Funny for a movie where John Williams' Superman themes are "dated" (in the words of the great John Ottman) that they'd bother to resurrect Brando outtake footage...I'll hold off judgment until I see how it plays, but this better not ruin our chances of seeing his cut SUPERMAN II scenes proper in next year's DVD re-issue!!

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http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/inde ... 0&id=33303

How Superman Resurrects Brando

Bryan Singer, producer-director of the upcoming Superman Returns, told SCI FI Wire that he used every trick in the book to resurrect the late Marlon Brando and include him in the film as Jor-El. Brando played the role of Superman's father in director Richard Donner's original 1978 Superman movie. He died in July 2004 at the age of 80.

To recreate Brando's version of the character in his new Superman movie, Singer said in an interview that he used "a combination of unused footage, [used] footage and recreated footage. You won't necessarily see Marlon Brando walking around or reanimated in a conventional sense, but you will hear [dialogue] that you have heard before [and] takes that you haven't heard before and a rendering that is completely new."

Singer added that the Brando sequences are being created with "very raw material" culled from a variety of sources and locales. "A lot of the stuff was all over the place," he said. "A lot of the stuff was in vaults in New York [and] in Los Angeles. I got ahold of Brando's London [automated dialogue replacement, or looping,] session. I had very interesting outtakes, which are something to see. So there's a lot of material. It's great [also] to hear ... Dick's [Donner's] voice on the ADR sessions, on the raw material. There are a few really funny moments—we called them 'Brando bloopers'—where you hear Dick and [an uncredited writer] Tom Mankiewicz in the background. It's cool." Superman Returns will open nationwide on June 30, 2006.

Meanwhile, Warner Brothers announced that the teaser trailer for Superman Returns will debut during The WB's Smallville, airing at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Nov. 17, and will hit theaters in select screenings of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which opens Nov. 18.

So much for the sneak preview. Did anyone see it? It either didn't show up, or at least not on my feed (which we get on the local UPN station delayed at 10pm).

It does seem rather odd that they're willing to distance themselves from the score but embrace Brando's footage (or lost footage)- seemed to me they were trying to get away from the original first two films. I'm still excited to see the movie but am highly skeptical of Ottman's score.

I wasn't home to see the teaser trailer.

The teaser trailer is available at the official website:

http://supermanreturns.warnerbros.com/

It uses Williams' "Krypton" theme (which provides the requisite chills of recognition), along with Brando's voice over.

Personally, I found the trailer underwhelming. Not bad, mind you; just nothing to get excited about.

Mark

Thanks Mark, I just caught it.

I have said this on record: they will be in for a rude awakening without an ample use of Williams' themes in the score. That music signifies SUPERMAN and without it, we'll be in for just another Kamen-Ottman-Elfman-run-of-the-mill-super-hero-bombast-fest.

The trailer basically left me as it did you. I'm a bit surprised -- are they re-doing his origin AGAIN? I mean, between the old movie and SMALLVILLE, I think it's been covered, and covered plenty, by this point.

Essentially they showed nothing in that trailer we haven't already seen...

And so much for Kevin Spacey...guess we'll have to wait for that.

I was very disappointed by the Supe trailer before HP- don't they want to get as far away fromt he original films as possible? I was shocked to hear the use of Williams' music over the trailer- maybe that's going to be their "throwback" to the original film: use Williams' music to market it, then use Ottman's score in the actual picture with no reference to Williams' defining music. Too bad.....

And you know what? I'm really not anxious to see another re-telling of how Supe came to Earth. As people alluded to in these threads and elsewhere: SMALLVILLE and SUPERMAN THE MOVIE covered all that territory (and well)- do we really need to revisit this? At least Nolan did something good with BATMAN BEGINS in retelling the death of Wayne's parents- it wasn't a remake of Burton's BATMAN.

Whatever. After seeing this trailer I'm more excited for KONG than SUPERMAN.....

Anyone get chills watching the trailer for Shyamalan's LADY OF THE LAKE?? I'm really looking forward to that one.....

mkaroly wrote:I was very disappointed by the Supe trailer before HP- don't they want to get as far away fromt he original films as possible? I was shocked to hear the use of Williams' music over the trailer- maybe that's going to be their "throwback" to the original film: use Williams' music to market it, then use Ottman's score in the actual picture with no reference to Williams' defining music. Too bad.....

