David Corenswet recalls James Gunn telling him to 'shut the f--- up' for asking too many questions on 'Superman' set
In an interview for GQ's latest cover story, Corenswet recalled how he and Gunn worked together to perfect their vision for the latest iteration of Clark Kent. The Superman lead shared how the filmmaker and new DC Studios co-head differs from most directors because he'll "sit back by the monitors on the God mic and he'll yell directions at you, which is not how directors generally work."
While some might be taken aback by that approach, Corenswet appreciated that Gunn was willing to say what he wanted out loud "without too much politeness and without beating around the bush."
"If I'm no good, tell me I'm no good, and then let's work together to make me good," he added.
Case in point: Although Gunn complimented Corenswet's eagerness to "help make the film as good as possible," he also admitted that the actor's eye for filmmaking started to wear on his nerves after a while.
"He said, 'I think you're also like a kid sticking his finger in light sockets and sometimes I gotta slap you on the wrist and say stop f---ing doing that,'" Corenswet recalled good-naturedly.
Gunn expanded on the sentiment to the publication himself, remembering that the Politician actor often asked questions that "make him better, and because they make him better, they make the movie better."
"But every once in a while, it's just one question too many, and it's like, 'Oh, my God, just, David, stop, stop, for a minute,'" Gunn continued, adding that the "beautiful thing" about his working relationship with Corenswet is how he understands the director's limits.
The director elaborated, "When I say, 'David, shut the f--- up,' David totally gets it and does not take that personally. And we have a really, to me, beautiful relationship in that way because I'm used to being very sensitive with actors, and you have to be by default, because many actors are incredibly sensitive because they're putting their emotions on the line onscreen. But with David, he's not that way. He's not sensitive like that."
Superman, in theaters Friday, marks the official theatrical launch of Gunn and Peter Safran's rebooted DC Universe (DCU). Set three years into Clark Kent's tenure as the Man of Steel, the story follows the superhero's fight to balance his Kryptonian heritage with his upbringing in Smallville, Kan.; meanwhile, he's pulled into a personal battle with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who, as Gunn told Entertainment Weekly, is driven by an obsessive need to outshine the superhero.
The cast is massive, but rather than slowly building the DCU hero by hero, Gunn drops audiences into a fully-formed world. Leading the way are Corenswet's Superman, Hoult's Lex Luthor, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and they're backed by a sprawling ensemble of heroes, villains, and frequent Gunn collaborators.
Corenswet previously opened up to EW about his approach to Superman's personality and how closely it aligned with Gunn's take on the character.
"I had the same ideas about Superman, that he's quite reserved and has ultimate control over his emotions and his reactions to things," he shared. "I was very excited when James said all of that is true about Superman, but we get to meet him in this moment where those things are least true. That's where he's a little bit of Superman, he's a little bit of Clark — because the only other person in the room knows who he is and holds all the cards."He added, "It's harder in some ways to play Superman and then to do a great play or a dramatic film, because as an actor, you feel like the seriousness of the work somehow supports you. It allows the whole thing to feel more grounded. There is a unique challenge to playing a guy who wears his underwear on the outside and can fly. I think I had the great fortune of getting a little bit of both. I was definitely on team trunks-on-the-outside for this iteration of Superman, but I certainly felt James took the work very seriously."
Superman soars into theaters on July 11.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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'Sullivan's Crossing' star Morgan Kohan reflects on the 'pressure' of leading hit show: 'You definitely question yourself'
Toronto-based actor Morgan Kohan quickly stole the hearts of Sullivan's Crossing fans playing lead Maggie Sullivan in the hit show. Originally from British Columbia, Kohan's initial love of dance transitioned to acting for the talented star, who's become one of Canada's most beloved stars. Kohan spoke to Yahoo Canada about how she navigated her career, from a musical theatre program and audition for student films, to leading an internationally successful series. In addition to reflecting on other projects she's worked on, including When Hope Calls and Murdoch Transcript I feel like I've definitely found my footing more so now, after a couple of seasons. But that first one was like, you know, you definitely question yourself too often, I have feelings about this. I feel like this is the right decision or, or it should go this way, but people don't know me and maybe don't, aren't going to listen in the same kind of way and when to speak up and when not to, and um yeah, it was, it's, yeah, it's an interesting thing. It definitely was an interesting time, yeah. I know you kind of started as a dancer, and that was kind of like a particular passion for you, and then you ended up later coming to Toronto and doing a musical theater program, but what really made you say, yeah, you know, and I think this is something I want to pursue, like as a job, as a career. I don't know. I think it just always kind of felt right. It kind of, um, I feel like that path kind of opened in a way as I went from dance to the schooling, and the schooling that I did was all theater-based, um. Which was incredible, but it was funny because um, I have not since auditioned for theater, like never once after graduating. 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It has everythingthat's like Hallmarks very specific look, feel, attitude. Like you kind of know what it is before you even hear anyone say anything; you can kind of get it. What was it like to kind of step into that aesthetic and that kind of show in particular? I mean, it was lovely. I think our first season, like the the first season, which was a good chunk of years ago now, um. Yeah, it was exciting also because we had like they built the town on location, so it wasn't like we were jumping around. Um, it was really exciting too, yeah, because it was a period piece. So we had all of our wardrobe built for us, um. And yeah, I mean, I think I really did approach it in that way. 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Horror's middle class is vanishing – and that's bad news for all film fans
Does no one want to watch people get butchered any more? Horror, long recognised as one of Hollywood's most reliable cash cows, is in a panic: few scary movies are breaking through financially in 2025, many more are cratering completely, and questions are being asked about the future of a genre that once seemed as durable as Jason Voorhees. Forget the death of the archetypal movie star: if sassy psycho-cyborg M3GAN can't open a movie, who can? Back in 2022, the first M3GAN – about an artificially intelligent doll with a bloodthirst – grossed $182m (£135m), including $78m of pure profit for its backers at Universal Pictures and the micro-budget horror studio Blumhouse, off a production budget of just $12m. Thanks to smart marketing, which turned its leading lady's incongruous dancefloor skills into a spooky meme, M3GAN ended up exemplifying the dream outcome of the modern studio horror film: low-cost, big-brain thrills with such inescapable dazzle that audiences couldn't not seek it out. Why, then, did last month's M3GAN 2.0 go so badly? In four weeks, the more action-oriented sequel has grossed a measly $38m worldwide, a result so mortifying that the head of Blumhouse put his hands up within days of its release and admitted to having totally missed the mark. M3GAN 2.0 isn't alone, either. This year has seen a staggering number of horror films die at the box office, among them Blumhouse's reboot of Wolf Man ($34m gross on a production budget of $20m), the Ayo Edebiri horror comedy Opus ($2m gross/$10m budget), Jenna Ortega vehicle Death of a Unicorn ($16m gross/$15m budget), the well-received adoption chiller Bring Her Back ($23m gross/$15m budget), and last week's revival of the Nineties hit I Know What You Did Last Summer, which opened to a flat $13m in the US. Yes, these films' production budgets are lean (though the extent of marketing budgets is largely kept under lock and key), and many of the above titles will ultimately break even once video-on-demand grosses are factored in – but none of their respective backers will be happy with what amounts to loose change. 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Hollywood does have a knack for taking all the wrong lessons from its success stories. (Just look at how Barbie's gargantuan box office has led to the development of loads of other movies about toys.) But wouldn't it be lovely if the triumph of Sinners sparked an influx of expensive, original horror movies moving forward – and not, well, Sinners 2. 'Weapons' is released 8 August
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How Happy Gilmore 2 subtly honors Adam Sandler's late co-star Cameron Boyce
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