While I'm looking forward to the new Superman movie with drop-dead gorgeous Brandon Routh, I came across this intriguing piece in the L.A. Times. I figured someone else would want to read this interesting article as well.

L.A. Times Article on Superman

Cool article...thanks.

An excerpt...

The 1990s TV series "Xena: Warrior Princess" had a loyal and large following among lesbians (which the show courted) and the rock band Queen maintained a huge audience of young straight males despite the gay imagery of its name, music and stage shows. In comics, it has become increasingly common to not only create new gay characters but also to rework the mythology of long-time heroes to make them gay, as is the case with both Batwoman and Colossus.

When did Colossus come out? I had the hugest crush on him. So many lonely jr. high nights longing for that beautiful borscht-loving bodybuilder to crash down my bedroom wall and whisk me away from my humdrum mid-western life.

Well now that one of my three wishes has come true, winning the Lotto and world peace can't be far behind.

Yeah, I'm curious too. When did Peter Rasputin come out? I was a big fan of the comics in the 90s. I remembered he dated Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) but that ended badly. Interesting.

One thing is for the director to add a gay subtext to the "X-men" movies but I doubt that Warner Brothers would have green lighted a gay Superman movie . Superman is clearly straight- now Jimmy Olsen that's another story... wink

I don't know if anyone saw the pre-show to the MTV movie awards last night but Brandon just about had a strangle hold on his girlfriend. He would not let her go from his side. It was kinda creepy.

I'm guessing all the gay talk around him, Bryan Singer and Superman being a gay icon has made him quite a mess.

I think that grouchy newspaper editor is gay,too.He kinda reminds me of one or two Outsporters!

The Peter Rasputin of Marvel's 'Ultimate' Universe is gay. The Peter Rasputin of the regular mainstream universe is straight. Or rather he was when I last read the comic, which was a long time ago.

Anthony

Copy from Advocate.com

Superman Returns director gets defensive about gay rumors


In May, The Advocate ran a cover story with the headline "How Gay Is Superman?" The piece proved to be so intriguing that, after "gay Superman" Internet buzz traveled the globe, Superman Returns director Bryan Singer issued a statement Friday officially denying that the Man of Steel is gay. Superman "is probably the most heterosexual character in any movie I've ever made," said the out director. "I don't think he's ever been gay." On the other hand, Singer pointed out, his Superman is a "very romantic icon," with a vulnerable quality that, judging by the trailers, works just fine for the film's Lois Lane.

Ironically, the Advocate story did not suggest that the superhero is gay but instead described how the secret lives of superheroes resonate with LGBT youth who must conceal important things about themselves. Nevertheless, as the story traveled the Internet and made its way to cable talk TV, it was steadily embroidered and exaggerated until it became something else entirely. By this past week, news outlets were stating that gays are demanding that Superman be gay. One conservative pundit even took Warner Bros. to task for courting the gay audience by suggesting that Superman is gay—something that to our knowledge never happened.

Now that Singer has clarified which way Superman's cape blows, we plan to go see the movie anyway.

>>He always put tightly red underwear. It signs something more than a gay when it's up!

For those who are truly devoted fans and into the Myspace craze, my friends sent me the link to the "Superman Returns" page on Myspace.

Superman on Myspace

Why do gay people feel the need to make everything "gay"? I am not ashamed of being gay, nor am I ashamed of walking in Pride Parades. But there is a marked difference in something being inherently gay, and making something that's straight into a gay issue....for what purpose? To give the LGBT community an icon? Don't we have enough with kd lang, Elton John, and Madonna? Do we need to add a gay subtext to a character that is known to be heterosexual? In my opinion, and you can agree or disagree, that doesn't bode well for the community as a whole.

I'll give you an example. When I was in the Renaissance City Choir--the LGBT chorus in Pittsburgh, the director would alter the words of songs to make them gay. For instance, in the song "Brothers, Sing On", the words "Wooing a maid on a distant shore", became "Wooing a man on a distant shore". In the song "My Romance", the words, "I won't kiss your hand, madam, crazy for you...", were tweaked to read "I won't kiss your hand, monsieur , crazy for you..."

The problem with the aforementioned example is that we felt the need to make it gay, and its intent was irrelevant. And although changing the lyrics of songs doesn't compare to making Superman "gay", one can't deny that there are those in the LGBT community who feel the desire to claim a heterosexual icon as their own.

Don't get me wrong. If I had a magic wand, and could turn straight men into homosexuals, I would be very tempted to use it. But, this is different. It's almost like the homosexuality is being forced upon the straight community, reprocussions be damned. And no amount of magic would be able to fix the irreparable damage.

I want to return that wand now.

