The Hollywood Reporter
October 4, 2002
Kryptonite Web
reviews drub "Superman" script
By Gregg Kilday
LOS ANGELES -- "Superman," Warner Bros. Pictures' current attempt to
resuscitate the caped crusader superhero franchise that has lain
dormant since the last Christopher Reeve "Superman" movie in 1987,
hasn't yet gone before the cameras. In fact, it was just two months
ago that the studio decided to temporarily set aside a competing
project, "Batman vs. Superman," in favor of a reimagined "Superman"
saga, the first of a projected trilogy penned by J.J. Abrams, creator
of TV's "Felicity" and "Alias." And it was just last month that the
studio entrusted the project to director Brett Ratner, hot off "Red
Dragon."
But already the reviews are pouring in.
On Sept. 23, Drew McWeeney, who writes under the pen name Moriarity,
burst onto the Ain't It Cool News Web site with a hyperbolic scene-by-
scene critique of Abrams' first-draft screenplay. Running under a
subhead that proclaimed, "You'll Believe a Franchise Can Suck!!" the
diatribe pummeled the screenplay by tearing apart its Krypton back
story, its villains and a few passing lines that jocularly questioned
Jimmy Olsen's heterosexuality.
Harry Knowles, the Web site's kibitzing proprietor, chimed in a
couple of days later, jumping off from Moriarity's report to urge
mass protests at Warner Bros. He even cited a book-signing appearance
that Abrams is scheduled to make Tuesday at Barnes & Noble at the
Grove in Los Angeles to promote "Alias: Declassified," by Mark Cotta
Vaz, as an opportunity for the fans -- hopefully, without lighted
torches and pitchforks -- to make their displeasure known.
But while filmmakers in the past have angrily bristled when Web sites
have prereviewed their work, Abrams displayed a remarkable degree of
equanimity.
"Primarily, I feel that Superman means a lot to a lot of people," he
says. "So I was not surprised by the reaction to this and to the
script."
In part, that's because the Internet -- and its malcontents -- aren't
foreign territory to the writer. As ABC's "Alias" developed during
the first season, Abrams frequently visited the Net to see how
characters and story lines were playing. "I respect the fans and love
to hear what they have to say," he explains. "Unlike film, TV is on
ongoing process. If you discover, oh gosh, they're not getting a
story line or a character isn't working, then you can make
adjustments if you agree with them."
In the case of "Superman," Abrams was less concerned by Moriarity's
premature review than by Knowles' jeremiad because Knowles hadn't
actually read the script. And so, the writer rang up the webmaster.
And after a couple of hours of talk, Knowles hung up, somewhat
mollified. On Saturday on his site, he reported on the conversation,
concluding, "That J.J. is a Superman geek -- he knows his stuff. He
wants to have a positive contribution to the history of 'Superman.'
And those are all good things. Doesn't mean the movie won't suck, but
it does mean there's a chance it might not."
As for Abrams, who'd already begun polishing the screenplay, he says
of the incident, "I don't care if the good critique comes from a 55-
year-old studio exec or a 12-year-old. If the idea is a good one, I'm
happy to hear it. While I wasn't happy that people were writing on
the board that my wife should be beaten, I wanted Harry to know that
the bottom line is, I love Superman, and I also love the audience.
There is no one document that defines that character -- there have
been so many permutations, additions and changes along the way. And I
understand that people are scared of seeing another bad movie, but
everyone involved on this one -- and that includes myself and Brett --
is desperate to make it good."
© The Hollywood Reporter 2002
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