After the news of Brandon Routh being pushed away because of the newcomer Superman in JLA, many sites picked up the story, also voicing their own opinions on the matter. The support for Routh is very vocal, "he's the best part about Superman Returns, he's doesn't deserve this", etc etc, but lots of people are relieved about Singer supposedly leaving, too. It does look like many are of the opinion the faults in SR were the writing, the editing, the film itself. Not Brandon Routh. He only did what the director told him to do. People were saying the same thing when SR came out. He's the "saving grace" of the film and whathaveyou.

SR underperforming may not be Brandon's fault, just like him possibly not being Superman again isn't his fault, but he's certainly the casualty in all this. One fan called him "collateral damage" and it's the perfect way to describe it, really. He could go down with the rest because the writers are gone, Singer could walk, WB could support the new JLA Superman instead, there will be a new cast, etc. It's just a domino effect. If Singerverse is gone, Routh is gone. It isn't fair but is movie business ever fair?

Aaaand you know what's coming next! I wondered how long it would take some site to claim right the opposite, that Brandon is IS STILL Superman, so there! Moriarity of AintItCoolNews merely reported what Variety said at first but then they added an update to the article on the same day (this was still the same day the original news broke):

Updated! Brandon Routh Is Evidently Still The Man Of Steel!

UPDATE -- I just got off the phone with a very high-ranking mole who is absolutely in a position to know what's happening with this film, and he tells me that it is "absolutely false" that Brandon Routh is out as Superman for the stand-alone series.

The only thing that has been determined is that JUSTICE LEAGUE will not feature the actors from the other films. That's it.

Right now, Routh is still Warner's choice to return if they make another stand-alone SUPERMAN film, and that's based on conversations as recently as a few weeks ago.

Don't believe this one, kids. Routh's still the Man of Steel.

Then the usual spiel of backpedaling happened and LatinoReview made a correction to their original article:

**EDIT** Other sites are breaking our balls about how I wrote this news piece, so let me correct it. (It's my first news article. Give me a break people!) The article does not state that whomever is cast as Superman will also be the same actor to carry on the stand alone Superman sequel, but we've heard otherwise. If we're wrong, you can go back to breaking said balls.

O_O Um, okay. The usual... but too late. No cookie for you. The damage is done. I was expecting this but frankly, it doesn't lessen the blow to me. They could have done this months ago if they're in it for website hits and traffic and "who's the biggest insider of them all". They could have had tons of "MOS is dead, wait no, MOS is still on" scoops, just like IESB.net ruled the JLA rumour mill for several months.

They're only doing it now because we're so close to JLA starting filming. The date's been set for months. The cast will be announced soon and many people are disappointed about the rumoured names, plus everyone wants to have some sort of scoop right now before all hell breaks loose. It's the perfect timing to scare people. Adding Brandon to the mix just sweetens the deal, makes everything "juicier".

If we've learnt anything from the JLA rumour mill debacle, it's that rival websites and insiders will fight for website hits and traffic and naturally the competition will try to steal it away. Besides, you know what else this Superman drama needs? The TOM WELLING angle. Again. Seriously, you can't have a good Superman scoop without Tom Welling!

( '[Welling] supposedly has discussed this with a close friend and was told that it is already too late to avoid being typecast and he should go where the money is or risk ending up with no career after Smallville.' )

I've been reading some fan discussions on the whole Routh debacle and one fan believes WB is so daring at the mo to dump Routh because Welling was always their first choice anyway and now that they've got him for JLA and possibly the solo Superman franchise, they no longer need Routh. If it's true he was offered an amount few people would refuse (doesn't he get like over $1 million a year for each season of Smallville?), he may as well change his mind and take the role.

One fan mentioned Routh got only $30,000 for SR. That's insane, I've heard it was either $1 or $2 million! I forgot. Does anyone know? Anyhoo, it's not something that's important to me but since WB's all business (all that matters is box office) and is moving ahead with JLA that's probably worth it for very profitable merchandising/toys alone, then maybe they'd be willing to spend a little extra on Welling if that means he'll accept the role. If Welling got the role, he'd be the only really known actor in the superhero team anyway.

The damage is done. It took one short article, no, PARAGRAPH, for the fanbase to see that Brandon would be missed if WB dumped him. People have spoken. Many may be glad about a new director but Brandon they wanna keep. The only problem with this reasoning is that if Singer is gone, a new director would want to follow his own vision and cast his own Superman. Hence the domino effect: First the writers, then the director, then Brandon and the rest of the cast. Bye bye MOS, hello reboot with new Superman, whoever you may be.

