Pinoy fans get super first look at new ‘Man of Steel’
When David Corenswet wore the signature Superman costume for the first time, everyone on set was in awe, watching him transform into the legendary superhero with his powerful physique and irresistible appeal. But not film director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Suicide Squad”), who had quite a different reaction to what he saw.
During the “Superman in Manila” press conference at the Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig, The STAR asked the “Superman” director-writer and Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane in the film, what the atmosphere was like when David finally suited up as Superman in front of the cast and crew.
“Well, I know that Nicholas (Hoult, who plays Lex Luthor), he was like his teeth were chattering and he had these big puppy-dog eyes. It was like, ‘Oh my God, this is great, Superman’s here,’” James recounted to this paper.
“I think the cast and crew, when David walked out and he got the full suit on, people were like, ‘Just wow.’ I remember, we had a couple of actors visiting us and they were freaking out and it was, ‘Yeah, it felt like Superman.’
“Every day with him on set, especially when we went out in public, it was like, ‘Santa Claus, right?’ So, Santa Claus comes and every kid in the world, you know, just rides up and that’s what it’s like with you (David).”
However, the reaction of James, who is also DC Studios co-chairman and co-CEO, was quite the opposite. “But for me, it was like, ‘I don’t know. The suit needs to be clipped there. It needs to be changed here. I need to change this. Oh, he has a symbol. Exactly, right? I’m going to change the S symbol.’”
In his words, his experience “wasn’t quite as magical as everyone else’s” as he had to meticulously check on the details of the costume.
For Rachel though, seeing her co-star as Superman was akin to “every adult became a kid again” moment. As she recalled, “I had those moments over and over and over again. I feel like I was so over it by the end of this, but I just told this story not so many times. I’ll never forget walking through a field at night.
“It was like something out of a movie. The moon was a paid actor in this scene, and we were walking through this field, and in a long day, Superman’s cape was flowing in the wind. This was like three quarters of the way through shooting and I ran up to David and was like, ‘Dude, you’re Superman!’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, I know.’
“I feel like we all had those moments throughout shooting where every once in a while, just at the point when you start to get used to it, it suddenly feels real, and every adult becomes a kid again.”
The cast members have not seen the entire movie yet but Rachel hoped that the moviegoers will get to experience the same experience that they had.
When Clark met Lois
In the movie, Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent falls in love with fellow journalist Lois Lane.
Reflecting on their roles as journalists, David and Rachel shared their insights into their characters and the roles they play in society.
“Well, there are versions of Clark Kent where he is really an intrepid reporter and he’s on Lois Lane’s level. Or even more impressive for a reporter to choose,” David’s answer elicited laughter from the press in the room.
But he was quick to explain, “Well, wait. Wait, wait, wait. I don’t think that’s the version we were doing. In our version, Lois Lane is the star reporter. And actually, on the day that we meet our characters, I think the idea is that Clark has gotten his first front-page piece on that day. And that’s a huge day for him. He’s never gotten a front page. He hasn’t won the awards that Lois has won. He really is cosplaying as a journalist.
“That’s his thing. He wants to hang out with these guys. He needs to have a day job. He needs to, you know, be able to fit in that way. He loves journalism. He loves the idea of journalism. But he’s not a serious journalist. At least not yet, in the way that Lois is. He likes to think that he is.
“And that’s why he has this little, you know, ace up his sleeve, which is that he has a very personal relationship with Superman, which certainly helps a journalist if you have access to somebody like that. But there are these great ethical questions that get brought up there.”
Rachel, on the other hand, pointed out that Lois is one of the characters that has evolved the most in the history of comics.
“One of the first questions I asked James before the audition, maybe, was where does she fit into the canon of this character that is so familiar to so many of us and probably to so many of you. And we really talked about the importance of her journalism. Also, James laid this beautiful roadmap in that I was really attracted to this version of the character because it feels equally weighted,” she shared.
Everyday Superhero
For Rachel, Lois is a superhero in her own right. “She’s an everyday superhero. And just like Superman, she’s not knocked off balance very easily. She can logic her way around just about anything,” she said.
“She’s 10 steps ahead of everyone else. And then along comes this thing that she couldn’t have seen coming — that she can’t logic her way out of — and it totally knocks her off her feet. And… True love.”
They also talked about how they reimagined Lois in a world where the definition of journalist evolves rapidly.
“What it means to show up professionally to the office looks a little bit different today than it did even 10 years ago. And so we talked about what she’d look like as somebody who’s always going to chase a story to the ends of the earth, who puts work, at the moment, first and foremost in her life.
“What does her apartment look like? What does she look like? How does she express herself through her clothes? And that meant a lot of flat shoes.”
And it was a relief for Rachel to wear flat shoes.
“Were you worried that (the character) was going to be as tall as me?” David asked Rachel.
“David insisted on it, actually. I remember there was a pair of boots that had a heel about this high. And David was like, ‘I don’t like the boots. I’m not feeling the boots.’ And I ended up in shoes that had absolutely no heel at all,” Rachel replied.
Apart from the presscon, James, Rachel and of course, the new Superman, David, graced several events here to officially kick off the movie’s world tour.
Referencing her character, she was asked, “If you were to write a headline about your visit here in Manila, what would that headline be?”
She then asked the audience to pitch the strongest headline. TV5 journalist and The STAR’s entertainment columnist, MJ Marfori, quickly volunteered and said: “From Metropolis to Manila, Superman touches down to steal Pinoy hearts,” which became a full-length story that appeared on STAR’s edition yesterday.
Manila as first stop
Manila served as the launchpad for the world tour of David, Rachel, James and producer Peter Safran.
They commended the Filipino fans over the grand welcome extended to them when they attended the “Superman Look Up” fan event at Bridgetowne in Pasig City, the red-carpet fan event at the SM Mall of Asia on Thursday and the presscon on Friday.
David personally lauded the fans’ welcoming energy on his first world tour.
“But seriously, it’s been so wonderful to be here and you all have such great enthusiasm and energy. And the fans we had last night were fantastic. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my first tour like this, and what a way to start it,” he said during the press event.
The host shared that he was telling David backstage that they should come back, to which the latter replied, “Yeah, two days is too short.”
James likewise thanked the Filipino fans for their “warm reception.”
“Philippines! Thanks for being an incredible start to the Superman World Tour,” the filmmaker wrote on his official Facebook page.
After Manila, the tour is heading next to Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris and other cities.
The film also stars Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio and many others.
The DC Studios Presents a Troll Court Entertainment/The Safran Company Production, A James Gunn Film, “Superman,” will be in cinemas and IMAX nationwide on July 9, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
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