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The Hollywood Byte #45: Superman Returns
Dec 16, 2006
Brandon Routh is Superman to a whole new generation of moviegoers and videogame players. After breaking $200 million domestically and topping $391 million worldwide, Superman Returns has paved the way for at least a second film, which Routh will star in for director Bryan Singer. For now, fans have current and next generation DVDs and games to play to bide their time.
Routh was recently a presenter at the 4th Annual SpikeTV VGAs in Los Angeles, where he introduced the exclusive new trailer for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Routh's very familiar with this game, since he's a big World of Warcraft fan. He's looking forward to the new expansion pack as much as any other gamer.
The actor has been gaming since he was eight years old, when he got the 8-Bit Nintendo system for Christmas.
"I got Super Mario Bros. , Excite Bike and Duck Hunt," said Routh. "There was a lot of good gaming then; that eventually got me into role-playing games. I upgraded to the Genesis and Super Nintendo over the years. I was a bit of a geek as far as that's concerned. I played a lot of role-playing games on computers growing up. Now I like to play games like Madden, Gran Turismo, and Halo. I spend a fair amount of time playing videogames."
Routh said there's nothing better after a long day at work, especially when that work involves being suspended by wires, than sitting back and playing games. He said during the Superman Returns shoot in Australia, he had a PlayStation 2 in his trailer and an Xbox in his apartment.
"I played Madden against my assistant quite a bit, waiting for camera changes," said Routh. "I'm a 49ers and Chiefs fan, so I usually play as those teams in the game. Although I can't say in real life they're doing a terribly good job, but I can make them win in the game."
Routh said, being a videogame fan, he enjoys playing all of the systems. He loves Gears of War on Xbox 360 and Ridge Racer 7 on PlayStation 3. He also tested out Sony's new Blu-Ray Disc format, watching the pack-in movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
"It looks great and I'm excited to get Superman Returns on Blu-Ray" said Routh. "It's beautiful to see a film in that format. It's like watching it at the theater. It's exciting to have that and it's good for film and it's good for everybody that's into technology and gaming. It allows films to be viewed the way they were intended to be viewed."
Routh said working on his first videogame was a fun experience. He said the entire process was cool, including approving his videogame likeness.
"I've done many likeness approvals for toys and images," said Routh. "This was great because they came to me with something that was great right away. EA was very helpful and agreeable to changing things to make it look as much like me and as much like the character and costume as possible."
Once his Superman look was cool with everyone, Routh moved on to the recording studio, where he provided voiceover work for the game. This was the first time the actor experienced this type of process.
"I got to say all of these things that I didn't say in the movie as Superman," said Routh. "There were a lot more comic book lines. It was a challenge for me because you have to overplay it a little bit...over act a lot of times because you're not seeing a real face talking to you, in the game. And a lot of the time you're not seeing any face talking, you're seeing the back of Superman flying around. The lines have to have a lot more energy and excitement to them."
The ability for EA to tap into the 60 years of comic lore, delving beyond the plot of the film, was something that Routh found interesting.
"I think it's cool because the game gives you a lot of aspects that you can't put in films and even things that can't be expanded upon with the second film," said Routh. "It makes the whole experience more encompassing. It's exciting to be able to fight against Metallo and Bizarro, as well as just being able to fly around the city of Metropolis. It makes it more real, in a sense."
Routh still doesn't get tired of seeing himself in the new game, which is a dream-come-true for any kid who grew up playing games.
"It's pretty cool because it is so lifelike," said Routh. "It's a little shocking, because the toys aren't as strange. The game looks a lot more like me than the toys. There's a really good resemblance and it's in high definition on Xbox 360. Plus, that's really my voice talking. It's a bit strange playing the game as myself. But it's a lot of fun. I got to do things as Superman in the videogame that I didn't get to do in the film. That was exciting."
Routh admitted that working on the game with EA was a much easier process than playing the physical role of Superman during the long, grueling shoot in Australia.
"It's much easier to fly in the game," joked Routh. "Your thumbs might hurt after a while, but that's nothing compared to your whole body aching after hanging in a harness for hours on the set."
He thinks fans of the Man of Steel will enjoy playing the game, because it expands beyond the film's scope.
"I think it allows fans the opportunity to live and breathe the Superman experience even more, which is exciting," said Routh. "That's why we buy DVDs, for that experience. We buy games, especially a game like this, which continues the story and continues that experience of being in the game. It allows you to relive the film in a different way and be a part of that character, in a more visceral context."
Routh hopes to continue in the gaming industry, working on future games, including those that don't have Superman in the title, as well as possibly working on CGI movies.
"It's a different medium for acting, because you're doing voiceover, which I think can be beneficial for other voiceover work in film," said Routh. "Having had that opportunity, now I can create a voice for some type of animal in an animated movie."
And when you consider the amount of games based on CGI movies these days, it's likely Routh will once again return to the interactive space for more voice work.