Watch a big portion (it's still early!) of the Superman online community go in a frenzy when Variety blog innocently writes the following in their article about upcoming DC comics movies:

Speaking of DC Comics pics, it is highly unlikely that Bryan Singer will return to shoot the next Superman movie. (The director is finishing up Tom Cruise's Nazi film Valkyrie, and prepping The Mayor of Castro Street). The next Superman we will see on the big screen will not be Brandon Routh, but a younger Superman among a cast of youthful superheroes in The Justice League. That movie will likely not be shot, however, until after the WGA strike is resolved. Warners is so happy with Dark Knight that their fondest hope is that Nolan will return to do another Batman.

It's immediately being mis-read by some fans and you can see it coming from a mile away... Brandon not being in JLA is treated as NEWS when in fact we've known for a long time now that he wasn't even approached about the movie. But people are flipping over that one paragraph in the blog anyway.

Of course Routh isn't in JLA. The blog meant the next onscreen Superman we're going to see will be the JLA Superman since that movie is moving ahead of any possible Superman Returns sequel. That's what it really says. We already knew that. It was pretty much one of the main things being discussed in the Superman fandom since past summer. The blog does not mention the sequel at all, it mentions Bryan not returning to direct JLA which is, uh, also not news, since JLA is being directed by Miller. O_O It's trying to sell the "No Bryan" angle as news.

Bad choice of wording. Honestly. Also using words "likely" and "unlikely" which sound more like opinion and speculation, as SupermanHomepage wisely reminds us.

All of this screaming because of a weblog! Also remember Variety was the one source saying months back WB is still unsure how to proceed regarding JLA and that the strike is effecting everything. The rumour sites, on the other hand, kept saying JLA is full-steam ahead and the strike won't affect the filming schedule, according to Miller. Variety's been one of the big players in the JLA rumour mill extravaganza last year if only because they carry more weight than online websites posting rumours.

But then it gets better...

Just when you see people calming down a bit, there's another shock around the corner! The death stroke was delivered by LatinoReview which jumped on board linking to the above article and saying they've known this all along but weren't allowed to say it just yet because DC forbid them. They announce it's been confirmed Brandon will not be Superman again in ANY movie:

News is a funny thing. Sometimes when its reported the person who reported it gets the credit for breaking the news. Latinoreview has always tried to be the front runner in breaking casting news. Sometimes we miss, but most of the time we're dead on.

Kelvin knew about Brandon not being the new Superman for weeks and weeks now, but made a promise to the DC people that he wouldn't break the story. Variety has now confirmed what we've secretly known for a while and Brandon Routh will be replaced in the stand alone sequel by whomever is cast as Superman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie.

Personally, I thought Brandon did a great job. He had the look to pull off the character and the girls all went nuts for him in tighty tights (I conducted a poll). It wasn't his fault that the script was bad. Hopefully Hollywood knows what they're doing in casting someone who may be even younger than Routh in the role. I don't know what the fascination is with younger casting, especially for super heroes. But I'll take a younger actor if it means Nicolas Cage can't go anywhere near the role.

Now, granted, this isn't just any "rumour site". It was LatinoReview who first broke the news Brandon Routh was cast as Superman in SR. He had to hide away from the press for a week. They were also first to report Singer was interested in the SR project in the first place.

Many fans, especially anti-SR people, are rejoicing and seeing this news, ESPECIALLY the LatinoReview article, AS OFFICIAL.

( LatinoReview does not focus on JLA like the Variety blog. It clearly states in plain words that can't be misinterpreted: they've known for a long time Brandon isn't returning. )



I've said it before and I'll say it again. Though it pains me to choose because I honestly like Singer as a director and a person, if I HAD to choose between Singerverse/movie by Singer or Brandon Routh, I'd pick Brandon Routh in a heartbeat. I want him far more as Superman than Singer behind the helm. That choice was always obvious to me.

*SIGH* Not feeling okay today, I really need a while to digest this. Think it through. This could be the lowest point we've reached since the awful WB quote "IF we make a sequel..." so long ago. I'm still not sure whether I even believe the news or not. A huge part of me denies it with a passion because I'm a fan of Brandon's and not letting him continue is just beyond ridiculous to me.
But as others have said already, I wouldn't be surprised if it indeed turned out to be true and the past JLA rumours of a new younger Superman and possible solo Superman movies spinning off JLA all seem to point to this turn of events. I've said it before that it seriously worried me when the SR writers "left" (or were booted by WB, whatever you choose to believe) the project first because it could mean Bryan would walk next and then Routh, if only by association. It's been suggested before.

