Ah, mildly amusing publicity stunts: The Warner Bros. Superman Returns website has been, ahem, “hacked,” apparently by arch-fiend Lex Luthor. The main page has been defaced with the slogan, “Lex Luthor was here.” There’s also a link to Luthor’s own MySpace profile.
Last week, the studio launched a Superman Returns MySpace page, which now has more than 49,000 “friends.” As of the time of this post, Luthor’s page has 5,946.
Curse that Superman. He always wins.
The curse of Superman
Sometimes, the right movie or television role can propel an actor into stardom. But as often as not, ABC News reports, playing the Man of Steel leads nowhere fast.
“Superman is unlike any other superhero. It’s kind of like playing God,” movie historian Bob Madison tells ABC. “It’s a role the public never forgets, and they may not ever accept you as anything else.”
Like Routh, Christopher Reeve was largely unknown when he was selected to play the Man of Steel, and the 1978 blockbuster turned him into a major star.
Reeve was well regarded as an actor. But he was so closely identified with his iconic role that it hampered his efforts to be a leading man in a big-budget film. He was largely relegated to Superman sequels and work as a supporting player, most notably with Anthony Hopkins in The Remains of the Day.
It’s possible that Reeve might have turned his career around had he not suffered a horseback riding accident in 1994 that left him paralyzed in the decade before his death. But at the time of the accident, his acting career clearly was not on the rise.
Other links:
“Bone up on Superman mythology before his film return”
More on Superman’s Jesus parallel (sigh)
June 22nd, 2006 at 1:21 pm
Yeah, so playing Superman means having to settle for making tons of money and a lifetime of fame. The poor dopes!
June 22nd, 2006 at 2:18 pm
Well, if making money and being famous is ALL you care about, yeah, no pity from me.
But there are lots of ways of making money, and from the point of view of an actor who wants to, you know, ACT, being type-cast can really suck.
June 22nd, 2006 at 2:50 pm
Hack man…Hackman…Gene Hackman, Lex Luthor! Bwahahahahaahaaa…um…cute.
It’s ironic that because the directors choose unknowns for the lead role those actors become type-cast, while choosing an established actor with great range (Hackman, now Spacey) affects them not at all.
But when Michael Keaton did Batman, he was “known.” Did that make the character less believable or iconic? Is Christian Bale stuck? Or is it because they wear a mask?
What gives?
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Back in Superman I and II’s day there were not as many movies being made as there are now. And actors are regurgitated weekly. Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Mel Gibson – 80′s action heroes all. Yes, they were primarily typecast for action roles, but I don’t think of the guy from “Unbreakable” as John McCain.
June 22nd, 2006 at 5:41 pm
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February 26th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
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January 17th, 2011 at 5:42 pm
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