Henry Cavill

Twenty-seven year-old Henry Cavill, who is known for his role Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors, has been selected to play Clark Kent/Superman in the new Superman movie to be directed by Zack Snyder, under Warner Bros. Studios.

“In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is the most recognized and revered character of all time, and I am honored to be a part of his return to the big screen,” Snyder says in the release. “I also join Warner Bros., Legendary and the producers in saying how excited we are about the casting of Henry. He is the perfect choice to don the cape and S shield.”

The film is expected to become a box-office hit in December 2012. David S. Goyer is writing the script, based on a story by Goyer and Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight and Inception, who is among the movie’s producers.

Well, a year of fast tracked story and script development with Chris Noland and David Goyer, a long list of directors ending with Zack Snyder being announced to helm the project a few months ago and now a new star for Superman: Man Of Steel. Henry Cavill has landed the role of Superman and Clark Kent in the new Warner Brothers studio, his most known work is THE TUDORS as Charles Brandon.   He’s played parts in HELLRAISER: HELLWORLD, TRISTON + ISOLDE, STARDUST and he’ll be playing Theseus in the upcoming IMMORTALS.

The official announcement should be coming sometime next week from Warner and I’m sure all the Fan boys and girls will be arguing about this one for months to come. Filming for Man Of Steel kicks off in  June in Vancouver Canada( the same venue as Snyder’s Watchmen film)

Looking forward to see Snyder’s take on old Sup. Hope it is better that the last couple at least.

Till Next Time. Stay Tuned.

J.

Warner Brothers announced today that English actor Henry Cavill, best known as Charles Brandon on Showtime’s The Tudors, will don the primary colors of Zack Snyder’s Superman

credit- iFanboy and Superherohype

Cavill, 27, also appeared in Matthew Vaughan’s Stardust in the role of Humphrey. Coincidentally, his Tudors season one co-star Callum Blue played Zod on TV’s Smallville.

It just so happens that I started watching The Tudors quite recently. Cavill commands a powerful presence as Henry VIII’s friend and advisor. He’s more handsome that anyone has any right to be, and exhibits just the kind of gravitas you’d want from a Superman. It’s very early, but on paper, this seems like an inspired choice. 

The project is slated to hit theaters in December 2012.

Welcome to your mid-week edition of The PopuList, MiddBlog’s bi-weekly feature that offers readers five links around the web which highlight current affairs in pop culture, news, and politics.

“Building a Better Superman” (Hugh Hart, Underwire)
The much anticipated follow-up in the Superman films has found a director in Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen). He divides critics and audience alike with his highly aestheticized movies, but perhaps we should trust in Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), whom is producing the film. Wired’s Underwire blog identifies what Snyder can bring to the table, and one suggestion sounds especially good: Jon Hamm (Mad Men‘s Don Draper) as Clark Kent himself.

“Hillary Clinton’s world eyes 2016, not vice president” (Ben Smith and Maggie Haberman, POLITICO)
Smith and Haberman note recent rumors about the Secretary of State’s plan to replace Joe Biden in 2012, but takes this hearsay and turns it on its head to suggest she’ll be aiming for the throne: “The renewed buzz around Clinton’s prospects, though, has been driven by the political weaknesses of Obama and Biden. Fanned by a media eager for conflict and fascinated by all things Clinton, the spark for the notion of Clinton’s return to politics comes from her original argument against Obama.”

“Zuckerberg on ‘Biggest Problem in Social Networking’” (Ben Parr, Mashable)
Today, Facebook announced they would be rolling out three new features: profile data portability, a dashboard for application control, and a more collaborative version of Groups featuring group chat. Zuckerberg admitted the challenge of balancing the information sharing and overload: “‘Right now, the world isn’t there yet,’ he said about solving the problem of defining groups in the social graph. ‘It’s not as defined as it needs to be.’”

“Democrats Look to Cultivate Pot Vote in 2012″ (Peter Wallsten, WSJ)
The voter turnout in California over Proposition 19, which would legalize small amounts of marijuana, has led Democratic strategists to consider making it the “wedge” social issue in the 2012 elections: “Democratic strategists liken the marijuana effort to the 2004 ballot drives to ban gay marriage in Ohio and 10 other states.” But as my friend Peter “Wren” Huston eloquently states: “Some people don’t like weed.”

“Can Pyongyang pull off smooth succession?” (Peter M. Beck, The Korea Herald)
Beck, an international affairs fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations in Japan, discusses the succession of Kim Jong-il heir apparent: youngest son Kim Jong-un. He predicts that we may see collective rule shared among several high-ranking members after Kim Jong-il’s death, likening it to a North Korean version of China’s “Gang of Four.” Extending the China metaphor: “If there is a North Korean Deng Xiaoping, he will likely have to wait.”