And now it LOOKS like it's happening and I'm so sick of it, so sick of WB and sick of lack of official news. It's shocking how calm I am, I don't think it has really hit me yet and a huge part of me does reject the news as false. That must be the reason I haven't screamed yet. It's the fighter in me. The loyal fan.

DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW. UGH!

In March 1939 issue of Action Comics #10 Superman goes undercover to write an exposé on the lousy conditions at the Coreytown chain gang. The prisoners there are physically abused, are nearly starving and have to live "like kettle". Because the governor won't do anything about it, Clark Kent gets himself arrested to get into the prison.

He may be there under a new fake name (probably?) but not only is he wearing no disguise to distinguish himself from Superman whatsoever (well, besides walking about bare-chested for a good length of the story *laugh*), he's also extremely cocky and confident and egging on the cruel superintendent, mocking him all the time. O_O He WANTS to get punished and beaten. There are things he does and says in this comic that would be out-of-character today. And I've no idea how come no one sees he's actually Superman! Their personalities are so alike. Maybe because Superman wasn't that well-known yet at the time?



In the story he is loathed by the Daily Planet staff because they believe he betrayed the trust of an escaped prisoner who asked him for help. Lois calls Clark a "loathsome wretch". But they're all wrong! Clark has a plan!

In order to write the perfect exposé, Mr Kent must go undercover... Oh yeah, he's also wearing plaid. *chuckle* Full story underneath the cut.

( 'It's mighty swell of you to let me sit here nice and cozy while all the others are working hard. Is it possible, superintendent, that you've a secret liking for me?' )

And for dial-up users, direct links to scans:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 cover.

I also thought I'd post this since it's been very quiet on the Superman AND JLA movie front lately:

FIRST RELEASED PHOTO OF BRANDON ROUTH'S WEDDING
We now finally have a scan of the one photo of Brandon Routh's wedding People magazine published in their latest issue. brdwaybebe posted it here and there's a bigger, actual scan of the thing in the comments here. Sooo cute! o.o His hands! The smiles! Just everything. They both look beautiful.

Still waiting for that InStyle mag issue for a bigger coverage and more pics.

Btw, it was said right after the ETOnline article was posted that Kate Bosworth and WB exec Alan Horn in fact did not attend the wedding for some reason. This was reported by People magazine here.

I'm still bummed Horn wasn't there, to be honest. SIGH. Horn attending wouldn't have meant the sequel is on track but it would have been nice, you know? Same with Kate, I'm sad she couldn't make it.
SupermanHomepage is still reporting what ETOnline was saying about the wedding. Iris of BrandonRouth.com confirmed Kate and Horn weren't there, so the info doesn't match up. Some SR fans on forums still think Horn was present and they continue posting about it like it means something.

ETOnline reports:

The Man of Steel is officially off the market! 'Superman Returns' star BRANDON ROUTH married longtime girlfriend, actress COURTNEY FORD, on Saturday at JON and MINDY PETERS' 3000-acre El Capitan Ranch, just outside of Santa Barbara, CA.

It was a very exclusive, intimate wedding. The 150 guests were made up of friends and family, as well as KATE BOSWORTH, Warner Bros. President and COO ALAN F. HORN and director BRYAN SINGER.

The groom was escorted down the aisle by his parents. The bride glowed in a white VERA WANG gown with silver trim. She was preceded down the aisle by three bridesmaids dressed in rose-red strapless gowns.

The couple wrote their own vows, which they recited, overlooking the ocean. Thousands of red roses decorated the outdoor ceremony, whose theme was country chic.

"The Insider"'s CHERYL WOODCOCK spoke to Mindy Peters, who revealed that she and Jon did about a $1 million ranch overhaul for Brandon's big day, including adding a man-made lake, rock walls and waterfalls, as well as fountains that will shoot water on cue when Routh gets the word, "You may now kiss the bride." There were also fireworks to mark the union.

California Governor ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER closed the airspace above the ranch to ensure the couple their privacy for the occasion.

