September 7, 2006
| Hollywoodland Awaits |
And Oscar talk begins ....
The next watercooler movie, Hollywoodland, opens this Friday. The movie tells the tale of George Reeves, the first Superman. You know, the 1950s TV show, with the kinda-heavy-and-old-in-a-wool-suit Superman. Reeves was typecast, despondent in his mid-40s and died mysteriously by gunshot. Suicide? Murder? The movie explores all scenarios.
The cast includes Ben Affleck (in his "comeback" role) as Reeves, Diane Lane as his paramour -- a married woman, Bob Hoskins as her husband, and Adrien Brody as the private detective who investigates Reeves's murder. Whew! (They're pictured with director Allen Coulter, above.) Bravo staffers who've seen the film say Affleck really captures the era. The big shock? Bob Hoskins just may be the sleeper surprise for an Oscar.
Check out the trailer here.
ps. Our sibling, Focus Features, is behind it -- but that doesn't mean we aren't true fans.
Sorry, but George Reeves was not the "first" Superman, just the one those of use in the first television generation grew up with. There was an earlier Superman movie serial, as well as Superman cartoons in the 1940s. The Lois Lane in the serial was Noel Neill, who, perhaps not coincidentally, was the second (and better) Lois on the TV series.
BTW, I simply can't see Ben Affleck as George Reeves—at least not physically.