How Superman Handles a Lois Lane Interview
A budding relationship gets in the way of dogged journalism in this scene from 'Superman.'
The film's screenwriter and director, James Gunn, narrates the sequence in the above video, which involves a conversation between Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Superman, a.k.a. Clark Kent (David Corenswet) in Lois's apartment. The two are dating, and Clark agrees to be interviewed as Superman by Lois. She asks him about a recent incident in which he prevented one fictional country in the DC universe, Boravia, from invading another, Jarhanpur.
'I think the fun thing about the scene, what I really love about it, is that it addresses so many different things in so many ways,' Gunn said during an interview in New York. 'We're talking about Lois and Clark's relationship in a way that we've never seen it. But we're also getting to know them as human beings more and seeing what their belief systems are, which is important for a movie like this. And also, we're saying, if somebody like Superman did exist, how he could affect world politics in such an incredible and strange way.'
'I just wanted to keep things simultaneously grounded, but also fast paced,' Gunn said. 'There is a little bit of 'His Girl Friday,' 'It Happened One Night' in the dialogue, but also keep everything as real as we possibly can and make it a surprise for 'Superman' viewers.'
Read the 'Superman' review.
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Fast Company
12 minutes ago
- Fast Company
Elon Musk used to be a movie hero. Now he's the villain
I recently saw James Gunn's new Superman movie, and as I sat there in the dark theater, I couldn't help but think that Nicholas Hoult based his Lex Luthor on Elon Musk. Something about that smirk he kept flashing throughout the movie reminded me so much of the Tesla CEO's. But Hoult's mannerisms weren't the only thing. His Luthor had several other characteristics that I, and many others, see in Musk, most notably a savior complex and a need to be adored. That's in addition to the fact that in this film, Luthor is a tech billionaire with significant contracts with, and influence over, the government. The thing is, during a lie detector test conducted somewhat in jest by Vanity Fair, Hoult told Superman star David Corenswet that he did not base his Lex Luthor portrayal on Elon Musk. Corenswet noted that Hoult had previously said he wanted to make his Luthor 'as alpha as possible,' and asked whether there were any alpha male podcasts Hoult listened to to prep for the role. Hoult replied that he hadn't listened to any podcasts, but he did listen 'to the audiobook of Elon Musk's book, even though I didn't base the character on Elon at all. But I just thought it'd be interesting.' [Note: Hoult did not clarify if he was talking about Musk's official biography, written by Walter Isaacson in 2023, or Ashlee Vance's unofficial Musk biography, from 2015.] Still, it's hard not to spot the similarities between the controversial Musk and Superman's greatest foe. And Superman isn't the first movie with such similarities, intended or not. In recent years, Musk and other tech billionaires have seemed to have served as direct inspiration for movie villains. Yet things haven't always been this way. [Photo: Marvel Studios] Elon Musk inspired the most iconic superhero of the 21st century Before Robert Downey Jr. starred as Tony Stark in 2008's Iron Man, few people outside of the comic book world could tell you who Iron Man was. Yet, thanks largely to Downey Jr.'s portrayal, Iron Man became a household name—and kick-started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has allowed now-owner Disney to rake in tens of billions of dollars in box office receipts over the past 17 years. In the script, Downey Jr.'s Stark was charming, intelligent, and slightly arrogant. He leveraged his extreme wealth and technological prowess to make the world a better place. This take on the character—who had existed in comic book form since 1963—was heavily based on Elon Musk. In a 2022 interview with New York Magazine, Iron Man screenwriter Mark Fergus made it clear that the Tesla billionaire was an inspiration for Stark. Fergus said that Stark had historically been a Howard Hughes-style figure, but 2008's Iron Man needed a more contemporary inspiration. Fergus and his colleagues decided that the contemporary Stark was somewhat of a trinity figure, a mixture of three people. The first two were Donald Trump and 'maybe a little Steve Jobs.' But it was Elon Musk who was 'the guy who grabbed the torch [from Howard Hughes]'—an industrialist who also would appear in the gossip pages. 'Trump was fun before he became president—he was actually kind of a goofy celebrity. Steve Jobs was always serious and angry; he never quite had that gift of the bullshit . . .' Fergus explained. 