"Superman Returns": The Singer Cut

If you are familiar with the back and forth enjoyed by internet fandom via forums and blogs it shouldn't be a surprise to you that "Superman Returns" split the fans right down the middle. Fans complained, they rejoiced, and then they complained again. They argued that Superman shouldn't be able to lift an island littered with kryptonite and whether or not Superman's kid was conceived in a silver Mylar bed in "Superman 2". I use the past tense but fans are still talking about it. In some respects it doesn't really matter that fans are still clamoring for more Superman, the general public has long since forgotten Singer's attempt to bring Superman back to the big screen. For one group of fans, they want more, the full "Superman Returns" experience if you will.

Latino Review has somehow unearthed a site called Superman Returns: The Bryan Singer Cut which encourages visitors to sign a petition to release "Superman Returns" as it was originally intended. Scenes that would be revealed include a lengthy sequence of Superman's journey to Krypton which was originally the opening of the film. Numerous additional scenes in Smallville that would help to cement Bryan Singer's original vision, which was the world had moved on without Superman. Some other notable scenes that were cut include a scene where Clark Kent changes into Superman inside a janitor's closet, a nod to classic comics and the television show. The scene was removed because Superman "coming out of the closet" didn't quite help with the marketing for the film. A video on the site splices together some of these scenes but has since been removed.

Let's be honest, even if these scenes were still in the film that we all either hated or loved in 2006, it wouldn't have made a difference. The movie would have been longer and still wouldn't have featured a supervillian or action involving said villian. Superman still would have had a kid and Singer still would have moved on to do Valkyrie instead of quickly jumping on a sequel to "Superman Returns" to beat the strike. Bryan Singer has said that the version of "Superman Returns" that was released was the director's cut.

"The director’s cut. No, this is the director’s cut. You just saw it. They don’t tell me what to cut. I’m not a place in my career that anyone tells me that I have to cut anything or put anything in.”

Whether you sign the petition or not these scenes were most likely be released somewhere down the road in some medium. Unless the rumors are true that Bryan is the only one who actually has the footage. Then things might get a little sticky

Update on Fri, November 13, 2009 by Phil Gee

Just to add to Peter's post.  I have no doubt that we will see the deleted return to Krypton sequence one day.  The majority of the deleted scenes were on the initial DVD so I don't see much of a point.  Leave it to the over-eager fan-cutters to give us the, ahem 'Singer Cut'.

While we wait for the real thing though, you really should check this fan made version of it.  With just the use of concept art and music, this guy really does a good job:

Francis Lawrence Attached To 'Sgt. Rock'

We continue to hear news trickling out of the WB's Burbank location involving their never-ending line of DC's comic book properties. The problem is we are getting news on characters we don't really care about such as Lobo. Sure, Lobo is a solid character that could make an impact as a secondary villain in a Superman or Justice League movie but can such a character headline his own film? Warner Bros believes he can and his teaming him up with a teenage girl as he stomps around with his hand on the trigger.

Now we are getting word from "The Brothers Warner" that a comic book character much more obscure than Lobo is getting yet another creative team to bring his penciled and ink self to the celluloid mix. WB has given the keys to Francis Lawrence to direct "Sgt. Rock". The film will be based off a comic book that ran from 1977 through 1988 and was previously available in the 50's under the title of "Our Army At War". The comic depicts Sergeant Frank Rock and his exploits as he leads an infantry unit during World War II. After many starts and stalls int he World War II era this new version will be set in the future.

What does this all mean? It means that Warner Bros is attempting to exploit their lesser known characters as they fumble around with what to do with their more important characters, ie Batman and Superman. Marvel continues to stomp all over WB/DC as they wait for Christopher Nolan to finish "Inception" and in the meantime the studios is hoping the fans will accept C and D level characters. "Green Lantern" and pray for rain?

