07-24-2004, 01:56 PM
Posted 24/07/2004
Source Superman-V.Com
An Interview with Sandy Collora Part II
We've had a phenomenal amount of feedback for the last column and judging by Sandyâs addendum, so did he! A lot of people are really excited about seeing Sandy's take on Superman and so are S-V. This is the second and final part of our interview with Sandy and all of us at S-V would like to thank him for taking the time to answer our questions. When someone with such respect, love and clarity of vision for Superman is taking a crack at immortalising him on celluloid then we are happy to help spread the word and let people know it's out there.
Along with this interview we have some great stills of Sandy's Superman in a variety of different Super-poses so sit back and prepared to be amazed!
![[Image: DSC07547-400.jpg]](http://www.superman-v.com/DSC07547-400.jpg)
Superman-V: First of all, give us a rough idea of what we can expect to see in this short?
Sandy Collora: Short being the operative word here... Don't sneeze or reach for your drink or chips, you'll miss it. Think of it as a very brief glimpse into a world of Superman and Batman that could be... A little slice out the proverbial pie that is the DC universe. It's kinda like Lethal Weapon with superheroes... Bats and Supes are like Riggs and Murtaugh. They're from different sides of the tracks and have not only drastically different approaches to doing their jobs, but personalities as well.
It's interesting when two characters like that are put into a situation where they have to work together towards a common goal. I think a World's Finest movie would be really cool... Obviously... Or better yet, The Justice League! My friend Nick Alvarez and I wrote a really killer JLA script. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to make it.
S-V: Who have you cast as Superman and why? Was it harder to cast than Batman?
SC: The man of steel is played by four time Mr. Natural Universe, Mike O'Hearn. He's been in some low budget Roger Corman flicks as well as Battledome and some other TV shows. It was way harder to cast him than Bats... The problem was, the last two guys that played Batman in the movies were not really accepted by audiences as the embodiment of the character. But everyone LOVES Chris Reeve, and rightly so, he was a great Superman. Mike had his work cut out for him, and I personally think he came through big time. Everyone was completely blown away by his performance... He was excellent, and any director's dream to work with. What impressed me the most about Mike was how naturally gifted he is at so many things. He's very similar to Clark (Bartram) in that way. Both of those guys are tremendous human beings, literally and figuratively. I hate to sound cliché, but the two of them together on screen is pure movie magic. I love being around both of those guys, we all train together... It's great working out with them, they love clowning around in the gym and giving me grief about eating candy and not training hard enough.
S-V: You used Alex Ross' artwork as inspiration for Dead End, what inspired the look for Superman?
SC: Mostly just the comics in general. I wanted to do something that had never been done before and put a really big, muscular guy in the suit. Alex, again was an influence, though my Superman is a lot younger than his. His work, especially the Superman stuff, is so majestic and classy, that's the look I like for my heroes. I also looked at a lot of Norman Rockwell paintings for reference, they have a very traditional American look to them, and an incredible color palette. The color scheme for the film was predominantly based on a lot of old Saturday Evening Post covers. If I had the budget, the entire film would have that 1950's, Americana look to it. Anything period is very expensive to do, all I could really afford to do in that style of production design was Clark's apartment. I really wanted at least his world to be of a more pure era, a time when things were simpler. Clark Kent is a very simple guy, his surroundings should reflect that.
S-V: What was the budget for this project?
SC: Believe it or not, the budget on this one was a lot less than "Dead End" because we didn't have to make all those Predator and Alien Suits, or build any sets... And there was no rain. It came in at about 12 thousand dollars, and that's with everyone working for free. Keep in mind that I'm working with the smallest fraction of what feature films cost... I do what I can with the money I'm fortunate enough to have. I know a lot of fans say they want to see more and that my films are too short and therefore can't tell a complete story, but they have to understand that what these little films do is provide the smallest peek through a window into a world I could create, and a story I could tell if I had the budget, time, resources, crew, and studio backing of a theatrically released feature film. They're made for a specific purpose, which is to provide a brief glimpse of what a full film would look and feel like, not to compete with or be compared to feature films.
