'Man of Steel' Story Description

Warner Brothers Pitures’ capsule description of the in-production MAN OF STEEL comes via the Superman Homepage:
MAN of Steel_CAVILL_large“The Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Entertainment, and Legendary Pictures feature film “Man of Steel” will be holding open casting calls in Nanaimo and Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. The film is seeking local people to work as background artists in scenes to be filmed in early October. This is fully paid work. There will be some casting for speaking roles in Vancouver, however this open casting call is for extras only.
“Man of Steel” is currently filming in the Chicago, Illinois area and shooting will move to British Columbia on September 21, 2011. Filming will continue in Vancouver and surrounding areas through January 20, 2012.”

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time.
Clark Kent/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a young twentysomething journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone’s imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question – Why am I here?
Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions.

But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack. Will his abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer?
Clark must become the hero known as “Superman,” not only to shine as the world’s last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.

 
 

1st Pic of Cavill as Superman

MAN of Steel_CAVILL_largeHere’s the first look at Henry Cavill suited up as Superman in Warner Brothers Pictures’ MAN OF STEEL.
Looks like an annoyed Supes has just torn open a bank vault-like door.
Certainly a dramatic introduction to this new incarnation of the character. Director Zack Synder will likely deliver a great-looking Superman film, lets hope it’s also a satisfying return to the silver screen for the iconic DC Comics character.

Laurence Fishburne Cast as Perry White

laurence fishburne_1According to Entertainment Weekly,  Laurence Fishburne (THE MATRIX) has been cast to  play Perry White , The Daily Planet’s Editor-in-Chief in Warner Brothers Pictures Superman re-boot MAN OF STEEL.
 
It’s unknown if the casting is script-motivated, or simply director Zack Snyder (WATCHMEN) picking an actor who would be good for the role, regardless of race.

Created in 1940 for the SUPERMAN radio series as a replacement for the comic book’s Daily Star/Planet editor George Taylor, the character was created to suit character actor Julian Noa’s blustery talents. Noa played Perry White until the various radio series’ versions (the syndicated SUPERMAN and Mutal/ABC network ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN daily and weekly shows) ended in 1951.
On screen, Perry White was played in the 1948 and 1950 Columbia Studios SUPERMAN serials by Pierre Watkins. John Hamilton played a memorable crusty but avuncular  editor White in the 1950’s George Reeves-starring series THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.

John Hamilton, George Reeves, Jack Larson, Noel Neil
John Hamilton, George Reeves, Jack Larson, Noel Neil

Jackie Cooper took on the role of Perry White in the Warner Brothers SUPERMAN: The Movie and the the rest of the Christopher Reeve-starring films.  Lane Smith gave the role a southern flavor in the 1990’s  ABC TV series LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN.
 Michael McKean showed up as a younger, realtively immature Perry White in several episodes of WB/CW Network’s SMALLVILLE, and Frank Langella (DRACULA) took on the role in Brian Singer’s SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Superman lives on Blu-ray: CFQ Laserblast Podcast 2:21.2

superman the movie flying over water
Christopher Reeve in SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE

Celebrating the arrival of the new SUPERMAN Blu-ray box set, this week’s Cinefantastique Laserblast Home Video Podcast takes a look back at the five Warner Brothers films: SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE; SUPERMAN II; SUPERMAN III; SUPERMAN IV: THE QUEST FOR PEACE; and SUPERMAN RETURNS. Guest Orenthal V. Hawkins joins CFQ stalwarts Dan Persons, Lawrence French, and Steve Biodrowski for a wide-ranging discussion of what made the films good, bad, or indifferent – and just what can we expect from Zack Snyder’s upcoming SUPERMAN: MAN OF STEEL?
Also up for discussion: GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS on DVD and Blu-ray; CIRQUE DU SOLEIL: JOURNEY OF MAN on 3D Blu-ray; and the distinction between the DEEP RED BLu-ray disc and the “Uncensored English Language” DVD. Plus, the announcement that Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS will arrive in a 3D Blu-ray version this August. Listen in for all the details…

