Live - Action Justice League Movie

From Superherohype.com

The Hollywood Reporter says that a slew of young actors are testing for the roles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter in George Miller's big screen Justice League adaptation. The director is seeing 35-40 actors for roles in the Warner Bros. comic book movie from Sunday through Monday.

Included in the casting sessions are: Adam Brody ("The O.C."), Joseph Cross (Running With Scissors), D.J. Cotrona ("Windfall"), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Grindhouse), Michael Angarano (Sky High), Teresa Palmer (The Grudge 2), Max Thieriot (Jumper) and rapper Common.

The trade adds that the cast of NBC's "Friday Night Lights" is well-represented as well, with Minka Kelly, Adrianne Palicki and Scott Porter also among those testing for parts.

Miller is reportedly looking for the young actors to grow into their roles over the course of several movies. The director is due to present his findings to the studio midweek.

This, to me, is just more bad news... Correct me if I'm wrong, but JLA takes place long after Bats, Supes and Co. are already established... So why are they trying to cast it with young O.C. stars? This just reinforces my beliefs that they've been going about this movie the wrong way...

Maybe it's just me.

D_M_S_L

 

This is more like the teen titans.

 

I have a bad feeling about this.

 

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash/Barry Allen, Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, J'onn J'onzz and Aquaman formed the League within months of their public debuts. They were all in their twenties or early thirties with J'onn being the oldest. Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were in their early to mid 20's. Hal, Barry and Arthur were closer to 30. They had all met separately, before coming together to fight an alien invader. They realized that they needed to work together, because while powerful on their own, there were threats that were stronger than all of them. And each of them had something the other didn't. Batman was a detective. GL knew about various alien races. Wonder Woman knew magic. So on and so forth. Remember that Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth were cast for the same reasons in "Superman Returns".

 

Brandon Routh was cast mainly because he looked and sounded and acted like Chris Reeve. They wanted to keep him moderately young, but you must remember that Superman Returns is a sequel, not a reinvention like Batman Begins.

I guess I just have to keep in mind that JLA is on a completely different/alternate time line. It has to be, because it certainly doesn't line up with some of the other time lines.

Still with the prospect of Friday-night Lights and OC stars up for the roles, this sounds like a bad idea.

D_M_S_L

 

That report is not encouraging at all, I'm not excited by any of those potential cast members.

 

I can understand thier reasoning, if they want to do a series of movies they're probably better off with a younger cast and let them grow with the role. I've never seen OC or Friday Night Lights so I can't really comment on the standard of acting in either.

 

I thought George Miller was quoted saying he wanted older actors in their 30s and 40s playing established seasoned superheroes. This "OC" casting call seems to go against that. Sounds like the WB wants to make "Gotham's Creek." If they're pushing young actors on Miller maybe he'll walk off the movie and the whole project will fall a part. Fingers crossed.

By the way if they want an actor who can grow into the role of Superman why don't they just cast Brandon Routh? Someone who has already established himself in the role.

 

AND who would appear free since they pushed Man of Steel back for this. Just give it to Routh. Heck I'll take Dean Cain for superman and Michael Keaton for Batman over those rumored names.

 

The real obstacle this film faces is the fact that Bale and Routh have both re-defined the roles of TDK and the MoS. Using other actors will just come off as superfluous fluff and will, imo, denigrate the Batman and Superman brands.

 

Here's something from the Voices From Krypton website.

EXCLUSIVE: AN INTERVIEW WITH DC'S GREGORY NOVECK

Gregory Noveck, Senior Vice President Creative Affairs for DC Comics, is, among other things, the liaison between DC and Warner Bros., integral in the process of finding appropriate properties for the studio to adapt as features and television series. What follows is an excerpt from a recent interview Voices From Krypton conducted with him, which looks at the relationship between the two entities and moves into discussions of the idea of multiple actors playing characters like Superman and Batman simultaneously, and why Tom Welling won't be playing the Man of Steel in Justice League.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: When one of these film or TV projects gets going, how strong is the connection between DC and the studio?

