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Mr. Strong wins! Mr. Strong beat RobGrizzly 5 to 1
Bryan Singer should admit to his mistakes in Superman Returns.
RobGrizzly said
Was I the only one a little annoyed by the comments I read in EW's "Pop Watch" (March 12).
"he does acknowledge that many viewers were disappointed that there was so much nostalgia and romance and so little action. He's not apologizing for that either (it was necessary, he suggests, in order to reestablish the characters after their long absence from the screen) "
Um, I think everyone on the planet knows who Superman is, Bryan. We don't need reestablishing- We need a new movie!
Mr. Strong said
Yes, directors and producers often make terrible mistakes, but to find genuine apologies for their films or shows is a rarity. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are great examples of execs who will listen to fans and apologize for their flaws (Nikki and Paolo?).
In movie world, though, where this throwdown lies, it's much harder to find a director who will "admit to his mistakes." A movie is either successful or a failure, from the artistic viewpoint. When it comes to popular franchises, people will always be angry or upset at certain little things here and there (or big things, depending on the franchise) that may have been lost in translation. It's too much, I would argue, to expect a director or executive authority to listen to some complaints and immediately admit to mistakes, thus acknowledging at that moment that the movie was a failure.
My initial reaction is simply, "Not just Singer, and not just Superman." Why should it be only Singer to apologize for negative response to a favorite franchise film? Plenty others had some, if not more, flaws to them in need of apology. Why should it only be Superman that needs apologizing for? Did he not make mistakes in X-Men?
RobGrizzly said
Great argument.
However, I don't think it's too much to ask for a director or producer to aknowledge that they could have done something better. We're talking in retrospect, here. You'll hear it on a DVD commentary all the time, including Singer's own X-men (though that's a moot point because X-men was actually liked by the majority).
Yes, there are plenty of directors that have fumbled their material. But in this specific throwdown, from a particular article, I'm wondering why Singer doesn't own up.
I get what he was trying to do, and the movie isn't even that bad. But isn't the whole point to satisfy the audience? If the majority wasn't satisfied, shouldn't that tell him something? Is he making the movie for us or himself?
Mr. Strong said
Hmm... understandable. My interpretation of the throwdown was different than yours, I suppose!
Going in your direction, I do agree that it's refreshing to see him admit to some flaws and that he could have done something better. However, in that same vein, it's just much harder for somebody to admit to calling their movie (or parts of it) a mistake. As I said before, when you as creator acknowledge that the movie is a failure, there's no more argument about it.
Imagine you painted a portrait of Superman to sell at an art fair (I don't know, just work with me). Certain fans said you drew him too fat, others said the colors were off, and yet there were a certain number who said it was just fine. You drew this portrait for someone else, yet it's still your own work. Should you just say, "I admit to my mistakes" and deem this portrait a failure? It's smart to acknowledge you can do certain aspects better, but to say as a whole that you realize all of your mistakes is a tough thing to do.
Kudos to you for a toughie of a throwdown.
RobGrizzly said
Maybe I used the wrong choice of words for this throwdown argument.
"Mistakes" might not be exactly what I mean. The fact is, this is a movie Bryan has always wanted to make, and judging from "making of" specials and the webisodes during preproduction and shooting days, he was very passionate about honoring the material. But the end product was...less than extrodinary.
I'm glad he's proud of his work (at least someone is). A good filmmaker should take criticisms constructively so they can go back and make something even better. I couldn't help but detect a hint of arrogance from what I read in that blog.
It all seems like this has fallen into a matter of ego.
Mr. Strong said
Agreed. Vote away, kids.
On another note, I just rewatched the movie last night (not because of the throwdown, mind you, but just because it was on) and although there were flaws, I found overall that I enjoyed it. Bah, I don't blame a director alone for flaws in a picture. It's genuinely a team effort.
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Comments
RobGrizzly 03/21/08
He promises things will be better in the next one, but with all the love triangles, rehashed real estate plots, and super baby boys, he delivered the first time, Singer should be thankfull he's getting the second chance at all.
HoneyBunny 03/22/08
I don't know if Singer should admit he made MANY mistakes with Returns or just promise not to make any more Superman movies, EVER. I defintely won't be going to see any of them.
That said-Sam Raimi definitely screwed the pooch with Spidey 3 so... even good directors can mess up "classic stories".
While we're at it, lots of people think Coppola should apologize for
The Godfather 3
There are so many people who should apologize for the shlock they put out, I can't vote on this throwdown.
To me the question isn't "Should he apologize?" It's "Should he even be allowed to make another Superman movie?" My answer, "Heck NO!"
scarsandstories8 03/23/08
first, brian singer did an amazing job with superman returns. not everybody could make a successful superhero movie that actually relies on it's substance (fantastic four, anybody?... ugh)
second, even if i did not like it, no director ever needs to admit to their mistakes. especially if they loved it.
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