IN more ways than one, Superman is just like everybody else. The young Clark Kent got picked on as a child, he is often misunderstood, and he yearns to find his place in the world.
“It is sort of a universal feeling to wonder what your place in the universe is going to be, and then try to walk that path in life. Superman just represents a distilled version of that, to the point where the choices he makes is going to change the world,” says director Zack Snyder of the beloved character in the new Superman movie, Man Of Steel, at a press conference at Warner Bros. in Burbank, California.
Screenwriter David Goyer agrees that the day-to-day struggle of Clark Kent is something that everyone can identify with, but “the big difference with him is that when he decides what that is going to be, there is going to be this huge ripple effect throughout the world.”
“That’s the kind of crushing responsibility he has,” he says.
Initially hesitant to take on the responsibility of bringing one of the first comic book superheroes back to the big screen, Snyder was sold when he read the screenplay that Goyer had written, based on a story the latter devised with Christopher Nolan.
“Without breaking the canon, without taking away the things that make him Superman, they were about to make him totally relatable,” says Snyder.
Nolan offers: “Where Superman was an impenetrable, god-like figure in previous iterations of the story, we show him as a rather more relatable figure who deals with very human issues of love, divided loyalties and family, even as he is anything but human himself.”
Getting a project of this magnitude off the ground was daunting, to say the least.“It is easy to get paralysed by how important this character is, one that has been around for 75 years,” says producer Deborah Snyder, emphasising that this film is much more than an action comic book story brought to life.
“The depth of the characters and the themes we explore ... this is a story that is so dimensional, that has emotionality. I think that is going to be surprising to the audience,” she shares.
And what a journey the film brings us on, as we witness the trials and tribulations in this conflicted young man’s life and how they are intrinsically linked to worlds beyond our own.
Clark Kent is physically superior, but has to keep it under wraps for fear of repercussions. It is a long and lonely road he has to walk.
According to producer Charles Roven, this character is more complex than we have ever seen him before.
“It is a different take on a very revered subject and it’s a much more emotional road that he travels,” he says.
Henry Cavill (left) and Zack Snyder reviewing scenes from Man Of Steel
To tap into this vulnerability, as well as to capture the realism the film strives for, director Snyder felt that an intimate filmmaking style, including handheld cameras, would help things along.
“I liked the camera not being so rigid,” says Henry Cavill who plays Clark Kent/Superman. “Nothing was off limits as far as the performance was concerned; it lent a freedom to the acting, which was great.”
Man Of Steel is shot on film and in 2D, and post-converted into 3D. The crew traveled to many different locations to shoot: one day in the majestic glaciers of British Columbia in Canada, the next on an air force base in California’s Mojave Desert. The small town of Plano, Illinois, in the United States, was set up as Clark Kent’s hometown, Smallville.
The film boasts an impressive cast line-up, including Cavill, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent, respectively, and Russell Crowe as Superman’s Kryptonian father Jor-El.
Michael Shannon, who plays the menacing General Zod, points out that another theme in the movie, demonstrated in his character as well as in Superman, is that despite their tremendous power, they still face conflicts familiar to the everyman.
“They have a power that many of us would imagine can fix things, would make it easier to live. Yet, ultimately, they struggle as much as everyone else. No matter how strong, no matter how powerful you are, you are still going to struggle with these essential issues,” Shannon says.
And when it comes down to choosing between two fractions, both equally resolute in standing their ground, what will be the consequences of Superman’s choice?
Film director Snyder says that Superman represents the ultimate hero, one that encompasses the cool superhero attributes that inspire us – flight, speed, strength – and at the same time, longs for the same things we do, like our need for love and a sense of belonging in the world.
“He belongs to all of us,” he says.
“That is why, amidst all the awesome visuals, the intense battles, the problems of the planet that he takes on our behalf, we want him to win: because he is true, because he has a good heart and pure intentions. We want him to choose us, because we want to be the best that we can be, just like him.” – Rouwen Lin
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