From his message board, Mark Millar says he’ll do a new Superman script completely for free.

It’s 8.58am right now, my guys at CAA get into the office in about seven hours and my call will be waiting for them to talk about this. I want to revamp Superman like Hillary wants thin ankles. Revamping this franchise is what I as given fingers for and so, invited or not, I’m putting my plan together now. I’ve been asked to work on half a dozen screenplays lately, but this is the only one I have ever truly wanted.

As most here know, I have literally hundreds of pages of notes and sketches just waiting for this opportunity. This would be my dream gig and, as a fan, I know exactly what this project needs to work. This has to be Superman for the 21st Century, keeping everything we adore, but starting from scratch and making the kids love it as much as the 30-somethings. I would honestly write this thing for free.

Anyway, my treatment is being polished as we type. Wish me luck. I want to do that Superman movie we all want to see.

ARE YOU LISTENING H’WOOD? Talk about getting around that whole writer’s strike thing…

Nope, didn’t think so.

via Millarworld

According to Variety Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris have decided not to return to write the sequel to the Superman Returns movie.  Opted not to return, or asked not to return?  Considering the negative criticism the film received from movie goers, this sounds like a great PR stunt to let them bow out gracefully.

A potential writer’s strike is just days away, leaving the WB scrambling for new writers while at the same time trying to figure out who will play Superman in the Justice League movie.

Marvel Studios is adopting that let’s-try-again strategy with “The Hulk” at Universal, hoping a new pic, starring Edward Norton, will launch a franchise that Ang Lee’s 2003 actioner failed to do.

But WB denies such plans and said next pic would be a sequel with Brandon Routh likely to wear the “S” on his chest again. Legendary Pictures is co-developing and co-financing the project.

Think you can write a better script?  Better get your agent on the phone today.

via Variety

In an excellent interview with DC’s Main Man in Hollywood Gregory Novek, Voices from Krypton ask why Welling won’t be Superman in the JLA movie.

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 use Brandon Routh again.
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.

Head over to the website for more on why it’s a good idea for Tom Welling to move on, and what role Novek has in what gets put into the movies, and what doesn’t.

via Voices From Krypton

Gotta love Clark’s sense of humor. Especially since he (as Superman) and Big Barda starred in a Sleez produced porno.

You know those guys that hang out on Hollywood Boulevard in superhero costumes so you can take pictures? Turns out there is a documentary about them, directed by Matt Ogens.

Pic chronicles the alternately poignant and amusing paths of the struggling actors who pay the bills by playing superheroes on Hollywood Boulevard. Central characters are Batman, Superman, the Hulk and Wonder Woman.

Now there’s a crossover you probably didn’t expect to see…

The film will screen at AFI in October.

via Variety

Things appear to be getting worse at DC as it sent out yet another notice about changes to the Superman title. Everything is getting shuffled around again, but at least we’ll get to see the end of the Camelot Falls arc - in November.

Sigh… I constantly pull for you, DC, I really do. Fortunately, I don’t read that much Superman stuff, so it isn’t affecting me that much, but really…

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Engrish.com found this product for sale.  I think it’s funny, mainly because I know I get made fun of when I try and speak another language.

via Engrish.com

DC Comics has announced some scheduling issues with Superman Confidential. First up is issue #6 that was supposed to be the final chapter of the Kryptonite storyline, written by Darwyn Cooke and illustrated by Tim Sale, will now appear in a future issue of Superman Confidential.

This also means the Kryptonite Hardcover has been canceled and will be resolicited at a later date.

Take the jump for a break down of the next four issues of Confidential.

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Over at the Bluetights.net, a fan ran into screenwriter Mike Dougherty and questioned him on the next film.