GREGORY NOVECK: As I?ve grown in the job, it?s gotten more and more. It?s not necessarily a testament to me, it?s more an understanding that we bring a lot to the table. It?s also on a case-by-case basis and it?s really driven by the filmmakers. In the case of Christopher Nolan and Bryan Singer, they really want to know what DC thinks. Zack Snyder on Watchmen has been phenomenal. So the studio kind of responds to the filmmaker. In the last several years, even with Al and Miles on Smallville, they?ve hired people who actually have a reverence for the material and it all kind of drives from there. On Watchmen they ask for any kind of material we have that they can use for reference, because they really want to match the look and feel of those characters. We?re very involved in all of this stuff. I?m not going to sit here and say, ?Bryan took all of these tips from me,? because that?s not true. I think certainly we?re in a much different place than we were with Batman & Robin or Catwoman. The thing that needs to be kept in mind is that beyond the actual film or TV show, there?s a global brand to be managed here and DC is in the unique position of knowing where the vast majority of all of the moving parts are.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: Do you guys ever throw up red flags when something doesn?t seem right? I?m not sure what your feeling was about Superman Returns. My feeling has been that it was good, but it should have been great.

GREGORY NOVECK: If they wanted to make Superman?s cape blue, for example, we?d say, ?You can?t do that.? If they wanted it where Clark Kent never wears glasses, that?s an issue. If the relationship between Lois and Clark felt false, we could comment on that. It?s not that we can?t say, ?Hey, could there be more action in this movie?? We can, but it?s not really our call, it?s up to the filmmaker. The thing about Superman Returns is that at the end of the day it?s a recognizable Superman and a recognizable Superman movie. There?s nothing in the movie except where maybe the strictest fans would say, ?Superman would never do that.? If you?d seen the previous iterations of the script, from my standpoint we were really successful. Is it at the same level of movie that Batman Begins was? Probably not, but it?s a different animal, yet both of those are recognizable as those characters.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: I?ve read some of those earlier versions of the Superman script ? Tim Burton as director? Nicolas Cage as Superman? What were they thinking? Even earlier today, there was the Hollywood Reporter story where they?re saying that 19 and 20 years olds are auditioning for Justice League. Does that kind of thing concern you guys at all?

GREGORY NOVECK: Don?t believe everything you read. Some of it may be true, some of it may not be. But I can tell you they?re not casting a 19-year-old as Superman. Most of the actors they?re looking at are in their late ?20s.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: And then there are all of those Internet rumors about Tom Welling being cast as Superman?

GREGORY NOVECK: Not happening, if for no other reason than it would just confuse the issue.

VOICES FROM KRYPTON: And if that?s the case, I wonder why they wouldn?t just

 

"People said the same thing about Christopher Reeve in comparrison to Dean Cain, Tom Welling, Gerard Christopher and Brandon Routh. Same thing with Val Kilmer, George Clooney and even Christian Bale for Batman, after Michael Keaton left. That Reeve and Keaton defined their respective characters and that someone else coming in would be a mistake. Hell, we just had that argument last year and the year before, with Routh and Welling. And before that with Welling and whoever was in contention before Singer came on board. All that should matter is that in regards to each character, they bare some resemblence to the characters and are able to work with the material. Which is hopefully not crap."


And, for the most part, the people were right. Keaton and Reeve did define the roles, so much so, in fact that, in the case of Superman, Singer hired an actor he thought resembled Reeve and embodied him, in a sense. Clooney was a horrible choice for Batman, in my opinion so was kilmer, if you recall, the last two Batman flicks were the downfall of the franchise. Tom Welling does not really fit with the traditional Superman/Clark Kent ideal, but judging by the banner, I'm alone on this one. Cain was ok in a campy sorta way, but neither ever lived up to Reeve.

