07-24-2004, 01:38 PM
Part I - Addendum by Sandy Collora
Over the past couple of days, Iâve been flooded with emails and phone calls regarding this interview, all of which were overwhelmingly positive and supportive. However, after a friend sent me a link to a web site that actually has a rather interesting discussion going on the subject, I felt compelled to sit down and write kind of an extended footnote or addendum if you will, to the interview in the hope that it would perhaps further clarify, or explain in a bit more detail why I feel the way I do about superhero costumes and other issues that were discussed in the pieceâ¦
I love comic books. I grew up with them, theyâve been a part of my life even before I could actually read them, and still to this day, like most of you, Iâm at the comic book store every Wednesday, chomping at the bit to get the latest issues of my favorite titles or the newest action figures. Comic books are the last, great, true American art form, but the one thing about comics that a lot of people seem to forget however, is that in order to fully appreciate a comic book for what it truly is, thereâs a certain conceit that goes along with reading them that must be accepted before you even open the book. That conceit, is what gives comic books their magic, and why children seem to have an easier time understanding them and have less of a tendency to fight with each other about their favorite heroâs costume.
Of course Clark Kent is easily recognizable as Superman. Of course if the Flash really ran that fast, thereâd be a sonic boom that would destroy everything within a 50 mile radius. Of course JLA headquarters could never be on the moon, how do they all get there and back so fast? Then thereâs the Hulk⦠Ever wonder where those purple pants come from and why they donât rip off his body when he changes? And what about Robin, or any hero for that matter that wears two little diamonds across their eyes? Do you really think that little strip of fabric is going to conceal their identity? Of course not⦠But who cares!!!
I think most people, especially those who never read comics, fail to see what is so damn brilliant about them, what makes them so appealing to generation after generation besides the great stories and colorful, dynamic artworkâ¦
Simplicity.
Thatâs what I loved about William Goldmanâs Shazam! script, and why I was so publicly adamant about wanting to direct it. That script was so simple. Like Spiderman, Superman, or any other good superhero story, it was about good versus evil and the hero, being the superhuman being he is, trying to relate to a girl, and balance a relationship with her in the mix of saving the world. It held more magic and wonder than any other script Iâve ever read, period. It was the closest thing Iâve ever read to a comic book that didnât have artwork in it.
Some Hollywood interpretations of Comic Books on the silver screen fail because theyâre trying to make something real that isnât. Theyâre too concerned with making it real as opposed to making it right. I donât know why they feel everything in the film has to be explained and give a reason for why certain things are the way they are, instead of just going with the mythology of the story, trusting that the audience will go along for the ride, and making the movie for what it is⦠A work of fiction.
Regarding the Batman costume issue, and Iâm only bringing this up to illustrate the point I made above about conceit⦠First and foremost, itâs an artistic choice, period. I like the classic costume. I had an actor who could fill it out and make it look good, which had never been done before. I was really into showing the fans something theyâd never seen before. Granted theyâd seen the leather and cloth âtightsâ on Adam West, and in the serials, but no one ever in Clarkâs physical condition has donned that costume. That doesnât mean I donât like the other versions of the costume either, but Iâll tell you this⦠For those of you who wish to nitpick and play the ârealismâ card, okay⦠Fine. Hereâs the real facts: Actual, state of the art, bulletproof, body armor is made of Kevlar. It works, but even itâs most versatile, military applications, is very bulky, very uncomfortable, and is pretty much impossible to fight hand to hand in, let alone use conventional weapons of any kind.
Which brings us to the movie suits, which are made of foam rubber⦠Why? Because real body armor could never be applied in those configurations and still be functional to the degree that Batman would need it to be. Think about it for a minute, even the foam rubber suits (that are doubling in the film for real body armor) are extremely difficult for the actor to move in, especially his head and neck area, so imagine if it was real armor⦠Sorry, itâs just not gonnaâ work. To even further play devilâs advocate here, you might say, well Bruce Wayne is a multi-millionaire, maybe with all his money, he developed some kind of flexible body armor. Listen, no one has more money than the United States military, and even if Wayne did somehow develop something like in Batman Begins, fine. But itâs not something that is real, or even has the potential to be real. So, if youâre going to suspend your disbelief and go with the fact that the armor Batman is wearing is not, and could never be real, why canât you suspend that exact same belief in accepting that Batman doesnât need armor and the traditional costume can work as well? You see what I mean, itâs six of one half a dozen of another. The bottom line is who cares! I accept and enjoy all movies of this nature for what they are⦠Works Of Fiction.
