It’s it, it’s done and the two to play comicdon’s most recognizable superheros are:
Colin Farrell is BATMAN and Jude Law is SUPERMAN
Colin Farrell will be in the upcoming Daredevil as Bullseye and was just seen as Danny in Minority Report. Jude Law, well, many of you should know who he is. He's been in AI, The Talented Mr. Ripley and most recently, Road to Perdition. However, even though he's a very talented actor, he's a skinny runt of a guy - interesting to see how he "bulks" up for the role. I'm sure I'll hear more in San Diego.
Colin Farrell - good choice, IMHO, except I’ve always pictures Bruce Wayne to be a little older. But Jude Law? I agree on the muscles thing. I sure hope they don’t try to put him in one of those super hero “muscle suits” (remember the suit The Flash wore?). Thanks for the updates!
Which character was Danny in MR? I saw the movie but forgot the names. Jude Law as superman?! Maybe with a year of Bill Roberts’ help. I don’t know about that one.
Well, more than likely, Jude will probably get a Personal Trainer to get him to “get beeg” - and of course, receive some extra help from Vitamin S. Oh, but I’m just making assumptions…
I’d just like to put a word in here about how much I hate those muscle suits. I don’t care how cool and buffed the suit is, Micheal Keaton is NOT Batman. George Clooney either (even though he at least looks like he might win a fight against Jim Carrey).
I remember seeing Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk the first time, and I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes. Unbelievable - and it was really him!!
WIth all the buffed up bodies out there now, and all the wanna-be actors among the BB community, you’d think that someone would get a clue. Hiring an undiscovered, talented someone from one of the LA gyms would (a) save a huge amount of money in production costs and (b) let the viewers enjoy the flick without any of the movie star “associations” that come with a name actor. No one (outside of BBing) really knew Arnold before Conan, and the film was a success. A big success. So it can be done.
My votes for Batman & Superman? Micheal Hearn (dye his hair black) and Dennis Newman, respectively. Then you could actually have them take their shirts off without embarrassing themselves.
Oh, and an off-topic note: Has anyone seen that sci-fi flick with James Spader and Angela Bassett? (Can’t remember the title right off the top of my head…) Man, did THAT guy get buffed out in a hurry. And he used to be such a runt…! Anyway, good movie if you like SF…
I agree on the muscle suits: don’t use them. And as for Lou Ferrigno, just about everytime I’ve been at the Comic Con, he’s been there. And he’s still big. And a nice guy.
Hey, Char: the movie you're asking about is *drum roll*.....Supernova. The storyline had terrific promise as a good flick, but alas, went to video VERY quick.
Batman vs. Superman: One rather surprising rumour has sadly been shot down. Yesterday, Aint It Cool indicated 26-year old Irish actor Colin Farrell ("Minority Report") will be Batman and 29-year-old English actor Jude Law ("A.I.: Artificial Intelligence") is Superman. Not long after though, Warners denied the comments: "The roles have NOT been cast yet, they are still seeing other actors in casting next week. Jude Law and Colin Farrell are very definitely in the running but nothing has been locked yet"
Yeah, yeah - I betcha by Comic-Con, I'll be hearing a different story....
Interesting. I have alway felt that whoever played Batman should have a lean martial arts/gumnasts type build. And Superman, should have a heavier build but not too heavy (“My goodness, Clark where every did you get all those muscles” ;-)).
DK2 on newsstands next week, finally!!!
the Colin Farrell casting is perfect, but I don’t like the Jude Law. I wanted to see Christian Bale in this flick, the man has star potential coming out his ears he just needs a project like this to show case it. P.S. Tobey Maguire as Spiderman sucked.
Interesting that you mentioned Dennis Newman as one of your choices for a super hero role. I remember a while back him and Craig Titus did a pilot together for a TV show where both guys played the leads for some sort of undercover cop drama. Apparently they said it was shit canned because the producers thought they were too “big”. I don’t think for a minute it wouldn’t have anything to do with their acting ability, lol.
Seriously though, you didn’t like Michael Keaton as Batman. I thought he pulled off the role well. Maybe bouncing lines off Jack Nicholson as the Joker had something to do with that though.
Patricia, you would have to be one of the first people who has commented on Ferrigno being a nice guy. The popular consensus is that the guy is an asshole at the best of times. Oh and again, thanks for the info!!