A large white tent was erected for the reception, which continued the country chic theme with silk brown tablecloths, bamboo chairs, candles and red rose petals on each table. Even the six-tier vanilla cake had red roses on the top. The reception was catered by Frida of Beverly Hills. Routh showed his romantic side by serenading his bride. Another big hit of the night was a novely item -- the couple had a donut machine dispensing hot, delicious confections.

Routh and Ford became engaged in August, 2006, and have been dating for more than four years. They met while Routh was bartending at the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley for Ford's mom's wedding reception, so, in honor of how they met, Routh and his groomsmen went bowling the night before the wedding.

He sang for her. *choke* I knew it! *content sigh* SO HAPPY! I'm such a hopeless romantic but I went "Awww" when I read that and grinned like an idiot.

Congrats, Brandon and Courtney! ♥ May you be happy together till the rest of your lives.

I wasn't thinking about the wedding too much yesterday, it was a very calm and quiet day for me. I rewatched two Christian Bale movies (Equilibrium, I watch it at least once a month, and The Machinist) and some of my fave Superman Returns scenes to celebrate. :) Lots of Clark scenes because I love my Clark.

I thought it would hit me harder but it didn't. *is proud of herself* :) Let's wait for those lovely wedding photos, it sounds like they had a beautiful wedding. An "intimate wedding" IMO sounds a lot like Brandon. Love it. And yay, Bryan and Kate were there, too! And the prez of WARNERS. *chuckle* *nudge nudge* Hear that? Oh man, I can see some pro-Man of Steel fans saying this is proof the SR sequel is gonna get made.* I wouldn't go that far but it's indeed nice Horn was there. Singer AND Horn at an event at the same time. Oh noez, not another "MOS: Yay or Nay?" argument. ;)

AND TAH WINNAR: Donut machine! Ingenious, it really is. (Insert Homer Simpson joke here.) Just as I thought it wasn't possible to love this guy even more.

* I say this because Singer's trailer for Valkyrie began with "By the director of... X-men, SUPERMAN RETURNS and The Usual Suspects" and some SR fans were jumping of joy this means WB hasn't lost faith in Singer. As was pointed out by someone, the movie wasn't made by WB so there's no connection to how SR's popularity was perceived by WB execs. It just meant Singer is "accomplished". Agreed. I'd like a sequel as much as any other SR fan but this was no proof. I'd rather see Valkyrie get an Oscar nomination, that would encourage WB a lot more, don't you think?

I'll cover some fan reactions and some news in this entry.

NO JLA CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT DESPITE RUMOURS
Nothing particularly interesting to report these days regarding the JLA casting development. Moviehole.net posted another rumour a couple or so days ago that the cast will be announced that very day and IESB.net went with the same story but unsurprisingly, nothing came to pass. I didn't want to post another "AN ANNOUNCEMENT IS COMING!" rumour 3 days in a row, so I saved it for today. Though it would have been hilarious if the one rumour I didn't post about actually came true!

Thanksgiving came and went and still no announcement. From what I could gather, the fan reactions haven't changed. If anything, they're more intense than before. Fans are getting angrier by the day and many do agree it's rumour/news sites like IESB, MovieHole and AintItCoolNews that keep adding fuel to the fire. Some are now pointing fingers at these sites instead of WB (and their rumoured "misinformation campaign") for a change. "This isn't WB's fault, if it weren't for sites like IESB and others, we wouldn't have been so pissed off!"
It's mostly the casting announcement that people are angry about, not the other rumours we've been getting via these sites (JLA storyline, who auditioned for what, etc). No one was complaining about IESB when they were reporting casting rumours. Now everyone's complaining because fans aren't getting what they want. Hypocritical much?

( More... )

You know what? SPONGEBOB SHOULD BE MAKING THE CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT. *points at icon* At least he'd do it in style.

SUPERMANUEL AND BATBOY!
As posted in an earlier entry, a silly rumour surfaced about a 21 year-old actor for Batman and an unknown "of Hispanic/Latino descent" for Superman. On one fan forum they're by now a bit of a joke, especially the Hispanic Superman. One fanboy mentioned it looks like we won't be getting SUPERMAN in this movie. More like Supermanuel. Bwah! Cue lots of cackling. The word Superhombre was also thrown around. Another fan joked we'll be having Batboy instead of Batman! :)))

JLA DELAYED? FANS ARE WORRIED.
Another shift (we'll see how long it lasts) happened when several sites picked up the story about the writers strike postponing JLA because it has an unfinished script. I've reported about this already, the story made a few rounds and is being treated as "news" even though the article's re-hashing old news written by other sites, especially Variety's article from weeks ago. The point is that all the rumour sites are saying JLA is going forward as planned and Variety was the only source that reported right the opposite. It said "WB was unsure how to proceed" and things like that.
This is old news but it was making rounds again as if to remind us a lot of things could go wrong with this project.

