Re: The Official 'Man Of Steel' Non-News Thread

[Apologist Puncher]

Interview with Joe Letteri, Visual Effects Supervisor:

[thecolorsblend]

New trailer, new facebook covers. Make it so.

[thecolorsblend]

Oh yes, and this goes in the non-news thread because I don't think some asshole making facebook pictures from trailer screen caps fits any definition of the word "news". If you disagree, well, I'm sure being wrong is nothing new for you.

[thecolorsblend]

I have the same outlook on the lack of marketing for MOS as most of you. I've even floated the black helicopter conspiracy theory that WB is mostly making the movie to abide by a court ruling; left to their own devices, Superman would still be on ice. They don't want this and they never did.

But a friend made a suggestion that I hadn't considered. He said that between Bryan Singer's stupid web journals, the magazine cover stories, the litany of teasers, TV spots, trailers, tie-ins and other shit, the public was basically shown everything Singerman had to offer (inasmuch as it had anything at all to offer) weeks (or months) before the movie even came out. This friend suggested that this approach is what WB is trying to avoid this time around. They don't want to tip their hand like last time.

The argument has flaws. For starters, it's my view that audiences didn't reject Singerman because they'd seen most of it before the movie opened. They rejected it because they simply weren't interested in it. It's as simple as that. But, my friend argues, WB's alleged opinion about the marketing doesn't have to be true; they simply have to believe it to be true. He said they've basically kept the project about as under the radar as you'd want any movie to be to drum up interest closer to the release.

I dunno. I don't buy it but there's not much else to talk about right now so...

[non_amos]

I dunno if I'd even give duh brothers that much credit. But here's hoping that MOS succeeds whether duh brothers like it or not. I mean, Cavill appears to be too good a take on Superman to flop. Ditto for this all-star cast as well. So if failure is what's on their minds then they've sure got a funny way of showing it.

[Apologist Puncher]

I just find it funny that they are the KINGS at killing ANY momentum this film builds-up.

Release a pic in August '11? Not another fucking word until July '12.

Release a teaser trailer July 21st, 2012? Not another peep until December 4th, 2012.

Trailer released online on December 11th, 2012? Probably won't hear SHIT until the Super Bowl at the earliest. Maybe.

So, to sum it up, in just under 18 months we've had an official picture, two posters, a teaser trailer and a full-length trailer. Now check out 'Iron Man 3', and what it has released in HALF that time...

[non_amos]

Even the new Star Trek film seems to be stirring up more hype than MOS. It also comes out nearly a full month before as well. At least I guess that will be enough time beforehand that maybe MOS will win it's opening weekend? Man of who.....?!

[Alf]

Even the new Star Trek film seems to be stirring up more hype than MOS.

I don't think so. The hype for MOS is as good as it can be at the moment, IMO, no thanks to WB really.

Twitter Report: Man of Steel soars

If Warner Bros. is hoping for 2013's Man of Steel to carry the torch left behind by Chris Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, they're off to the right start.

Early last week, the studio debuted the first full trailer online (second overall when counting the summer's shorter teaser trailer) and it immediately made waves throughout the Internet. In fact, within 24 hours the film was tracking as highly as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - during the middle of its release week - on our daily Twitter tracking.

Man of Steel yielded over 43,000 tweets on Tuesday, December 11 with an excellent 17:1 positive-to-negative comment ratio. The tweet count represented a 10,674 percent increase in Twitter activity from the day before.

To give an idea of how impressive that single day tweet total is for Man of Steel, it exceeded that of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2's 41,870 tweets generated on the day of its first full trailer's release back in June. The Twilight franchise has always had an incredibly strong following across social media platforms, and while the same can be said of comic book movies and their fans, this kind of interest level is a great sign when considering Superman's disappointing box office history after the early 1980s.

Man of Steel's Twitter activity was also near identical to that of The Dark Knight Rises when its first full trailer debuted online almost exactly one year ago. The Batman finale tallied 41,629 tweets on December 19, 2011, a 9.97 percent jump from the day before.

Another comparison of note: Marvel's The Avengers debuted its second trailer on February 29 of this year, generating 37,021 tweets on that day and representing an 1,161 percent increase in activity from the day before.