I personally don’t want to see a bodybuilder in a role that is as mythical (lack of a better word) as Bruce Wayne/Batman or Clark Kent/Superman. Personally, I think the dude on the WB series, “Smallville” is fantastic. He captures the innocence and frustrations of a young Clark Kent beautifully. It’s called acting. Dennis Newman has a impessive physique, however, can the guy act? Why is Christopher Reeve’s portrayel of Clark Kent/Superman so memorable? Just watch the first Superman and watch how he was able to transform practically in mid sentence, from Superman to Clark Kent. Wow.
What Tim Burton was trying to do with his two Batmans was show Bruce Wayne's "conflict with dualities". I thought Michael Keaton portrayed that wonderfully. Well, in the first Batman, he had to deal with a overacting Jack Nicholson. In the second, I believe Michelle Pfeifer stole the movie. But Keaton was able to keep pace. And I think Tobey Macguire did a fantastic job as Peter Parker. Ya gotta think of this: It's Peter Parker as Spiderman. It's Peter Parker IN the Spidey suit. It's NOT Peter Parker and then Spiderman. Tobey was able to convey that through the movie. He carried it. Without a muscle suit - but with acting ability. Loads of acting ability (witness his great turn in "Wonderboys". VERY good movie).
Some of you may think this is wierd, but whenever I've read my comics, I useto envision my superheroes and their alter egos in three dimensions. X-Men had to deal with racism, Peter Parker dealt with being "different" or a "geek". I appreciate it when the movies look at them this way, too.
Patricia, you sound like a fanboy’s dream-girl. Movies, comics, weightlifting… I was wondering what you thought of anime- particularly the Japanese kind?
My wife (who is also incidentally a "fanboys dream-girl, lol) digs Anime, but in Australia our access to many titles for rental is restricted. Are there any good recent anime titles you would recommend by any chance.
Oh, and Ferrigno was probably nice nice to you 'cause he’s a “fanboy”, lol. And nice observation on the Batman movies as well. Though there was nothing in the world that could save that last stinker in it with Arnold as Mr Freeze. What a waste of time that was.
I disagree that Batman/Bruce Wayne should be a lean martial artist. While he shouldn’t be overly muscled, I think how he looks in the animated series would be good. Perhaps about 6’-6’2, around 210lbs-220lbs. He is a gymnast/martial artist/weight lifter, but only in what is necessary. He’s not a black belt in many styles. He take what he needs and moves on. Also, his look is part of the psychology of his character. He picked that Bat cause he felt that criminals were supersticious (yes, the spelling sucks) and you’re not gonna immediatly be afraid of a 6’2, 175 dude in PJs. Just my take. And I think if he worked out just a little, that would have been the only way Michael Keaton would have been better. I agree with Patricia on the duality of the character (which is ever present in Batman and made even more so by Frank Miller’s interpretations) and Keaton did that well. Actually, one of my favorite scenes from the first one is when he finally tells vicki vale, or actually, she shows up, and she finds out and at the end of their conversation, Bruce says “He’s out there, and I have to go to work.” As for superman, he’s obviously bigger than Bruce, so a bodybuilder would be great, but not the recent pros. Someone like Dave Draper or Arnold. But both those men are 6’2, so someone slightly taller, like Ralph Moeller from the Conan Series, even though his acting was a little off. And I liked Tobey Mcguire as spiderman. He did a much better job than I thought he would. He captured the insecure Peter Parker that had to deal with superpowers perfectly. The only person I had a problem with was Kirsten Dunst/Mary Jane. She just didn’t have Mary Jane’s personality. DOn’t get me wrong, she’s a cute girl and I enjoyed the rain scene, but she was a transplant red head and it came across. X-men however I give just an average movie rating to. I think it was great to so many people because it was a marvel comic adaption that didn’t crap out, but Blade did that already. I think the plot was decent, even though the script was from David Hayter (voice of Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid). The wolverine dude did better, even though, in my heart of hearts, I wanted them to put an ax to Eastwood’s shins to make him the right height. Who’s a better choice than that? Halle Berry was just the token chick. She didn’t capture the feel of storm. Angela Bassett would have been a much better choice. Mystique and toad were just filler roles. One because they just did not use ray park to his advantage and I’ve never liked toad, and two because I feel they underplayed Mystique. Cyclops I hated but then again, I’ve never liked the ruby quartz boy scout anyhow, so that’s just my bias. Ian Mckellan and Patrick Stewart you can never go wrong with.
Yeah, Lou was nice to me too, back in the day. I saw a more recent video of him though, at an expo of some sort, and he did come off as a bit arrogant. (Shrug.)
Patricia, I agree with your comments. It IS about the acting, and Michelle Pfeiffer DID steal the show. But think about why: she made a great Catwoman. Not only can she act, but she looked the part in the black latex.
