REAL STEAL
Superman gets off to a Flying start in Man of Steel, a bold, believable new dawn for the worlds biggest superhero. Total film talks exclusively to Zack Snyder and his stars about an epic that's as much about the man as it is about the Super...
"Remember Superman the Movie (1978)? The scene where Daily Planet star reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is interviewing the man in tights? And she says so you're from Krypton?" recalls David S Goyer. "They run the story saying he's from another planet and no one bats an eyelid." He chuckles at the hard to swallow notion. "I always thought that was rather strange."
A yardstick in spandex cinema, Richard Donner's Superman pitched a classic tagline promise: you'll believe a man can fly. If Man of Steel has a mission statement, its to make you believe a man who can fly who also has his feet on the ground. "We've tried to make a Superman movie where he does stuff and you go yeah if I was Superman that's what I'd do" explains Snyder. Even though he's an alien he's more relatable more human or as leading man Henry Cavill puts it "this is a superman for the modern age. Its not betraying anything that Superman is, but it is grounding everything in reality. Its the story of this incredible being who can do incredible things, but whom we can associate with because he's gone through troubling stuff and had to make tough choices..."
Troubling stuff? Tough choices? We want details. But of course we can't have too many of them yet, the filmmakers keeping their cards close to their S-emblazoned chests. This is after all, a Chris Nolan production. "Its something Chris tried hard to do with the Batman films" says Goyer who had a script and/or story credits across the Dark Knight trilogy. "I'm genuinely pleased with how much secrecy we've been able to maintain" he smiles. "There's so much of the movie that people don't know that hasn't been touched upon. The trailers are just the tiniest tip of the iceberg."
Still the first promo does drop a few hints as to what we can expect, tonally at least: a soul-stirring, soul-searching ("you have to decide what kind of a man you want to grow up to be" counsels Costner, playing Supermans adoptive Earth-dad) take on the biggest gun in comics.
Mythic, moody and a bit Malick-y, it brews an existential vibe you wouldn't typically associate with with such an indomitable, can-do icon. "He's lost his place in the world" reveals producer (and Zack's wife) Deborah Snyder. "He's trying to find himself". Although his circumstances are more fantastical than the norm - the whole superpowered, sent-from-the-stars thing - Cavill's character wrestles with some universal questions "What is my journey? What is my purpose? What am I supposed to do? Snyder relates. Facing these conundrums will bring us closer to Clark Kent, she reckons "we can't understand what it's like to have all these superpowers unless you relate to the more human aspects of the character. And if you can relate to him more, you're more engaged. He's not a squeaky-clean Boy Scout."
"He's not Batman-either" as Goyer us keen to stress. "Relatable and realistic doesn't necessarily mean dark" he states. " I think it would be inappropriate for us to approach a Superman film as if we're doing the Dark Knight. The Batman films are a lot more nihilistic; Superman has always been a story about hope". Reshaping the Man of Tomorrow for today's audiences this required a delicate balancing act. "We really wanted him to be warm" explains Charles Roven (another TDK trilogy veteran). "It's not an easy part to play, but Henry does an exemplary job hitting all those colours".
Clothes make the man, goes the old saying - but in Cavill's case, the man made the clothes. In the absence of a new (re)design (more on that later), the Brit-actor screen tested in Chris Reeve's old cossie. Striking in its day, a bit fancy dress now. Yet when Cavill emerged in the glaring get-up "no one laughed" remembers Deborah Snyder. "We knew, that this is the guy". Hubby agrees "it was like Stand back - Superman's here" says Zack Snyder. "If you can walk around in that thing, you're in pretty good shape".
Cavill brought a conviction to his audition but not he admits a surplus of Super-knowledge "having gone to boarding school, I didn't have a comic-book store nearby" he says of his early days "but as soon as I was cast in the movie, that's when I got my full, real introduction to Superman". "He watched the box set, read the comics, noting contracts aswell as key values - "the baseline" as he puts it - running through all incarnations. From there "I managed to piece together this character, maintaining that baseline and having all differences and nuances that our script adds". For all the background research, Man of Steel is no mish-mash. "This is our own thing, Stand-alone", he avers. "It's about Superman, but we're not copying from any one comic book in particular. And that's a good thing, because its an origin-story".
The plots awash in baseline elements; the planet Krypton; biological dad Jor-El (Russell Crowe); growing up as Clark Kent in Smallville; the Daily Planet; Lois Lane (Amy Adams)... David S Goyer worked up a list of "about 20 or 30 core characteristics" around which he built his script. the choice of villain came "pretty early on" he says, though his and Nolan's approach - as with Batman - was to thrash out a narrative then see which baddie fit best. "To an extent, it's a film about first contact, and about him deciding whether or not to embrace his Kryptonian heritage, so Zod was the logical choice. We really couldn't have used any other villain to tell this particular story"
Until now there's only been one General Zod: Terrence Stamp (Superman and 1980's Superman II)' who mustered menace despite looking like a Bee Gee in a space-age jumpsuit. That's about to change with Michael Shannon. He's about to terrorise, tyrannise and really get on Superman's tits. But don't call him a villain "He's not a villain" remarks Shannon. "He's not a villain anymore than any other General fighting to protect his people. He doesn't like to just hurt people and steal diamonds; he's focused on being successful at his job.". Which if Shannon's past roles are anything to go by - Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire; Take Shelter; take your pick - he'll pursue with bug eyed intensity.
But still, the modern Zod will be a shaded beast, not someone going full panto. "I think the way Terrence Stamp approached it - and this isn't any kind if criticism of his performance - there was something kind of detached about it" Shannon muses "Pure, hatred, rage, whatever... I think this [characterisation] is more ambiguous." As for the outfit, it's goodbye to the disco-wear and hello to more battle friendly armour - armour so hardy, it had to be realised in motion-capture "because the real thing would probably crush me".
Which brings us to Man of Steel's most radical, most refreshing, most eyebrow-raising twist on the legend: the binning of the undies. As with all things Superman, Christopher Reeve brought a manly nobility to wearing his pants on the outside. But the red briefs simply don't hold up in 2013. Mind you it was a struggle to get them off, according to Zack Snyder "When we started off I said, 'we need to try and keep the underwear as best we can" he recalls. "We went through many iterations, and eventually I said 'All right it's got to go. 'I tried. I really tried..."
The process of fashioning Supes a first look took roughly half a year, a symbol of Snyder and co's commitment to updating the mythos with ultra-care, (re)building a world that's true but new "we have absolute respect for what was then" assures Cavill. "But now is now. Even Superman in the new comics doesn't have the briefs - he has the red belt, but not the briefs. It's a time for a change". Its also time to ask "why?" Believes Zack Snyder, seeding a link between Man of Steel and his earlier adap of a DC property. "When you think about it, Watchmen is an essay on the 'Why? Of Superheroes" he argues "why we worship them and why that is? I feel versed in the why? Of Superheroes... Chris [Nolan] has that that's why he was interested in me doing this movie". Snyder promises a sense of sophistication previously unseen in a Superman movie.
Also in store is some very cool shit. No spoilers, but there are some major Smackdowns in store. "The action - WOW" gasps Goyer. "If you always wanted to see a movie where where Super Powered beings really go at it, you'll get it in this one".