'Musk took the brilliance of Jobs with the showmanship of Trump. He was the only one who had the fun factor and the celebrity vibe and actual business substance.' Marvel didn't shy away from this comparison, either. After the first film became a smash hit in 2008, the studio quickly greenlit a sequel, Iron Man 2, which came out in 2010. In that film, Downey Jr.'s Stark actually meets the real Elon Musk at a party in Monaco and compliments the real-world billionaire on SpaceX's Merlin engines. Yet, the late 2000s are a long time ago now, especially in terms of politics, culture, and Musk's public persona. advertisement Musk and tech billionaires are now movie villains I've previously opined about how the world will likely never have another Steve Jobs—a tech leader beloved by the general public. There are many reasons for this. The primary one is that Big Tech companies were generally seen as wondrous institutions improving our lives on a nearly monthly basis in the early 2000s. Since then, their integration with our lives and influence over it have dramatically expanded—and not for the better. Tech companies are now largely viewed as self-interested entities that prioritize their profits over the greater good. E-commerce giants destroy small businesses, social media companies' engagement algorithms reward bad behavior and poison public discourse, and artificial intelligence firms are so entwined with government and power that one can't help but be concerned about where it will all lead. And because of this shift in public sentiment towards tech companies, a shift has also occurred in the public's perception of the billionaire CEOs who lead them. This is perhaps nowhere more true than with Musk, who has publicly involved himself in governmental affairs of nations like no other CEO before him. All these changes have led, rightfully, to more distrust of the tech industry and those who lead the companies that power it. Suddenly, those same leaders have become the role models for fictional movie villains. It's hard to watch the 2017 film The Circle and not see parallels between Tom Hanks's evil social media CEO and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. And two films in 2022—Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Jurassic World Dominion seem to have patterned their villains after Musk and Apple's Tim Cook, respectively. The thing is, no director or actor in these movies has confirmed that any real-life tech CEO is the direct inspiration for these characters. In Glass Onion's case, director Rian Johnson denied that the antagonist, Miles Bron, played by Edward Norton, was based on Musk, despite many observers seeing similarities between the two. 'That's just sort of a horrible, horrible accident,' Johnson told Wired. But he also noted that 'There's a lot of general stuff about that sort of species of tech billionaire that went directly into [the movie],' adding, 'But obviously, it has almost a weird relevance in exactly the current moment.' That 'weird relevance' has lasted years now. And, as Superman shows, it's easier than ever for audiences to accept tech CEOs as modern-day villains, whether or not that villain is directly inspired by any singular individual. Society's ongoing tendency to now view tech leaders as the bad guys likely means that we can expect more in the future. At least until they own all the movie studios.
Buzz Feed
7 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
9 Celebrities Who Died In Strange, Mysterious Ways
It's always been fascinating to me how, as a celebrity or public figure, you can live your whole life under the microscope of for your death to be shrouded in mystery, and — in some cases — still unsolved decades later. Or, like others, you become famous because of your death, only reaching the goal of celebrity when you're no longer able to bask in it. Recently, I came across a thread on Reddit where u/the_last_lemurian asked people to share celebrity deaths that were so mysterious, people spent literal hours thinking about them. Based on their suggestions, I spent hours going down rabbit holes myself, summarizing these cases of strange, mysterious, or unsolved celebrity deaths that I, too, cannot get out of my head now. Here are nine of the strangest, most fascinating, and most-suggested celebrity deaths they shared: George Reeves (1914–1959). Reeves, best known for playing the titular character in Adventures of Superman, died on June 16 from a gunshot wound to the head. Officially, it was ruled as a suicide, but in conjunction with a lack of evidence, suspicious circumstances, and contradictory witness reports, his friend Rory Calhoun reportedly said, "No one in Hollywood believed the suicide story." On the night of his death, Reeves and his fiancé, Leonore Lemmon, had been out drinking, and Reeves went to bed as Lemmon invited friends over. Reeves was said to have come downstairs to ask the group to quiet down, and as he left, Lemmon reportedly joked that he was "going upstairs to shoot himself." The group heard a noise coming from upstairs but didn't immediately check it. Here is where the inconsistencies begin. Despite the apparent suicide, no fingerprints — not even Reeves's — were