S-V: What powers can we expect to see Superman use, what SFX did you use to create them?
SC: He catches a truck, busts through a metal door, throws Bats off a loading dock -- and he REALLY FLIES. He does a lot of landing in frame,
Flying through downtown Metropolis, (there's a great shot of him flying with Lois in his arms at sunset) and there's even a quick shot of him flying through the frame with Bats swinging on a cable next to him... It's very cool. Scott Leva, my Superman flying coordinator/rigger, Simon and myself came up with a few different ways to fly him -- All of which are practical, with some CG enhancement provided by Ron Brinkmann and Continuity Studios. Again, we didn't have the money to have Supes flying around all over the place, full frame, battling Lex in mid air or anything... Don't expect The Matrix.
S-V: With all we hear about Superman being changedWas there ever a temptation to play around with Superman's mythology, either to modernize him or change something about him?
SC: Not at all. What would be the point of that? As a matter of fact, I went inthe complete opposite direction regarding "modernizing" him... I Researched older film stocks, processes, and looks to use in the piece. I wanted it to look like it was shot in the forties or fifties, with my own style thrown in for good measure to create a very unique look. Sometimes, depending on the subject matter, it's better to look at the past to bring a fresh approach to something, rather than the future.
![[Image: superman.jpg]](http://www.superman-v.com/superman.jpg)
S-V: This time you have Batman and Superman appearing, was this more of a challenge than Dead End?
SC: In a lot of ways, yes. It has a lot more scope, it's bigger and the world is more defined, the palette's more broad... Though it's shorter, it's A much more vast piece. "Dead End" was definitely more work in pre production, with making all the creatures and sets, this one was harder in different ways. There were more actors, more scenes, and more dialogue. It was also a much lighter piece mood-wise and stylistically. The biggest challenge was still keeping Bats dark and foreboding in Superman's world, especially when I had to shoot him outside, in broad daylight. The other big challenge that really showed itself in post, was cutting a trailer for which there is no full length film. It was very hard to edit this one, we shot so much cool stuff, but I couldn't use all of it because it was always intended to be just a trailer, a taste of what that story, and those characters would be like. Usually, if a trailer runs any longer than 3 minutes, it doesn't feel right. Most trailers are actually just over 2 minutes.
S-V: How do you feel this compares to Dead End?
SC: It's bigger... Has more scope and actually tells more of a story than Dead End. I wanted to concentrate more on the characters and performances this time around, there's less action and fighting. The thing that killed me on this one was not being able to shoot the entire film... Even a short. There was just no time and no money. When you shoot on 35, it gets expensive, besides the cost factor, there's also the time issue... We're all so busy, things are pretty crazy around here right now, my life is like a Godzilla movie, I'm trying not to get trampled by the giant monster amidst a throng of running, screaming people.
S-V: Dead End kicked off a huge craze in superhero fan-films. Have you seen any of the recent fan-films, what advice would you give to filmmakers who want to make a fan-film?
SC: I've seen quite a bit of them actually... Some of them are really good for what they are. Obviously, most of them are shot on video and done very inexpensively, even compared to the tiny budgets I work with, but there's some real talent there. I'm very impressed with anyone who takes it upon themselves to go out there and actually make a film, which is a very time consuming, arduous, and stressful undertaking. I'm particularly Impressed with the work of Aaron Schoenke. What he does for his age, and how ambitious his films are is very inspiring. I'm seeing a lot of growth in his work which is what it's all about. I watch a lot of shorts, I like to spend time on Ifilm or theforce.net when I can, and keep up with all the new fan films coming out. I actually just saw "Grayson" earlier this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it... Great piece. As far as advice... Just follow your heart and do what you feel passionate about. Go out and make your dreams reality... Life's too short. Your life is what you make of it, so are your films. Do the best you can and give a hundred percent all the time, and keep your mind open to learning new things. Try to grow as a filmmaker and a person with each film you make. Express yourself through your work and most importantly... Have fun doing it.
