Brian Jacoby of Secret Headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida read the recent news of Zack Snyder directing the new Superman movie (see "Zack Snyder to Direct 'Superman'") and penned this open letter to the director.
Here is an open letter to Zack Snyder regarding his directing the new Superman film:
Dear Mr. Snyder,
I love Superman, and I'm excited that you have been chosen to direct the next Superman film. There have been good Superman films in the past, and bad Superman films in the past. Due to your involvement with Watchmen and 300, I expect your film to be one of the good ones.
I do have one request. Don't spend more than 5 minutes on Superman's origin. Everyone knows what it is:
"Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound. ("Look! Up in the sky!" "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" "It's Superman!")... Yes, it's Superman... strange visitor from another planet who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men! Superman... who can change the course of mighty rivers, bend steel in his bare hands, and who, disguised as Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper, fights a never-ending battle for truth, justice, and the American way!"
That's the opening to the old Adventures of Superman TV show in the 1950s.
Most of the details of his origin are unimportant. We don't need to know which of his parents are dead or alive, unless it impacts the rest of the movie. We don't need to know if his dog was rocketed to Earth also, unless he's in the rest of the movie. We don't need to know if he had his powers at birth, or if they grew over time, unless it's important to the rest of the movie.
Everyone knows some version of the Man of Steel's origin. The details vary from telling to telling, but the essentials are always the same:
"Doomed Planet. Desperate Scientists. Last Hope. Kindly Couple."
That's the opening to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's masterpiece All Star Superman from just a few years ago. That's all that's told about his origin in the series, because that's all anyone needs to know to enjoy it.
I'd love to see your film give us the essentials, and then move on to tell a story that we haven't seen in a movie before. We all know how he became Superman. Show us how he is Superman.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
'An Open Letter'
Posted by ICv2 on October 5, 2010 @ 11:00 pm CT
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