In short: so far, thanks to the large number of online fans and expanded interest that director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan bring to the franchise reboot, Warner Bros. and DC Comics are definitely hitting the right notes when it comes to the first stage of marketing for this highly anticipated summer tent pole.

Man of Steel is currently scheduled for release on Friday, June 14, 2013. You can view the trailer below.

I would also like to add that the trailer already has more views (nearly 24 million as of this writing) on YouTube in under 2 weeks, than he first full trailer of Avengers (yes, I know the last one got more, as will MOS's) did in over a year. Also more than The Amazing Spider-Man. It will probably surpass TDKR first full trailer by the time another trailer for MOS comes out.

So either WB got lucky and this is all due to the fact that the movie looks great - also consider that this trailer was really more of a (proper) teaser with a lot not shown - and that it has Nolan's name on it (as much as it bugs me to say, but this IS a factor), or simply because Superman is still such a powerful figure....OR, they actually know what they're doing this time around and we all need to chill as I doubt any of us are schooled in the marketing field. I'd rather lean to the first option.

The funny thing now will be to observe how WB follows this up. Hopefully they wont screw it up. Hopefully...

[thecolorsblend]

You know, for a lot of years there, Hulk fans had no choice but to try to defend the Ang Lee movie. Every conceivable excuse was made for that turd (although I would argue that the 2003 Hulk is Shakespeare compared to Singerman). But when TIH came along in 2008, it made it okay to not like the 2003 movie. Nobody felt compelled to defend it anymore. And in the long term, I think history will ultimately forget about the Ang Lee version.

All this to say I truly hope the same thing happens with Superman and people forget Singer and Blandon while the Apologists either go away to their circle jerk of obscurity or just shut up once MOS comes out.

[James Stocks]

The argument has flaws. For starters, it's my view that audiences didn't reject Singerman because they'd seen most of it before the movie opened. They rejected it because they simply weren't interested in it. It's as simple as that.

Agreed. I think SR was well marketed on all fronts but ultimately nobody seemed to give a shit about it. The only folks outraged at the movie were on internet message boards, otherwise most general audiences seemed to be indifferent about the whole thing and were more attracted to the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN sequel, blowing SR out of the water in such a humiliating note (though not as horribly humiliating as STAR TREK NEMESIS opening behind a J-Lo flick of all things). Because of that indifference it seems like general audiences now have total amnesia about SR. Even the SR joke in TED had a mixed reaction because most of everyone forgot there was a Superman film that came out a few years ago.

[non_amos]

The argument has flaws. For starters, it's my view that audiences didn't reject Singerman because they'd seen most of it before the movie opened. They rejected it because they simply weren't interested in it. It's as simple as that.

Agreed. I think SR was well marketed on all fronts but ultimately nobody seemed to give a shit about it. The only folks outraged at the movie were on internet message boards, otherwise most general audiences seemed to be indifferent about the whole thing and were more attracted to the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN sequel, blowing SR out of the water in such a humiliating note (though not as horribly humiliating as STAR TREK NEMESIS opening behind a J-Lo flick of all things). Because of that indifference it seems like general audiences now have total amnesia about SR. Even the SR joke in TED had a mixed reaction because most of everyone forgot there was a Superman film that came out a few years ago.

Based on what ALF posted concerning MOS per Twitter it seems that audiences are having an opposite reaction than what they did with SR. In spite of duh brother's lack of marketing do you suppose that could at least be in part because Cavill actually looks like Superman? BJ simply didn't & I think it showed. Remember that first official pic of BJ? All downhill from there folks! Cavill OTOH looks pumped & ready to take on an actual villain in Zod. And so far everything looks great! I think the outcome will be different this time.

[James Stocks]

The only people that thought he didn't look like Superman were those on the internet message boards. I think the positive reaction could be more related to "hey dude the guy who did Dark Knight is doing this one!" This is why WB wanted and begged Nolan for this, just having his name attached gives it a lot of leeway that SR didn't have going for t.

[Comicbookfan-V2]

But when TIH came along in 2008, it made it okay to not like the 2003 movie. Nobody felt compelled to defend it anymore. And in the long term, I think history will ultimately forget about the Ang Lee version.

