SuperMann

Venerable film director and recipient of the Empire's 2002 Inspiration Award, Michael Mann, has lined up his first post-Ali movie project. Leaping back into the saddle, Mann has signed on to direct Tonight, He Comes which, despite the title, is not a porn film but rather the story of an amorous superhero. The tortured crime-fighter (aren't they all?) crash lands in Brooklyn and tries to hasten his return to crime-fighting fitness by the tried and tested method of getting jiggy with the local lasses. Casting his lustful crosshairs over a New York housewife, our hero goes on the pull as only superhumans can and, naturally, all manner of things go awry, sending the city into disarray. "The character starts out potent and effective, and when the will to do what he's supposed to do wanes, he finds himself in this existential crisis," a New Line Executive told Variety. "The lead character bears some resemblance to protagonists we've seen in Michael's films, played by actors like Robert De Niro or Al Pacino." And will we see either of the pair pulling on tights as a superhero in heat? We'll find out when the film gets going, sometime in 2004.