Bonus video after the break: If Jersey Shore was an old Super Nintendo video game…

[via CollegeHumor]

Looks like Warner has finally picked Zack Snyder to direct their Christopher Nolan produced, David Goyer Scripted Superman flick.

Snyder (300, Watchmen, Suckerpunch, Legend Of Guardians: The Owl of Ga’Hoole ) beat out a long line of candidates for the job. Ben Affleck, Darren Aronofsky, Matt Reeves, Tony Scott and Robert Zemeckis were also rumored to be in the running according to a number of sources. The only few details on the movie so far are that Brandon Routh,who dawned the cape in 2006′s Superman Returns, will not be returning for this one and that the rumored villain may be General Zod, who was previously played by Terrance Stamp in 1980 ‘s Superman 2.

I think Snyder could definitely made a kick ass Superman movie.  I liked all his previous efforts so far, he always has great kinetic action sequences that look at action in a unique way. I’m more looking forward to Superman now that we know that a strong director is aboard the project. Just wondering now if Snyder will do Xerxes (300 sequel) first, which have rumored to be booking stage space here  in Vancouver already. Most likely he will be shooting one while prepping the other, Zack is a true workhorse. Will  definitely be keeping my eye on this one…

till next time

J.

We’re back everybody, and we return to the news that Zack Snyder has come aboard the new Superman film, which is either great news or horrible news depending on whether or not you think he’s worth a shit as a director. Personally, I think he’s a great visuals guy, kind of like the digital-age Tim Burton, where everything looks amazing but ultimately the content isn’t all that great.

Luckily, Snyder is working off a script from the Nolans, which should be nearly impossible to screw up. With his visuals accompanying what I assume will be a bang-up screenplay, we may actually get a truly unique film version of the man of steel.

He spoke to Deadline earlier and was quotes as saying; ““I’ve been a big fan of the character for a long time, he’s definitely the king of all superheroes, he’s the one. It’s early yet, but I can tell you that what David (Goyer) and Chris (Nolan) have done with the story so far definitely has given me a great insight into a way to make him feel modern. I’ve always felt he was kind of awesome. I’ll finish ‘Sucker Punch’ and get right at it.” Which to me, gives off the impression that no matter what happens this thing isn’t going to feel like the Donner or Singer versions one bit at all. A part of that comes from the fact that according to Snyder, they will not be bringing back Brandon Routh to fill out the cape.

Now comes the part where everyone argues on the internet for two years before the movie even comes out. I’m going to ignore all of it and go watch porn, because fanboy whining is getting old but I never get tired of watching two girls make out in a jacuzzi.

From their report:
“As broken on The Hollywood Reporter’s Heat Vision blog, Warner Bros. Pictures has tapped director Zack Snyder to helm the next big screen installment of its “Superman” franchise. Snyder reportedly beat out a wide-ranging list of potential directors including Darren Aronofsky and Tony Scott.”

I suppose out of all those names being thrown around, Snyder was the most known contender when it came to comic book movies. Despite the fact that I didn’t find either “300″ or “Watchmen” to be all that great, a lot of people seemed to really like them. Especially people who, unlike me, aren’t already comic fans with their own expectations and opinions.

Of course, in some ways, both those books were unknown quantities among the general population, whereas everybody knows who Superman is. And even with script and production courtesy of the successful “Batman Begins” team of David S Goyer and Christopher Nolan, some people might still be weary of Snyder or, more importantly, nervous after Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” from a couple of years ago. I know I am.

Either way, it looks like Warner Bros is finally starting to kick things into high gear with the DC Comics media franchises it’s been sitting on or misusing for decades now. Should be very interesting to see where things go next, especially with regards to their upcoming Wonder Woman project.

“ I‘ve been a big fan of the character for a long time, he’s definitely the king of all superheroes, he’s the one. It’s early yet, but I can tell you that what David (Goyer) and Chris (Nolan) have done with the story so far definitely has given me a great insight into a way to make him feel modern. I’ve always felt he was kind of awesome. I’ll finish ‘Sucker Punch’ and get right at it.”

With the writers of the latest Batman trilogy, this has to be pretty bad to go wrong. Pretty much anything Christopher Nolan has ever touched has yet to disappoint. Though I am nowhere near a fan of Superman (character or the films), I will have to check this out. I have enjoyed Snyder’s films (up until his most recent animated flick) and very much look forward to Sucker Punch. Snyder beat out a number of directors including Tony Scott (Man on Fire), Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Cloverfield), Duncan Jones (Moon), and apparently Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler).