All this to say I truly hope the same thing happens with Superman and people forget Singer and Blandon while the Apologists either go away to their circle jerk of obscurity or just shut up once MOS comes out.

I was thinking the same thing since what TIH is to "The Hulk" is what MOS eventually going to be to SR, an improvement to the prior!

Just to add on a personal note... Before TIH I didn't think "The Hulk" was as bad as others make it out to be and was more supportive of a sequel rather than a reboot but after TIH I actually like that one more than "The Hulk". But in regards to Superman, I couldn't wait for Supes to be rebooted not after the way SR turned out. But just ask yourself... As premature it may sound, if we got MOS back in 2006 instead of SR don't you think we would have sequels and spawning other DC based solo films along with a "Justice League" film alot earlier by now?

[thecolorsblend]

As premature it may sound, if we got MOS back in 2006 instead of SR don't you think we would have sequels and spawning other DC based solo films along with a "Justice League" film alot earlier by now?

No, because TDK was coming no matter what. After BB, WB might've been willing to force Nolan into a shared universe. But starting from about late 2007/early 2008, they began to realize what TDK was going to be and weren't going to do anything that might alienate Nolan. So even if they'd been willing to do a JLA thing, Batman would've either been different from his solo franchise (which is bad) or left out of the movie entirely (which is worse).

I'll never forgive Singerman but this situation has worked out about as well as it could've under the circumstances.

[BHoward]

If I remember correctly, WB was pretty low key with Batman Begins marketing as well. I kind of think they are doing the same thing with MOS as it is a pretty similar situation. Batman and Robin was a bad movie and left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Same as Superman Returns. However you would think they would want to show that this movie has nothing to do with SR and gives as much unrevealing news as possible.

[non_amos]

If I remember correctly, WB was pretty low key with Batman Begins marketing as well. I kind of think they are doing the same thing with MOS as it is a pretty similar situation. Batman and Robin was a bad movie and left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Same as Superman Returns. However you would think they would want to show that this movie has nothing to do with SR and gives as much unrevealing news as possible.

You make a good point about Batman Begins vs. Batman and Robin in relation to Singerman. However, you'd also think that duh brothers would've learned their lesson even from that. Case in point. BB did make a small profit even off of it's theatrical release although it was modest. Singerman OTOH supposedly 'made more than Begins' according to duh apologists but it actually lost money. Remember, budget vs. box office. Anyway, BB was still a 'sleeper' hit. In other words, it took the DVD sales & Cable rentals & such to really bust the thing wide open which obviously led to the sequel TDK. Nevertheless I guarantee you that if there hadn't still been a bad aftertaste from B&R that BB would've done better at the initial box office than it did.

But you see, this is a documented fact. Duh brothers, if they have even half of a brain, already know this! Now if you want to give them the benefit of a doubt, then maybe 'Begins' wasn't really planned that way intentionally. Maybe they really didn't have a lot of faith in it initially & were even surprised by it's success? But like I said, they know this now. So why try to 'duplicate' this with THE MAN OF STEEL? Do they want MOS to be a 'sleeper' hit that it takes the DVD to really break it open & wait for the sequel to do gazillions of dollars?!

What's wrong with this picture?

[thecolorsblend]

Seems risky to chase the fluke of a success that was the Nolanverse. I understand that they're a business and, like any business, they tend to think in formulas but you'd think they of all people would realize how unrepeatable most of that stuff is.

[James Stocks]

The modest marketing for Batman Begins made sense at the time and has been a tradition of sorts for every studio after a franchise film falls short. It's been done with Star Trek and James Bond and it usually paid off. After Superman Returns it makes sense to dial it down so that you're not risking too much money.

Still, I think they could do so much better than the way they're going about. They don't have to put out glass mugs at McDonalds, but at least throw us some new stills.

[thecolorsblend]

The modest marketing for Batman Begins made sense at the time and has been a tradition of sorts for every studio after a franchise film falls short. It's been done with Star Trek and James Bond and it usually paid off. After Superman Returns it makes sense to dial it down so that you're not risking too much money.