Believe me, I wish Batman and Superman were real. With all my heart, I really do. Think about all the sorrow, tragedy and strife in the world that could be avoided if they were. But sadly, they arenât, and thatâs okay⦠Thatâs why filmmakers like myself strive to create a virtual reality of sorts for the audience where these heroic figures DO exist. A world where the good guys DO win, where old world values of honesty, courage, and might, run rampant through their characterizations, giving kids rock solid role models to look up to other than the myriad of tattooed, foul mouthed, illiterate, excuses for heroes that kids have to choose from today.
After the tragedy of 911, I was at a dear friendâs home who has a 4 year old boy. In the midst of trying to explain what happened on that dark day to the sobbing child, which to say the least, was difficult, the child asked âWhy didnât Superman save them?â At that moment, I was faced with a decision that was more important than any other Iâd been faced with in my life. Was it time to tell this child that Superman isnât real and tell him that some crazed madman decided to destroy the world trade center? Absolutely not.
The longer that child believes in his heroes, and holds on as tight as he can to what they represent, the better. Every second of his life that child believes Superman is real, he is special. If we as adults could only maintain that degree of innocence and faith throughout our adult lives, the world would certainly be a drastically different place. That is the pure joy of being young, and the exact feeling that I strive to create in my workâ¦
None of us will ever be able to see Star Wars again for the first time, or open your first issue of The Incredible Hulk or your first pack of bubble gum cards, or see Christopher Reeve fly across the fortress of solitude to that familiar John Williams crescendo for the first time (I still get goose bumps every time I see that scene), but those are the kinds of moments from my childhood that inspired me to be a filmmaker.
Realism is fine. I try to incorporate as much of it as I can into my work because the more real it seems, the more an audience will relate to it as believable. But the realism that needs to be put into a comic book or fantasy movie needs to be real for the universe or world that the story is taking place in. A realism that can be achieved by providing the heroes and fantastic characters that inhabit this universe with imperfections and human conditions that the viewer will associate with them being real. In essence, humanizing them.
After all, one thing we all are, without question⦠is human.
SANDY COLLORA
Over the past couple of days, Iâve been flooded with emails and phone calls regarding this interview, all of which were overwhelmingly positive and supportive. However, after a friend sent me a link to a web site that actually has a rather interesting discussion going on the subject, I felt compelled to sit down and write kind of an extended footnote or addendum if you will, to the interview in the hope that it would perhaps further clarify, or explain in a bit more detail why I feel the way I do about superhero costumes and other issues that were discussed in the pieceâ¦
I love comic books. I grew up with them, theyâve been a part of my life even before I could actually read them, and still to this day, like most of you, Iâm at the comic book store every Wednesday, chomping at the bit to get the latest issues of my favorite titles or the newest action figures. Comic books are the last, great, true American art form, but the one thing about comics that a lot of people seem to forget however, is that in order to fully appreciate a comic book for what it truly is, thereâs a certain conceit that goes along with reading them that must be accepted before you even open the book. That conceit, is what gives comic books their magic, and why children seem to have an easier time understanding them and have less of a tendency to fight with each other about their favorite heroâs costume.
Of course Clark Kent is easily recognizable as Superman. Of course if the Flash really ran that fast, thereâd be a sonic boom that would destroy everything within a 50 mile radius. Of course JLA headquarters could never be on the moon, how do they all get there and back so fast? Then thereâs the Hulk⦠Ever wonder where those purple pants come from and why they donât rip off his body when he changes? And what about Robin, or any hero for that matter that wears two little diamonds across their eyes? Do you really think that little strip of fabric is going to conceal their identity? Of course not⦠But who cares!!!
I think most people, especially those who never read comics, fail to see what is so damn brilliant about them, what makes them so appealing to generation after generation besides the great stories and colorful, dynamic artworkâ¦
Simplicity.
Thatâs what I loved about William Goldmanâs Shazam! script, and why I was so publicly adamant about wanting to direct it. That script was so simple. Like Spiderman, Superman, or any other good superhero story, it was about good versus evil and the hero, being the superhuman being he is, trying to relate to a girl, and balance a relationship with her in the mix of saving the world. It held more magic and wonder than any other script Iâve ever read, period. It was the closest thing Iâve ever read to a comic book that didnât have artwork in it.
