Singer's Spirits Soar With Superman's 'Return' Flight

Sure, Bryan Singer's life has been immersed with the joys and pains of bringing the comic book panels of Superman and the X-Men to life on the big screen since 2000; but that's not to say the wonder of it all is lost on the acclaimed director.

Case in point: In the middle of shooting the long-anticipated Man of Steel film "Superman Returns," Singer and his Clark Kent/Superman star, Brandon Routh, took some time out to screen a print of "Batman Begins."

Then, the surreal setting began to sink in.

"I turned to him and said, 'You're like, Superman, and we're watching Batman,'" Singer told me with a laugh in an @ The Movies interview. "Every once in a while, you've got to step back and say, 'This is big stuff. This is cool.'"

While Singer was clearly drained from the intensity of shooting and completing the film, he hardly phoned in his answers during our recent chat. Enthusiastic about the prospects of the film, you would swear he was talking about it for the first time.

Like his previous films, "Superman" has Singer's personal stamp on it. This time around, it's about the stark parallels between his life growing up and the early years of Clark Kent/Superman.

Singer said there were four distinct things that mirrored the life of the famed DC comic book character. Clark was an only child and he was an only child, and both had blue eyes, Singer noted with a laugh. He also said it was difficult for Clark in school, which is something to which he could definitely relate growing up.

But the biggest thing that resonated with Singer and the story of Superman was the fact that they were both children of adoption -- children, who in turn, were influenced in a positive way by loving parents.

"The adoption aspect for me was also very powerful because, I believed that Superman, as much as he's a product of the planet, Krypton, as a person he is clearly a product of the Kents in his upbringing in his formidable years in Smallville," Singer said. "That's who shaped him into the person he was.

"He could have used his powers to become a terrible menace and not discovered he was wrong or criminal until he discovered the Fortress of Solitude -- he may have never discovered the Fortress of Solitude," Singer added. "But because of the way he was raised -- because his upbringing -- that's every bit as much of why he's Superman as is his gifts and powers of his birth parents from his birth world."

Adopting A New Standard
Also starring Kate Bosworth, James Marsden and Kevin Spacey as Superman's nemesis, Lex Luthor, it should come as no surprise that "Superman Returns" boasts mind-blowing flying sequences and state-of-the-art visual effects. But it's also very unique in that it's a hybrid film of sorts that infuses some key elements of the classic originals.

The movie is a continuation of the story after "Superman II," and picks up as the Man of Steel returns to Earth after a mysterious five-year absence. And while the likes of Superman's ladylove Lois Lane (Bosworth) reveals that she can live without him, one thing Singer couldn't live without from the first two films was the triumphant "Superman Theme" by legendary composer John Williams.

"Without ("Superman: The Movie" director) Richard Donner's blessing, and without the John Williams music, I would not have pursued this movie," Singer said. "The John Williams music is like his 'Star Wars' music. Superman has gathered many things to his legacy. In the first comic book, he never flew, he jumped from building to building; in the radio show he flew; Luthor the scientist became Lex Luthor the capitalist. In his universe, Superman has picked up many traits along the way, and John Williams' music was one that was an essential element."

But perhaps more of an Earth-shattering decision -- make that a Krypton-shattering decision -- was for Singer to use footage of Marlon Brando's role as Jor-El from the 1978 movie, rather than casting a new actor for the iconic role of Superman/Kal-El's father.

For Singer, it was simply a matter of this: If you have access to one of the most legendary actors in history, you better go for it.

"There was an extremely famous actor who was interested in doing it," Singer recalled. "Then I thought about it for a moment. The presence of Brando in the movie has to be one of the past. He has to have a certain kind of gravity that only Brando has --and if I can figure out, technologically how to do it, I would rather retain that as well."

Without question the biggest onus hanging over Singer's head was the casting of Clark Kent/Superman. And after an exhaustive search where Singer "watched a lot of tape and met a lot of guys," he met a small-town guy from Iowa who brought the same fresh-faced qualities to the role as the late, great Christopher Reeve did in 1978.