Christmas In November

Weekend Actuals (Nov. 6th - Nov. 8th)

1 A Christmas Carol $30,051,075   
2 Michael Jackson's This Is It $13,157,944
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats $12,706,654
4 The Fourth Kind $12,231,160
5 Paranormal Activity $8,278,605
6 The Box $7,571,417
7 Couples Retreat $6,129,045   
8 Law Abiding Citizen $6,003,737
9 Where the Wild Things Are $4,177,249   
10 Astro Boy $2,626,103    

Three Wolves: 'Twilight', 'The Wolfman' & 'The Howling'

It looks like the news has gone to the wolves as our fellow keyboard mashers over at Latino Review via various other websites have some updates on "Twilight", "The Wolfman", and "The Howling". Two new posters for "The Wolfman", a poster for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" & Kristen Stewart press conference for "New Moon", along with a "The Howling: Reborn" poster. 

"The Wolfman" Poster

"The Wolfman" Poster 2

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" Poster

Kristen Stewart "New Moon" Press Conference

"The Howling: Reborn" Poster

Singer's 'Battlestar" Moves Forward

Does anybody remember Bryan Singer? You know, the guy who directed "Usual Suspects", "X-Men", "X2", and "Superman Returns" among other films. He seems to have fallen off the map lately, although he managed to put Tom Cruise back on the map with 2008's "Valkyrie". There have been rumors that Singer was eyeing a return to the X-Men franchise but of course those were just rumors and not even news worthy despite some of the coverage. He's been mentioned as a possible director for "Freedom Formula", "Jack The Giant Killer", "Cape Shooters", and "Battlestar Galactica".

According to Examiner, the speculation can be put to rest, Singer's "Battlestar Galactica" will indeed be his next project and has moved into pre-production.

Now that pre-production has started, any rumors that Singer's next project was going to be "X" related (as in X-Men) has been put to rest, along with any shot he had of helming another Superman flick. There's been no word if Moore will be involved in the re-reboot, yet given the rumored "rocky" relationship between Larson and Moore, it seems unlikely.

I personally think this is a genre that Singer is very comfortable in and in some people's minds he is looking to redeem himself to the fanboy masses after "Superman Returns". This could be a good time to get a film like this one up and running with Abrams' "Star Trek" sparking interest in space epics again.  Speaking of Trek, Singer's love for the Trek universe is sure rear its alien head which could either be a good thing or a bad thing. I'm sure you're going to get a classic sci-fi feel from Singer's "Battlestar" mixed with a lot of effect shots. You can expect a release sometime in 2012 although 2011 is still a possibility, albeit a big stretch.

King Of Box Office

Weekend Actuals (Oct 30th - Nov 1st)

1 Michael Jackson's This Is It $23,234,394
2 Paranormal Activity $16,387,327
3 Law Abiding Citizen $7,403,630
4 Couples Retreat $6,460,525
5 Where the Wild Things Are $5,931,417
6 Saw VI $5,270,794
7 Astro Boy $3,460,651
8 The Stepfather $3,207,792
9 Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant $3,098,185
10 Amelia $3,034,667

TMT Presents: Five Nights Of Halloween - Halloween Night

Tonight is the night. Halloween. We've laughed and snored through, "Slaughter High", "Christina's House", "Don't Look In The Basement", and "The Lair Of The White Worm". You, just like myself, have suffered through all that is bad to get to all that is good about these films. We're all pretty lucky that we've made it to Halloween night. Tonight is their night.

Night Of The Demons

Ten high school seniors. A mortuary. A Halloween party on Halloween night. Let's throw in a seance that releases a demon and you've got yourself one hell of a horror flick. Filmed in Los Angeles over a period of a couple months this film could not score distribution from any American distributor.  Once a European distributor stepped in this film enjoyed a very limited US theatrical release and because of the really low budget did end up turning a profit.

"Night of the Demons" is the most gory of all of the films we've watched together, so be prepared for lots of blood and goop. You'll have the pleasure of a female demon leaning in for a kiss with her male counterpart and coming away with his severed tongue in her mouth. If tongue wasn't enough for you another female demon rips out the eyes of a male she is having sex with after he won't discuss her caked on make up. A couple others are having sex in a coffin and then the male breaks the females neck. You get it all with this one, sex, violence, "It's so bad, it's good."

TMT Presents: Five Nights Of Halloween

Halloween Night One: Slaughter High

Halloween Night Two: Christina's House

Halloween Night Three: Don't Look In The Basement

Halloween Night Four: The Lair Of The White Worm

TMT Presents: Five Nights Of Halloween - Night Four

I can't believe we've mad it this far. Welcome to the fourth night of our "Five Nights of Halloween". So far we've watched "Slaughter High", "Christina's House", and "Don't Look In The Basement". Tonight we're going to treat ourselves to a horror film that comes straight from the mind of Bram Stoker.