S-V: Are there any other superhero properties you?d like to have a go at? You?ve spoken of your love for Batman, Superman and Captain Marvel, are there any Marvel heroes you like?
SC: Well, I'd actually like a crack at Aquaman... I'm a total water rat. I love to surf, dive, fish and be on the ocean (when I'm not jumping out of planes or off buildings, mind you.) I've shot a bunch of big budget, underwater commercials with "Abyss" and "Saving Private Ryan" underwater camera man, Peter Romano and we've talked about working together on a feature, I think together with my visual FX and stunt team, we'd come up with some pretty amazing stuff and present the Sea King like he's never been seen before... It'd be an interesting challenge. But I'm a pretty loyal DC fan, always have been, but I read a few Marvel titles though... I like Spectacular Spiderman, X men, Captain America, and the Ultimates. JLA/ Avengers is really good too... I'm also quite fond of the old Vision and Scarlet Witch series, that would make a great movie. The new Invaders just came out last week, and I really like that, I loved it when I was a little kid. That was actually one of the first comics I remember actually reading.
S-V: You've achieved something quite unique in actually making a film with Superman! Any tips for Bryan Singer?
SC: Yeah, that kinda says something, I guess... (big smile). As far as tips for Singer... C'mon, who am I to give the director of such awesome films as Usual Suspects and X1 and2 advice? Instead, I'll quote uncle Ben from Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility..." I think he realizes what he's dealing with and what it represents not only to the fans, but to the American people. He's certainly got his work cut out for him, and has a daunting task ahead... The writers are fantastic and Brian's an exceptionally talented filmmaker, I'm sure they'll deliver the goods... Not that they need it, but I truly and sincerely wish them the best of luck. If it does actually get made, I'll be the first in line to see that movie!!!
All of us at Superman-V would like to thank Sandy for taking the time to answer these questions. We wish him all the best in the future and hope you all enjoy seeing his take on Superman.
More Images:
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<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn2a.jpg">http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn2a.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn3a.jpg">http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn3a.jpg</a><!-- m -->
Source Superman-V.Com
An Interview with Sandy Collora Part II
We've had a phenomenal amount of feedback for the last column and judging by Sandyâs addendum, so did he! A lot of people are really excited about seeing Sandy's take on Superman and so are S-V. This is the second and final part of our interview with Sandy and all of us at S-V would like to thank him for taking the time to answer our questions. When someone with such respect, love and clarity of vision for Superman is taking a crack at immortalising him on celluloid then we are happy to help spread the word and let people know it's out there.
Along with this interview we have some great stills of Sandy's Superman in a variety of different Super-poses so sit back and prepared to be amazed!
Superman-V: First of all, give us a rough idea of what we can expect to see in this short?Sandy Collora: Short being the operative word here... Don't sneeze or reach for your drink or chips, you'll miss it. Think of it as a very brief glimpse into a world of Superman and Batman that could be... A little slice out the proverbial pie that is the DC universe. It's kinda like Lethal Weapon with superheroes... Bats and Supes are like Riggs and Murtaugh. They're from different sides of the tracks and have not only drastically different approaches to doing their jobs, but personalities as well.
It's interesting when two characters like that are put into a situation where they have to work together towards a common goal. I think a World's Finest movie would be really cool... Obviously... Or better yet, The Justice League! My friend Nick Alvarez and I wrote a really killer JLA script. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get to make it.
S-V: Who have you cast as Superman and why? Was it harder to cast than Batman?
SC: The man of steel is played by four time Mr. Natural Universe, Mike O'Hearn. He's been in some low budget Roger Corman flicks as well as Battledome and some other TV shows. It was way harder to cast him than Bats... The problem was, the last two guys that played Batman in the movies were not really accepted by audiences as the embodiment of the character. But everyone LOVES Chris Reeve, and rightly so, he was a great Superman. Mike had his work cut out for him, and I personally think he came through big time. Everyone was completely blown away by his performance... He was excellent, and any director's dream to work with. What impressed me the most about Mike was how naturally gifted he is at so many things. He's very similar to Clark (Bartram) in that way. Both of those guys are tremendous human beings, literally and figuratively. I hate to sound cliché, but the two of them together on screen is pure movie magic. I love being around both of those guys, we all train together... It's great working out with them, they love clowning around in the gym and giving me grief about eating candy and not training hard enough.