found on the gun, and Reeves didn't have gunpowder on his hands. Additionally, Lemmon and her friends only reported hearing one bang, but there were three bullets found at the scene, as well as a casing whose placement wasn't consistent with a suicide. Pictured: Lenore Lemmon (left) Despite the ruling, three main theories came to be: that Reeves was depressed about a lack of roles post-Superman and killed himself, that it was a drunken accident and Lemmon killed him, and that it was a planned murder in relation to an affair he had reportedly had with actor Toni Mannix. "The fact that he played such a beloved character like Superman but was found dead under such mysterious circumstances makes you wonder if it really was a suicide or if it was something more sinister. Like, imagine if tomorrow they found Chris Evans dead by a gun that doesn't have his fingerprints on it, with no gunshot residue on his hands, and it's just ruled a suicide? That would be wild."—sun4restYou can read more about his death here. Natalie Wood (1938–1981). On Nov. 30, 1981, Wood's body was found off the coast of Santa Catalina Island, where she'd been vacationing with her husband, Robert Wagner, her Brainstorm costar Christopher Walken, and friend/captain, Dennis Davern, on a yacht. The West Side Story actor — who was said to be "famously terrified of dark water," was found floating about 200m away from a motorized dinghy in the early hours of the morning. Initially, reports assumed the death was accidental; however, the story got much more complicated over the years as stories and timelines changed with new information. Per Wagner's memoir, Pieces of My Heart, he claims he, Wood, and Walken returned to the boat that night at around 10 after wining and dining on land. Witnesses said the trio was visibly intoxicated. Back on the boat, Davern said Wagner smashed a bottle in front of Wood and Walken "out of the clear blue," asking, "What are you tryin' to do, f--- my wife?" The Rebel Without a Cause actor reportedly left and went to her room, with her husband following, where they began arguing. Davern claimed it sounded as though it could be physical, and said they continued out on the back of the boat. This information came years after Wood's death. Davern shared this with investigators in 2011, which reopened the case and brought Wagner back into question. In 2012, her cause of death was amended from accidental drowning to "drowning and other undetermined factors." Nonetheless, after years of additional investigation, Wagner was cleared, and the case was left open and unsolved. Pictured: Wagner (left) and Wood (right)Suggested by: Toxicity246"Christopher Walken KNOWS SOMETHING."—Longjumping-Ant-77"[The boat] was around 60 feet, and on a boat that size, you can hear everything that is going on. A huge fight would have been heard, as would have the sudden silence of the fight ending. Robert's actions seem very suspicious. But we will never know, unless Christopher talks, which he won't."—NoneThere's so much information and speculation around this case that it truly could be its own article and is by no means all covered in this brief summary. If you'd like to read more about it, you can start here and here. Brittany Murphy (1977–2009). On Dec. 20, 2009, the 32-year-old Uptown Girls star collapsed on her bathroom floor and just hours later, was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in LA. Her coroner's report later showed pneumonia as her cause of death, and listed anemia and multiple drug intoxication as "contributing factors." Following her death, both her mother and her husband, Simon Monjack, made a rather strange appearance together on Larry King Live. Further, Murphy had lived with the two of them while she was alive, and they continued to live together in her home after her death. This, fueled by Monjack's criminal history and track record of abusive behavior toward his exes, created tons of conspiracy theories around what actually happened to the Clueless star. A majority of theories surrounding her death center around some kind of poisoning, be it accidentally from mold or intentionally by her mother or husband (often suggested to be linked to a desire for Murphy's wealth or an alleged affair between the two). Theories only grew wilder when, less than six months after Murphy's death, her husband died of the same causes. Suggested by: bluntbiz and Dougalface. You can read more about her death here. Michael Rockefeller (1938-????). At 23 years old, Rockefeller disappeared while traveling to Dutch New Guinea (now West Papua). The son of the then-New York City governor had been traveling for seven months already when his boat capsized, sending him and his travel companion René Wassing into the Betsj River. While two others they traveled with — who were native to the region and familiar with the hostility of the river — made it to shore to find aid, Rockefeller and Wassing stayed atop the overturned boat. Rockefeller was reportedly worried they would float into the open ocean with