American Injustice

I have kept quiet on the Justice League of America because this website is focused on the Salkind films, but today I've decided to say something about it.

Where the hell is the respect for film-makers, Nolan and Singer, and their respective franchises?
The failure of Justice (the chances of it being flushed down the toilet are high) will directly impact the viability of the standalone films. Sure, the fans know better but the general public? They only forgive you once. Fans are tribal; they convene in groups and prepare their fight back when they disagree with the direction of their favourite characters. The general public don't fight, they just don't turn up. So it's left to fans to show the way, to speak up for the common man. If fans didn't speak up, there'd be no Donner Cut, for example.

The only way this feature (in moral terms) could go ahead is to say that there will be no more Batman and Superman features for the foreseeable future. Singer is developing his next Superman feature (which I have doubts about it ever being made) and I presume that Nolan will want to do one more Batman; a trilogy seems to be en vogue these days. I wouldn't be surprised if Bale and Nolan jump ship after The Dark Knight. Miller's interpretation will contradict what Singer and Nolan have done - what a recipe for disaster. They'll just confuse the audience. Currently, the next Batman film is scheduled for summer '08, Miller's Justice League is being prepped for summer '09 and Singer's Superman sequel is in development for '10. The current WGA strike might hamper Superman's development.

Judging by Miller's history, he has made some decent films as producer, writer and director, and many film-makers would love to do this, so I don't want to necessarily lay all the blame on him for this disrespectful situation. Warner Bros. execs need to look at themselves; this is an unethical situation which could have easily been avoided. I understand the nature of the film business, it is a dog-eat-dog world, for example, as soon as they [Warner Bros. execs] sensed that the Salkinds were struggling with the escalating costs on Superman, it became a tug-of-war for the rights, and of course smelling blood in the water, the studio managed to gain some of the rights from the producers. There is a right way of doing things, there are ethics, a moral code, and I feel that it's not being adhered to here.

There is another reason why I'm against the Justice picture; I can't stomach all these heroes in one film. Superman and Batman? Yes, I can see that picture but I can't imagine several super-heroes together in one film, not without some development in a film of their own, first. Can they keep it character based? It becomes a spectacle of action rather than reverence for these characters' growth in a 2hr film. If no one cares about the protagonists, it might kill interest in these characters for a few years.

If there is continuity, then Routh and Bale should be in the film, but the Batman star has counted himself out -- wanting to stay loyal to Nolan's vision, and I don't blame him, perhaps Routh feels the same, sticking with Singer. Miller has declared that he wants different actors anyway. I suspect that the film will be a launching pad for characters like Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, so they can star in their own adventures, in future films. I'd be very surprised if the tone isn't like the Fantastic Four, just check out the gross figures for two Marvel films: The first film grossed a staggering 330 million dollars and the sequel grossed 283 million dollars (domestic + international). The studio execs are rubbing their hands, with glee.

On paper, a Justice League picture could be a lot of fun, but in reality, it's incredibly difficult to pull off. But my real gripe is that it's unethical of them [the studio] to push this feature and snow-plough the standalone films, without considering the needs of the film-makers (Nolan and Singer) and their intent. Will the audience accept this?

Things are about to get interesting, but I'm definitely not Pollyannaish about it.

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