S-V: You used Alex Ross' artwork as inspiration for Dead End, what inspired the look for Superman?
SC: Mostly just the comics in general. I wanted to do something that had never been done before and put a really big, muscular guy in the suit. Alex, again was an influence, though my Superman is a lot younger than his. His work, especially the Superman stuff, is so majestic and classy, that's the look I like for my heroes. I also looked at a lot of Norman Rockwell paintings for reference, they have a very traditional American look to them, and an incredible color palette. The color scheme for the film was predominantly based on a lot of old Saturday Evening Post covers. If I had the budget, the entire film would have that 1950's, Americana look to it. Anything period is very expensive to do, all I could really afford to do in that style of production design was Clark's apartment. I really wanted at least his world to be of a more pure era, a time when things were simpler. Clark Kent is a very simple guy, his surroundings should reflect that.
S-V: What was the budget for this project?
SC: Believe it or not, the budget on this one was a lot less than "Dead End" because we didn't have to make all those Predator and Alien Suits, or build any sets... And there was no rain. It came in at about 12 thousand dollars, and that's with everyone working for free. Keep in mind that I'm working with the smallest fraction of what feature films cost... I do what I can with the money I'm fortunate enough to have. I know a lot of fans say they want to see more and that my films are too short and therefore can't tell a complete story, but they have to understand that what these little films do is provide the smallest peek through a window into a world I could create, and a story I could tell if I had the budget, time, resources, crew, and studio backing of a theatrically released feature film. They're made for a specific purpose, which is to provide a brief glimpse of what a full film would look and feel like, not to compete with or be compared to feature films.
S-V: What powers can we expect to see Superman use, what SFX did you use to create them?
SC: He catches a truck, busts through a metal door, throws Bats off a loading dock -- and he REALLY FLIES. He does a lot of landing in frame,
Flying through downtown Metropolis, (there's a great shot of him flying with Lois in his arms at sunset) and there's even a quick shot of him flying through the frame with Bats swinging on a cable next to him... It's very cool. Scott Leva, my Superman flying coordinator/rigger, Simon and myself came up with a few different ways to fly him -- All of which are practical, with some CG enhancement provided by Ron Brinkmann and Continuity Studios. Again, we didn't have the money to have Supes flying around all over the place, full frame, battling Lex in mid air or anything... Don't expect The Matrix.
S-V: With all we hear about Superman being changedWas there ever a temptation to play around with Superman's mythology, either to modernize him or change something about him?
SC: Not at all. What would be the point of that? As a matter of fact, I went inthe complete opposite direction regarding "modernizing" him... I Researched older film stocks, processes, and looks to use in the piece. I wanted it to look like it was shot in the forties or fifties, with my own style thrown in for good measure to create a very unique look. Sometimes, depending on the subject matter, it's better to look at the past to bring a fresh approach to something, rather than the future.
S-V: This time you have Batman and Superman appearing, was this more of a challenge than Dead End?SC: In a lot of ways, yes. It has a lot more scope, it's bigger and the world is more defined, the palette's more broad... Though it's shorter, it's A much more vast piece. "Dead End" was definitely more work in pre production, with making all the creatures and sets, this one was harder in different ways. There were more actors, more scenes, and more dialogue. It was also a much lighter piece mood-wise and stylistically. The biggest challenge was still keeping Bats dark and foreboding in Superman's world, especially when I had to shoot him outside, in broad daylight. The other big challenge that really showed itself in post, was cutting a trailer for which there is no full length film. It was very hard to edit this one, we shot so much cool stuff, but I couldn't use all of it because it was always intended to be just a trailer, a taste of what that story, and those characters would be like. Usually, if a trailer runs any longer than 3 minutes, it doesn't feel right. Most trailers are actually just over 2 minutes.