Some Hollywood interpretations of Comic Books on the silver screen fail because theyâre trying to make something real that isnât. Theyâre too concerned with making it real as opposed to making it right. I donât know why they feel everything in the film has to be explained and give a reason for why certain things are the way they are, instead of just going with the mythology of the story, trusting that the audience will go along for the ride, and making the movie for what it is⦠A work of fiction.
Regarding the Batman costume issue, and Iâm only bringing this up to illustrate the point I made above about conceit⦠First and foremost, itâs an artistic choice, period. I like the classic costume. I had an actor who could fill it out and make it look good, which had never been done before. I was really into showing the fans something theyâd never seen before. Granted theyâd seen the leather and cloth âtightsâ on Adam West, and in the serials, but no one ever in Clarkâs physical condition has donned that costume. That doesnât mean I donât like the other versions of the costume either, but Iâll tell you this⦠For those of you who wish to nitpick and play the ârealismâ card, okay⦠Fine. Hereâs the real facts: Actual, state of the art, bulletproof, body armor is made of Kevlar. It works, but even itâs most versatile, military applications, is very bulky, very uncomfortable, and is pretty much impossible to fight hand to hand in, let alone use conventional weapons of any kind.
Which brings us to the movie suits, which are made of foam rubber⦠Why? Because real body armor could never be applied in those configurations and still be functional to the degree that Batman would need it to be. Think about it for a minute, even the foam rubber suits (that are doubling in the film for real body armor) are extremely difficult for the actor to move in, especially his head and neck area, so imagine if it was real armor⦠Sorry, itâs just not gonnaâ work. To even further play devilâs advocate here, you might say, well Bruce Wayne is a multi-millionaire, maybe with all his money, he developed some kind of flexible body armor. Listen, no one has more money than the United States military, and even if Wayne did somehow develop something like in Batman Begins, fine. But itâs not something that is real, or even has the potential to be real. So, if youâre going to suspend your disbelief and go with the fact that the armor Batman is wearing is not, and could never be real, why canât you suspend that exact same belief in accepting that Batman doesnât need armor and the traditional costume can work as well? You see what I mean, itâs six of one half a dozen of another. The bottom line is who cares! I accept and enjoy all movies of this nature for what they are⦠Works Of Fiction.
Believe me, I wish Batman and Superman were real. With all my heart, I really do. Think about all the sorrow, tragedy and strife in the world that could be avoided if they were. But sadly, they arenât, and thatâs okay⦠Thatâs why filmmakers like myself strive to create a virtual reality of sorts for the audience where these heroic figures DO exist. A world where the good guys DO win, where old world values of honesty, courage, and might, run rampant through their characterizations, giving kids rock solid role models to look up to other than the myriad of tattooed, foul mouthed, illiterate, excuses for heroes that kids have to choose from today.
After the tragedy of 911, I was at a dear friendâs home who has a 4 year old boy. In the midst of trying to explain what happened on that dark day to the sobbing child, which to say the least, was difficult, the child asked âWhy didnât Superman save them?â At that moment, I was faced with a decision that was more important than any other Iâd been faced with in my life. Was it time to tell this child that Superman isnât real and tell him that some crazed madman decided to destroy the world trade center? Absolutely not.
The longer that child believes in his heroes, and holds on as tight as he can to what they represent, the better. Every second of his life that child believes Superman is real, he is special. If we as adults could only maintain that degree of innocence and faith throughout our adult lives, the world would certainly be a drastically different place. That is the pure joy of being young, and the exact feeling that I strive to create in my workâ¦
None of us will ever be able to see Star Wars again for the first time, or open your first issue of The Incredible Hulk or your first pack of bubble gum cards, or see Christopher Reeve fly across the fortress of solitude to that familiar John Williams crescendo for the first time (I still get goose bumps every time I see that scene), but those are the kinds of moments from my childhood that inspired me to be a filmmaker.
Realism is fine. I try to incorporate as much of it as I can into my work because the more real it seems, the more an audience will relate to it as believable. But the realism that needs to be put into a comic book or fantasy movie needs to be real for the universe or world that the story is taking place in. A realism that can be achieved by providing the heroes and fantastic characters that inhabit this universe with imperfections and human conditions that the viewer will associate with them being real. In essence, humanizing them.
After all, one thing we all are, without question⦠is human.
SANDY COLLORA