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Smallville: Finale Reviewed

SMALLV_FIN_CFQ
SMALLVILLE: ‘FINALE’
For the past ten years, beginning on the defunct WB, and continuing on it’s successor The CW Network, Warner Brothers Television’s SMALLVILLE brought a new angle on Clark Kent’s formative years.
Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, the show introduced us to Clark Kent (Tom Welling) as a socially awkward high school student who didn’t know his alien heritage, and showed us his struggles to fit in, keep his secret even from his friends, and to learn how to use his developing powers for good.
There were plenty of missteps along the way, both by the characters and the writers. There were some episodes so aggravatingly mishandled and seeemingly wrong-headed that you wanted to scream at the television. However, this was mitigated by others that were so beautifully written, filmed, and performed that they stayed with you for hours afterwards. There was often a paplable sense of lurking tragedy, the feeling that becoming Superman might cost Clark Kent everything he held dear: friendship, family, love.

A shared Desinty, on opposite sides
A shared Destiny, on opposite sides

There were characters that symbolized this underlying tension.  Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum),  in this series originally Clark’s friend, and a conflicted soul he wished to save from a dark destiny, yet could not.  Another was Jonathan Kent (John Schneider), who would meet an early death, caused in large paty by his unyeilding determination to protect his adopted son.
They both returned in this two-part finale, and though one might take issue with the details of how this was handled, it was emotionally correct.
For a series finale that was presumably planned from the beginning of the season, far too much was crammed into the two hours (approximately 90 minutes of screen time). Some of it was very poorly thought out, in terms of the season’s arcs.
For example, a trio of super-powered villains are destroyed by someone (not Clark Kent) using ordinary weapons, due to the fact that the “magical” weapon he had sought and obtained was destroyed in a previous episode. So why did the mundane substitutes work in such a dramatic fashion? No explanation is given, they just do, and I guess you’re simply not supposed to  think about it, despite it being a jarring head-shaker.
The season’s ‘big bad’, Darkseid is also dispatched far too easily, in a scene in which the god-like entity’s avatar and the nascent man of steel each exchange a single blow. That’s it? After a year’s build-up, Clarks gets a knocker across the barn, and a stopped-time pep talk from Kryptonian father Jor-El (voice of Terrance Stamp), helps him accept that he will always be a man of two worlds. This development at long last removes Clark’s self-imposed fear of flying, a last vestige of his longing to be an  normal human being. This act of allowing himself to truly fly seems to be enough to suddenly cause his foe to simply fall into dust by soaring into him, coming appart like a sawdust mankin.
SMALLVILLE_Finale20
Annette O'Toole, Tom Welling, Eric Durance.

A lot of time is spent on Lois (Erica Durance) and Clark’s wedding vows, and we have to hear them twice, first in full as they both in succession go through pre-marital whim-whams, and again in part at the wedding. It would have been much more affecting to hear them only once.
On the other hand, although his screentime is relatively brief, Michael Rosenbaum’s Lex Luthor gets some really memorable scenes with both his half-sister Tess Mercer (Cassidy Freeman) and Clark Kent. This really helped in giving a needed sense of closure to the decade-long ride.
And what about the payoff? Ten seasons of the “No Flights, No Tights” dictum, finally gets put aside—more or less.
We do get to see Clark Kent fly, but Tom Welling never actually puts on those blue tights. He’s shown from chest-up, wearing a blue top with a SUPERMAN RETURNS-style three-dimensional S-shield, and a cloth cape. All the full-figure shots are of a “good enough for TV’-level CGI model Superman figure in long shot, or obscured by lens flares.
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SMALLVILLE Finale Framegrab

Maybe not what die-hard comic book fans would have preferred, but, aided by musical quotes from John Williams’ SUPERMAN score, viewers are treated to pretty darn satisfying coda to a long-lasting look at this larger-than-life hero’s journey.
And in my opinion, it was worth the trip.
 