This will be a very interesting project to keep an eye on, with Nolan being a stickler for keeping things based as much in reality as possible, and Snyder’s flat-out tendency to not care for realism. To me, this would be Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) teaming with Neveldine/Taylor (the Crank films). So we will see how this all turns out, as this new Superman reboot will be closely watched and highly anticipated, especially given the talent involved.

So now that we have a director, who do you guys think should play Superman? And is this a good choice for director? Personally, I would love to see Tom Hardy as Superman, he definitely could pull off both roles.

Nolan and co-producer Emma Thomas have been looking for potential directors to helm this project and have released a short list of people they’d like to see involved. From Deadline:

Unstoppable‘s Tony Scott, Let Me In director Matt Reeves, Battle: Los Angeles helmerJonathan Liebesman (who just got the Warner Bros/Legendary job of directing Clash of the Titans 2), Duncan Jones, who just directed Source Code, and Sucker Punch helmer Zack Snyder.

I’m unfamiliar for the most part on everyone except for Tony Scott and Zack Snyder, but I’m not entirely sure how the film would turn out with either of them directing. I’ve got faith in Nolan, but only time will tell for this one.

The Los Angeles Times‘ observant and opinionated journalist Steve Lopez is often irritating but always honest about life in the city of angels. In Sunday’s paper Lopez recounts his visit last Friday to A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. Duffy reacted negatively, as would be expected, to the L.A. Timesrecent investigation and values-added formula analysis of teachers. Los Angeles Times published on its website a database of names and grades of teachers in the L.A. Unified School District , the largest in the nation in terms of students. Duffy organized a march by union members at the Los Angeles Times building and even canceled his subscription to the Times in protest.

But Duffy and his colleagues at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA) haven’t seen anything yet. When they and their members get a look at Oscar-winning director David Guggenheim’s (“An Inconvenient Truth“) new documentary, “Waiting for Superman,” they may well get angry, too, but hopefully for the right reasons.

Click here to continue reading Waiting for Superman review

Here is John Legend singing the song SHINE that he wrote for WAITING FOR SUPERMAN:

Oprah interviews Michelle Rhee, School Chancellor, Washington, DC

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Michelle-Rhee-Talks-About-Evaluating-Teachers-Video

Related Articles

• Paramount’s “Waiting for ‘Superman’” reaches goal of 50k pledges (hollywoodnews.com)
• Hugh Hewitt: “Waiting for Superman” (hughhewitt.com)
• “Waiting for Superman” and related posts (artofteachingscience.org)
• 60,000 people pledge to see “Waiting for ‘Superman’” (hollywoodnews.com)
• How ‘Waiting for “Superman”‘ Will Further Fuel the Education Debate (nymag.com)

And in a way, it is this that makes the phone-booth scene in the Superman movie work. It’s a brief, very amusing acknowledgement of the characters mythology. Clark Kent needs to quickly change into Superman, and so – as is tradition – he heads to a booth make the switch. However, the plan comes to naught when he finds his preferred box-styled booth has been replaced by a kiosk. And so modernity once again defeats the Caped Crusader.

Superheroes

• Confettiman: Shoots confetti like Spiderman.
• Genulaughman: Makes courtesy laughs sound sincere to the person telling a corny joke.
• Temprighture: Dips his finger into a drink and makes the drink the perfect temperature to sip.
• Radioman: Can tune the radio perfectly to the station for the clearest signal.

Supervillians

• Tablerocker: Walks into a room, and one leg of every table and chair is slightly shorter than the other three, making it wobble.
• Tiltawirl: Walks into museum, and makes all the paintings slightly crooked.
• The Sneeze: When he looks at you, you sneeze every time you say the word “the.”
• Snortman: When he tells a joke, everyone who laughs, inadvertently snorts.
• Awkward Introduction man: Can’t decide whether to handshake or hug.

Not quite sure

• Caralarmer: Sets of the alarm of every vehicle he walks past.
• Rhymeman: Everyone in the room speaks in rhymes.
• Popeye: In his presence, a faint “pop” noise can be heard any time anyone blinks.
• Gollyman: Every time he points at you, you say, “Golly!”

Following the colossal successes of The Dark Knight Returns and Iron Man this past summer, there’s a bit of a gold rush to get comic book adaptations finished and into theatres. This week a lot of the buzz was about casting: Don Cheadle will replace Terrence Howard in the Iron Man sequel, while rumors circulated that Warner Brothers wants Ryan Gosling (Lars and The Real Girl) to lead the upcoming Green Lantern movie and Brandon Routh to play Superman again when and if that film takes flight. Beyond casting announcements, the venerable Internet Movie Database shows film adaptations of Thor, The Flash, The Metal Men, Captain America and others in various stages of development. The Hugh Jackman-led X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens next May, and the Punisher: War Zone sequel arrives this December.