And you know what? I'm really not anxious to see another re-telling of how Supe came to Earth. As people alluded to in these threads and elsewhere: SMALLVILLE and SUPERMAN THE MOVIE covered all that territory (and well)- do we really need to revisit this? At least Nolan did something good with BATMAN BEGINS in retelling the death of Wayne's parents- it wasn't a remake of Burton's BATMAN.

Whatever. After seeing this trailer I'm more excited for KONG than SUPERMAN.....

Anyone get chills watching the trailer for Shyamalan's LADY OF THE LAKE?? I'm really looking forward to that one.....

Michael, they're apparently NOT trying to get away from the original movies at all. This film is indeed supposed to be connected to them, from Brando's presence (one way or another) to Williams' themes. There's supposed to be a "vague connection" in that this movie has Superman "returning after a long absence" to Earth and finding things have changed, etc. The director also said the movie will work whether you come at it from the '78-'81 first two movies, or SMALLVILLE, and it's a "continuation" of what they did in the Salkind films (allegedly).

Also, to be fair (and to clarify what I've written before), Bryan Singer has said it's not an origin movie. They do show those scenes in the trailer but I believe they're flashbacks in the film -- not a lengthy re-doing of the origin.

I saw the trailer in theaters before HP as well and had the same reaction. It works because of Williams' music and the voice over. The footage isn't particularly impressive by itself -- the design of the film looks like the standard-issue "dark superhero" movie (From the ugly Metropolis streets to the draining of Superman's colors) we get a lot these days. I'm just hoping the film has its own tone and character -- and that John Ottman delivers a higher-caliber score than he's shown he's capable of doing thus far (and I'm not holding my breath on that one).

KONG still does not impress me from the trailers -- he looks like a giant ape and everything (from the backdrops to the island to the creatures) is CGI...but obviously we'll see soon!

Good points- I talked to one of my friends today (who is upset at the casting choice for Superman and doesn't like the color of the costume) and he was hoping the origin stuff would be a small part of the film. Hopefully it will be relegated to flashbacks (as a possibility stated below) or maybe some montage sequence over music.

Remember those old trailers for the original SUPERMAN?

I'm biased because I like SMALLVILLE but Tom Welling looks the part a lot more than this guy...as I wrote previously, this Brandon Routh fellow looks like Jason Schwartzman (From RUSHMORE)! Hopefully there's something about him that landed him the part.

Yeah those old trailers -- especially the first SUPERMAN ad without Williams' music -- were terrible!

AndyDursin wrote:Funny for a movie where John Williams' Superman themes are "dated" (in the words of the great John Ottman) that they'd bother to resurrect Brando outtake footage...

Looks like I'm late to the party on this one, but I'm surprised there's not been more debate about this bit from Ottman. It's out of context but it sounds like an indirect slam on Williams' original, as though it wouldn't hold up on a modern film. Bullshit. SUPERMAN is one of the last great timeless scores, and it would work just as well in 2005 as it did in 1978.

Can anyone clarify what was the main thrust of Ottman's point?

MikeSkerritt wrote:

AndyDursin wrote:Funny for a movie where John Williams' Superman themes are "dated" (in the words of the great John Ottman) that they'd bother to resurrect Brando outtake footage...

Looks like I'm late to the party on this one, but I'm surprised there's not been more debate about this bit from Ottman. It's out of context but it sounds like an indirect slam on Williams' original, as though it wouldn't hold up on a modern film. Bullshit. SUPERMAN is one of the last great timeless scores, and it would work just as well in 2005 as it did in 1978.

Can anyone clarify what was the main thrust of Ottman's point?

I think he was attempting to state whether or not CAN YOU READ MY MIND was going to work into the score...in this day and age of dissonant, themeless, temp-track hack rip-offs, an actually melodic romantic theme has no place in the cinema, as we know.

One thing's for sure: SUPERMAN RETURNS is a major, big-time movie for Warners next summer. Ottman has been dumped from movies before, and if his score fails to deliver (or even he turns in an X2 or FANTASTIC FOUR), methinks you might see him get the axe because the bar HAS been raised with Williams' music in that trailer.