The "reminder" caused a few fans to start doubting JLA will ever get made, especially after all these rumours that didn't come true. Some who haven't been particularly keen on the idea of a JLA movie from the beginning are commenting the longer we don't get any official casting announcement, the more chances there are the movie will get delayed. We all knew JLA would be extremely difficult to cast... Now some are hoping it'll be too difficult.

A lot of the rumoured cast so far (just people who auditioned) aren't exactly fan favourites. A fan on SuperHeroHype forums comments:
"This JL film is reminding me so much of Superman Returns when it comes to developmental buzz. The cast for Singer film was underwhelming and there was a heavy split of fans between the casting of Routh.
The samething is happening here and it seems Miller is going the exact opposite route with casting then he should be going. He should be looking for solid B grade actors if not A grade.....but he will be going the C and D grade route with babyfaced unknown TV actors. Utterly disappointing..."

TRANSFORMERS WRITERS WRITING 'SUPERMAN RETURNS' SEQUEL?
Another rumour that I've posted about previously, in fact it was just a little tidbit thrown out by Iris of BrandonRouth.com concerning "Man of Steel". She said Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci "seem to be interested" in writing the sequel, now that the doors are open for new writers to come on board. Fans agree this rumour should be taken with a grain of salt like other rumours and indeed it didn't make a splash on any website besides a couple of forums. The thing is, anyone could be writing the script and Kurtzman and Orci are just one of several teams that I'm sure we'll be hearing about in the future in connection with MOS.

The rumour was taken as such but the fan response was positive for the most part. Fans are hungry for more action in the sequel and action's certainly something Transformers delivered.
Kurtzman and Orci are also in negotiations to write Transformers 2. It was reported they could be getting $5 - $7 million for the screenplay. They've been friends since childhood and have co-written stuff for Xena: Warrior Princess, Alias, and movies The Island and Mission: Impossible 3.

BRANDON ROUTH MARRYING!
Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford are getting married tomorrow, Nov 24! Be brave, fangirls! :) The wedding pics will be featured in INStyle magazine. CONGRATS! I think I'll be posting a huge Brandon picspam tomorrow to celebrate. :o)

JAMES MARSDEN IN GAP AD CAMPAIGN
Aww, James Marsden (Richard White in Superman Returns) is featured in one of GAP's new Holiday 2007 ads! Look how sweet he looks:



Check out the link above for a hi-res picture.

*goes back to bed with tea and muffins* *has a cold*

You know, if something goes wrong with the JLA movie or if ends up sucking majorly and WB comes crawling back to Bale and Routh, asking them to pweeeeez star in the JLA sequels because no one can do it better than them, k thx...

THEIR RESPONSE SHOULD BE:



*bats eyelashes innocently*

I had too much sugar today.

ThisIsNorthScotland.co.uk reported the writers strike could delay the Superman Returns sequel! Brandon Routh commented on it, as well!

Strikes hit Superman sequel

Superman actor Brandon Routh has revealed the film's sequel could be delayed after talks between screenwriters and studio representatives failed to resolve a dispute over royalties.

Brandon explained that his second Superman movie: "[Is] supposed to be happening. They're going to be getting the script written here after the writer's strike, so we'll start next year some time."

[...]

Back in 1988, the last strike by screenwriters lasted 22 weeks. This time around most of Hollywood is hoping for a swift solution, particularly Brandon: "All the more power to the writers, everybody wants their fair share but I just trust we can get it done quicker - sooner rather than later."

SupermanHomepage picked up the story.

Soooo, MOS is "supposedly" still happening but it'll be delayed as expected. This isn't exactly news but it is coming from someone other than insiders for a change. :) It's not as good as the director or WB himself speaking about it (WB's in charge of the project after all, not actors) but it's all we've got right now and nothing that's been said so far confirms the sequel isn't happening. Let the naysayers chew on that for a while. At least we've got something. I know I've said that before but right now I'd take anything over rumours.

Like Brandon I hope the strike won't last long (don't we all?) but you never know. It could as well last for weeks and weeks on end. Gah.

I've been feeling sick lately, I'll post more comics scans and SR documentary screencaps when I'm feeling a little better. *tummy ache* *lies down*