even less of a chance of survival, so he attached a make-shift flotation device to his belt and jumped in. The swim to shore was estimated to be somewhere between three and ten miles. Wassing stayed behind and was rescued the following morning by search parties. Two weeks' worth of search parties scoured the region, though he was never found, dead or alive. Pictured: Wassing This disappearance, of course, created a breeding ground for theories as to how specifically he met his demise. Some are simple and straightforward, like drowning. Others suggest Rockefeller abandoned society and joined the Asmat tribe that called the region home, claiming to have photographic evidence of a white man amongst them. Others, however, believe Rockefeller sought help from the Otsjanep (a subgroup of the Asmats) when he reached land and was ultimately killed and eaten by them. You can read more about his disappearance by: laufsteakmodel Elizabeth Short (1924–1947). Also posthumously known as "The Black Dahlia," Short was a 22-year-old aspiring actress when her body was found on a "barely developed" Los Angeles street, naked, bloodless, sliced in half, and positioned like a mannequin. Per BBC, "she had been mutilated, her intestines removed, and her mouth slashed from ear to ear." Her case, unfortunately, remains unsolved to this day. There are tons of theories involving Short's death, which range greatly due to the sheer lack of information. The FBI speculates that her killer might've worked in or studied medicine, given the precision of her dissection, and students at USC Medical School at the time were looked into. For similar reasons, they also could've been a butcher, though neither lane led them anywhere in the end. In what they hoped would be a breakthrough, investigators got an anonymous letter from the potential murderer with fingerprints on it, though they weren't a match to any in their database at the time. Suggested by: robj57You can read more about her murder here. Elliott Smith (1969–2003). On Oct. 21, 2003, Smith and his girlfriend, Jennifer Chiba, were fighting in their LA apartment when he threatened to kill himself. This wasn't something out of the blue for Smith, and so Chiba reportedly locked herself in the bathroom in the heat of their she heard a scream. She unlocked the door to find a kitchen knife lodged in his chest, stabbing him right in the heart. He died just 20 minutes after arriving at the hospital. While an apparent suicide note reading "I'm sorry, love, Elliott. God forgive me." was found on a sticky note, Smith's death was still considered suspicious for many reasons, and investigators struggled with whether to rule it a suicide or a murder. First and foremost, a stab to the heart is one of the rarest and most painful ways to commit suicide, though that didn't make it impossible for him to have done so. What was unusual, however, was that Smith had no "hesitation wounds," or initial, shallower cuts typically inflicted before the final wound, and had small, potential self-defense wounds. Further, Chiba had reportedly removed the knife from his body and, though she personally denied this, it was reported that she refused to speak to detectives initially. While some may blame his suicide on his drug addiction or depression, Smith was reportedly doing well in the time leading up to his death and had been clean. No substances aside from his prescribed medications for depression and ADHD were found in his system at the time of his death. That's not to say his lifelong depression — which, along with his addiction, were often topics of his music — couldn't have played a major role in his potential some friends and colleagues of Smith claimed that his relationship with Chiba was nowhere near as peaceful as others had made it out to be, reporting constant fighting, breaking up, and tense feelings between the two (and Chiba's band) as collaborators. Others, however, countless theories, as of 2003 the case remains open with the by Zukez, interprime, and obi-sean. You can read more about it here. Anton Yelchin (1989–2016). The Star Trek actor died in June of 2016 in a freak accident in which he was pinned between his fence and mailbox on his Los Angeles property by his 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The car had been recalled just months earlier for having confusing gear shifters that had, on more than one occasion, caused the vehicle to roll off. This, too, was believed to have been the cause of his death. Per the lawsuit, he "was crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death." Suggested by: DaveDavidsen. You can read more about his death here. Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962). The 36-year-old Hollywood icon's death in August of 1962 is shrouded in mystery and conspiracy, even all these decades later. This, of course, includes the events leading up to her death. Per a 1962 Los Angeles Times article, the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star's psychiatrist broke into her room at 3:30 in the morning and found her naked, facedown, and "clutching a telephone receiver" in bed. She had reportedly already been dead for somewhere between six to eight hours due to an "apparent overdose of sleeping pills," and investigators were uncertain whether it was accidental or a suicide. A second timeline of events was proposed in the documentary The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes, based on "hundreds of interviews," aimed to get to the bottom of inconsistencies in the original story. It suggested that — per the word of several paramedics and the wife of Monroe's PR manager — it was actually known that Monroe was unwell hours earlier (10:30 p.m. the night before), and that she was taken in the ambulance alive and died on the way to the hospital. Regardless, the reason for her death — and whether it was accidental, a suicide, or a staged homicide — remains a mystery. There are probably hundreds of conspiracy theories surrounding the nature of it all, from her romantic entanglements with JFK and Robert Kennedy to CIA involvement over fear of her harboring Communist connections. "She had been sleeping with some very elite people, who knew some very elite information."—prettyvoidofevilYou can read more about her death here, as well as the aforementioned documentary here. And finally, Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849). On the 27th of September, Poe left Richmond, Virginia, for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for an editing job. never made it there. Nor was he seen in New York, where he lived. He wasn't found at all, in fact, for almost a week. When the legendary author did turn up once again, he was in Baltimore, Maryland. It was Oct. 3, four days before his death. Poe was found lying in the gutter of Gunner's Hall tavern, delirious, disheveled, and dressed in someone else's clothing. His friends assumed him to be drunk, so he was sent to Washington College Hospital to recover. While there, he drifted in and out of consciousness, covered in sweat and talking to seemingly imaginary things nobody else could see. He was unable to adequately answer the physician's questions and was reported to have repeatedly asked for someone by the name of "Reynolds" on his final day in the hospital. To this day, no one knows who "Reynolds" is. There are loads of theories as to what exactly happened to the Tell-Tale Heart author, from suspicions of carbon monoxide poisoning to rabies. One of the most popular theories, though, is that Poe was "cooped." Cooping was a method 19th-century gangs would use to rig elections by kidnapping people, disguising them, forcing them to vote for their preferred candidate, then "rewarding" them with alcohol, as this occurred during Prohibition. Poe was found on Election Day, and the tavern had been a polling site. He ultimately passed away at the hospital on Oct. 7. While the theory definitely carries its weight, unfortunately, we will likely never know for certain what happened to Poe that by: Rigistroni and Blametheorangejuice. You can read more about Poe's death here. Do you love all things scary, dark, and creepy? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
James Gunn almost cut Superman's most controversial scene after a bad test screening: "Why the f*** is he saving a squirrel?"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. James Gunn says we almost didn't see Superman save a squirrel during one of the film's biggest fight scenes because of poor audience reaction. Warning: Spoilers for Superman below! "Yeah, although it was probably the second- or third-most hotly debated moment in the movie. Because we showed it to test audiences and some people did not like the squirrel. They're like, 'Why the fuck is he saving a squirrel?' Why is he taking time out, saving a squirrel?'" Gunn told Rolling Stone "There was a cut where I cut it out and I'm like, 'I really miss the squirrel. He's gotta save the squirrel.' In addition, there were also some geographic problems with where he ended up if I didn't have him fly over with the squirrel. So I put the squirrel back in despite the protestations of some of my people on my crew." In Superman, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) sends a kaiju to destroy Metropolis in order to distract Superman (David Corenswet) while he and his goons break into the Fortress of Solitude. At some point during the battle, we see Superman lift up the kaiju's foot to stop it from crushing a dog, and later grabs a squirrel out of the way to save it from being smushed. It might seem like a small, silly detail, but it really highlights just what type of superhero he truly is: every life is worth saving, no matter how big or how small. Personally, I would've thought that whole crying alien baby scene would've been the thing that didn't test well with audiences... but hey, what do I know? Superman is in theaters now. For more, check out our guides to all the upcoming DC movies and TV shows and how to watch the DC movies in order. Solve the daily Crossword