Still, I think they could do so much better than the way they're going about. They don't have to put out glass mugs at McDonalds, but at least throw us some new stills.

Part of me wonders if it's right to compare this to other franchises because they all had their own fairly unique circumstances (and fuck's sake man, the Bond franchise is a law unto itself, if you ask me). All I've got is my gut instinct that a muted marketing campaign for what's intended to be a summer smash to fix what the last one did wrong when there's this much at stake is a wrongheaded approach. Moviegoers seemed to forget about Singerman the weekend Pirates 2 came out -- which, in my opinion, is an even worse insult than bad worth of mouth because at least people care if they smack-talk you; indifference is the ultimate putdown. Since "the last movie" may as well not even exist, WB should press MOS. People are excited about Iron Man, Star Trek, Kick-Ass, Evil Dead, Wolverine, on and on and on. MOS, whether any of the bigwigs like it or not, has to sweat for space in peoples imaginations... and this coming summer has a shitload of competition. It'd be nice to think there's room for everybody (the summer of 2008 supports that theory) but who wants to take the chance?

[thecolorsblend]

This is the thread for shooting one's mouth off, right? Well here we go. One thing I'm really sick of is having to defend MOS. I'm the "guilty until proven innocent" guy. But Snyder has a solid resumé, Cavill is a great actor, he worked like hell to look the part and the new outfit looks to be about as close to The Suit as Snyder was permitted to get. Beyond that, I and other get serious Smallville, Birthright, STAS and Bronze Age vibes from the footage we've seen up to now. Yeah, there's reason to be concerned but there's reason for hope too.

And I even get where some of those people are coming from. They fell in love with the Byrne Age Superman but DC cleared the decks of all things 80's and 90's (at least as far as Superman is concerned) back in 2006 for Sucky Origin before clearing the decks even of that in 2011 for the even suckier New 52. Those people are hurt, disenfranchised and pissed off. And they're cynical that MOS will be much more in line with their likings. I get it.

But fuck's sake, some people are bashing just to bash. People on the Internet whine and complain. It's the nature of things. But think of it like this: I don't care about MOS in the grander scheme of things. I'll be there at the midnight premiere but my fandom is nowhere near as staked on MOS as it was for Singerman. I didn't care for the direction SV had been going in up to the Singerman premiere and, beyond that, I'd waited damned near 20 years for a new movie. Singerman is all I've got to show for it right now.

It's over and it can't be undone. That disappointment ain't going away. But I've got 35 years worth of what I consider kickass Superman comics, some good movies and even more awesome TV stuff. If my fandom hinges on just those things... you know, I'm cool with that. I don't need MOS; I want it and I'd sure love it if it was amazing but NEED it? No.

So if I can stray from being the obnoxious, reactionary asshole I usually am, surely some of the crankier, older fucks than me can loosen up a little bit and at least give the new movie a shot. It just seems like MOS is a weird thing to pick as your hill to die on.

[Comicbookfan-V2]

This just in, DC Collectables just feature a preview of an upcoming 1,6 scale stature of Supes from MOS that is said it'll be available in May (A month before the film is release). Also in edition, an image from the trailer is featured in the upcoming summer's edition of "Entertainment Weekly" magazine but hopefully we'll see a new image of Cavill in the suit on the front cover.

Here's the image of the 1,6 scale stature...



And here's the image from one of the pages of this summer's issue EW magazine...

[Apologist Puncher]

It's an impressive statue, but why does the face look more Bale and less Cavill?

[thecolorsblend]

I blame the eye brows. And I guess brow line in general.

[thecolorsblend]

And I guess we can rule out the trunks, in post or not. This pic pretty much confirms the direction they're going. I guess we'll have to give up on wishful thinking.

For now. But one never knows what a sequel may bring...

[non_amos]

I think the point of this thread is like, we see crap like 'Cavill was on a date.....with a girl' & it's basically non-news. Or we hear Shannon 'go around his elbow to get back to his thumb' & we still know.....nothing. "Look! Amy Adams got out of a cab! Breaking news!" I think that's the gist. I mean, just how many articles or interviews have we read in recent times that wasn't anything that we didn't already know? But now that we're getting concrete things like the toys & merchandising, then that should go in real news.

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