Gay people aren't the ones making Superman gay. It has to do with the parallels. Dual Identity, Fortress of Solitude, Smoking Bod, Lycra, Raves. But you have to see the attraction Superman might have to a young gay male. I think he's hot but I really don't care if he's gay.

The song thing is another matter. It's simply about perspective. When I sing Strawberry Wine at karaoke, I'm making the song very gay without changing a single word. It's because I'm singing it. Deana can have her farmhand and I've got mine.

Hit Me With Your Best Shot, the Pat Benatar classic from the 80's was actually written in the 70's by a man from a man's perspective. Miss B changed one word in the song and made it her own.

For 5 points tell me the word she changed and what it was changed from.

I want to answer this question, and I'm close to finding the answer. I know that Eddie Schwartz did the original version....give me a few minutes, and I'll find the answer. Thanks.

She changed the words "another notch in your lipstick case", to "another notch in MY lipstick case"!!!! YEE HAW!!! I FOUND IT!!!! What do I win???

5 Points to FP!

And an extra 5 points for not falling into the common guitar case/lipstick case trap. Many people think that is the switch.

Oops we've hijacked the thread a bit...

Doncha think Pat Benatar looks a little like Margot Kidder? You know she played Lois Lane in the 80's. I think in her last movie she played a lesbian.

Wow another gay connection...

That's a crappy gift! I want a free trip to San Francisco out of this one!!

Nine more days, and I can't friggin' wait! Unfortunately, I'm moving to a town (Mt. Pleasant, MI) that doesn't have an IMAX theater--nor can I order advance tickets online, dammit. But I will be at the theater on Tuesday, so help me Rao!

I even bought an S-shield T-shirt for the occasion. My nerddom is complete.

I think Tom Welling is hotter than Brandon Routh.

I don't see why Tom Welling couldn't play Superman in the movie.

dedric, you hit the nail right on the head. Tom Welling would be a great one to carry the franchise into the movies. "Smallville" is just that now, too small. I see them as losing some of their focus, while the movie franchise would ideally be the best way to carry Tom to the big screen. Just a thought here.

Let me preface this by saying Superman has been my absolute favorite super-hero my entire life. While I can appreciate a lot of the different movies (Batman Begins and X1&2 especially) none have the complex geniune goodness of Superman.

Out of curiosity, I checked out rotten tomatoes and, to my surprise, the reviews have not just been positive...they have been OVERWHELMINGLY positive. Bryan Singer has apparently directed his masterpiece and I cannot wait to see how it turns out.

In this time of complications and worries...I'm ready to believe a man can fly again.

Welling didn't want to play Superman, and thank Rao for that. Further, Singer was looking to cast an unknown and not link Superman Returns to \"Smallville\"--again, thank the Lords of Kobol.

Me too, HighTyde.

[ June 19, 2006, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: kalabro ]

I'm wondering how it is that Superman has become a gay icon. I've always viewed him to be straight as a ruler. Now Batman, taking Robin under his wing, has always been something of a gay icon to me. There were times I wanted to be Robin, doing some rather naughty things under Batman's cape.

You're so right about the Batman/Robin thing. Even as a young kid without any clue of sexual orientation issues, that relationship seemed just weird. I mean, what the f**k is a "ward"? None of the families I knew had one...

I am looking forward to this movies release as well..

I was 2 or 3 when the original came out and was infatuated with him then - according to my mother - I broke free of her in the theater and ran up to the movie screen screaming and pointing "SUBERMAN, SUBERMAN!!!" she said people actually laughed instead of getting angry..

I guess this story could have gone in the "they should have known I was gay when..." thread

[ June 20, 2006, 07:25 AM: Message edited by: swmmr76 ]

Interesting little tidbit to add here. I watched Good Day L.A. when they were interviewing Brandon Routh and of course Jillian brought up the "How does it feel to be a gay icon?" question. Brandon answered that it was good to have fans appreciate him, but just as he answered that, the interview was cut extremely short. Both Jillian and Dorothy commented on that and I thought to myself that it had to be perfect timing to cut him off from saying anything more about being a gay icon.

I always loved Dean Cain (and his package, of course) in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. It was great to see him in The Broken Hearts Club...too bad he's not really "family"...Darn! frown

Well tomorrow is opening day. I am planning on being there tomorrow afternoon to see the opening.

Yeah I have a 2 hour doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. wink

I've got 2 tickets for the Sunday 3D IMAX showing at the Sony Metreon. Can't wait! It's supposed to be fantastic.

Not exactly what I expected. It was 3 out of 4 stars. The plot twist certainly provided a welcome relief to the Superman saga. However, some of the movie was pedantic at times, sticking to the tried-and-true formula. Kevin Spacey brought his over-the-top credentials to Lex Luthor, which is what held my interest throughout the entire movie. For the Brandon Routh fans out there, yes, he is briefly shirtless for one scene. It might be worth your admission, but I was more into James Marsden. Now milk does THAT body some good. While he was basically eliminated from X-Men 3 in the opening scenes, he has some meatier material in Superman Returns.