This image has nothing to do with the article. Its just too strange not to share.

Yet, for every attempt that hit its box office or audience reception target, there are probably three adaptations that tanked, fell victim to small budgets, or just couldn’t garner public interest. The following list is only a sampling of the projects that took their place in the “also ran” category. We’re sure a few are sentimental favorites to forigiving fans of their respective inspirations. (We like The Flash TV series.) Some aren’t bad, considering their limited resources, and some had unrealized potential. And one or two are terrible. But they’re all from comic books, for better or worse.

Sable (TV series) Premiered November 1987; lasted seven episodes. Based on the First Comics series by longtime Green Arrow writer-artist Mike Grell, Sable followed the exploits of freelance mercenary Jon Sable (Lewis Van Bergen) who worked days as an author of children’s books. Rene Russo, very early in her career, played his girlfriend Eden Kendall. The clip below shows its noirish promise, even if the show’s “alpha dog adventurer helps client of the week” conceit seems kinda passe now.

Steel (Movie) Released August 15, 1997; total U.S. box office: $1.7 million. In his own DC Comics series and in the Justice League comics and cartoon, Steel is a brilliant engineer and inventor who dedicates himself to defending good after Superman saves his life. So what better “actor” to convey such intellectual and moral strength than human marketing technique Shaquille O’Neal? Judd Nelson played the bad guy, while Richard Roundtree (Shaft) appeared as Uncle Joe. Though admittedly the film carried a modest $16 million budget, “Shaq Steel” still looks as if he swallowed an electromagnet and walked through a junkyard.

Dr. Strange (TV movie) Premiered September 6, 1978. Clad in a snaredrum-tight Disco perm and piles of gold jewelry, New York psychiatrist Stephen Strange (Peter Hooten) trains to be Earth’s new “Sorcerer Supreme” and rescue a young woman from the evil sorceress Morgan LeFay (Arrested Development’s Jessica Walter). Intended as the pilot to a television series that never happened, it featured Marvel Comics’ honcho Stan Lee as a consultant.

Supergirl (Movie) Released November 21, 1984; total U.S. Box Office: $15 million. For years the poster child for misbegotten comic adaptations, Supergirl was rushed into production after the success of the first two Superman films but struggled for distribution after Superman III flopped. Nevertheless, expanded versions released on DVD have clarified its choppily-edited story and somewhat repaired its reputation. Peter O’Toole, Mia Farrow, and Faye Dunaway overweigh the supporting cast, while underused 80s actress Helen Slater (Ruthless People) makes her debut as super-cousin Kara Zor-El.

Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV Movie) Premiered May 26, 1998. A decade before Samuel L. Jackson’s cameo in Iron Man, David Hasellhoff starred in this low budget TV movie about Marvel Comics’ Man from U.N.C.L.E. riff Nick Fury. The superspy and his former love Valentine Fontaine (Lisa Rinna) take on rival organization HYDRA for possession of a deadly virus. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight scribe David Goyer wrote the scrpt. The Hoff plays the hyper-macho Fury as… The Hoff with an eyepatch. Watch how S.H.I.E.L.D.’s flying headquarters looks like a basement steam room somewhere. (actual video begins about 23 seconds into clip.)

The Flash (TV Series) Premiered September 20, 1990; lasted 21 episodes. CBS brought the Scarlet Speedster to the small screen apparently motivated by the runaway success of Batman the year before. A TV movie pilot got the family-friendly series off and running, but constant schedule shifts and pre-emptions for Gulf War news coverage kept it from building an audience. Still, The Flash’s (John Wesley Shipp) costume has aged well, as have the special effects. The script quality suffered as the season wore on, however, though fan favorite guests stars like Mark Hamill, Tim Thomerson and Jeffrey Combs frequently livened things up. The series is even collected in a no-frills DVD package.

Captain America (TV movie) Premiered January 19, 1979. An attempt to update the character for the Evil Kenievel/motorcycle years of the 70s, this adaptation featured the original Captain America’s son trying to stop terrorists from detonating a hydrogen bomb on Phoenix, Arizona. There’s almost nothing about the clip below that doesn’t feel dated, especially the ersatz Cap’s costume and the long, loving takes of motorcycle stunts. A sequel TV movie, released just eleven months later, offered a comparatively more comics-accurate uniform and included Christopher Lee as its villain.

Monday we’ll have our review of Oliver Stone’s W. Have a super weekend.

- Michael Kabel

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