I asked him if he was apart of the sequal because everything I have seen says Singer and Harris are writing the script and that he isn’t mentioned. He confirmed that he is writing it with the two just like the last picture. I then expressed to him that I was hoping the delays of Superman: The Man of Steel weren’t true. He said that they were on track and that the goal is still to have the movie out in the Summer of 2009. He seemed a little hesitant about it but did his best to try and reassure that it will get done by then. I asked if he could give any more info on the film. He responded, “There are TWO villains,” and he smiled.

Interestingly the scooper claims s/he recognized Dougherty out of a crowd and approached him out of the blue. I’ve only just recently seen a (one) picture of the dude, and doubt I would remember his mug if I sat across from him on the bus, so some of this seems a little iffy. However, I have heard other rumors of multiple villains in the next film. We already know Spacey is returning as Lex Luthor, which leaves us with one other spot to fill. I’m personally hoping for a Animated Series-esque Brainiac.

via Bluetights.net

Variety this morning confirms the Lois and Clark star will be heading to Smallville this fall. He is set to play Dr. Curtis Knox - a villain.

He is scheduled to appear in episode four of Smallville’s 7th season, which begins September 27.

Well, I’m sure there are a lot of Dean Cain fans out there who are going to love this. Of all the Supermen to don the tights, I always thought Cain in his prime fit the part near perfectly. Of course now he’s looking a bit pudgy, so playing a villain is probably the best way to go. It’s also too bad he’s only scheduled - for now - for one episode.

via Variety

Rumors on the Internet this morning have Dean Cain in talks with the producers of the CW’s Smallville seiries.

There’s no word on what role Dean Cain would play on the show. For those not in the know, Cain played Clark Kent/Superman in the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Back in the 90’s I really enjoyed watching Lois & Clark, one because it was a Superman related show, and two because Terri Hatcher looked soooooo much better back then. The first two seasons were really good, but the show seemed to go downhill after that. The only thing I’ve seen Cain in recently has been the Ripley’s Believe It or Not show on TBS.

What do you think? Should Cain be on Smallville? After all, they did bring in another Superman not too long ago, and other semi-famous actors have been popping up on the show in the last couple of seasons. It’s too bad George Reeves isn’t alive, they could have him on too.

via comics2film.com

Huh…Who would have guessed a kid, a costume, some cheap green screen work, and words put to one of the best theme songs would turn out like this.

Word on the Interweb is Kevin Spacey will reprise his role as Lex Luthor in Superman: Man of Steel, set for a 2009 release.

Spacey hopes to shoot his Luthor role in a six-week block, as he did on “Superman Returns,” after he completes his run in David Mamet’s “Speed the Plow” in April.

I really really hope Lex Luthor in Man of Steel is not the central villain. I’m sick and tired of a watered down Lex Luthor in films. We need Braniac, a Parasite, a Darkseid. Heck, I’d be happy with a giant space gorilla. The film needs a bad guy Superman can really go toe to toe with.

Don’t be surprised if you also see less and less of Spacey as time goes by.

“My priorities have changed,” he admitted on the phone from London. “Theater is the No. 1 thing in my life. But I love movies and will continue to make movies when I can.”

via Variety

The Superman Doomsday direct to DVD animated movie is scheduled to arrive in stores on September 28, 2007, but until then you can head over to the official website to check out all sorts of goodness, including this sizzle reel.

via Superman Doomsday

Where it all began

This week Major Spoilers celebrates its first birthday! Woohoo! While Major Spoilers may be one year old this week, my love of comics began way back 1981. We were on a family vacation - you know the kind of vacation where you pack everyone into a camper and travel the highways and byways of this great country seeing the sites. I believe it was the summer we did the old west tour of Deadwood, Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Tetons, and of course Frontier Days in Cheyenne. It was on one of the many gas/restroom breaks, that I spied a comic book on the magazine rack that not only had Superman on the cover, but Batman and Robin too. I begged my parents to spend a whole dollar to buy this 48-page special, and I spent the remainder of the trip reading and re-reading this issue trying to make sense of everything inside. So to celebrate Major Spoilers Birthday Week - I bring you our Retro Review of World’s Finest #271.

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