The Lair Of The White Worm

The film is set in England where an archeology student is excavating at a local bed and breakfast which is run by two healthy looking sisters. The archeology student finds a skull that seems to be that of a giant snake. After showing his find he is informed that it might have something to do with the legend involving a worm, a giant one of course. Supposedly the snake was slain many years ago by an ancestor of Jame's d'Ampton. Guess who is playing James d'Ampton, none other than Hugh Grant.

Hugh Grant wouldn't be the first well known actor to make an appearance in a really low budget and badly written horror movie. Johnny Depp got his start in "A Nightmare On Elm Street", Kevin Bacon got bungled in "Friday The 13th", and Jennifer Anniston ran around and screamed in "The Leprechaun". The difference being that although Depp or Bacon didn't really help make the films good, "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday The 13th" are both classics while "The Lair of The White Worm" is not even close but it is certainly "So Bad, It's Good." So if you want to see a giant white worm, Hugh Grant, and a scantily clad woman with fangs, this is the movie for you.

TMT Presents: Five Nights Of Halloween - Night Three

Looks like you made it to the third night in our five part series recommending bad horror movies that are "So Bad They're Good". Our third film is a early 70's cliche riddled horror flick that is best viewed from upstairs.

Don't Look In The Basement

Synopsis:

The creatively-thinking director of an insane asylum allows several inmates to act out their psychotic delusions. When a new staffer arrives, the murder of the director leads to a full-scale takeover of the institution by its inmates.

You'll laugh at the funny parts and laugh at the parts that are supposed to scare you as the asylum residents run wild and give a new meaning to, the inmates running the asylum. For some reason the residents can pretty much run around this institution at will. There are no guards, knives lying around, and the doors are always unlocked. For some reason they don't want anybody looking in the basement. The characters themselves are a laugh a minute. The new nurse on the block named Charlotte. Danny, who resembles a malformed version of the Mad Magazine cover. Allyson the nympho, who would be my favorite if it wasn't for Sam. You have to love Sam, a massive man with body like a hippo and the mind of an adolescent. There is a scene where he is hiding under a bed that is priceless. Throw in a crazy war veteran and a cryptic old lady and you've struck copper. Although somebody like me will continue to get a chuckle out of this film, the movie itself is definitely a downer. Go for it. Tell me what you think.

Avatar Trailer & Featurette

Head over to Latino Review for the Avatar International Trailer and check put the 4-Minute Avatar Featurette couresy of Coming Soon.

Now Yahoo! Movies has the new trailer officially here for your enjoyment. I hope, for your sake, you've already lined up new pairs of eyeballs. In all scientific probability, they will explode after sitting through the shear awesomeness that is "Avatar." Don't say we didn't warn ya...

http://i725.photobucket.com/albums/ww260/Think_Mcfly_Think/Smurfs-thumb-550x285-20495.jpg

Update on Thu, October 29, 2009 by Peter Georgiou

I've received a handful of emails and a couple of comments asking me about the "Smurfs" picture in a post that is obviously about avatar. Obviously one of the connections would be that the alien characters from "Avatar" and the Smurfs are both blue. The "Avatar" ET's look more like Smurfs after a healthy dose of steroids, but that is only a small reason out of several for using that picture. We've all been able to view a good amount of  "Avatar" footage thanks to the featurette and the trailers that have been released.

I have to say I am not impressed. This hasn't stopped the world, I haven't stopped breathing, and my pulse hasn't stopped. Excuse the sarcasm, but if it wasn't for the hype surrounding this film, I'd probably enjoy it just fine I know what you're thinking, all tentpole films are hyped. You're right for thinking that, but the whole "James Cameron is back" and "14 years in the making" is already played out. As Jamie Williams mentioned this morning to me on the phone, "James Cameron's films are successful because of good story, Avatar doesn't seem like it has that." I know what you'll say next, "Pete, you haven't experienced it in 3D yet!" Haven't we learned yet, 3D alone doesn't equal a successful film. So enjoy the fun and lightheartedness of the Smurfs, they don't take themselves too seriously.