Dec 16, 2006
Brandon Routh is Superman to a whole new generation of moviegoers and videogame players. After breaking $200 million domestically and topping $391 million worldwide, Superman Returns has paved the way for at least a second film, which Routh will star in for director Bryan Singer. For now, fans have current and next generation DVDs and games to play to bide their time.
Routh was recently a presenter at the 4th Annual SpikeTV VGAs in Los Angeles, where he introduced the exclusive new trailer for World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. Routh's very familiar with this game, since he's a big World of Warcraft fan. He's looking forward to the new expansion pack as much as any other gamer.
The actor has been gaming since he was eight years old, when he got the 8-Bit Nintendo system for Christmas.
"I got Super Mario Bros. , Excite Bike and Duck Hunt," said Routh. "There was a lot of good gaming then; that eventually got me into role-playing games. I upgraded to the Genesis and Super Nintendo over the years. I was a bit of a geek as far as that's concerned. I played a lot of role-playing games on computers growing up. Now I like to play games like Madden, Gran Turismo, and Halo. I spend a fair amount of time playing videogames."
Routh said there's nothing better after a long day at work, especially when that work involves being suspended by wires, than sitting back and playing games. He said during the Superman Returns shoot in Australia, he had a PlayStation 2 in his trailer and an Xbox in his apartment.
"I played Madden against my assistant quite a bit, waiting for camera changes," said Routh. "I'm a 49ers and Chiefs fan, so I usually play as those teams in the game. Although I can't say in real life they're doing a terribly good job, but I can make them win in the game."
Routh said, being a videogame fan, he enjoys playing all of the systems. He loves Gears of War on Xbox 360 and Ridge Racer 7 on PlayStation 3. He also tested out Sony's new Blu-Ray Disc format, watching the pack-in movie, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
"It looks great and I'm excited to get Superman Returns on Blu-Ray" said Routh. "It's beautiful to see a film in that format. It's like watching it at the theater. It's exciting to have that and it's good for film and it's good for everybody that's into technology and gaming. It allows films to be viewed the way they were intended to be viewed."
Routh said working on his first videogame was a fun experience. He said the entire process was cool, including approving his videogame likeness.
"I've done many likeness approvals for toys and images," said Routh. "This was great because they came to me with something that was great right away. EA was very helpful and agreeable to changing things to make it look as much like me and as much like the character and costume as possible."
Once his Superman look was cool with everyone, Routh moved on to the recording studio, where he provided voiceover work for the game. This was the first time the actor experienced this type of process.
"I got to say all of these things that I didn't say in the movie as Superman," said Routh. "There were a lot more comic book lines. It was a challenge for me because you have to overplay it a little bit...over act a lot of times because you're not seeing a real face talking to you, in the game. And a lot of the time you're not seeing any face talking, you're seeing the back of Superman flying around. The lines have to have a lot more energy and excitement to them."
The ability for EA to tap into the 60 years of comic lore, delving beyond the plot of the film, was something that Routh found interesting.
"I think it's cool because the game gives you a lot of aspects that you can't put in films and even things that can't be expanded upon with the second film," said Routh. "It makes the whole experience more encompassing. It's exciting to be able to fight against Metallo and Bizarro, as well as just being able to fly around the city of Metropolis. It makes it more real, in a sense."
Routh still doesn't get tired of seeing himself in the new game, which is a dream-come-true for any kid who grew up playing games.
"It's pretty cool because it is so lifelike," said Routh. "It's a little shocking, because the toys aren't as strange. The game looks a lot more like me than the toys. There's a really good resemblance and it's in high definition on Xbox 360. Plus, that's really my voice talking. It's a bit strange playing the game as myself. But it's a lot of fun. I got to do things as Superman in the videogame that I didn't get to do in the film. That was exciting."
Routh admitted that working on the game with EA was a much easier process than playing the physical role of Superman during the long, grueling shoot in Australia.
"It's much easier to fly in the game," joked Routh. "Your thumbs might hurt after a while, but that's nothing compared to your whole body aching after hanging in a harness for hours on the set."
He thinks fans of the Man of Steel will enjoy playing the game, because it expands beyond the film's scope.
"I think it allows fans the opportunity to live and breathe the Superman experience even more, which is exciting," said Routh. "That's why we buy DVDs, for that experience. We buy games, especially a game like this, which continues the story and continues that experience of being in the game. It allows you to relive the film in a different way and be a part of that character, in a more visceral context."
Routh hopes to continue in the gaming industry, working on future games, including those that don't have Superman in the title, as well as possibly working on CGI movies.
"It's a different medium for acting, because you're doing voiceover, which I think can be beneficial for other voiceover work in film," said Routh. "Having had that opportunity, now I can create a voice for some type of animal in an animated movie."
And when you consider the amount of games based on CGI movies these days, it's likely Routh will once again return to the interactive space for more voice work.