Now I agree that Micheal Keaton is a very good actor, and I’ve liked him in almost everything that I’ve seen him in (which is a lot). But think about how much better the movie would have been if he were really buffed. Admit it: it’d’ve added a lot.
Did MK play Batman well? Yeah, he played Batman well. Someone more physically convincing could have been Batman, though, like Reeves was as Superman. (Hey, he was pretty buffed for the time.)
Can anyone imagine MK playing Conan?
Nope.
I agree that acting is just as important as, if not maybe more important than, physique considerations. So no argument there. But I think that there are probably some pretty decent actors out in the BB community, and it’s a shame that no one’s tapping that resource. I’m hard to satisfy: I want BOTH.
Wonderboys is fantastic, and I’m normally a Tobey Maguire fan, but i felt the entire film that he was miscast as Spiderman. Yes, I agree that when you cast for Spiderman you cast for Peter Parker, who was a dork in the comics etc. I just feel that Tobey Maguire is too dorky and squeaky. Wes Bentley I always felt was perfect for the role, I know I’m in the minority, but Maguire just never seemed right to me.
I’ve always personally thought that Shawn Ray would make a good actor. I’ve never heard him express any previous interest in acting, yet he seems to have the look, the attitude and verbal skills to make a good actor. Just a thought. He’s gotta be better than Ferrigno and the Barbarian Brothers.
Speaking of the Barbarian brothers, I know I’m drifting waaayyy off topic, but has anyone else checked the deleted scenes from Natural Born Killers? The Barbarian Brother’s did a humorous “Gold’s Gym” scene that ultimately got cut from the film. THEY are the sort of guys that give bodybuilding actors a bad name.
Random: Australia, huh. I met a really nice couple from Australia last year at the Comic Con. They have had a few comics of theirs published (in Australia), but they go to Comic Con every year to attempt to break into larger comic book markets. Their stuff was really good. Wish I had written down their name. As for anime. I do love the classic, AKIRA. Ghost in the Shell was beautiful and just a marvel in terms of art. The story, though was too long and way too detailed for me to even care for the main character. Anime is becoming huge (if not already) in San Diego during Comic Con. There's always a couple of huge booths (and several smaller ones) filled with anime of Japanese studios. Due to Ko, I'm becoming more familiar with anime! But anime is truly a wonderful art form. The GOOD anime - I know you know what I mean.
Bronx: I don't think Bruce Wayne/Batman should be a martial artist. Here's the root of my thinking. The issues of Detective Comics that I have (from over 20-years ago) depict Batman not with a abundance of muscle, but with more of an "athletic" build. It's only recently that artists have been depicting a more muscle bound Batman. And yeah, I had a problem with Kirsten Dunst as MJ. However, I thought that Peter Parker/Spidey was the best casted part in the movie. As for X-Men, what was such a joy was that Bryan Singer looked at the characters in a more serious mode, unlike what Joel Schumacher did for the last two Batman flicks. Schumacher should just direct really gay Broadway shows. That's what he's suited for. and yes, Blade took it's material rather seriously. I just didn't like the Stephen Dorff as Frost casting. Plus Blade wasn't based on a 30-year old comic like X-Men. What X-Men had against it was a studio very unsure about this material being "box office" so, it was only willing to shell out little $$ for the making of and it wanted the movie edited down to LESS than two hours running time. NOW, the tune is different: and you can be sure that X-Men 2, or X2, is gonna be BEEG. From what I've seen and read - X2 is gonna be GREAT. More screen time for Ororo/Storm. And yes, Halle Berry didn't have much to do before. That's gonna change in X2. But there is a great battle at Xavier's Mansion with ALL the X-men and students (including Rogue, Pyro, Bobby Drake/Iceman, Kitty Pryde, Colossus AND Nightcrawler, to name a few) getting involved. I'll be seeing a sneak peak down in San Diego and will report....
Char: good points. You have to admit, that out of all the actors that have portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman, Keaton has been the best. I still wouldn't put a bodybuilder as Batman, however for Superman? Possibility. The Man of Steel should be rather mus-kellee. You know? Someone I know...*cough, cough*Demo*cough cough*, wants Patrick Warburton for Superman. Warburton is best known as either Elaine's boyfriend (on Steinfeld) or The Tick. Still thinking on that one. What the studio wants right now are two young actors for Batman/Superman so that a NEW arch is begun. This arch would lead into other movies (Batman: Year One, etc). Personally, Colin Farrell is perfect for Bruce Wayne. I'm still shaking my head at Jude Law.
