The Dotted Logline

If I had read more articles as fun as this little beauty, I might not have spent so many years thinking that journalism was utterly boring. This article had me in stitches. It’s written as a letter from Wolverine to Superman about Bryan Singer possibly directing the long-delayed Superman movie. I need to look up more about the writer, Joal Ryan. Some of my favorite quotes:

“But you–you conniving Kryptonian–you pretend you’re all about truth, justice and the American way, when all you’re really about is getting back on the big screen anyway, anyhow.”

“Superman, you are like the messed-up hot chick who can’t keep a guy… Got quite a collection of ex-suitors there, don’t you? (Say, do you keep their pictures on a wall in the Fortress of Solitude–maybe next to your Lois Lane shrine?–you nutball stalker.)”

“P.S.: Superman III sucked.
P.P.S.: Superman IV sucked worse.”

As for the subject of the article, I would be disappointed if Bryan Singer didn’t helm X-Men 3 due to a Superman movie. Aside from never having been much of a Superman fan (he’s just too Super… I like heroes with more humanity and angst), X2 might just be my favorite comic book movie to date. I felt that it had the closest-to-perfect blend of action and emotional conflict I’ve seen on the big screen (much better than a certain arachnid everyone seems to be obsessed with.) And with the ending of X2 being what it was, the third movie has a lot to live up to.

From what I’ve heard of about Bryan Singer, he seems to be a great director to work with. In commentaries and such for the two X-Men movies, those who worked with him couldn’t seem to give him enough praise. I really like the following comment he made in one of the featurettes on the X2 extras DVD:

“A film is not like a book or a painting. A film is made by thousands of people. And I’m kind of a funnel through which all their talents pass. So in that sense, it could be called my vision, but it’s really my vision of their visions.”

I very much like his way of putting it. With so much focus on movies “belonging” to the director (hooray for auteur theory), it’s nice to hear a director genuinely acknowledge the other creative input into a film while not diminishing his own role at the helm.

I was reading a Yahoo! News article about I, Robot pushing Spider-Man 2 out of the top spot this weekend when I came across a stunningly idiotic quote by Fox President of Domestic Distribution, Bruce Snyder:

“There’s a coldness to the science-fiction genre, but Will Smith brings a warmth to it and makes it palatable for the ladies.”

I won’t argue that the scientific/technical focus of science fiction can draw attention away from the more human aspects. The old stereotype of sci-fi=masculine and fantasy=feminine probably does hold some relevance in terms of ticket sale demographics. And I do like Will Smith. I think he’s talented, funny, not unattractive, and one of the more decent human beings in Hollywood.

But really, “palatable for the ladies”? Wouldn’t something along the lines of “more appealing to the female demographic that the typical movie in this genre” have been better? I’m sure you’re happy about the surprisingly good performance of I, Robot Mr. Snyder, but next time, think before you speak. Some of us ladies might find what you say more palatable if you do.

As for I, Robot, I’m a little torn about seeing it. I adore the director, Alex Proyas. His last big feature, Dark City, is quite possibly my favorite movie ever. But I have bad associations with one of the screenwriters, Akiva Goldsman, the man behind the horrors Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. And oh, what horrors they were…