"The thing with Superman is that he has to look, feel and sound like he's stepped out of your collective consciousness of who that character is," Singer observed. "Part of that is because of the cartoon -- and the comic book. Part of that is George Reeves and a lot of that is Christopher Reeve. And although I was looking for the physical similarities, there had to be an energy; there had to be the calm center of Superman and awkward vulnerability of Clark."

The casting of the new Man of Steel, as it turns out, came down to the wire; but Singer finally found his peace when he met with Routh the day before the director was to fly off to Australia to scout locations.

"I was so happy that I met with him the day before because otherwise, I would have gone to Australia very skeptical about making the movie," Singer admitted. "Because if I couldn't find Superman, I quietly in the back of my mind knew that I would pull the plug on the picture. When I met with him, I was starting to see within the first few minutes of the meeting these qualities, as well as the physical (qualities). Over a two-hour conversation, I internally made my casting decision, but I didn't tell him about it for at least two months."

Christ-Like Coincidence?
There's been constant buzz about "Superman Returns" leading up the film's release, and among the questions raised by the trailers is the apparent portrayal of Superman as a Christ-like figure.

And while "Superman Returns" is not an overtly Christian movie and hardly preachy, Singer said the parallels are not by coincidence.

"There are certainly Judeo-Christian allegories that are undeniable," Singer said. "I was a Jewish kid who grew up in a Catholic neighborhood and I went to a Christian youth club ... all these things play into your subconscious and they find a way into your work. Sometimes it's by happenstance, and sometimes it's intentional. And to deny them and say, 'Oh, I didn't notice' would be absurd, particularly in this movie when there are certain things happening."

The Christian overtones that come with the character aren't exactly new, Singer pointed out -- starting with the idea of the character borne of the DC comic book's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

"In the Superman origin, there was very much a Moses story happening," Singer said. "The parents who send the child down the river to fulfill his destiny -- and in 'Superman,' the family El, send Kal-El to Earth. It was a Moses allegory."

Singer, on the other hand, takes the imagery and dialogue references in a different direction.

"Here, we deal more in saviors and the aloneness of saviors -- the cross they bear, so to speak," Singer said.

Then, Singer added an interesting observation about their people's unique connection to the character: "Many people like to say they wish they were Superman, because he's strong and he can fly. But what I think what those people are really saying is that they wish they could do what Superman can do."

"They do not wish they were Superman, because Superman wants to be two people; he wants to be the human that he is shaped like, but he's not," Singer said. "This stuff goes back to the original, (when Jor-El says) 'They can be a great people, Kal-El -- they wish to be. They only lack a light to show the way. It is for this reason, above all their capacity for good, I send them you, my only son.' So, to be able to draw upon that is very exciting."

Out With The Sexuality Issue
While Singer confirmed people's observations that the film had Christian overtones, he cleared up reports that questioned the sexuality of Superman.

Singer, who is gay, laughs off any suggestion that Superman is, too. After all, he does spend the entire film pining for the affections of Lois Lane.

"Someone asked me the other day, 'What were your feelings about Superman's sexuality while you were making the film?' and I was like, 'My feelings were like he was a heterosexual. He's straight," Singer said with a laugh. "I think what happens is, very simply, when you got a guy this handsome and he's wearing tights -- on a humorous note, that is an instant ... that's the cover of The Advocate. I get that.

"What you're talking about really is the LA Times, which wrote a story on The Advocate cover," Singer added. "That was, of course, grabbing at straws a bit to try to create a story based on an obvious cover."

That's not to say Singer's gay correlation to superheroes never existed. It just doesn't exist in "Superman Returns."

"This existed in the 'X-Men' films quite prominently," Singer said. "When you have superheroes, when you have characters who feel outcast and alone, all different groups, as well as individuals, draw some kind of identity. For me, if you look back at all of my films, ('Superman Returns') is the most heterosexual film I've ever made."

No matter what conclusions they draw, Singer is just glad that people identify with his films in the first place.

"For my first audience, I want to make sure that Superman fans like the movie," Singer enthused. "From there I work my way out. And finally, if I get to my parents, I know I've gotten somewhere. This, frankly, is the first film that I made that my mother got choked up about."