Maybe WB has unearthed and subsequently planned to greenlight the weighty yet skinny "Feminica"

It's probably better this way, as much as I would like to see this film, it has to be good, or not at all.

How about more ANIMATED (JLU) material?

But I was looking forward to seeing Seth from the OC as one of his Heroes

@rrich: No kidding. Anyway, it would be difficult, frankly, for a live-action film to top the original animated Justice League 90-minute debut without straight-up ripping it off.

They should do Kingdom Come -- then they can recast as much as they want because everyone's much older. Plus also -- mayhem and destruction galore!

@moff: Actually, that wouldn't be hard to do because it wasn't that great.

But this need to die!

A cast of unknown lots of (largely) unknown actors might not have been a bad idea. They're cheaper, for one thing, and, honestly? Most A-list actors aren't that good. For every Johnny Depp that works regularly in blockbuster films, there are at least ten, closer to a hundred unknown actors who've been working for shit in theatres around the country for ten years.

It has been a long time since someone's name has brought me to a movie.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO [pause for breath] OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

@rrich: Yes, please... something.

@braak: A lot of people do go to films on the strength of recognizable names in front of or behind the cameras. The fact that you're an exception to this is statisically an anamoly, not a trend.

In this case, I would be far more excited about a film with Christian Bale as Batman (I never saw "unknown" Brandon Routh as Superman -- the film looked terrible, and he looked as expressive as a chunk of wood).

A lynchpin role around which the unknowns can be cast and developed would help prevent any JLA film from turning into a scattershot mess.

@JennaW: I never saw "unknown" Brandon Routh as Superman -- the film looked terrible, and he looked as expressive as a chunk of wood.

You didn't miss much. I was expecting a departure from the Reeve/Kidder versions, but not THAT big a departure.

They can pay ME to write a new script.

@DrWest: Scab! :)

@JennaW: Which is a shame, because the recognizability of someone's name is completely irrelevant to the quality of their work.

But then, I'm also really interested in the numbers around star-power. I know that there are movies in which I have confidence because I recognize that their casts do good work, but it seems like studios often make catastrophic mistakes in who audiences are interested in seeing.

I read somewhere recently that there are only a handful of actors that can actually sell a movie, and the rest don't appear to have much impact on sales, but that doesn't prove anything, because I don't remember where I read it.

@braak: I think it comes down to a more complex equation than most filmmakers (or at least the film decision-makers) want to accept.

If Actor A is fantastic in a certain type of film (oh, let's say RomCom) then I am very likely to see any RomCom starring her. That doesn't mean I'll go see *anything* with Actor A -- other variables come into play when a popular actor branches out. Then considerations of genre preferences and what other actors are also in the film, director reputation, etc., are weighed against fan-feelings toward Actor A.

For instance: I am a big fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar. I've seen several films she's made mostly on the strength of her participation; however, I do not enjoy horror films. I will not see any horror film on the basis of her participation regardless of how much I like her.

The wider variety of good (or watchable at least) films an actor makes, the more likely fans are to take changes (Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts) but there's still an alchemy to the process.

@JennaW: take *chances*

@JennaW:I never saw "unknown" Brandon Routh as Superman -- the film looked terrible, and he looked as expressive as a chunk of wood.

Routh isn't a bad actor. He's actually pretty good. And they needed an unknown. However, the movie was so wrong. Not because they deviated from the Reeve movies, but because they took the wrong direction in regard to following those movies. And because they also ignored the comics.

@sneggleblech: My major disinclination factor was the rest of the casting (Lois was criminally miscast), but he didn't impress me. Pretty good just doesn't cut it.

@JennaW: I guess. Though I still wonder how many of those actors there are per person, and what kind of an overlap there is, because that's what's going to lead to an appreciable increase in ticket sales.

Moreover, there are a lot of other things that can get people out to see a movie, something that I think is too often overlooked.

I just wish I had more data on it, is all.

Christopher Reeve was a total unknown when he played Superman. A Juliard trained unknown whose classmates were Robin Williams and the future voice of animated Batman Kevin Conroy, just to be different, yeah. So that doesn't really mean anything.

Lets admit it, something just felt "off" about this project. Rushed, to say the least. Its all the wrong reasons to make a JLA flick: trying to beat Marvel to the punch on Avengers.

Who knows, maybe Hulk and/or Iron Man will blow. I'm not going to bet on it, but if either one of them did it would send that plan into a tale spin.

Speaking of Justice, come see my new play "Moratorium"! Theatre TBA!

I figure they realized they couldn't make Aquaman do anything outside of water. Fucking Aquaman.

@JennaW: I agree about Kate Bosworth as Lois. Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway would have at least looked more the part. And Spacey let me down as Lex. The movie was just way too much "homage" to the original. I put homage in quotes for a reason, btw.