That being said. I agree that fans should keep an open mind, as surprises can happen (no one really though Keaton would make a good Batman at first). But to what extent? You can't expect people to not be upset with the news that's been coming out... It's bound to happen. The idea that the studio is even looking at these younger actors is ridiculous, IMHO. Yes, we have to look at JLA as a separate entity, but not at the expense of the characters already established. You can't just have Superman show up at 24 and try to lead a whole group of Super heroes, it doesn't make any sense. The same goes for Bats, he doesn't just throw on the cowl and run off to join the Super hero Super-group, there are sensitive back stories established with these characters, and though it's not up to the JLA flick to tell those stories, it's also not up them to ignore them... By the same respect, people shouldn't be expecting genius out of a flick that's being rushed into production, but I don't think that the success or demise of the JLA will have an impact on either of the two previously established franchises...Just the ones they intended to spin off. If anything, I think that JLA will be more "kid friendly".

D_M_S_L

 

Clooney and Kilmer were not why the Batman franchise went dormint for several years. It had to do with bad scripts, bad direction and campiness. They were fine in their roles, it was the execution of Schumacher and WB's desire to sell more toys, that caused problems. Welling is seen as this generation's Superman, even though he is Clark before the suit. Routh did embody what Reeve was, but that was a conscious effort on the part of both Singer and Routh. To keep consistant with the Reeve films. Superman isn't just defined on how Reeve portrayed him. Cain represented Superman along the lines of the Post Crisis revisions, but with more of a laid back, nice guy approach. They shouldn't have to live up to Reeve. They should stand on their own.

Two things.

1. While the actors are young, they're not playing the characters as having just made their debut. The backstories for Superman and Batman are well known to people. So they will most likely be portrayed as having been established for a while, they're just skipping over the origins. While events from "Superman Returns" and "Batman Begins" aren't mentioned, they're not quite ignored. It's no different when in the 60's, the solo titles for all the characters weren't talked about within the team dynamic. So, too, would it be this way for JLA.


2. Reeve was 24 when he started filming the first two films. Sure, he looked 30, but that was just how he looked then. He was only playing 30 because in 1977, Superman was 30 years old. In fact, the character was pretty much stuck at that age for the duration of his time in Metropolis, once he finished college. It isn't until after the Crisis, that DC began to have some flexiability with age. Starting the characters in their mid 20's and then jumping ahead ten years, to have them in their mid 30's. For Superman, he was 24 when he made his public debut and 34 in the present day. This might change based on continuity changes made last year, but they haven't been made clear yet if he was 24 or 21. Routh was chosen since the plan was and possibly still is for the stories to take place over a set period of time. As we've seen with X-Men and Spider-Man and now with Batman, the studios want the characters to maintain a p

 

I'm about to start reading a JLA novel called Exterminators. And I've looked through some old JLA comics and even watched the JLA Unlimited series on Boomerang. Even if they get lesser known or cheaper actors how is this thing not going to cost upwards of $300 million to make?

 

Justice League news from IESB.net


The latest news is coming from the land of Oz. Clint has just chimmed in with tons of story details from Justice League! It does get worse.

So what can fans expect from Miller?s Justice League? Moviehole has the run down. Here are a few excerpts:

So what are they working with? Well, not a lot. Not to say the film reads terrible, it doesn?t, it?s just that it reads more like a Saturday Morning ?Superfriends? cartoon than anything else ? like, say, something that?ll appeal to the over twenties crowd - and basically, WETA need only look at the old cartoons to seek inspiration for their whizbang dressings. Having said that, maybe that?s exactly what they?re going for ? a family-friendly toon-esque romp; like say ?The Rocketeer? or ?Sky High?.

The film introduces the main characters very quickly ? as if they?re a 42-minute TV show and have to get it done quickly. You don?t get to know much about any of our central heroes before they all unite.