SMALLVILLE: Finale
Starring Tom Welling,Erica Durance, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley, Cassidy Freeman, Micael Rosenbaum, John Glover, Annette O’Toole and John Schneider.
Part One  directed by Kevin Fair, written by Al Septien & Turi Meyer.
Part Two directed by Greg Beeman,written by show producers Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders.
A Warner Brothers Television Production, aired on The CW Network May 13th, 2011.

'Smallville: Finale'—Clip

SMALLVILLE Finale

Via The CW: “The story of Clark Kent (Tom Welling) culminates in this epic two-hour series finale as Clark takes the last step to becoming the Man of Steel.
With surprise guest appearances, nods to the first few seasons of the series and Michael Rosenbaum’s return as Lex Luthor, this final episode wraps up a decade-long story following one man’s journey to becoming the world’s greatest superhero.
Erica Durance, Allison Mack, Justin Hartley, Cassidy Freeman, John Glover, Annette O’Toole and John Schneider also star.
Kevin Fair directed “Finale Part 1,” which was written by Al Septien & Turi Meyer.
Greg Beeman directed “Finale Part 2,” written by Brian Peterson & Kelly Souders.”

Lex Luthor Returns for SMALLVILLE's Finale
Lex Luthor Returns for SMALLVILLE's Finale

It’s been ten seasons of ups and downs for the saga of Clark Kent’s early years, moving from high school crushes and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER-style freak of the week episodes to a more comic-book related syle and more than a hint of soap-operatic drama and angst. 
Here’s hoping the series’ end will be as satisfying as the best of  the show’s episodes.
SMALLVILLE’s 2-Hour Finale airs this Friday beginning at 8:00 PM/7:00 Central on The CW.

'Smallville: Dominion'—Clip

In SMALLVILLE’s Dominion:

Tess (Cassidy Freeman) learns that General Slade was found unconscious on a street corner, proof that someone has gained access to the Phantom Zone’s escape portal and sent him back. Clark (Tom Welling) decides to return to the exiled land to make sure other phantoms are not fleeing and is furious when Oliver (Justin Hartley) tricks Clark into taking him along.
With Clark’s powers gone, the two are immediately captured by the Zoners who take them to their new leader, Zod (Callum Blue), who is thirsting for revenge on Clark for banishing him to this Kryptonian jail.
Meanwhile, Lois (Erica Durance) learns Clark trusted Tess with a secret, but didn’t tell Lois.
Justin Hartley directed with story by John Chisholm.

SMALLVILLE airs Friday at 8:00 PM, followed by a new episode of SUPERNATURAL on The CW Network.

Smallville Final Season—Teaser

As SMALLVILLE heads towards the end of its tenth and final season, The CW has put together this brief teaser of the 2-hour series finale, covering the show’s recurring themes, with glimpses of moments past and yet to come.
The SMALLVILLE Finale airs May 13th, beginning at 8:00 PM/7:00 Central.

'Smallville: Kent' — Clip

SMALLVILLE returns Friday April 15th with ‘Kent’.
Clark is shocked to find a mirror box in the barn. Clark Luthor surprises him and sends Clark Kent back to the alternate reality where Clark runs into a very angry Jonathan Kent (guest John Schnieder).
 Meanwhile, back in our reality, Clark Luthor visits Tess and tells if she doesn’t side with him he’ll kill her. Lois asks Emil to help her bring Clark back.
Jeannot Szwarc directed with story by Genevieve Sparling and teleplay by Kelly Souders & Brian Peterson.
SMALLVILE airs Fridays at 8:00 PM /7 :00 Central on The CW Network.

Michael Shannon On Zod Casting

Michael Shannon (BOARDWALK EMPIRE) was interviewed at the 2011 RiverRun International Film Festiva, where he was honored as an “Emerging Master”.
In this clip, he discusses the strange (to him) process of meeting with Zack Snyder and the improvised screen test that lead to him being cast as Zod for Warner Brothers Pictures MAN OF STEEL.
Via Collider.com