You've got a source for this? Because I read most of the interviews and not once did I read anywhere that Nolan told Snyder to pretend he was making a Batman film. The part that Nolan convinced him was true. Snyder had a respect for Superman but wasn't sure how Superman would work in the a modern day context until he read the story Nolan and Goyer wrote.
Well I think the movie itself is pretty much evident of that. Zack, in short, much like the people at WB/DC, thinks Superman is boring, old fashioned, and stupid, and "why can't he be more like Batman", so Goyer and Nolan, the "materminds" behind TDK series, pitch to Snyder a Superman that
is more "like Batman", in so many words, which makes him "want" to do the movie. Except it's pretty damn shoddy. Their take on "modernizing" Superman (
God do I hate those terms)
is to make him more of what they perceive Batman to be like in many ways.
OH SNAP!!!
t:
/waits for rebuttal by Kevin Smith, enlightening us all on how much more he knows about Superman than Snyder and how much more AWESOME Man of Steel would have been had
he directed it.
I think, given the proper saavy of tools and things, many of us here, myself included, could have written and directed a better Superman movie than the one Snyder gave us quite easily.
I've never gotten the impression that Snyder doesn't care for Superman at all, especially in his interviews. And quite honestly, when he speaks about the character, he comes across as more knowledgeable and sensible than a good chunk of fanboys.
If he didn't care then why did he cite his disappointment that Thor is getting movies over Superman? Did you even watch the SDCC panel?
What panel would that be? The one where he rolled out a giant bat symbol and had some dialogue read out loud to the audience about how badly Superman gets his ass kicked by Batman from DKR? That panel? Oh, you probably mean the one a year earlier where he did the typical "promote my film" lip service that all filmmakers do. Suddenly Superman is important and should be up there having his own movie to go toe to toe with Thor and other "C-listers", there needs to be a place for Superman now that Snyder has found a way to make him more like Batman, when before he found a way to make him more like Batman, about 20 months prior to that, he was too old fashioned and would never work again for a modern audience. Fast forward a year and he's reading Batman rubbing it in about kicking Superman's ass to the same audience.
I am not saying he "hates" the character by any means, but it's pretty obvious which way his preference goes and of course he is going to find nice things to say while promoting the movie he is making at the moment. Like, isn't it a weird coincidence that every actor and director and writer gets to right their all time "favoritest, bestest" character that they've wanted to be since childhood? Almost 90% of the time? How rare it is to find people who are actually honest about stuff like this and not just saying what they think people want to hear, people like Henry Cavill and even RDJ and Chris Evans who don't BS the audience. Why's he take a shot at Thor? Easy. Fanboy pissing contest. This is fun and gets people talking. Same reason why he blows off the question of whether Batman could beat Superman or not like it's not even worth answering because "duh, Superman!" when a year later he selects the triumphant rub-it-in dialogue of Batman "beating" Superman be read at the same panel. Uh huh. Snyder is a Superman fanboy at heart indeed.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I think Snyder is just as big a fan of comics as we are and so he knows how to speak our language. I too read all the interviews leading up to Man of Steel. Every single one. I never got the impression that Snyder was knowledgeable about Superman (and if we're giving credit where credit is due, then I would give all credit to Goyer on knowledge of the character, his history and his most popular story lines).
Preach!
I've read interviews with Snyder in the past about not knowing how to bring Superman into the modern world, and quite frankly, his bias for darker stories and characters and his love of Frank Miller always came across loud and clear. So much so, that i got the distinct impression before he was announced for MOS (based on his statements and body of work) that he had no interest in Superman.
Wisdom, guys. ^^
That's my backup for agreeing with Kevin Smith on why Snyder took the gig. That, and the fact that a stable property like Superman must have seemed appealing at that point in time for his career. I don't mean to be cynical, just realistic. We all know Hollywood can be a less than honest place - and in this day and age, I think directors and writers understand that the story behind the making of a film based on one of our beloved characters is almost as important as the final product. As fans, we want to feel like we have the best people on the job, and one of the ways of making us feel that way is when the people in charge come out and say things like "I love this character. He/she's the greatest ever and I can't wait to show the world how awesome our vision for him/her is."
I don't meant to be disrespectful, but what about Snyder's interviews came across to you as anything other than generic fanboy enthusiasm for working on a superhero property? What made it specific enough to you to make you feel, "Ok, this guy totally gets Superman!"?
Exactly. Not a damn thing.
And it's not cynicism, it's reality and accepting things for as they are. Some people would like to think that Snyder and Goyer, merely because they have been bequeathed with the task of working on a Superman project, means that they must have cookouts with the Siegel and Shuster family and know nothing but love of Superman all day long and are absolutely obviously worthy because dammit, they're the ones doing it, not us, and that makes them the best and the final authority on it, not the longtime fans or the 70 year history of the character. Just Snyder and Goyer and whoever is at the helm at the moment, they OBVIOUSLY get Superman, and shame on you for saying otherwise! All comments are SINCERE and from the bottom of their hearts! After all, look at Snyder's track record pre MOS, and hell, even post MOS. Batman sure looks great, let me tell ya.
t:
