1st official image of Brandon Routh as Superman

[nightwing]

I guess what I'm saying is Hollywood used to value "maturity" and now they value youth above everything.  Whereas in the old days a young man had to act older, now it's reversed.

Look at the stars of the past; Flynn, Gable, Cooper, Grant.  These were guys who even when they were young never looked like little kids.  It was a liability back then to have a baby face.  I remember Jeffrey Hunter turned in a great performance as Christ in "King of Kings," but because he looked so young (he really wasn't), the critics blasted the film and re-named it, "I Was A Teenage Jesus".  :shock:

Now jump ahead to recent films.  Nobody questions why these guys who look like little kids are saving the world.  Mission: Impossible featured the likes of Tom Cruise and Emilio Estevez.  Why weren't the critics saying, "Impossible Mission Force?  More like 'The Babysitter's Club!'". Will Smith, Tom Cruise, Brandon Fraser, Brad Pitt and so on...these are guys pushing (or over) 40 and they still look like they're 18.  When they stop looking 18, they'll have to either segue into "supporting" roles or get out of the business altogether.  What is going on?

Superman's the same way.  For me, George Reeves was the ultimate father figure; self-assured, all-knowing, patient.  And most of all, mature.  It was a major adjustment to accept Chris Reeve in the role, as he was obviously in his 20s and picked for his "young stud" appeal.  Now we've got a guy who looks (and is) even younger!

All of which is not to say I'm writing the movie off entirely, or pre-judging Routh's ability to act (I've never seen him in anything and I dare say few people ever have!).  In fact, I thought Matt Damon looked too young to play Jason Bourne, but he blew me away in those movies.  My fingers are crossed.

But still, the point is if you want to talk about being put off by the looks of things, I'll adjust to the suit faster than Routh's youth.  All things considered, things still look better for this film than "Batman Begins," I don't care what anyone says.

[Brainiac44]

Hi,

They probably figure that they want to do sequels so, it wouldn't be too good if they choose Pope Panzer to do the first movie... :shock:
I'll tell you guys what makes it look bad - the boots are too short, s too small, trunks too short - it's like we get too much focus on the body in the blue suit.  If they balanced it better - it would fill the suit...

Friend

Maria Schell has passed away... :cry:
Front page on my Superman site...

[shazamtd]

For me, George Reeves was the ultimate father figure; self-assured, all-knowing, patient.  And most of all, mature.  It was a major adjustment to accept Chris Reeve in the role, as he was obviously in his 20s and picked for his "young stud" appeal.  Now we've got a guy who looks (and is) even younger!

All of which is not to say I'm writing the movie off entirely, or pre-judging Routh's ability to act (I've never seen him in anything and I dare say few people ever have!).

Actually, Chris Reeve was 24 when he got the part.  Brandon Routh is 25.  So Reeve was about the same age when he played Superman.  
Nobody knew who Reeve was then or if he could act either.

[Bill 9000]

Yeah, but at least Chris Reeve looked like SuperMAN, not SuperBOY (even though he was in his twenties when Superman: The Movie first came out).

[Kuuga]

See that's the thing. I think Routh could look like SuperMAN but with this costuming and hair he just looks like SuperBOY.  He looks eerily like John Haymes Newton.  :cry:

Man this stinks. Theres a new Superman and a new Batman movie coming out and in all honesty I'm looking more foward to Legend of Zorro than either of them.

[King Krypton]

Well, this should make you guys happy:

The buzz on this movie is officially worse than Catwoman. The teaser trailer debuted to standing ovations at the SDCC, but the Internet community had the exact opposite reaction, skinning the SDCC-goers alive for being "traitors" and "not true Superman fans." Further, WB released another blog for the project about the flying FX, including footage of Routh shooting a flaying sequence at sunset, and the reaction was like something out of a Stephen King novel. EVERYBODY hated it, and their hatred of Routh only got worse. The hate campaign against this movie has reached critical mass, ans the bad buzz is spreading like wildfire.

This movie is pretty much doomed, thanks to the Superman fanbase being so blisteringly egotistical, dismissive of its own history (every single incarnation of Superman pre-Byrne has been condemned as inherently worthless in order to discredit Singer--especially Siegel and Shuster, who are now held as usurpers of what's rightfully Byrne's credit), nakedly ignorant of even worse antics pulled in the comics (it's OK for Lois to emotionally abuse and mistreat Clark for over a decade, but it's not OK for Lois to be a single mom during Superman's absence of many years?), and being whiny that THEIR pet incarnation didn't get put on film. For years I've had a sneaking suspicion that the Superman fandom was a cesspool of arrogant, selfish filth. Now I know it is.  :evil:

[Super Monkey]

You mean Iron Age fans.

Besides that's not really Superman anyway, The REAL Superman was last seen in Action Comics #583, everyone knows that

I am looking forward to the new film  

[King Krypton]

The problem is, the "Iron Age" fans ARE the fandom these days.

I've seen countless MBs where Siegel and Shuster's work has been trashed viciously and Byrne's been touted as the true creator of Superman, or at least the savior who "rescued" Superman from the ignorant hackwork of 1938-1986. (Batman fans have done the same thing, disowning Bob Kane and Bill Finger and touting Frank Miller as the true creator of Batman.)

I've seen every single incarnation of Superman pre-1986, be it in the comics, cartoons, movies, and TV, condemned as "inherent garbage" because it's [a] from an earlier era, it was aimed at a young audience instead of a clique of adult fanboys, and [c] it was space opera rather than the Byrne-instigated soap opera.

I've seen Kirk Alyn and George Reeves disowned from the character's media history, with Chris Reeve in the process of being disowned himself. All of a sudden, the once-maligned Dean Cain is held up as the true Superman because he played the Byrne-instigated version, and Tom Welling, whose disdain for the adult Superman is no secret, is held up as the only actor fit to carry the role. If Reeve gets any credit at all, it's because he befriended Welling when he gueststarred on Smallville. His portrayal of Superman is despised rather than revered.

I've seen Lois & Clark and Smallville held up as the only valid media versions of the character, with anything outside of them regarded as trash. FoLCs assert that any Superman that doesn't religiously follow the Lois & Clark rendition "isn't worth bothering with," and the Wellingites (the group name of the hard-core Smallville fans) assert that the mythos should be altered to fit Smallville's telling and that it should be the ofifical version in all media, including the comics. The Dini/Timm cartoons have been flayed to the gills for daring to be the oppsoite of both these shows (and yet they're superior in nearly every way).

Where does this put people who may not like Byrne-Jurgens, Lois & Clark, and Smallville, or people who don't like them exclusively? Where does this put people who like the other incarnations of Superman? Where does this put people who respect the entire history of the character?

Nowhere. They've been cast out of the fandom.

And Superman Returns is being made by a filmmaking team whose influences range from 1938-1978. The era where Superman was created and came to full flower. An era the fanbase has disowned and wants to see buried and forgotten. So what do you do in that case?

The Iron Age, unfortunately, IS what Superman's been reduced to. And if you try to buck the fandom, God help you. The SDCC-goers found this out the hard way when the Internet community crucified them for even DARING to like what Singer presented. The Superman fandom has become a selfish, egotistical clique that would rather see Superman die with them than embrace the history and move forward with it. They don't even want new fans coming in; they've come right out and said new fans aren't necessary or wanted. So where do you go from there?