The bottom line for me: Was it worth the price of the admission ticket? My answer would be yes.

[ June 28, 2006, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: UCLAfan ]

For a rebuttal of the L.A. Times piece, check out this article from today's If Magazine (contains minor spoilers, so if you need to see the film with a purely blank slate skip the fifth, sixth, and seventh paragraphs).

While I don't necessarily agree with the occasional Christian baiting in the piece - or with the idea that by floating the theory that Superman Returns is somehow a "gay" movie would turn people away from wanting to see it - some of the reader comments after the article are priceless.

The partner and I went and saw SR at the IMAX theatre here in Richmond last night. I would give it 4 of 4 stars. I thought it was amazing. It took me back to my childhood, when I would watch the movies with my Dad. I will certainly buy this on DVD and will probably go see it at the theater again. As for Brandon Routh. I think he did an amazing job! Him and "Cyclops" are both gorgeous beings.

I saw it last night. I was bored. It just seemed like set-up after set-up with not a lot of pay-off. And I saw the "twist" coming about two months ago when I saw one of the trailers for the movie.

I personally thought Kate Bosworth and Brandon Routh were terribly miscast. They simply didn't have the attitude and pizazz of Kidder and Reeve. It just seemed like they were actors from the WB who didn't quite understand the characters. Reminded me of Natalie Portman's boring "replacement" for Carrie Fisher - similar look, none of the style.

The trailer for Spider-Man 3 was the best part of the movie for me.

The whole 'gay Superman angle' may not just be us trying to see something where it doesn't exist or force the issue.

This from Jay Leno last night (talking about the sweltering weather we've had in LA).

"It was so hot I was sweating like Superman watching Brokeback Mountain."

Damn Cyd - and I thought I was the movie hater..

I just got back from the movie and it was awesome. This is coming from a guy who is very *picky* with movies. I am not easily impressed.

I thought the acting and story were good, they tied up all the loose ends and kept it very entertaining. It was no Braveheart, but very entertaining for a summer movie. I really tried to keep my expectations low, as good press can really ruin a movie for me as I am expecting so much. Kevin Spacey made a great Lex Luther, and Brandon Routh, well.. goddamn is he freakin hot!! whew!! that is one fine specimen there.. James Marsden is a looker as well, but I can't get over his whiny little bitch role as cyclops in X-men.

I think Bryan Singer did a great job, as I like most of his movies, and gave the fans what they wanted. It is a creepy how much Brandon Routh resembles Christopher Reeve in Clark Kent mode..

My only complaint, as usual is how much I hate the movie theater experience. Why is it every time I go, I have to experience the rudeness of American society. Are manners a lost art or not taught anymore..? This time this ghetto ass girl comes up the ramp of the theater and calls out to her friend to come down, she comes down and they start having a conversation, right in the middle of the fricken movie, since it was right next to me and pissed me off, I called them out and they did leave. What the hell is wrong with people ?!?!?!?!! If Hollywood is wondering why ticket sales are down, it is probably because of that type of behavior. If it isn't the cell phones, it is some idiot talking..

I am done with my rant.. :mad:

But like I originally said - the movie is great. I personally recommend it..

[ June 29, 2006, 03:48 PM: Message edited by: swmmr76 ]

One of the issues I have with Brandon and everyone else that has played Superman in his recent incarnation is...

The Superman I read about when I was a kid was seriously stacked.

Can't they find a freakishly huge guy who can act or is the problem that there isn't a Clark Kent suit big enough?

I rarely read the comic, pretty much only saw the movies as a kid - but you have a good point there. If they wanted to keep it close to the comic, they should have had someone more diesel. Routh is not nearly as big as Reeve was, but he is still a stud..

Routh is certainly not a fricken twink!!

Saw it tonight, and it was pretty good. I actually liked the airplane segment better than anything that came after. I especially liked the kid, because he sounded and acted like a kid. Not a Hollywood kid (with quick one-liners), but just a kid.

Three minor quibbles (and I don't think I'm giving anything away here):

1. Why didn't Lois tell someone, "You know, you might want to put him out in the sun"?

2. How many times was disaster foretold with "static interfering with broadcast" followed by "everyday items rattling"? It was at least three, but it might have been four.

3. Smallest quibble of all. At one point, they show a huge frontpage for the Daily Planet. The date is given as "September, 29 2005" (not entirely sure about the year). OK, it's a "potential headline" and hasn't gone to press yet, but I'm pretty sure that folks at the newspaper get the commas in the right places even for those.

