With secretive studios eager to hide the plot details of as-yet-un-produced scripts and hyper-aggresive agents trying to get the names of their clients out in the press no matter what the context, Hollywood casting derbies are reaching news heights of misdirection and absurdity.  Hot on the heels of insider reports of five prominent actresses reading for the role of Lois Lane (see “The Search for Lois Lane”), comes a report in typically authoritative Variety that three other actresses are being considered for the “female lead” in Superman--and that the role they are vying for is “not Lois Lane.”

All three of the actresses cited in the Variety piece, Rosamund Pike, Alice Eve, and Diane Kruger are blondes, which suggests that Variety’s contention that the role is not the traditionally brunette Lois Lane is correct, though changing hair color is certainly no major challenge for Hollywood’s makeup wizards.

Could the role be that of Lana Lane?  While it has been rumored that director Zack Snyder’s Superman movie is a reboot of sorts and could therefore contain a Smallville component, it seems unlikely that very much of the movie  would take place in an arena that has been covered at such length on the small screen in the long-running Smallville TV series.

Certainly the three actresses cited by Variety have considerable screen experience, though none of them is well-known enough to have what Variety says the studio fears, “a name that could overshadow its leading man.”  Rosamund Pike was a Bond girl in Die Another Day, played a supporting role in An Education and starred opposite Bruce Willis in Surrogates.  Diane Kruger was in both National Treasure movies as well as Inglourious Basterds. Alice Eve, who starred in She’s Out of My League, has the shortest resume, but she has been considered for roles in a number of major films including Captain America: The First Avenger.