S-V: How do you feel this compares to Dead End?
SC: It's bigger... Has more scope and actually tells more of a story than Dead End. I wanted to concentrate more on the characters and performances this time around, there's less action and fighting. The thing that killed me on this one was not being able to shoot the entire film... Even a short. There was just no time and no money. When you shoot on 35, it gets expensive, besides the cost factor, there's also the time issue... We're all so busy, things are pretty crazy around here right now, my life is like a Godzilla movie, I'm trying not to get trampled by the giant monster amidst a throng of running, screaming people.
S-V: Dead End kicked off a huge craze in superhero fan-films. Have you seen any of the recent fan-films, what advice would you give to filmmakers who want to make a fan-film?
SC: I've seen quite a bit of them actually... Some of them are really good for what they are. Obviously, most of them are shot on video and done very inexpensively, even compared to the tiny budgets I work with, but there's some real talent there. I'm very impressed with anyone who takes it upon themselves to go out there and actually make a film, which is a very time consuming, arduous, and stressful undertaking. I'm particularly Impressed with the work of Aaron Schoenke. What he does for his age, and how ambitious his films are is very inspiring. I'm seeing a lot of growth in his work which is what it's all about. I watch a lot of shorts, I like to spend time on Ifilm or theforce.net when I can, and keep up with all the new fan films coming out. I actually just saw "Grayson" earlier this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it... Great piece. As far as advice... Just follow your heart and do what you feel passionate about. Go out and make your dreams reality... Life's too short. Your life is what you make of it, so are your films. Do the best you can and give a hundred percent all the time, and keep your mind open to learning new things. Try to grow as a filmmaker and a person with each film you make. Express yourself through your work and most importantly... Have fun doing it.
S-V: Are there any other superhero properties you?d like to have a go at? You?ve spoken of your love for Batman, Superman and Captain Marvel, are there any Marvel heroes you like?
SC: Well, I'd actually like a crack at Aquaman... I'm a total water rat. I love to surf, dive, fish and be on the ocean (when I'm not jumping out of planes or off buildings, mind you.) I've shot a bunch of big budget, underwater commercials with "Abyss" and "Saving Private Ryan" underwater camera man, Peter Romano and we've talked about working together on a feature, I think together with my visual FX and stunt team, we'd come up with some pretty amazing stuff and present the Sea King like he's never been seen before... It'd be an interesting challenge. But I'm a pretty loyal DC fan, always have been, but I read a few Marvel titles though... I like Spectacular Spiderman, X men, Captain America, and the Ultimates. JLA/ Avengers is really good too... I'm also quite fond of the old Vision and Scarlet Witch series, that would make a great movie. The new Invaders just came out last week, and I really like that, I loved it when I was a little kid. That was actually one of the first comics I remember actually reading.
S-V: You've achieved something quite unique in actually making a film with Superman! Any tips for Bryan Singer?
SC: Yeah, that kinda says something, I guess... (big smile). As far as tips for Singer... C'mon, who am I to give the director of such awesome films as Usual Suspects and X1 and2 advice? Instead, I'll quote uncle Ben from Spiderman, "With great power comes great responsibility..." I think he realizes what he's dealing with and what it represents not only to the fans, but to the American people. He's certainly got his work cut out for him, and has a daunting task ahead... The writers are fantastic and Brian's an exceptionally talented filmmaker, I'm sure they'll deliver the goods... Not that they need it, but I truly and sincerely wish them the best of luck. If it does actually get made, I'll be the first in line to see that movie!!!
All of us at Superman-V would like to thank Sandy for taking the time to answer these questions. We wish him all the best in the future and hope you all enjoy seeing his take on Superman.
More Images:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn1a.jpg">http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn1a.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn2a.jpg">http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn2a.jpg</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn3a.jpg">http://www.superman-v.com/ohearn3a.jpg</a><!-- m -->