymore than recent DC movies if you look at their production timelines. The script for Batman Begins was commissioned in March 2003 for a summer 05 release; work began on Superman Returns‘ script in July 2004 for summer 06; and Justice League in February this year for a summer 09 bow.

Noveck’s faith in the script is encouraging. However I remember being absolutely pumped to see Troy and I’d heard various studio-types declare it the best script ever written… how wrong was that?!

Justice League should be judged on its own merits, as a stand alone film, and not because it’s getting made instead of a new Batman or Superman pic. Unfortunately I think fanboys who are really into Singer and Nolan’s movies won’t give it a fair shot.

As for Man of Steel, even though Noveck is optimistic I’m not too sure it’ll get made. I wasn’t a fan of Superman Returns but Bryan Singer is an excellent filmmaker and I think he could make a Superman film that delivers on a level that the previous didn’t. As a director, Singer is far from frugal (Valkyrie’s budget is rumoured to be spiraling out of control) and the studio’s desire to make a Superman sequel for much less could ultimately be the key factor that means he’s shown the door.

source - voices from krypton

Categories: Justice League, Movie News, Superman: The Man of Steel

5 Comments »

So DC Comics movie liason declares The Justice League script, “phenomenal?” And compares it to lightning in a bottle?
Well hell, he’s a “lifer” with a multi-million dollar corporation working on a high-budget high-profile movie project that could potentially pull in the same numbers as Spider-Man, if it’s any good.
Does anyone really think THIS guy would level with us if the script is bad? No, he’s going to say it’s the best screenplay since Citizen Kane, meanwhile he’ll be busy telling his secretary not to accept any calls for the first two weeks after this turd opens in theaters.
What a clown!

And if it IS so good then why the hell did Jessica Biel dump it? She’s not exactly swimming in scripts, you know. And why is it taking so damned long to gather a cast?
One of the producers of ER had said NBC Television had the damnedest time casting Eriq LaSalle’s part. They auditioned (they say) almost a hundred guys and none of them was right. It was only at the last minute that they took LaSalle on.
Years later one of the NBC suits, now working for another network, talked about why they had such trouble casting his part said, whenever you have that kind of trouble casting a part it means the character hasn’t been developed enough, hasn’t been fleshed out and made real in your mind. So you can’t really get a handle on what kind of person this fictional invention is supposed to be –therefore no one is “quite right” for the part.
This sounds like exactly the problem the JLA movie is having. But instead of it being for one role, it’s for all of them.
Going young and hoping they “grow into the roles,” is a fool’s errand. I got off this train as soon as they confirmed that.

Comment by JaySmack | October 18, 2007

JaySmack, that was the most well thought out post on this subject that I have read during all my JL surfing on various sites.

That “grow into the roles” quote filled me with dread. Awful.

Comment by Mandy | October 19, 2007

Hi Guys,

Just to let you know that Justice League of America report that
is all over the web (from Movie Hole) and IESB debunked….. probably shouldn’t have been. That’s indeed part of an earlier draft of the film that some of the effects companies have been using to do preliminary conceptual shots. And yes, it isn’t that good.
The article at the Movie Hole site seems to have been taken down
I assume by Warner Bros.
Just thought I’d let you know that it sounds like they have a real doc. Major scoop if it have stayed up - I wonder who asked for it to be taken down?
Garry

Comment by Garrison | October 19, 2007

Thank you Mandy for the compliment.
But now it won’t be long before a certain “other” poster comes along feeling some irresistable urge to argue some inane point or other, in his delusional crusade to finally score a point against me.

Comment by JaySmack | October 19, 2007

AICN says the young auditions last weekend were for only two roles –the Flash and Wonder Woman. According to them they got a source who says Miller wants to go young with Flash since he’s the youngest member, and with Wonder woman since she’s supposed to be immortal.

Until they stop this beating around the bush game, I’m doubtful. When the studio finally decides to level with us, then I’ll believe it.

Comment by JaySmack | October 19, 2007