LXN

I saw it this afternoon in the 3D IMAX format. Really impressive. Problem is that there's only about 20 total minutes of 3D content. It's one of those that signal you to put your 3D glasses on and when to take them off. I saw a movie a few years back like this, I think it was some horror film but I can't remember. Anyway, a little disappointed in the 3D experience. In particular, the first 3D Sequence taking place at the Kent ranch/farm was just a waste of the 3D technology, it would have been much more welcome in other scenes.

As usual in San Francisco, the queens were out in full force for this movie. I think over 70% of the audience were gay men. Nowhere but SF...

I liked the movie a lot and did not feel it to drag at any point. I actually thought that the guy who played Lois Lane's husband was hotter than Routh. The kid was great too, as others have mentioned.

Funniest line in the movie: "I thought there were two dogs."

I caught Ebert and Roeper yesterday, by the way Ebert is recovering from some emergnecy surgery I read this morning, get well Roger!!, but Ebert gave it a thumbs down which surprised me, and Roper gave it a mild thumbs up. Heard it cleaned up over the weekend though.

I just got back from an afternoon showing. I loved it although I don't see the big deal about Kevin Spacey. I felt like his character didn't have enough screen time considering he's Superman's major foe. Still, I'd see it again. Brandon Routhe was great and a major hottie! SPOILER! I like the scene where Superman leans over his son and repeats the words his father told him years ago. It was those endearing moments that I remember.

Quick warning . . . this post contains a plot point, albeit a minor one.

I saw it last Friday and was very pleasantly surprised. Having worked in visual effects for 7 years, more often than not FX movies are awful . . . horrible dialouge, skimpy story, or else its just a festival of explosions and fast contraptions flying by.

So I wasn't really expecting much. But the effects were spectacular, and the movie didn't suffer because of them. I saw it in one of those huge stadium theaters, so it was a terrific experience.

A few things: (plot point warning)

A continuity problem . . . Was a bit jarring (to someone from LA) that the plane carring the shuttle takes off from Florida heading east and ends up in Dodger Stadium.

Yeah I know pretty picky.

Second thing . . . which is weird, I thought one of Lex Luthors henchman . . . the guy who eventually gets clanged with the piano . . . was pretty hot. I just thought he was alot more rugged looking than the two pretty boy leads, although they weren't bad.

Something about a guy with a square jaw, a boxers nose and a wool cap, I guess.

Saw it over the Fourth and wished it had a better--more original--story. As for the special effects, they were good (some excellent) but no amount of special effects magic will make me believe that Kate Bosworth wrote an editorial deserving of a Pulitzer!! No one could be expected to suspend belief to that extent. Hell, I doubt she's ever even read an editorial!!

~Adam

$3OO million buys a lot of eye candy- producting design, fx were excellent. Bradon Routh fills the super suit nicely but was not convincing as Clark Kent. He is more Superboy than Superman. Richard Donner should have gotten co-directing credit as most of the movie seems lifted from his 70's version. Singer did not add any gay angle- unless the metrosexual opera loving Luthor is suppose to be gay ( which might explain his attractive eurotrashy henchmen) The film is way too long- it needed more action and stronger villains.

I saw it last weekend when I was in DC, so I was able to see it on the huge screen at the Uptown Theater. That was the highlight of the film (the screen I saw it on). It was 1.5 hours of material stretched into 2.5 hours of film. That was the first issue I had with it. Issue #2 was that I just didn't care that much (if at all) about the characters... and I'm not sure if it was the writing, the acting, or both. Between those two issues, I was actually bored. Film looks great, but was hollow.

I forgot to mention the thrill of listening to Williams' glorious Superman theme.( And considering the casting couch rumors- doesn't Brandon Routh look like he should be starring in one of those Falcon videos ? wink )

Saw it last night on IMAX 3D, which was cool. I wouldn't have minded the length of the movie if it had more action in it. When Superman was doing his stuff, it was much better; otherwise it was a bit stiff. Still, I was entertained, and I agree with the above person about hearing John Williams's great Superman theme, which was heard often during the movie.

I didn't care for it in the least

I thought the FX were straight out of the X-Men movies-Superman's cape looked brown to me in some scenes and he just reminded me of Magneto

the acting sucked; the two leads were so miscast; they seriously wasted Parker Posey and Kevin Spacey

I don't care for James Marsden; never have

the music was the high point; I was so happy that they kept the original John Williams score

I love that man

The DVD comes out on Nov. 28. I just saw that while watching "Smallville" tonight.

thanks for the warning

Got the DVD and watched it yesterday, if for no other reason than to hear Williams' score as well. I second MIB's and theodoresdaddy's comments above regarding Williams.