JAPAN: Latest Superman movie cast lands in Tokyo, introducing the new Man of Steel to Japanese fans

Record ID: 463301

  • Title: JAPAN: Latest Superman movie cast lands in Tokyo, introducing the new Man of Steel to Japanese fans
  • Date: 4th August 2006
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (AUGUST 2, 2006) (REUTERS) BRANDON ROUTH, WHO PLAYS SUPERMAN, COMES UP ON STAGE DURING "SUPERMAN RETURNS" PREMIERE IN TOKYO WIDE OF PREMIERE MOVIE CAST ON STAGE BALLOONS BURST AS EMCEE SHOUTS "SUPERMAN RETURN!', FOLLOWED BY SUPERMAN THEME SONG BRANDON ROUTH GIVING AUTOGRAPH TO FANS
  • Embargoed: 19th August 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Reuters ID: LVA5205OIBDZ02HKWJ4TGG8SHCRD
  • Story Text: The new Superman landed in Japan this week to introduce himself to movie fans in Japan as "Superman Returns," which opened in the United States in June, is hitting Japanese theatres later this month.
    The film is Superman's first big-screen appearance since the 1987 movie "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" starring the late Christopher Reeve.
    Newcomer Brandon Routh, who plays the latest crime-fighting "Man of Steel," had this message to Superman fans: "I'm so proud of being able to be bringing this character to you. It's a fantastic film Brian Singer has made. I trust you all will really love it as much as I do. Thank you."
    Kate Bosworth, who plays the leading heroine, amiably posed for photos with her fans and said : "We all worked really hard on this film, put a lot of effort to it. So I hope they'll enjoy it. Hope they'll like it."
    The movie's plot has Superman returning to Earth following a mysterious absence of several years. Back home, an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all while the superhero's great love, Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), has moved on -- or has she?
    "(The most difficult part in making the film was) trying to balance the nostalgia of Superman with something new - something we haven't seen before," said film director Brian Singer. "The biggest challenge was making him fly. Back in 1978, they had the high cables and shadows. But here, the audience comes to expect a lot more."
    Warner Bros. has a lot riding on the latest Superman movie. The studio spent more than 200 million U.S. dollars to make the movie and tens of millions more to promote it, hoping to rekindle a franchise that all but died in 1987 after the last "Superman" film flopped at box offices.
    "Superman Returns" is regarded as similar to an original movie because it targets young men as its core audience, and many were not even alive in the late 1970s and 1980s when the previous modern "Superman" movies, starring Christopher Reeve, played in theatres.
    Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., hopes to turn audiences of the Reeve movies into fans of this new "Superman" and get them back to theatres in the future.
    During a press conference earlier this week, Routh humbly stressed his respect for his predecessor.
    "Seeing myself as Superman on screen is pretty amazing. It's kind of challenging for me to watch, or was it first, because Christopher Reeves was my Superman. So it was strange - even though I knew I was playing the character - to see myself up there. In my mind, Chris and I both share who Superman is - in my mind."
    Kevin Spacey, the veteran actor who plays the role of Superman's enemy in the movie, quipped: "When I saw Brandon in his suit, he'd been shooting about three months. And he was looking very confident. I just couldn't wait to beat the crap out of him."
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