Spidey and The Dark Knight may be wandering through the crowd, but tonight is all about the Man Of Steel. Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns bolted into London last night and was greeted by a dazzling array of super-fans, desperate to catch a glimpse of the new Lois Lane, Lex Luther and, of course, Supes himself.
Ms. Lane (aka Kate Bosworth) was the first to arrive – a journalist on time, who’d have thought it?– only to be swept along the red carpet amidst a cacophony of screams and cheers. Of course the actress should be used to this by now; not least following her ordeal aboard the stricken jumbo-jet in the movie: “The action scenes were very difficult. There were a lot of scrapes and bruises. I ended up doing most of the shots myself. I did have a stunt double but she ended up breaking her ankle during the plane sequence, so she took the really tough part for me!”
Not everyone can be Superman (damn) but Brandon Routh fills Christopher Reeve’s shoes with Kryptonian aplomb. It would be a majestic undertaking for any (super)man: “It wasn’t daunting, it was an honour. I knew there was a lot expected of me and I expected a lot of myself. I had a letter from Dana Reeve blessing the production, which was wonderful. [Christopher Reeve] was my vision of Superman.
It isn’t only Superman who’s making a return to our world. His arch-enemy – no, not Nuclear Man – Lex Luthor also bounds back into the fray, this time in the form of old Bryan Singer cohort, Kevin Spacey: “I was in the hands of a wonderful director and because it’s such a great, iconic part, you can have a lot of fun with it”.
Finally the helmer arrives. Dressed in his trademark fan-boy outfit – jeans, knackered trainers and zip-up top, Director **Bryan Singer **leaps into the cinema, furiously sucking on a bottle of water like it contains the last elixir of Krypton: “The most important aspect of this movie to nail was the romance. We touched on the romantic side of things in X-Men, but nothing like this”. And what of his Superman? When did he realise his casting was spot on? “It took a few fittings, but there was a moment when Brandon walked out into the hallway wearing the suit…it just clicked”.
Fancy pants has returned.