Look, the film seems pretty underwhelming, sure, but what I think might?ve been their motivation here is to distance themselves from any of the ?Superman? or ?Batman? films already in existence ? which is something the fans will be thankful for ? and as this is merely light and fluffy cartoon adventure-stuff, without any of the dark undertones of those other films (largely ?Batman?), they?ve definitely succeeded in that. This will definitely appeal to a much younger crowd than those that say, loved ?Batman Begins? ? it?ll be one the twelve-years-olds go ga-ga for. In fact, Batman doesn?t even seem to have much of a part to play here ? not the pages I read anyway; it?s almost as if he?s a secondary character or Warner have told the producers they can only use a ?bit of him? ? and definitely isn?t the same Caped Crusader we?ve seen on the screens for the past couple of years. In fact, if this is anyone?s movie it?s The Flash?s? he gets most of the gags, a lot of the action, and seems to have quite a few more scenes- again, in the pages I read ? than the others. If the character is cast right ? I believe Adam Brody (?the OC?) is the favourite at this stage ? he could be the break-out character here?. the one the twelve-year olds want on a T-Shirt.


I feel sick

 

I don't know a Rocketeer style adventure would be Ok, the Skyhigh comparison is a little worrying though.

 

Not happy about the JLA movie coming out at all. Brandon Routh and Christain Bale won't be in it. Kills the continuity. The studio should wait until Superman and Batman are done. If they do it now it could be the decline of Superhero movies for a while. They are trying to cash in on the superhero movie success and they are gonna tip it overboard. It can only lead to disaster. Wrong, wrong, wrong timing.

 

Well that little tidbit seems to confirm some of my predictions for this thing...

At least they're straying far from the Bats & Supes franchises.

D_M_S_L

 

From the Superman Homepage.

Meanhile, AintItCool.com reports that the 'Young Hollywood" auditions mentioned above (and reported on here last week) were supposedly only for the roles of The Flash and Wonder Woman...

This source said that all those people above (and many more) were only reading for two characters: The Flash and Wonder Woman. The source assured me that the casting is skewing very young only for The Flash because he's the youngest member of the Justice League. And Wonder Woman is a goddess that doesn't age, so it's understandable she'd be cast young.


Also...

Clint at MovieHole.net has discovered that this was a fake script, and has removed the report from his website.

In other words, the script review that Clint talked about, it was a total fake.

 

I?m really glad that the 14 Justice League script pages turned out to be false because I was starting to get worried so hopefully the movie will be a lot better than the possibilities shown in those 14 pages.






TOM WELLING FOR SUPERMAN IN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE MOVIE

 

Yes, the script pages posted were false. And now, Welling will not be in it. Miller is using his own cast without being beholden to Routh or Welling.

 

It isn?t over until the fat lady sings the confirmed cast list darth-sinister

 

As much as I'd love to see Welling in JL, it sounds like fat lady is warming up.

 

GREGORY NOVECK: I think part of it is that the character is larger than the actor. If you look at Batman, Superman and Justice League as separate franchises, if all of a sudden you have Brandon in it but you don?t have Christian, then what movie is it? I think you have to have it stand on its own. I?m just speculating, but if I?m the director of this movie, I don?t want to have to be too careful of another director?s iteration of a character. If I use his actor, then I?m kind of beholden to it. What if George Miller hired Brandon and Christian, but he wanted Brandon to really play Superman tougher and wanted Christian to show more humanity, then all of a sudden you?re entering very strange creative territory. The same is true of using Tom Welling. I think ultimately it?s a better movie if you have different actors to keep the iterations of the characters distinct. The example I?ve been using is, is it the Mike Mignolia Batman versus the Frank Miller Batman? It?s still Batman, they?re just different versions of it. I think when we start to open up the films with that kind of lens, where you can say, ?These are all Superman, but they?re different versions? ? even from Tom Welling to Brandon Routh, right? ? that?s pretty cool.

In other words, Miller is not using Welling or Bale or Routh.

 

People I don't want involved:
Shumacher
Bruckheimer
Bay

I really don't care who the actors are, so long as they do a decent job.

How about Lucy Lawless as WonderWoman?
Bruce Campbell as Superman? Or better yet, as Flash?

There are 3 crucial elements: Actors, Script, and Director. Having any 2 can counter the effect of the 3rd being bad. Only 1 of 3 is a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, 3of3 is the best option, but so seldom happens in hollywood, that it just isn't funny.